Kenny Omega was laid out by The Elite after promising he would make a return to the ring from diverticulitis. He addressed The Young Bucks and their recent actions, saying he was an EVP and couldn’t be fired from that position. Kazuchika Okada then came to the ring. Omega challenged Okada to a match but asked Okada to give him a few months. Okada said he was the Best Bout Machine now. Omega was then attacked by Jack Perry. Omega made a comeback and was about to lay out Perry when Okada grabbed him on the outside, allowing Perry to attack Omega with a steel chair.
The Young Bucks then came out and acted concerned, much like last week when they attacked Tony Khan. They then attacked Omega with the EVP trigger. It was there that FTR came out for the save, closing out Dynamite.
When Rampage began, Omega was being stretchered to the back when The Elite attacked FTR from behind. They then hovered around Omega as Matthew apologized, saying what they were doing was just business. They then dumped Omega to the cement floor to end the segment.
Omega, who has been out of action since December, said that he was battling diverticulitis. After spending 10 days in the hospital, it was said that he was 24 hours away from dying when he first came in and any damage to his midsection was a ‘ticking time bomb’. He said for the first time in his career, he was scared and considered retirement. But then he watched Dynasty and made a promise to himself that this wasn’t over and would exhaust all options to make a return.
The Elite laid out Tony Khan in Jack Perry’s return to AEW Dynamite Wednesday, plus Shad Khan made his on-screen debut in the show-closing angle.
After returning to AEW at Dynasty from an indefinite suspension stemming from a backstage altercation with CM Punk at All In last August, Perry was part of a show-long storyline on Dynamite where The Elite’s Matthew Jackson, Nicholas Jackson, and Kazuchika Okada brokered a meeting between Perry and Tony Khan in the ring.
Perry entered for the final segment on Dynamite and called out Khan, then cut a babyface promo promising to work together with Khan to continue changing the wrestling world.
After raising Khan’s arm in celebration, Perry punched Khan in the stomach. The rest of The Elite then entered, and The Young Bucks hit their Tony Khan Driver on Tony Khan, laying out the company’s owner, GM, and head of creative.
Referees, wrestlers, and medical personnel attended to Khan as The Elite retreated to the stage, then Tony’s father Shad Khan came to the ring looking concerned for his fallen son.
The full segment from Dynamite is embedded below.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Jack Perry puts his hands on AEW CEO & GM, Tony Khan!
It was announced at the start of AEW Collision that Jon Moxley would be making his first appearance on Dynamite since winning the IWGP World Championship at NJPW’s Windy City Riot event on Friday. He defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the title for the first time.
A trios match will see The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada) team together to take on Penta El Zero Miedo, PAC, and Daniel Garcia. The Elite attacked PAC last week after Okada accepted his challenge for AEW Dynasty on April 21.
In addition, Mariah May will face Deonna Purrazzo. In a promo, Purrazzo said that if she couldn’t get a match against Toni Storm, she may as well challenge May.
Chris Jericho is also set to meet with Taz and Hook after he convinced Taz on AEW Collision to broker a meeting between himself and Hook, as he meant well when he distracted Hook on Dynamite, ultimately costing them and Katsuyori Shibata a match against Shane Taylor Promotions.
We will also hear from Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland ahead of their AEW World title match at Dynasty.
Here is the updated lineup for AEW Dynamite:
Adam Copeland & Willow Nightingale vs. Brody King & Julia Hart
Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli
The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo, PAC, and Daniel Garcia
Jon Moxley to appear following IWGP World title win
I’m back with another Sunday episode of Wrestling Observer Live, talking about all the top stories from this past week.
On Friday, WWE set what looks to be the main event of night one of WWE WrestleMania 40 when Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins officially accepted Roman Reigns & The Rock’s challenge for a tag team match. I talk about the spectacle this match will likely be, but that in no way will it be a classically worked match.
I also discuss AEW’s big week with the retirement of Sting at last Sunday’s Revolution and the fallout on Dynamite that saw the debut of the new Elite with Kazuchika Okada joining the Young Bucks. I also break down Saturday’s Collision including my thoughts on the debut match for the new Elite and the Atlanta street fight main event.
Plus, I talk WWE’s new ring sponsor, how Raw might be presented on Netflix, and the WWE Hall of Fame.
The Elite are set to make their ‘debut’ on this week’s Collision.
Nicholas and Matthew Jackson will team with Kazuchika Okada on Saturday. This will mark the first time the three have teamed together since Wednesday, when The Young Bucks officially recruited Okada into the group, suspending Hangman Page and firing Kenny Omega in the process.
