All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan took part in a media call prior today to promote this Sunday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view. Khan thanked everyone for joining him on the call and said that AEW All Out is probably going to be the biggest pay-per-view in AEW history to date, noting that they have had a great year and are happy to be back in front of the fans and put over where AEW All Out can be purchased both domestically and internationally.
Khan was asked about putting together the show and keeping talents happy, especially some not being used and the upcoming Arthur Ashe Stadium show. Khan said that they will have a great card planned for the show in New York City, but that AEW All Out is the best card that they have ever done and that they planned a lot of it far ahead, but there were changes obviously and that when he puts a pay-per-view card together, it can be challenging, but that this time around when he figured out the order of matches, it was one pass and everyone he’s shared it with loved it. Khan noted that it is a long process, a 24-hour job and that with everything going on with the Jaguars, it really has been this week. Khan said that some of the things on the pay-per-view, such as CM Punk vs. Darby Allin, was a year and a half of planning and said that it is crazy to think of being on the Jericho Cruise with Darby and creating the entire scenario with Darby vs. Sammy Guevara. Khan recapped the story and how Allin got a huge pop when he returned and that since then, Darby’s stock has only gone up, while at the same time, CM Punk was contemplating when to return and that the timing was right. Khan said that at the same time, you’ve got to look at Christian Cage coming back to the ring after his lengthy absence to face one of the best of all time in Kenny Omega and then began to run down the matches on the card and said that on AEW Rampage this Friday, you might see more, but that putting the card together was rewarding and fun and in some ways it was also easy.
Khan was asked about all of the things that he has leveraged for and brought to television as of late, whether he can keep that momentum going and if anyone will be a breakout star for him in the vein of Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock. Khan said that the business back then is different to what it is now, but that now wrestling companies in the right position, including AEW and WWE, can make great money and put over Eric Bischoff for doing so well in the 1990’s in terms of making hundreds of millions without even having TV rights fees. Khan said that he wants to keep doing great pay-per-views, AEW Dynamite episodes and AEW Rampage episodes and that he put eight figures of his own money into developing a video game instead of paying an outside developer and let them keep a piece of the money and knows that he will make that back in due time. Khan said that it is a business project that was viable and that they have done a lot of projects like that such as AEW Dynamite, noting that he was not making a lot of money on Dynamite when they started and that TNT put $175 million over four years for it and that they have done a great job of giving them a return for their investment. Khan said that AEW Rampage generates additional revenue for them and that the pay-per-view franchises have grown for them every year and they will be up again with this year’s AEW All Out pay-per-view and believes that the same can be said for AEW Full Gear despite that being months away. Khan said that he is happy for the returns and he has been where the fans have been, sitting there, loving wrestling, and he wants wrestling to be a big part of their lives again where they come home and want to watch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, AEW Rampage on Friday and pay-per-views when they’re on. Khan said that he was just with Jerry Jones discussing All Elite Wrestling and that he put years into running Fulham Football Club in the UK and that now, he’s doing this with AEW. Khan said that he knows first-hand what it is like going to work and school and looking forward to getting to watch wrestling and thinks that their best shot is to keep building forward and keep building that momentum.
Khan was asked about AEW Dark moving to Universal Studios and confirmed that is the plan and said that people need to look at where AEW Dark stands in terms of their platforms, as it is not AEW Dynamite or AEW Rampage running there, with them being his A shows. Khan said that AEW Dark: Elevation and AEW Dark are great shows and that you will see huge stars on them on a regular basis and that they have found a lot of great wrestlers through their work on AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation, noting that these were people who were losing matches on AEW Dark, but they saw something in them and signed them to a deal with the company. Khan said that AEW Dark gives opportunities to younger talents and likened it to WCW Worldwide, a show that developed a lot of young talents and said that Universal Studios will be a great place for the young AEW wrestlers, noting that they are going to do a lot of fun stuff and that the fans that come will see great action and that they want to bring back that spirit from WCW Worldwide.
Khan was asked about the rumors regarding an AEW Trios Championship and said that it would be great to add them, but that they have a lot of stuff in their three hours of television and that they have different shows and different formats, but as they grow, there is absolutely a place for that title, and maybe other Championships. Khan said that he has probably had more trios matches at Daily’s Place than he has done lately, but he is into doing the style, but that it does not feel like he has been leaning on that as much as they have done in the past. Khan said that there is a time and a place for everything, but that a Trios Championship would kick a** and make a lot of sense if they get around to introducing it.
Khan was asked about whether AEW Dynamite or AEW Rampage will film content as part of the Chris Jericho Cruise, and whether AEW Dark matches will still take place at AEW Dynamite or AEW Rampage events. Khan said that they have been doing AEW Dark: Elevation before AEW Dynamite, while for AEW Rampage, they tape for AEW Dark, but that they will hit a point where they can’t tape all of the stuff together and said that they will still do AEW Dark: Elevation before AEW Dynamite, but that AEW Dark will move most weeks to the Universal Studios format and that they will get a chance to focus on the talent as sometimes, you are running around at AEW Dynamite and you can’t be in the chair for everything during AEW Dark. Khan said that having the separate taping will give him and the coaches a chance to focus on them and their stories at that taping versus being part of another taping. In regards to the Jericho Cruise, Khan said that it is Jericho’s personal event and that they had a time-shifting situation where AEW Dynamite will have to be on a Saturday, which will be live that night and said that the show does conflict with the Jericho Cruise and that some of the people who are on the cruise will not be on AEW Dynamite and that if he has to take people off the cruise, which he hopes that he does not have to do as he wants everyone advertised for the cruise to be there, but if there is a need for someone, then he will be happy to send someone else across and is happy to have built camaraderie in the business among companies. Khan said that there is a possibility for some AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation content on the cruise, but nothing when it comes to AEW Dynamite or AEW RAmpage and that he wants to be good to Florida. Khan said that he had hoped to get a big long-term deal for AEW Dynamite to make it a sustainable business model and that happened for them after just four months, noting that they are at an all-time high for ratings and that things have fallen into place faster for them than they had initially expected and hopes it makes it better for fans and translates into an uptick for the media also.
