All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan held a media call today to promote this Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Khan opened the call noted that he is excited and thanked everyone for their time, noting that AEW is available in 130 countries and counting.

The first caller asked about MJF’s status with All Elite Wrestling. Khan said that wrestling strives when the real life intersects with what is on the screen and that there was no free agent market when AEW started, and noted that MJF’s match on Sunday is a huge opportunity for Wardlow to become an official part of AEW, as well as be something more than just MJF’s thug and that everything else MJF has brought to the conversation about his gripes and his issues adds to the interest in this Sunday’s match. The next caller asked about the Warner Bros. Discovery announcement and relationship going forward. Khan said that they are featured in the best way possible via AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage and that they have gotten great feedback and feel that they will have a great relationship. Khan noted that they were blessed that Warner Bros. Discovery is throwing them an awesome party at their Los Angeles debut next week and hyped up that show, noting that some of the top executives will be at the arena and get to know AEW, and that to have the top people from the largest creator of content in the world host and spend time with them is really cool. Khan said that there are other shows that aren’t getting attention, or aren’t shows anymore and you can’t get more positive than the great feedback that they have gotten, noting that he is so excited about the partnership, which he credits to the wrestlers and fans of AEW as they have given AEW a chance to survive and thrive.

The next caller asked about CM Punk vs. ‘Hangman’ Adam Page headlining this Sunday’s pay-per-view, and whether Khan was tempted to push CM Punk into the title picture right away when Punk debuted 9 months ago. Khan said that he thought that it made sense for Punk to come in and fight top wrestlers, while working his way towards the top spot and eventually the title picture. Khan said that Punk worked really hard and has put in the work, both inside and outside of the ring, working with a lot of veterans and young talents and that Punk vs. Eddie Kingston was a great match that helped Eddie Kingston have some spotlight which was deserved. Khan said that CM Punk vs. MJF was the most personal feud in AEW history and that they have set new milestones with pay-per-views, merchandise and more with CM Punk, but that ‘Hangman’ Adam Page is the best Champion in wrestling, wasn’t handed anything and had years of hard work to get to where he is. Khan said that CM Punk didn’t have a ‘Hollywood Comeback’ for one or two matches, but came back every week and that this Sunday will be like two trains colliding. The next caller asked Khan to compare this weekend’s pay-per-view against previous pay-per-views and said that he hopes that Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view brings them the biggest year for AEW yet, noting that the show will be the biggest live attendance that they have ever had, with the live fans setting the barometer for everything. Khan noted that they have over $1.1 million in tickets sold already, which is indicative of the interest in the show and once again noted that he is hopeful that this will be the biggest year for AEW yet.

Khan was asked about the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event being held in Chicago and whether it will change plans for the AEW All Out pay-per-view being held there. Khan put over Chicago, his home city, and said that the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event being held at the United Center will have no bearing as to whether or not AEW All Out will be held in the Chicago area. Khan said that they are 4 years out from the All In show that helped to create All Elite Wrestling and that things continue to grow, but that they will have to keep the tradition of All Out around Chicago important. The next caller asked Khan about the Owen Hart Foundation tournament and having Dr. Martha Hart make an appearance at the shows. Khan said that he was a big fan of Owen Hart growing up and was fortunate enough to see Bret Hart and Owen Hart live and that due to the circumstances of his passing, he wasn’t able to truly have his legacy celebrated today, before noting that it meant a lot to have the Hart family in Long Island and to make that show and event that was meaningful. Khan said that they all appreciate and have respect for history and have great love for Owen Hart, noting that they wanted to have great wrestling matches and have his family there to honor him. Khan said that he is looking forward to Martha Hart having a chance to speak to the fans and that he has enjoyed a number of matches in the tournament and has enjoyed having Owen associated with great wrestling matches. Khan said that Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole is a dream match for him personally and that this was a different build for Double or Nothing because of this tournament, noting that it was a different cadence, but similar to March Madness in that you don’t know who’s playing until 48 hours before the game because of the flow of the tournament. Khan said that it took getting used to, but that he feels people enjoyed the matches and he’s excited for the finals and is looking forward to the tournaments being held annually.