The House of Black will face Mark Briscoe, Jay Lethal, and Jeff Jarrett. After The House of Black laid out the challenge to Briscoe, Lethal offered to team up with him. After Briscoe questioned Jeff Jarrett’s involvement, Lethal said that it was he that Briscoe had to trust, not Jarrett.
Stars from CMLL will also be in action. Chris Jericho will take on Titan, while Mistico will face Angelico. Other matches will see Bryan Danielson face Shane Taylor, Mariah May will face Trish Adora, and Toni Storm will present the first-ever Toni Award.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 pm ET.
******
Sir Elton John played us in to the first episode of Collision post-Revolution. Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, and nobody else welcomed us to the show as Bryan Danielson made his entrance for our opening match.
Bryan Danielson defeated Shane Taylor (w/ Lee Moriarty)
An awesome David vs. Goliath match to open this show. Danielson had a plan, stuck to it, and took down the giant. If the last year of both men’s careers has been anything to go by, Ospreay vs. Danielson at Dynasty will be the talk of the pro wrestling world. If you want to know how excited I am for the match, I bought a ticket after the show-closing tease on Dynamite.
Taylor overpowered Danielson to start, talking trash to Danielson while he did it. Danielson transitioned from a Greco-Roman knuckle lock into hammer-and-anvil elbows before trying kicks to Taylor’s leg, but Taylor popped him with a jab and chops in the corners. The two traded position in the corner, landing strikes before Danielson landed a flurry of strikes. Danielson tripped Taylor before sitting on Taylor’s tied-up leg.
Danielson went to work on Taylor’s left leg before Taylor checked a kick and hammered Danielson with an elbow. After a commercial break, Taylor landed a leg drop on the apron for a nearfall. Taylor continued to clubber on Danielson as commentary noted how Danielson knocked out Moriarty in a previous match from years ago. Danielson fired up, going after Taylor’s knee by wrapping it around the ring post.
Danielson landed a shotgun dropkick before peppering Taylor with kicks to the leg. They were back leg front kicks, for anyone wondering. Taylor crumbled to his knees before Danielson hammered him with more kicks, but Taylor defiantly kicked out at one after a head kick. Danielson hit a pair of corner dropkicks, but Taylor drilled Danielson with a lariat for a nearfall. Taylor landed a big offensive flurry, ending in a uranage and a splash for a nearfall. Danielson evaded a cannonball, hit a trio of head kicks, then hit the Busaiku Knee for the win.
After the match, Will Ospreay made his way to the ring. He grabbed a mic for both him and Danielson, asking for a conversation. After praising the match with Taylor, he noted how the first thing he noticed was how respected Danielson was in the locker room and by the fans. But after getting interrupted on Dynamite, Ospreay has a feeling that Danielson wanted to ask him something. Danielson welcomed Ospreay to AEW and praised his match with Takeshita at Revolution. He heard Ospreay talk about being the best wrestler in the world, and Danielson wanted to give Ospreay a chance to prove it. The challenge was made and accepted; Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay on April 21st at AEW Dynasty.
The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) defeated Adrian Alanis, Jon Cruz & Liam Gray
I get paid to watch Kazuchika Okada wrestle. That’s pretty cool. An emphatic debut for Okada and a big-time trios match for Big Business in Boston.
During the Young Bucks entrance, Matthew pulled out a giant coin and dropped it to signal the entrance of Okada. Okada requested the tag to start the match, then promptly beat all three of his opponents by himself, scoring the pin on Gray after hitting the Rainmaker.
After the match, Eddie Kingston went after Okada but got quickly overwhelmed by the Elite. Eddie’s old friend Penta El Zero Miedo came out to make the save but got dropped with a neckbreaker by Okada. Okada posed with the Continental Championship before PAC made his return to save his Death Triangle partner. He took out both Bucks before facing off with Okada. PAC ran wild and took Okada down with a German suplex before the Bucks pulled Okada out of the ring. PAC said that he was back and looking for trouble. Kingston made the challenge for Wednesday’s Big Business show: Kingston, PAC, & Penta vs. The Elite.
We got a video package hyping Darby Allin vs. Jay White for Big Business.
Mariah May defeated Trish Adora
While I’m not a fan of the Timeless Toni stuff, this was a fun segment.