Khan was asked about bringing shows out to the West Coast more often, as well as internationally. Khan said that they are expanding into some international stuff within the next year and does not want to put an exact timetable on things, but wants Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham Football Club, to be the home for All Elite Wrestling in the United Kingdom. Khan said that he wants Double or Nothing to return to Las Vegas, but that plans can change and if the last few years have shown anything, they can also be out of their own control.
Khan was asked about how close All Elite Wrestling are to having a full roster and said that he does not think that there is such a thing as you have to look to constantly change and evolve the roster and that he is not restricted by a salary cap or roster and that it is his prerogative, whereas in other sports, they do have restrictions. Khan said that it is special to keep the roster fresh and said that he did not walk into 2021 thinking that they would sign 2point0 who have been super valuable to them. Khan said that he really liked Daniel Garcia and thought that he had a lot of potential and said that himself and 2point0 filled the need for the spot that they had, noting that not every signing has to be a CM Punk or a Jon Moxley and that you can sign talents who come in and enhance the quality of the show and stack the roster.
Khan was asked to shed some additional light on AEW’s relationships with different companies. Khan said that they all have different relationships and that you can’t put a label on everyone you know and say that they are all the same and said that the relationships with NWA, AAA, New Japan Pro Wrestling, IMPACT Wrestling and such have been good for the fans and that he feels it has also been good for those companies, noting that he has done a lot of favors and maybe they will pay off in the future, maybe they won’t, but that he hopes that it is all good karma for All Elite Wrestling.
Khan was asked about building a relationship with CM Punk and said that he has really enjoyed building the collaboration between himself and CM Punk and that they were figuring things out and working on ideas last night at AEW Dynamite and that he puts a lot of thought into everything before it goes to television and collaborates with everyone. Khan said that in some ways, it is amazing because it is CM Punk and said that if he had to compare it to anything, it would be Sting’s return. Khan said that he took some heat for how he used Sting at first, but that it was all about pacing, whereas now Sting is getting more involved and more physical and that they had to get him at ease and happy and that he now is. Khan said that with CM Punk, it’s been really cool collaborating with him and that he has already brought some great ideas and is a cool person to collaborate with. Khan said that he does not understand some of the things that he was asked to do before he left wrestling as they did not make sense and told CM Punk that if he asked him to do something that did not make sense to him, then speak with him and said that no one in AEW has creative control and does not understand how you can get through an episode of television like that. Khan said that what he does is opens himself up to speak to people so that he does not put them in a bad place for their career, or for their fans and that they are just getting started and that he’s really excited for what they can do with CM Punk and others. Khan said that when Jon Moxley came in, a lot of people tried to do a number on him as a person and praised Moxley’s forthcoming book, stating that you hear rumors that Moxley is hard to deal with and that is not true as Moxley is strongwilled and a great guy, noting that he built a relationship with Moxley and now, he is building a relationship with CM Punk and is enjoying it.
Khan was asked about women’s wrestling and said that he has been trying to help other companies by sending them talent, such as the National Wrestling Alliance, while he moved the Women’s Casino Battle Royale to the main show and will be agenting the match. Khan said that he was really thrilled to see the reaction that Anna Jay got last night and was really excited and that continuing to build the roster is important as the more focus and attention that they can get is important and that is why they moved the match to the pay-per-view card instead of keeping it on The Buy-In. Khan said that there is no shame in a match being on The Buy-In part of the show as they have put big stars there repeatedly and that this weekend they will have Jungle Boy, Matt Hardy, Orange Cassidy and others on there and that the match is meant to be an advertisement for the pay-per-view, relying on the stars featured to help sell the pay-per-view and that there is a belief that the pre-show stuff is a negative, but that when he was a kid, he can remember seeing Stone Cold Steve Austin in a pre-show match. Khan announced that Riho will be part of the Casino Battle Royale match and that he may have something planned in terms of a surprise too, but that he wants to keep advancing it, noting that they put a lot of time into Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, who are both stars.
The last question saw Khan asked about the AEW TNT Championship. Khan said that none of the Champions who have held the title have been a stretch and that the key to the belt has been hot matches and issues push on television and that the Champion has always been a protected star. Khan said that it would not have been right for Darby Allin to be the first Champion and that the tournament was part of the build for Darby. Khan said that the belt is never going to be a midcard level Championship and that there are other titles out there that used to be really protected and important, but that they have either now been beaten down, retired, or brought back, but he will never let that happen to the AEW TNT Championship.
That wrapped up the call with Khan thanking everyone and stating that he hopes everyone enjoys the pay-per-view on Sunday.