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TONY KHAN ON HOW THEY WILL ADDRESS THE END OF THE EXPLODING RING MATCH IN STORYLINE, SIGNING CHRISTIAN CAGE AND MORE

AEW President Tony Khan took part in a post-Revolution PPV scrum tonight.  Highlights:

Tony Khan was asked how Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega were.  Khan said they are great and he's glad that they came out of it OK given the danger they put themselves in for the company.   He said that Kenny's big plans for the match ended up with the final bomb being a "dud" which everyone was lucky about as it didn't hurt anyone.  

Khan praised Darby Allin's work saying he was essentially the co-director of the Street Fight.  He said Darby envisioned a great spectacle and so many of the shots.  He wanted to do everything until it was right.  He said Darby is an important part of the company.

Tony Khan was asked if there was a way to "turn around the end of the PPV."  He said they are uploading Jon Moxley's post-show promo where he said Kenny Omega is a bad-ass but he can't build "an exploding ring worth a sh**."  Khan said that he didn't know what else they could do unless they basically really killed the guys and destroyed the ring.  So, the story is that Omega's big bomb at the end ended up being a dude.

Khan praised Hikaru Shida's work as champion and in general for the company.

Khan was asked about the creation of the barbed wire death match and how AEW tweaked it from what had been done in Japan with Onita.  Khan said they watched a lot and did a lot of tests and got clearances from the fire marshal.  They did a lot of rehearsals with the explosions but there's "only so much you can do with explosions" without really hurting someone.  He said that Omega's shoddy craftmanship (in story) gave them an out as to the ending.

Khan praised Maki Itoh's work and said we will see her this Wednesday.  He teased Rebel may be trying to get out of the announced six woman tag this Wednesday.  He said the women will be main eventing Dynamite "very soon, incredibly soon" in the coming weeks.

Khan was asked about Christian Cage.  Khan said he's known him for years.  He's in great physical condition and has one of the best minds in business.  Cage was interested in wrestling regularly and called Khan saying he'd like to wrestle in AEW.  Khan said that he wanted him and it all came together.  He said he's excited about having him there and that they've been friends for years.

Khan was asked what the company plan was in terms of riding out the rest of the pandemic.  He said they are taking it a few months at a time.  He said they have been running 7 or 8 months with live crowds, socially distanced, outdoors.  There have been zero known transmissions at their outdoor events.  He said he thinks there's something to the fact that they are outdoors and socially distanced.  He said when he attended events that were outdoors and socially distanced, he felt safe.    He said they are in no rush to go back and try to pack indoor venues but he is sure that they will get there eventually.

Khan asked about when Young Bucks vs. Rey Fenix and PAC will take place.  He said everyone is pretty beat up after their matches tonight.  He's excited for Matt Jackson vs. Fenix this Wednesday and they will see how things come out of that as they are on the road for Double or Nothing.

The Christian Cage thing came together really quick.  He said that he was kicking himself when he saw Cage come back and he was shocked to find out he wasn't under a contract.  He said that it's great the younger generation will get to work with one of the best minds and someone who isn't selfish at all.  He said it's great especially since they are expanding their TV output on both TNT and YouTube.  There are so many main eventers and dream matches that can be done there.

Khan was asked about Red Velvet.  He praised her work and said that through Dark, they've had a lot of people who have developed and evolved since debuting there.

On Ethan Page's debut, Khan said they were a little short of heels when Dark Order all turned, so he was really excited to get him in.  He said he's a great promo and a great heel and he's excited to get him going this Wednesday and beyond.

Khan was asked about Big Swole, Khan said she's a great wrestler and will get even better.  He praised her work over the last year.  She's been sick and has been out of action due to Crohn's Disease, so she hasn't wrestled a lot this year.  For the Eliminator tournament, she was out when they started.  As she's getting healthier, he's hoping she can be more available to them.

Khan was asked about the cinematic style for tonight's Sting match and whether he'd use other legends in that format.  This was something he envisioned when he first started talking with Sting and gave Darby Allin the idea and they worked on it.  Allin did all the heavy lifting with the vision and story-boarding and creating it.  He said when you can someone who is a visionary and he can give them then resources to do something, he's glad to do it.  He said there isn't probably someone in the world he has less in common with than Darby, but he knows when Allin has something cool.  He  said that we'll probably see Sting in cinematic matches in the future but not to rule out him wrestling in the ring again either.  He praised everyone's work, including Team Taz.

Khan was asked to compare tonight's show to last year's event.  He said tonight was a great show but it's different circumstances.  He felt the support of the fans in Daily's Place was tremendous.  He can't wait to get back to packed arenas but he is thankful for everyone and it's obviously a different energy.

Khan was asked about fans who felt that the moment at the end under-delivered.  He said that he believes the vast majority who watched will watch Dynamite and they will address it.  He went back to the Omega storyline aspect and that Omega's diabolical plan to blow up Moxley, it wasn't his forte and it was a dud.  The final explosion was "not strong enough to blow them up" and Kenny being behind the construction gave them a storyline out.

Khan said their preliminary streaming numbers were a record high and he believes the show will be one of their highest ordered show and thanks to the audience the show will be a "big success."

Khan said that he has aces up his sleeves and everyone will see stuff they don't expect this year.  He said he appreciates everyone and it's going to be a great year for AEW.  He can't wait to get back to packed arenas and is thankful that they got out of the show without any major injuries.  He said that as they develop more programming and a new extention of Elevation, having familiar faces are important.  He touted Sting, Christian Cage and eventually Paul Wight in the ring as well as so many talents on the cusp of breaking through and a few ready to follow them.  He promised there would be more crazy stuff this year.  He said that they'll be working hard for everyone and he thanked everyone for their support.

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