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AEW Revolution Media Scrum Highlights:
*Tony Khan said he believed the main event was one of the best matches in AEW history and quite possibly the best singles match AEW has ever had.
*MJF, using a crutch, came out and ranted that he was the best wrestler in the world.
*When asked about tossing water on a child during the show, MJF snarked he looed "thirsty." Tony Khan said they had a serious conversation about that before the scrum began. He said the child, Titus, was a "pro about it" and pretty much intimated he was invited to the next AEW event in California.
*MJF broke down his training for the Iron Man Match and said he's never been in better shape in his life. He thinks he ran Danielson ragged but said Danielson was the toughest competitor he was ever in the ring with.
*MJF was asked about Hangman Page. He, in character, said he beat Page for the first Diamond Ring and is scared of him. He then cut a promo on "homegrown superstars" like Jungle Boy and said he's the "Only pillar" who actually holds the place up. He knocked Adam Cole, Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli. He said he doesn't do dream matches.
*He said tonight was the biggest statement of all for him. He said he constantly has to remind everyone how many times he has classic matches. He said he doesn't need to wrestle a lot and doesn't because he's "not a f***ing mark" and has the title. He said anyone who doesn't buy into him as a worker to go back and watch his matches. He mocked the idea that people didn't think he could go 60 minutes.
*MJF said at 26, he would argue he's already had a Hall of Fame career. He said that he doesn't care if others don't agree with him, because he knows what he is right to him. He said Tony Khan is lucky he is got him when he did. He said he would thank Khan but then he'd be insincere.
Ricky Starks was next.
*Starks talked up that by beating Chris Jericho, a former AEW Champion, twice, he's in contention to be the next guy up to fight for the AEW title.
*Starks was asked about keeping his momentum up. He said he is put into situations where he has to create energy. He admitted he lost who he was in the first few months of 2023 but found him and his confidence again. He said he realized he cannot lose what he has - he can never be blackballed or failed. After the Jericho and the MJF stuff, he confidence will never falter.
*On what he learned working with Chris Jericho, Starks said he learned all the right things to do at the right moment. He said he's mentioned all the people wanted to wrestle, because iron sharpens iron. He felt the Jericho program added some seasoning to the right piece of meat, himself. Jericho has been doing this a long time and that's a vital thing for people like him who are hungry and don't want to wait for the next thing.
Wardlow was next.
*Wardlow was just going to start when Powerhouse Hobbs came out and did an angle where he confronted Wardlow and asked him what was going to happen when Hobbs beat him for the title on Wednesday, then walked out.
*Wardlow noted he won the Revolution Ladder Match last year and this year, he won the TNT title. He said he's been on his own the last year and hasn't even scratched the service. He thinks this year will be the year for Wardlow.
*He was asked about things cooling off for him in the past and what he'd do to make sure that doesn't happen again. He said he's still hot. He beat Samoa Joe tonight and will be beat Hobbs on Wednesday. He looks forward to proving to the entire roster that he's the man. He wants to prove everyone who thinks he's not the man wrong. He said he'd like to do a TNT Open Challenge.
*On talking about his father, he said that after his hair was cut, he had four weeks off and that all he could think about was his father, so he decided when he returned, he would talk about it. He said there's a lot to his story, and they haven't scratched the surface.
*Wardlow talked up that he beat MJF in the past. He said Max was impressive tonight and he wasn't expecting that, but he "mopped the floor" with him. He'd like to be the first TNT and World Champion simultaneously.
*Wardlow says he appreciates his fans more than anyone else but he's spent a lot of his life where he was the only person cheering for him, so he doesn't care if Hobbs has his fans in California.
*Wardlow said tonight was the most emotional he ever was before a match. He said it takes many years of anger to gain the peace and control he has.
*Wardlow will be seen on All Access, "making a few appearances on the show." He said this is his life's work and he wants to give his life to the fans and to the business.
Tony Khan then took questions.
*Tonight's gate was over $800,000.
*They had over 8,000 paid and over 9,000 in The Chase Center.
*They are still working on the plans for Las Vegas at Double or Nothing week.
*On time management tonight vs. other PPVs, he said the total of content was the same with the exception of the Double or Nothing they specifically timed out for when the NBA Championship game match. There was less tonight because they needed time for the Iron Man match. Every PPV has ended before 11:58 PM EST except for one by design. He thought tonight was one of the best shows they've ever done, but the way things were set up, it meant less matches. He felt the pacing was strong and there were a lot of great matches in one of the most balanced show they've ever done.
*Talents who weren't featured tonight, they will try to feature on future shows.
*Khan was asked about more time for AEW to feature more. Khan said the three hours they have are great places. He feels before they launched, people missed having that on a major place like TNT. He'd love to have more time. They had positive feedback about All Access and the network was excited by the engagement from the announcement. He said it was a really strong business week for AEW and Ring of Honor. He said they can have AEW stars on ROH and in New Japan and those given them good oppportunities. They can put on more great wrestling with the roster they are building if needed.
*The early indicators are the PPV was a very successful show and in line with their first PPVs. He thinks it will be in the range of 130,000-140,000 and with the good buzz from the show, he believes they will get more VOD orders.
*Khan said that coming off the first week of ROH, they are at 12,000 Honor Club subscribers, right off the bat.
*On Mercedes Mone, Khan said he has a great level of respect for her but wouldn't comment on any conversations he's had with a wrestler. Anyone would be fortunate to have her wrestling for them.
*Khan said he's been working on the UK shows for a long time, even before Jeff Jarrett came on board. He has an announcement forthcoming. It will be in London and "special and memorable." He's had a good relationship with ITV for several years and were some of the first people he spoke about when he started working on AEW.
*On Kenny Omega's contract status and visa issues, Khan didn't comment on them but praised him as a talent and everything he's done in the past as AEW Champion and IWGP United States Champion. Khan said he hopes he will be in AEW for a very long time.
*Khan said the House of Black vs. Elite is something that could be revisited. He noted during the building, there was a period Buddy wasn't there and they did have an issue with Omega.
*Khan said it's been a great 2023 for debut markets and praised San Fran. They will be back.
*Khan said it was great to see FTR tonight. He said the first thing he thought of was Jay Briscoe and praised that tag team series. He praised Mark Briscoe's promo from this past week. He said that perhaps rumors of FTR's exit were premature.
*Khan said he couldn't comment on the release date of the AEW video game but said the game is done and it will be released soon. He doesn't want to step on any toes of partners.
*Khan was asked about the differences of booking ROH and AEW. He said that when he was writing fantasy TV shows as a kid, they were closer to what the ROH TV show is more vs. Dynamite. He said it's easier to do studio tapings and put a series of episodes together week to week vs. something like Dynamite once a week where they could have issues with injuries, travel, etc. that changes plans. He said AEW is more expensive but it's also a more challenging producing environment. Dynamite is an amalgamation of trying to get the ratings up and doing a good show. With ROH, it's sometimes easier to gauge what hardcore/online fans would want. He said if you take AEW out of it, if everyone sat down and talked about what you like as a fan, it would probably be the same people. He said that with AEW, when you are in 150 countries, you have to take into consideration. He feels the batting average this year has been really strong. He felt really positive reception for ROH. They've more than doubled in recent weeks and are above what they projected internally. He felt tonight went well.
He thanked everyone for coming.
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