MVP didn’t mince words when comparing his experiences working under Tony Khan in AEW versus Triple H in WWE.
Speaking with Case Lowe of Q101, the Hurt Syndicate member opened up about the creative differences between the two companies, explaining that AEW’s process is far more collaborative, while Triple H’s leadership style leaves little room for discussion.
According to MVP, Khan encourages talent to contribute ideas and engage in creative back-and-forth.
“Tony, he has his vision that he wants, and he works with the talent and allows a lot more input from the talent into what creative path is going to happen,” MVP said. “Whereas ‘the nose’ (Triple H), he is a little bit more dictatorial, emphasis on dick. It’s, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is how it’s going to be, and this is what I want.’“
MVP went on to further explain how those differences play out behind the scenes.
“Whereas Tony could say, ‘Well, this is what I want,’ and you can say, ‘Okay, Tony, but what about if we put this on it?’ and Tony invites the input,” he added. “With that guy (Triple H), there’s only a handful of people that I would say are allowed to have that kind of input.“
The contrast, he said, extends beyond booking philosophy and into overall workplace culture.
“I think Tony, I’m just going to be blunt, is a better human being, a better person all around than this guy,” the AEW star continued. “So it’s definitely a better person to work for and a much better working environment.”
MVP also touched on the instability he felt during his WWE tenure, noting that job security was often a constant concern.
“When I was (in WWE), you did have a lot of people who were really concerned about their future because, at any given time, you were gone on a whim,” he said. “And we saw it happen all the time. Tony doesn’t operate that way.”
Elsewhere in the interview, MVP addressed online rumors claiming he has issues with “Speedball” Mike Bailey. He dismissed the idea outright.
“That whole thing was preposterous, that ‘MVP doesn’t like Mike Bailey,'” he said. “I don’t have a problem with Mike. He’s one of the nicest guys around. I don’t know where that came from.”
He also pushed back on claims that the Hurt Syndicate has refused to lose to teams in AEW’s tag division, though he emphasized that matches involving Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin should be handled with proper psychology.
“Bobby and Shelton could destroy everybody,” MVP continued. “In terms of how we approach a match, when you have smaller guys, I just try to explain to certain people that there’s psychology. You should be chopping down the tree. It’s not a 50/50 match.”
MVP said the narrative that the group avoids losses is simply false.
“Somehow somebody got this idea that the Hurt Syndicate don’t want to lose to anybody, which is bulls–t, because we’ve lost to people,” he pointed out. “But there’s psychology, there’s a way to do it, and we had great matches with Jet Speed and Speedball.”
He closed his comments on Bailey with praise.
“I got a lot of respect for the guy, he’s a tremendous athlete and loves what he does,” MVP continued to say of Bailey.
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