The next caller asked if Tony Khan has ever thought about doing a one-night tournament as a pay-per-view. Khan said that something that he has learned from the transition from fan to matchmaker and promoter is to take care of the health of the wrestlers and that doing multiple matches on one night isn’t something that he would necessarily ask of the wrestlers and said that he would like to see the wrestlers give it their all in the finals, and that given the way that tournaments go, you are more likely to have injuries when talents are working multiple matches, which is why he laid out the Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments the way that it has been produced. The next caller asked about grabbing more fans to the AEW product. Khan said that for them, the best thing that they have been able to do is to see the year-to-year growth of their pay-per-view numbers and said that they have to continue developing and taking care of the talents and treating them well, noting that he wants to have a company where young wrestlers want to sign up, grow and learn, but that he always wants to continue to get top talents who enter free agency. Khan said that you have to go out and get young talents, as well as recruit big names and that they have added some of the top names in the sport over the past year, while there is a potential to hit new television markets, which in turn will bring new opportunities and new eyeballs and revenue stream. Khan said that there is the potential for a streaming service and that the Warner Bros. Discovery partnership will help.

The next caller asked about the purchase of Ring Of Honor Wrestling. Khan said that he was told that if he paid a certain price, he could purchase ROH, so he agreed to do it, done it personally and looked at it as the price and opportunity being right, while also looking out for AEW. Khan said that it made sense for ROH to be its own brand and to stand on its own feet and that he is not saying that it is a subsidiary or secondary to AEW. Khan noted that ROH Supercard of Honor was one of the biggest ROH shows in years and that when the numbers come in fully, it looks as if 20 times the amount of people ordered it versus a traditional ROH show. Khan said that he wants two different promotions that are operated separately, but work together and that having some of the top ROH talents on AEW programming helps. The next caller asked about the relationship with DDT Pro in Japan, and whether there would be some women’s wrestlers coming in. Khan put over the talents that have appeared to date via DDT Pro and said that the door is open for more to make appearances. The next caller asked about the Hangman Page/CM Punk promo from AEW Dynamite. Khan said that to him, the segment made sense because they are two guys who don’t like each other and want to fight and that the comments made helped to make it a compelling fight, and that if you were someone like ‘Hangman’ Page who has been there since Day One, you could see it from his perspective. The next caller asked about talents speaking out on women’s health care and equality. Khan said that he wants All Elite Wrestling to be a place where wrestlers can speak out on these things and wants his talents to be authentic and for the fans to see who these people truly are, just as they do when they are on social media. Khan said that he wants to keep making AEW a better place both in and out of the ring for the wrestlers.

The next caller asked what the winners of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments will receive. Khan said that everyone will find out the answer to that on Sunday and said that they have gotten approval from Dr. Martha Hart and her family and gotten their approval and that he is excited for the finals on Sunday. The next caller asked about AEW potentially running events in Canada and said that he would love to do it, noting that they were shut down from touring and are still servicing markets that they had planned to visit in 2020. Khan said that Canada is something that they want to do in the future, putting over TSN as a broadcast partner, while noting that the local media love pro wrestling since there are so many great Canadian pro wrestlers, including those in AEW and said that they are hopeful to run events in the country when they can. The next caller asked about the future of John Hennigan in AEW. Khan said that Hennigan had a great match against Samoa Joe and gave them a great surprise as the Joker entrant in the tournament, noting that he is open and interested in bringing Hennigan back to AEW in the future.

The next caller asked about whether there is a timeline for ROH live events and television. Khan said that he is still working on it and that they have gotten some very kind interest, noting that they are being hosted in Los Angeles next week by Warner Bros. Discovery so he is looking forward to conversations about ROH and how to expand the current and future AEW programming as they start the fourth year of the company. Khan said that he would love to get a ROH weekly series broadcasting or streaming very soon, and that he is hopeful that they will have ROH TV and keep the ROH PPV calendar the same going forward as well. Khan said that they have a ton of great wrestlers and Champions right now, and that he feels that it is the strong position that ROH has ever been in. The final caller asked about potential new titles. Khan said that they would love to do Trios titles as they get more teams and more talents who are injured back in the ring, while he would like to add more titles and Champions if they make sense as they go. Khan wrapped up the call, thanking everyone for their time.