In a continuance of the All About Eve story going on here, May came out to Toni Storm’s music while wearing her old gear. After May controlled the match before the commercial break, Adora ran wild, hitting a German suplex from her knees. May shut her down with a big running knee before landing the May Day to score the win.
After the match, Timeless Toni Storm came out to present the first annual Toni Award. This award represented the outstanding achievement in the field of pro wrestling. The nominees are: Mariah May for her portrayal of Toni Storm at Revolution. There are no other nominees. The winner is…Mariah May! On behalf of us all at F4WOnline, allow me to congratulate May on her big win. Deonna Purrazzo crashed the stage like Will Smith, jumping Storm from behind and attacking her with the Toni Award – which was a shoe. May saved Storm and dropped Purrazzo with a DDT before accepting her award to You Deserve It chants.
We got a video package recapping Kris Statlander vs. Riho before hyping Willow Nightingale vs. Riho at Big Business.
Nick Wayne (w/ The Patriarchy) defeated Adam Priest
Wayne thoroughly controlled this match early on. Priest laid in some chops on the floor, but a momentary distraction allowed Wayne to hit a handspring that knocked Priest off the apron. After paying homage to “his father” with the standing choke on the ropes, Wayne hit Wayne’s World to get the win.
After the match, Christian talked trash to fans and tore up one masked fan’s sign. The fan jumped Christian and Wayne before unmasking as Adam Copeland. Copeland held up theTNT Championship before pulling out a box from under the ring. The Patriarchy surrounded the ring, but Copeland opened the box and spooked Cage enough to get him to bail. What was in the box was never revealed, so there’s a little mystery going into Toronto on March 20th.
Mark Briscoe, Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett & the others were with Lexy Nair backstage. Jarrett talked about trust and told Briscoe that he could trust that Jarrett would do anything to win this street fight. Lethal and Briscoe trusted each other before Briscoe got hyped for the street fight.
Chris Jericho defeated Titán
These two had some slight missteps early but rounded off into a solid match. This match had a nice backstory, as Jericho wrestled the original Titán in his first match in CMLL before wrestling the new generation Titan here tonight. Hook and Jericho look to be taking on the Gates of Agony at some point soon, which is a fine spot for both men.
The two locked up before Titán won the early exchange with an armdrag. Jericho engaged in a chop battle before Titán sent him to the floor and hit a tope suicida. Titán sent Jericho into the stairs before bringing Jericho to the top rope, but Jericho took Titán down with a top rope bulldog for a nearfall.
After a commercial, Titán sent Jericho to the floor with a nip-up Pele Kick. Titán followed up with a no-touch tope to the floor before Jericho came back with a butterfly backbreaker for a nearfall. Titán avoided the Lionsault and hit a Tornado DDT for a nearfall. Titán lifted himself to the top rope and hit a double stomp for a nearfall. Titán went to lock on El Immortal, but Jericho reversed it into a Walls of Jericho attempt. Titán rolled Jericho up for a nearfall, but Jericho caught Titán off the ropes with a Codebreaker for a nearfall.
Titán matrixed out of the way of a Judas Effect, hitting a kick and a spinning Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Titán went for the same step-up rana he had hit earlier, but Jericho reversed it into the Walls of Jericho for the win. After the match, the Gates of Agony jumped Jericho after he got involved in their business on Dynamite. Hook came out with a kendo stick and a favor to repay, running off the Gates of Agony.
Tony Schiavone announced the AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament would begin next Saturday on Collision before welcoming FTR to the ring. Cash Wheeler noted that next month noted a decade of FTR and that they’ve gotten knocked down plenty of times in that span. They got back up before, and they would get back up again after their loss at Revolution. Dax Harwood noted how great they’ve been and how Collision was built on great tag team wrestling, but openly wondered if they should even be in the tournament after their recent cold streak. He said if they were in the tournament, they would give everything they had to be the first three-time tag team champions in AEW history.
The Infantry came out, making me wonder if I clicked on Honor Club by accident. Captain Shawn Dean introduced themselves as the most dynamic, best-looking tag team in wrestling. Carlie Bravo noted that they were almost late to the show due to a sale at Magic City but wanted to wish FTR luck. They shook hands before noting that they wanted to give the tag team tournament a Revival. Harwood said that the Revival was dead, and if they came across the Infantry in the tournament, they would be dead too.
(A nice introduction for the Infantry, who have been a solid team in Ring of Honor. Glad to see them get the nod here.)
Mistico defeated Angelico (w/ Serpentico)
A fine showcase for Mistico.
