Arn Anderson Has No Regrets Over AEW Exit, Calls Tony Khan ‘A Class Act’

Arn Anderson is looking back on his time in AEW with genuine fondness — and zero bitterness. The WWE Hall of Famer opened up about his 2024 departure from the promotion during a Q&A segment on The Arn Show podcast, making it clear that any frustration he carries isn’t directed at the company or its president.

Anderson’s path into AEW was closely tied to Cody Rhodes. He was brought in primarily to work alongside Rhodes in an on-screen coaching and mentorship role — a dynamic that mirrored their real-life relationship — and when Rhodes made the jump to WWE, Anderson’s creative purpose in AEW largely evaporated with him. The promotion did attempt to pivot Anderson into a pairing with Wardlow, but that partnership never found its footing, and his exit followed.

Far from holding a grudge, Anderson had warm words for Tony Khan specifically. “Tony treated us really well. I’ll never say anything [bad] about Tony Khan,” he said. “He’s a class act, used me the best he could in the situation. Just one of them things. Timing is everything, it was just bad timing.”

Anderson also took the opportunity to shine a light on how Khan operates behind the scenes, describing the level of care extended to AEW’s roster — first-class travel, quality hotels, and reliable transportation — as something performers should genuinely appreciate and reciprocate. “You should turn around and treat your employer with the same respect that he has treated you with,” Anderson said. “Because he doesn’t have to put you in a first-class hotel, he doesn’t have to fly you first class, he doesn’t have to provide transportation back and forth to the airport, to the hotel. I mean, Tony Khan treats his talent first class.”

Anderson also reflected positively on what AEW meant for his son Brock Anderson, whose introduction to the promotion alongside Cody Rhodes he viewed as a strong launching pad. Brock has since gone on to work in MLW.

For Arn Anderson, the AEW chapter appears to be one he closes without any hard feelings — just a veteran’s understanding that, sometimes, timing is the only thing working against you.