If Tony Khan could sign any wrestler from any era, his choice is clear—1990s “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. In an interview with The Superstar Crossover, the AEW President called Austin his all-time dream signing.
Khan described Austin as “the greatest wrestling star of all time,” praising both his ability in the ring and his character outside of it. His admiration is tied not only to Austin’s run during wrestling’s hottest period, but also to a personal moment early in AEW’s history.
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After AEW’s first Double or Nothing in 2019, Austin invited Khan onto his podcast. During that conversation, Austin offered strong, positive feedback on the company’s debut show. For Khan, hearing that from someone who helped define the ’90s wrestling boom gave AEW an early boost of credibility.
The interaction stuck with Khan, who still calls it a highlight of his career:
“Steve Austin. If you could get Steve Austin in the 90s and just have Steve Austin for the decade of the 90s, he’s the greatest ever. He’s a great human. I love Steve Austin. He was very nice to me, haven’t seen him in a long time. He was very kind to have me on his show after the original Double or Nothing and I am one of the biggest fans of his, and I think Steve Austin’s the biggest wrestling star of all time. If you could pick any era of person and just if you had Steve Austin with you throughout the 90s, even though his persona evolved from Stunning Steve to Superstar Steve to the Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin, he’s one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. If I had ever been fortunate enough to work with any iteration of Steve Austin, particularly in the 90s or early 2000s, I would count myself very fortunate. I’m very fortunate and consider myself very lucky for many reasons, but also lucky just to have met Steve Austin and had a nice chat with him. He actually was very positive about the original Double or Nothing. I did his show after the first Double or Nothing in 2019, over six years ago, and he was incredibly positive about the show and I think he’s the greatest wrestling star of all time.”
To this day, Khan holds Austin as a benchmark for greatness in AEW. That first meeting in 2019 still shapes how he approaches booking and building the company.
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