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THE MAIN EVENT OF REVOLUTION WILL BE, I DON'T EXPECT TONY KHAN TO LET THE ANNOUNCEMENT SLIP EARLY, AND HE DIDN'T, AND MORE - FULL TONY KHAN AEW REVOLUTION CONFERENCE CALL COVERAGE

Tony Khan met with reporters today to promote this weekend’s Revolution PPV.  It reminded me how I miss the calls that HHH used to do with the media, back when he was allowed to do calls with the media.  Such is life!

They are having issues early on, trying to get Tony Khan online.  As a side not, Mike Johnson and I are recording tomorrow instead of today to discuss Khan’s announcement from Dynamite today.  I don’t expect Khan to tell us what the announcement is on the call (why would he, it would make no sense).

It’s 10:15 Pacific Time.  They are still having issues getting Tony on the call.

At 10:19, Tony arrived!  They don’t know what the issue was but he is here now.

Tony opened the call.  He thanked us for waiting through the delays.  He said that tonight will be a big night for AEW and pro wrestling.  Definitely sounds ROH related to me.

We were asked to keep questions concise.  I bet most people will do it.  I bet at least one won’t.

The first question was about the big announcement.  Can you give us any insight?  He said he has given a few hints.  He thinks it’s a major announcement and it will affect pro wrestling, and the wrestlers.  It will be great to give the fans the announcement tonight.  In other words, tune in tonight!

Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics is next.  As they stated, “our friend Dave Meltzer is next.”  I wonder if Mike Johnson will be their friend too if he gets in. He was asked about expanding their viewership in the African American community.  It’s something Tony watches and diversity is very important to him.  He cited that that are pushing African American talent.

Friend Dave asked about plans for the next TV deal.  Tony is happy where they are and are planning to be as strong as possible when their next deal comes up.

Khan was asked whether he sees Dynamite emanating from more western and Canadian locales.  Yes, he is looking to do more shows in the west.  Tony made a good point of saying that due to the pandemic, a lot of the dates the company are doing now are make up dates that were scheduled before the virus hit.

He was asked if Revolution, as a stacked show, would set the tone for the rest of the year to be great.  Tony thinks that is what will happen.  He previewed all of the events that are scheduled for this weekend.

He was asked about having a big roster, withpeople coming and going, specifically Cody.  He said it is a challenge but it’s a good challenge.  He think that they have the best roster around.  He is thankful for his TV partners, giving them an extra show.  He said it was sad to see Cody and Brandi leaving.  He appreciated both of them and all they did for the company.  He wishes them both the best.

He was asked what we should expect from Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker.  He expects a great match.  They have already had a great match.  A lot of people think it was match of the year.  He’s excited to see it.  It’s the next match in a great rivalry, and this time it’s for the Title.

Mike Johnson came on next.  What are the plans to get the library into a streaming service.  Younger fans like streaming as opposed to traditional TV viewing.  Tony said that is a great question.  It’s something that they are looking to do.  They work with one of the greatest tech and media companies in the world and he thinks that there will be potentially great opportunities to work together.  Tony agrees that a lot of younger viewers prefer streaming.

The next caller asked about wrestlers coming out to the new music from the albums.  Will it continue?  He is leaving it up to the wrestlers themselves to decide.  Some want to use them, other’s don’t.  He mentioned Hobbs, saying he likes his new song but probably prefers his older music.  He said that Scorpio Sky is interested in using his new song.  It will be a case by case basis.  He doesn’t ask anyone to come out to a song that they don’t like.

He was asked how difficult it is to manage such a big roster with only three hours of TV.  He said Rampage coming along helped tremendously.  It’s always challenging.  It’s a great thing though.  You would rather have a large, great roster than the alternative.

He was asked about putting the card order together for this show.  He said it’s probably the most challenging ever for this show.  He said it will be stacked and expects it to be a great four hours.  He will put a lot of thought into the match order, but it’s a great challenge to have.

Tony was asked about the Vegas PPV going to T Mobile Arena from MGM Grand.  Tony said T Mobile is a top venue.  I live here and he’s right.  MGM is an older, eh Arena.  T Mobile is state of the art.

Are there any plans for AEW to come to the UK?  Tony can’t announce anything but he is looking to go there.  He wants to bring AEW to Craven Cottage, which is part of his Fulham soccer team I am guessing.  He has driven all around England as the GM of Fulham football.  He definitely wants to do it but there is nothing he can announce at this time.

He was asked if Jeff Hardy is AEW bound.  Tony says don’t consider it a done deal, but he likes Jeff a lot.  As soon as he if free and clear from that “other company” he would love to have him.  He is a friend of Tony’s and a great person.  Read: He is coming in!

Jason Powell asked if Cody had a renewal option in his contract and if so, why didn’t he use it.  He said he tried to reach a longer deal beyond the option years.  He thought they were close but it didn’t happen.  He didn’t want to keep someone there that didn’t want to be there, and he has a lot of respect for Cody so they parted ways.  He has nothing but respect for Cody.

Tony was asked if their music people would have a concert this weekend.  Yes, they will!  Mikey will be playing live for the fans this weekend.  That’s pretty cool. They want to make the fan fests events.  RJ City will be there. Tony said he is part of the IWC, just like all of us are.

He was asked about Trios Titles.  He said he likes Trios.  He said he would be blunt.  He thinks it will work a lot better when Kenny Omega comes back.  Sounds like it’s going to happen.

He was asked about MJF’s promo last week.  What kind of trust goes into letting a talent do that?  Khan gushed about MJF’s talent, and rightfully so.  He said he never takes for granted when someone does something great, he appreciated it.  MJF is a talented guy who shows that talent all the time.

Is there any chance that Britt-Rosa headlines the show this weekend?  Britt has headlined big events already.  Tony talked about when she did.  She delivers when she is in the main.  It won’t be last this time but it’s one of the biggest matches on the show.  You don’t need to be in the main event to be important.  He said that Hangman has been great since becoming champion.  He and Cole will get the main event.  He talked about how he believes in Adam Cole and when he signed him, they spent over four hours on the phone talking about the company.  He said that this card is so loaded, it’s been a challenge to do the card since there are so many strong matches.  He’s right.  You could make a case for five or six matches headlining the card.

What about Cesaro Tony?  Tony likes Cesaro a lot.  He met him years ago.  He’s a great athlete, wrestler and a good guy.  He said he’s very smart as well.  He is definitely open to Cesaro coming in.

He was asked for an AEW video game update.  It’s being worked on and he thinks it will pay off well for the company.

This is the first PPV without Cody.  Do they feel any pressure to fill the void without Cody.  No, he doesn’t.  He has done a few shows already without him.  He knows he can do a great show without him, just as they did great shows with him.  He will miss him in a lot of ways but not in feeling pressured to put on a good PPV because they have already done it.

The last question was about Orange Cassidy.  The questioner compared him to Danhausen.  Tony said UH NO.  They both engage on social media but they are very different in the ring.  Tony wasn’t having that.  He asked Tony if he will use the net positive metric when bringing fans in.  For sure, because someone with an audience already will bring them to AEW with them.  They fit together but they are also very different.  Tony put over that Orange brings in good ratings, no matter what you think of them.  The net positive metric is important to him.  He said part of why he pushes Orange is that he brings in viewers and he also said that Orange is gifted and can go in the ring.

Tony closed the call out by saying that he really appreciated being today.  He took Dave to task for something that I don’t think this Dave typed or said.  It must have been the other Dave.

 

 

 

 

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