In recent recent, All Elite Wrestling has somewhat been under fire in the aftermath of Jeff Hardy‘s DUI arrest, which came several months after former Jon Moxley entered himself into an alcohol treatment program. Fans and critics alike have argued that AEW should have a more strict wellness policy. During a media call ahead of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, Tony Khan stated that AEW has a wellness policy, but alcohol can be difficult because most members of the roster drink responsibility.
“We have a wellness policy, but in the case of drinking, I think you have to be really careful because most people, I think 99% of the roster, has drank responsibly, and I think most people drink really responsibly, as you see from advertisements on TV and billboards, that’s the number one thing they ask is that people do drink responsibly, it’s on the bottom of the ad,” said Khan. “But no, I haven’t thought about that. We have a wellness policy, and as far as testing for alcohol after shows, I think a lot of people would drink alcohol after the show’s over, and I don’t have a policy about that, other than we ask people to be safe and responsible.”
Khan went on to emphasize his belief that the case with Moxley was “totally different” from Jeff Hardy’s arrest and subsequent suspension. He spoke highly of the way Moxley handled the situation responsibility, and he also noted that, with Hardy, the circumstances were very different.
“To be honest with you, I think they’re totally different things,” Khan continued. “And I think it’s comparing apples and oranges when you mention the two things like they’re the same thing. And I think that one person realized, and that’s why I handled them very completely differently. They’re completely different things. And we have a wellness policy in place and it covers these things, but that’s why we’re here to support somebody when they come to me and they say, ‘We have a problem.’ And in Jon’s case, he went straight to it and jumped on it and checked himself into rehab because he had a problem. Jon could not have been more responsible with what he did, and we could not have been more supportive or there for him.
“I love him so much, and having him back here and fighting on this pay-per-view and looking the way he does and having his family healthy and happy and where he’s at and the fact that now he gets the big match with Tanahashi he’s wanted for years, it’s like a fairytale. With Jeff, it’s totally different. And the way it went down is totally different. And that’s why the statements and the way we handled the statements was completely different. In this case, I just don’t think there’s any comparison for the two, to be honest with you, so I wouldn’t want to comment any more on that.
Khan then stated that Hardy is doing “much better”, and he will continue to support him. He gave Hardy credit for doing the right thing and noted that it’s his “last chance to learn.”
“Jeff is doing much better, and as I understand, Jeff’s in treatment, and I don’t want to say too much about what’s going on because it’s his business,” said Khan. “But I’m here for him for whatever he needs, I’m really glad nobody got hurt. But what Jeff did, going out and driving, is totally different from the other thing, and I just don’t like hearing the two of them compared, if that makes sense. And I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Jeff a lot of credit for now doing the right thing and this is why we said, Jeff’s gotta do the right thing if he wants to stay with AEW because it’s his last chance to learn, man.
“And it’s totally different. Jon didn’t put anybody at risk like that, he wasn’t out drinking and driving. And I’ve never seen anything like that, and certainly the way it went down was totally different, so that’s why I didn’t like hearing it compared. But I will say Jeff is in treatment and doing better. I talked to Matt the other day, and we’ll be here, and we’ll support him for what he needs. This is what he had to do, he had to go to treatment to get us to keep supporting him at this point, and we are.
Later in the call, Khan emphasized that AEW will offer help to anyone who needs it, and he noted that the company has a testing policy in place.
“We’re here to help anybody that needs it, and I hope I made it really clear with the tone I took just now and also with the stern tone I took following Jeff’s arrests, compared to how I felt and feel about how Jon has stepped up and how he stepped up and got help,” said Moxley. “We’re here for anybody that steps up and wants to get help, and hopefully they’ll come to us instead of it being under a circumstance where they get themselves in trouble. But the most important thing is that they get the help, and I’m here to stand by anybody that needs help and will get it. So I think the big point I would note is that it’s available to anybody here, to anybody that needs time off, if they have an issue, they can take it, no matter how big a star they are.
“They can be the most important person in the company, in terms of drawing revenue, or somebody who is not on TV as much and doesn’t draw as much revenue. It doesn’t matter. We’re here to get them all the same quality of first-class treatment if they need it. We do have policies in place about making sure people come in and come show up and come show up to work in the condition to work, and that’s the most important thing, and yes there’s a testing policy. In particular, I just want to stress that we are here to offer help to anybody that needs it, like I said, hopefully they would come to us and not get in trouble and then come to us.”
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