Athena explains how Tony Khan is ‘insanely different’ from Vince McMahon

Athena (fka Ember Moon) made her AEW debut less than one month ago, and she’s still acclimating to how things are run backstage in Tony Khan’s wrestling promotion.

During an interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Steve Fall, Athena explained how Khan’s high energy level is unlike anything she’s ever seen. Here are her thoughts on Khan, courtesy of Wrestling Inc’s transcription:

“Tony is extremely busy, but my interactions with him have been insanely different than that of my former boss. Because he’s just excited, he’s pumped, he wants to get everyone pumped up as he is...And it’s just energy on cloud nine, every step of the way. Sometimes...we’re there for like fourteen hours and his energy doesn’t drop. He’s so motivating, he’s so pumped about everything that’s on the TV product, which I’m not used to on any level.”

Athena continued by discussing how the backstage vibe in AEW compares to WWE:

“I think the best way to describe it is I think the former place, if you will, demanded perfection. It didn’t matter what curveballs were being thrown at you, there was just very stoic energy of, ‘Alright, this is what we expect out of you. Do it.’ And if you don’t do it, you get ripped a new one. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Okay, cool, we understand problems happen.’ But there was never that high energy. Hunter was the exception to that, I will say that. But coming into AEW, you get pumped, you get excited. Every match, he (Tony) is there. He’s in the huddle with everyone.”

“He cares, and he shows outwardly that he cares. And it’s not demanding perfection, it’s like, ‘Hey, you go out there and do the best damn job. And if it’s perfect, I’m happy. If it’s not, I’m happy. I’m just excited that you’re here, willing to put your body on the line for this company.’ That’s the type of energy. So it’s like, ‘Alright, I’m going to go put my body on the line! Let’s go!’ The energy, the aura backstage, it’s so different, it’s so positive. Everyone wants to help each other, everyone is just excited to be there, right? Which is weird because I’m not used to that on any level. It’s so exciting.”

“...everyone is just having fun and enjoying each other’s company, which is just bizarre, bizarre because I came from a place that was so extremely structured.”

It’s interesting that Athena makes sure to point out that Triple H is an exception to the WWE mold. He’s back now, whatever that means, so we’ll see if anything changes.

What are your thoughts on the structural differences backstage between AEW and WWE, Cagesiders?