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Welcome to PWInsider.com's live, ongoing coverage of AEW President Tony Khan's media call to promote this Sunday's AEW Double or Nothing PPV event.
Khan thanked everyone for joining them on the media call.
Khan was asked if there was a brand split planned for AEW Collision, Dynamite, etc. Khan said he can see why people would be interested in that and they want to build curiosity about the future of the AEW roster after the PPV this weekend. He said they would follow up on that but didn't commit.
Khan was asked if there has been any new deal for TV. He said the length of the term is the same. Collision is in addition to what they had already put together. Warner reached out to them and gave them the opportunity. David Zaslzav liked what they are doing and it was his idea for there to be more AEW on TNT. They have a great challenge ahead of them and they are looking forward to it.
Khan was asked about the advantages and obstacles for running Saturday nights. He said it's a great opportunity for the company. He feels Saturday night is the single best live event night for shows and selling tickets. They booked some great venues for the event. With the environment Saturday night presents, it's a great opportunity and they were excited for the chance. They want to make a lot of excitement and make it a destination night. There was a lot of excitement over The United Center in Chicago being announced and there's more to be announced.
Khan was asked about Taya Valkyrie being added to the roster. Khan said she's a great wrestler and has a tremendous presence in the ring and backstage. She's been Jade Cargill's biggest challenge to date.
Khan was asked about scheduling for PPVs going forward as well as going head to head with the NFL on Saturdays. He said he tries not to be in business of competing against the NFL but experimented with a ROH PPV this past December. He didn't really respond ton the PPV question.
Jamie Hayter is injured. They have been addressing that on TV. She is willing to compete this Sunday and she's a great fighting champion. They haven't been hiding it.
When asked about Sabu, Khan said it is likely a one-off appearance at Double or Nothing. If this goes well, he could always come back and make additional guest appearances. Khan would be open to him coming back down the line. His father texted him about Sabu being a blast from the past this morning as his dad took him to see Sabu vs. Chris Jericho in ECW when Tony was 13 years old.
Khan was asked about the AEW title bout Sunday. He said they are featuring four talents who weren't nationally known when they started but that they believed could grow into stars for the company and who were helped to get to this level after working with Sting, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes and more. He said in many ways this is the talents' biggest match of all time.
Khan was asked about announcements not being made yet about Collision. Khan said he's hyping up the shows. Dark and Dark - Elevation are done as part of the agreement with WBD and Khan has been purposely secretive to build anticipation. They expect strong sales for the United Center and that then kicking off more momentum for the other shows.
Khan was asked about NXT going head to head with Double or Nothing. He said he doesn't mind competition if it's ethical and some of the past moves have been unethical.
Khan was asked about his support staff creatively. He praised a number of people, including Sonjay Dutt, BJ Whitmer and Pat Buck among others for their help.
Khan felt the AEW Revolution 2023 PPV was one of the best PPVs he's ever seen. Forbidden Door has a lot of ideas he's considering and one of the problems is fitting all the great ideas in the 4 hour PPV window. STARDOM being part of the show is a possibility.
Khan was asked if there was any consideration to moving next year's event to the MSG Sphere. Khan wasn't aware of the venue and said they have a great venue in the T-Mobile Arena. He would be interested in learning more about the venue and he'll have to study it.
On the potential of more PPV events, Khan said there is potential for that but it has to be the right economic situation for AEW as well as the right thing for the fans. He said with the launch of AEW Collision, it's something they can look at and consider, if it made sense with their WBD relationship. He said in the last several months, they have been the strongest in terms of a relationship with WBD as they've been since the beginning of the relationship.
Regarding Sting, Khan will keep him active as long as he wants to do it. He gives so much to the company and as they have more TV shows, it adds a lot to every aspect of the company and he's a great person. When he eventually does decide it's time for his last match, they'd want to make it a big event as it would be one of the biggest moments you could have in pro wrestling right now. He's not going to leverage his retirement for short-term gain because the person they have is so absolutely great for the company.
Khan has been asked if an announce team decision has been made for the new series. Khan said he's been considered different potential in the past including Veda Scott, Kevin Kelly and the current ROH broadcast team. When asked specifically about Veda, he said she was an excellent announcer.
Khan was asked about Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone. He said it was fair to call Willow's win an upset victory as she took advantage of the injury. They've had plans for Willow, which is why when NJPW asked for a top star, he sent her to the tournament. She's come a long way and since they've relaunched ROH, setting aside FTR vs. The Briscoes, looking at everything they've done since Khan has taken over the brand, one of the best one on one matches they've had was Athena vs. Willow and it's shown how far she's come.
Going forward, no one knows "except Mercedes and myself" and whether she was going to appear exclusively for NJPW or appear in AEW as well and what was going to happen between the two of them and that except for her, no one knows when she'll be back.
Khan was asked about broadcast capabilities for All In: London and All Out. He can't give a full answer to that as they are working on the solution to the event and how they are going to offer it. He said it's on track to be the biggest wrestling event of all time in England. The event will be very special for them and they are hoping to have answers as to the broadcast capabilities soon.
Ring of Honor TV allows him to bring in a lot of top independent wrestlers for appearances and tryouts. ROH TV allows for compelling rivalries, championship matches and more that AEW Dark and Elevation did not feature. He reiterates he does not see it as a developmental or secondary brand.
Khan expects they will have a really good show this Sunday and then keep that momentum going this summer and fall. There's no event bigger than All In: London. He's really excited for the show this weekend and feels it's going to be a great PPV. Every time he gets on one of these calls, he feels the pressure because the audience and the media have high standards and are seeking great wrestling. He feels they will bring that to Double or Nothing this Sunday and thanked everyone for their coverage.
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