Mistico won an early exchange with armdrags before landing a handspring elbow as the show went to a commercial break. After the break, Mistico hit a headscissors and a 619 before hitting a springboard dropkick. Mistico dove onto Serpentico before hitting Angelico with a headscissors on the floor. Mistico vaulted back into the ring with a tornillo before hitting a senton off the top rope for a nearfall.
Angelico avoided a moonsault and countered a La Magistral cradle with one of his own for a nearfall. The two traded kicks before Mistico hit a springboard crossbody. Mistico twisted himself into La Mistica to score the submission win. After the match, everyone shook hands as Angelico and Serpentico raised Mistico’s hand in victory.
Atlanta Street Fight – House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) defeated Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett & Mark Briscoe
This was a wild match, paying off the fire teases from Briscoe’s temporary pyromania last week. With Jarrett’s friend and wife getting caught up in the match, it can easily lead to the long-teased split between Lethal and Jarrett. Meanwhile, the House of Black gets a bounce-back win and closes this chapter after losing the cage match in January to FTR and Daniel Garcia due to Briscoe’s interference.
The House was in black and red while Briscoe’s team was ready for war decked out in camo. During the opening Pier Six brawl, it was announced that Hook & Chris Jericho would take on the Gates of Agony at Big Business on Wednesday. This was an absolute riot to start, with bodies flying everywhere and plunder being set up. King went for a crossbody to Lethal into the barricade, but Lethal moved out of the way. Lethal and Jarrett went to put King through a table, but Black knocked Jarrett down. King sent Lethal through the table with a crossbody into a barricade.
Briscoe and Matthews fought on the top rope near a table, but King sent Briscoe off the top rope and over the table into a pile of chairs. After a commercial, the House had Jarrett isolated as Matthews pulled out lighter fluid. They went to set the table on fire before Sonjay Dutt tried to involve himself with a guitar. It didn’t work, leading to Julia Hart bringing out a gas can. Matthews doused Dutt in the gas, but Karen Jarrett came out and hit Matthews low, allowing Dutt to send Matthews through some stageside tables. Hart misted Karen, taking her out of the fold.
Jarrett and Lethal took down King in the ring with a double-team, but King hammered Lethal repeatedly on the apron before choking Lethal out. Jarrett cracked King with a guitar before tipping him off the apron through a table, then turned around into a Black Mass from Black. Hart handed Black the railroad spike, but Briscoe fought it off and hit the Jay Driller.
Briscoe went for a dive onto Black, but Matthews helped Black catch Briscoe and dumped him on the apron. Hart lit the table on fire before Matthews and Black powerbombed Briscoe into the flaming table. Black rolled Briscoe into the ring and got the pin to win this wild main event.
The rationale for Kazuchika Okada signing with AEW vs. WWE has begun to emerge with the leading reason being his desire to work with The Elite.
The NJPW superstar is officially under AEW contract and made his first appearance as a main roster member on this past Wednesday’s Dynamite, aligning with The Young Bucks in a new version of The Elite after Matt & Nick Jackson fired Kenny Omega and Hangman Page from the faction.
In a detailed report Friday, SI’s Justin Barrasso stated that working with The Elite was the “deciding factor” in Okada signing with AEW even though he loved the idea of being part of a WrestleMania and that WWE was under real consideration.
Citing sources in both AEW and NJPW, Barrasso reported that Okada feels his best opportunity to succeed is in his new promotional home — one that will not force he or his family to move from Japan if they choose not to.
And then, there’s his long-standing relationship with the Jackson brothers. There was also an Easter egg built into the robes they wore before their challenge of Sting & Darby Allin at last Sunday’s Revolution in that they were both custom-made after Okada hit free agency and inspired by him.
Barrasso also reported on the trust Okada has in AEW head Tony Khan who signed him to a reportedly multi-million dollar deal for multiple years. According to the report, it was Khan’s idea, along with the agreement of the Jacksons, Omega and Okada, who decided Okada should debut as a heel with the natural rivalry with Omega resuming at some point in the future.
The new version of The Elite will make their in-ring debut this Saturday on AEW Collision from Duluth, Georgia. Okada is expected to first feud with Eddie Kingston after he turned on Kingston as part of his Wednesday appearance.
Kazuchika Okada’s first match as a full-time member of the AEW roster will air on this week’s Collision.
After Okada debuted on Dynamite and aligned with The Young Bucks as part of The Elite, their first match as a trio has been announced for the Saturday, March 9 Collision. Their opponents have yet to be revealed.
