Jake Hager slams Tony Khan: 'We felt like his playthings'"

Translate the following text:

Since his departure from AEW last year, Jake Hager has been very critical of the company's president, Tony Khan. He has already stated that he joined the company's cast thanks to Chris Jericho's insistence, and denounced that Khan threatened to fire him for supporting Donald Trump. More than a year later, and with his retirement announcement in between, Hager remains very critical of his former boss.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, the former WWE Heavyweight Champion has spoken about his personal experience in the All Elite locker rooms. To no one's surprise, he once again criticized Tony Khan, this time accusing him of creating a very toxic backstage environment and harming his own workers. According to him, since his hiring in 2019, he has never had a very pleasant relationship with the company's top management. This was reflected in his departure from the company. Hager mentioned that he was offered an 18-month contract extension, something he saw as an insult for a wrestler who had been there since day one.

Furthermore, he recalled how he experienced the immediate consequences of the incident that occurred at AEW All Out 2022 with CM Punk, Ace Steel, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. He mentioned that in the subsequent meeting of the wrestlers to discuss the immediate direction of the locker room after the incident, Tony Khan appeared very angry to shut it down immediately. "“He was not professional. After all the disaster with Punk, the guys gathered for a meeting just for wrestlers, without office people. Sting was there, Big Show, Jericho, Bryan, Mox... all of us talking about the situation, and suddenly 'the billionaire's son' comes running in yelling at us. We all felt disrespected. I regret not standing up and saying many things until today," he stated.

On the other hand, he highlighted that Khan saw his workers as mere puppets for the show's smooth operation: "He had just told Sting that he was going to put him in a triple threat match with only six minutes' notice, but then he wanted to honor him for his retirement. We became his little toys."

Hager's anger towards AEW's president did not end with that incident or their ideological differences. He admits that Khan was reluctant to listen to advice from people much more experienced than him. "We had to wait outside his office. His stories were good at the beginning, but he could never give them continuity. There came a point where you couldn't tell him anything. He didn't accept criticism. He was messing up, and we had to deal with it. We all put blood, sweat, and tears into that company. We were there from the start. We had our careers made, which helped lift AEW, and in the end, we could only sit back and do nothing because he wanted to handle everything as he pleased," he affirmed.

UPDATE

Dax Harwood, member of FTR, confirmed that in the talent meeting convened by Moxley, Jericho, and Danielson, Tony Khan would never have interrupted the conversation, and therefore never yelled at Sting. Additionally, he denies that they had any issues with Khan.