The feud between Ariel Helwani and Tony Khan has been one of wrestlings most unusual clashes, and now it looks like a line has finally been crossed in the other direction.
According to Dave Meltzer in the September 19, 2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW talent was banned from appearing on Helwanis show after the journalist buried his infamous interview with Tony Khanbut the freeze has now been lifted, with Ricochet and Toni Storm appearing this week to promote a head-to-head pay-per-view weekend. Meltzer explained:
The bad blood between the two dates back to 2023 when Tony Khan called Helwani a fraud for appearing on WWE SmackDown during a Sami Zayn storyline. On The MMA Hour, Helwani revealed that he initially thought Khans tweet was fake.
Helwani took offense to Schiavone being dragged into the fight and accused Khan of taking a needless shot at his own announcer. He also pointed out that Khan was still bitter about what Helwani called one of the all-time worst interviews.
Helwani further said that Khan ducked tough questions during their sit-down, and argued AEW was punishing him because of his role with BT Sport, WWEs partner broadcaster in the UK.
The fallout led Helwani to fire back, saying he wasnt going to let Khan define him.
Helwani later compared Khan to Dana White, accusing him of trying to emulate UFCs president by picking fights with media.
Despite all of this, Helwani concluded that Khans tweet ended up benefiting him.
Now, after two years of talent being kept away from Helwanis show, AEW has seemingly put the grudge on ice. With Ricochet and Toni Storm appearing on The MMA Hour this week to hype the companys pay-per-view, business may have finally overridden personal grudges.
Do you think AEW was right to thaw things out with Ariel Helwani, or should Tony Khan have kept the ban in place after being called Snowman and buried on air? Share your thoughts in the comments.