An Atlanta Street Fight has also been booked for Collision, with Mark Briscoe, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal teaming against House of Black’s Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews & Brody King.
CMLL’s Titan will be in action on the Collision card as well, taking on Chris Jericho.
Blackpool Combat Club’s Bryan Danielson will go one-on-one with Shane Taylor on Collision. Danielson closed this week’s Dynamite by confronting Will Ospreay.
Women’s World Champion Toni Storm will present the first-ever Toni Award in another new segment announced for Collision.
Storm’s protege Mariah May will also be in action on Saturday’s Collision card.
This week’s Collision will air in its normal Saturday, 8 p.m. Eastern time slot on TNT, but is being taped Thursday March 7 in Duluth, Georgia at the Gas South Arena, the same building that hosted Wednesday’s Dynamite.
The announced Collision lineup:
Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks in trios action
Atlanta Street Fight: Mark Briscoe, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. House of Black’s Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews
Okada appeared on Dynamite Wednesday after Eddie Kingston confronted The Young Bucks. Okada at first acted like he was going to help Kingston, but instead Okada laid him out with the rainmaker. The Young Bucks then officially announced Okada would be joining The Elite as they all shook hands.
Kazuchika Okada is the newest member of the Elite!
Prior to Kingston coming out, The Young Bucks made two major announcements relating to The Elite. They said that due to Hangman Page assaulting AEW officials, he was suspended from The Elite without pay. They then announced that Kenny Omega, who has been out of action due to diverticulitis, was fired from The Elite due to missing scheduled dates.
It was announced back in January that Okada would not be renewing his contract with NJPW. His final match was on February 24, teaming with Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii and YOH to defeat Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira, and Callum Newman. It had been reported that Okada was leaning towards signing with AEW after both AEW And WWE expressed interest.
Roughly a month after every financial quarter ends, publicly traded companies like TKO (aka WWE & UFC) hold a quarterly call for investors and analysts where they announce how they did financially along with specific numbers.
I had the idea that as viewers and media, we spend a lot of time investing thoughts and words about wrestling’s top challenger brand to WWE so why not do something similar with the information we have available to us?
On this episode, Brandon and I use perspective to talk about:
The financial success of AEW All In
The firing of CM Punk and the re-signing of The Elite
Whether AEW is building valuable IP
Some quotable quotes
Year-over-year Dynamite and Rampage ratings in addition to some Collision notes
The Mogul Embassy have regained the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles.
The Gates of Agony and Brian Cage defeated Hangman Page and The Young Bucks on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. The finish of the match had Page go for the buckshot lariat. Swerve Strickland, however, came out and boasted to Page that he had visited Page’s house last week. Page chased Strickland to the back, which ultimately cost him and the Bucks the titles after Kaun pinned Matt Jackson.
After the match, Page and Strickland were shown brawling backstage. Matt Jackson in the ring, meanwhile, was upset after the match and used a chair to destroy things around ringside.
The Elite had won the titles back at the main event of AEW Rampage Grand Slam back in September, defeating The Mogul Embassy. Cage and The Gates of Agony have held the titles for much of 2023, defeating Dalton Castle and The Boys for their first reign back in December of last year.
The Elite will make their first defense of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship on the next AEW Dynamite.
Hangman Adam Page & The Young Bucks announced on Friday’s Rampage that they were issuing an open challenge for a title match for the Wednesday, October 25 Dynamite. Moments later it was revealed that The Hardys & Brother Zay had accepted the challenge and that the match is set for Wednesday.
The Elite defeated Mogul Embassy’s Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) & Brian Cage at AEW Rampage Grand Slam last month to win the Six-Man titles.
Already announced for Dynamite, MJF will face Juice Robinson for the Dynamite Diamond Ring as MJF looks to keep possession of the ring for a fifth consecutive year.
Also for Dynamite, Tony Khan will give Sting a gift, plus RVD will team with Hook.
The updated lineup for the Wednesday, October 25 Dynamite:
Dynamite Diamond Ring: MJF defends the ring against Juice Robinson
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Hangman Page & The Young Bucks defend against The Hardys & Brother Zay
Both the AEW and Ring of Honor six-man titles will be on the line at Rampage Grand Slam.
The Elite’s Young Bucks and Hangman Page appeared in a backstage promo on Saturday’s AEW Collision to challenge The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) to a match for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles. The Young Bucks made the save for Hangman Page after he was jumped by Cage on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
A match for the AEW Trios titles was also set on Saturday when it was announced that the Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver) will challenge reigning titleholders The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn.
Saturday’s show saw Silver defeat Anthony Bowens after Bowens was attacked by Evil Uno outside of the ring. Dark Order had challenged The Acclaimed to a singles match on Rampage, wanting to prove that they were worthy of a Trios title match.
Here is the updated lineup for the two-hour AEW Rampage Grand Slam:
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage & The Gates of Agony) defend against The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page)
AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn defend against Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Luchasaurus and Christian Cage
This week’s edition of Being the Elite featured behind-the-scenes footage from AEW All In.
The show did not include any references to the reported physical altercation that took place backstage at the show but footage from London was shown.
Matt & Nick Jackson spoke about finding out Bray Wyatt died last week and said they would be dedicating All In weekend to him and Terry Funk.
Highlights of The Bucks traveling around London were shown as well. The brothers also showed off their gear for the show, which was inspired by Freddie Mercury.
Colt Cabana debuted “The Cabana Cam” this week. Clips he filmed of Brandon Cutler’s match on ROH were shown.
Clips of Ryan Nemeth’s recent ROH performance were also shown. Nemeth attended a Cleveland Guardians game on this week’s show as well and promoted his appearance at Starrcast.
Will Washington was back this week. He continued to play the role of the guy who remembers what happened in previous episodes of BTE.
Tony Khan recently commented on wrestlers in his company not getting along with one another.
The AEW president told The Hollywood Reporter that while the situation in AEW’s locker room is not ideal, he’s not certain it’s necessary for talent on his roster to like each other.
“I want the best wrestlers here in AEW. I want the best roster. And there may be some of them that don’t get along with each other backstage or on TV. It’s not ideal, but it’s a reality, and I can’t make everyone get along,” Khan said.
“I’m not sure it’s necessarily even in the best interest of pro wrestling for everybody to get along. But ideally, everybody is going to be able to focus on their matches and putting on the best shows for the fans. And I think that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve had really strong ratings. So even though … wrestlers backstage hate each other and don’t want to be friends with each other, I think we all agree this is a really exciting time for the company.”
Khan continued to say that he wants to create an environment in AEW where wrestlers who think they are the best are given the opportunity to prove it.
“There are a lot of people around here who think they’re the best. And I think a lot of them have a valid claim that they’re the best. And what I’m trying to do is to create an environment where everybody can go out and prove it multiple times per week and create a platform where the fans can decide who the best wrestlers are, what the best rivalries are, what the best matches are,” Khan continued.
The backstage drama in AEW has continued this month as the company draws closer to Sunday’s All In event from London’s Wembley Stadium. A report that Ryan Nemeth was sent home from the August 12 Collision due to prior conflicts with CM Punk was followed by news that similar situations had occurred with Hangman Page, Matt Hardy, Jack Perry and Christopher Daniels. The situation was addressed by our own Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Meltzer wrote:
To keep things harmonious and also having to do with legal action or fear of such, the decision was made in particular to keep a number of people away from Punk. Punk and his friends have expressed interest in clearing the air and meeting while The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and others have never been told or informed about it. Stories about meetings suggested that have been floated are likely stories that management has blocked. This is largely only related to Punk as there don’t appear to be any serious issues with others.
AEW head Tony Khan spoke to the media for nearly an hour Tuesday about the difficulties with the All In card, what he knows or doesn’t know about the Cash Wheeler legal situation, and the potential for more in the UK.
The full audio from the call is available at the bottom of this post.
As recapped here, Khan said to expect changes to Sunday’s card due to reasons that don’t have anything to do with the world of pro wrestling. He said some were planned while others are being done on the fly.
Cash Wheeler
When asked about what he knew and when he knew it regarding Cash Wheeler’s recent arrest, Khan didn’t give a specific date but said that he hasn’t known for long. As of now, the FTR vs. Young Bucks Tag Team title match is still happening, but that he is keeping an eye on what he called an “inconclusive situation” and that it was different than other situations they have had to deal with in that they don’t have all the facts right now. He is taking it seriously.
No commitment to ticket audit
Khan would not commit to a ticket audit after the show to answer the anticipated controversy about attendance. He retorted with a question as to what WWE would do if asked that question, later saying he is looking forward to announcing an “accurate number.”
EVP roles
When asked about roles of Kenny Omega and the Jacksons as executive vice presidents vs. those of Chris Jericho & CM Punk who don’t have titles but have influence backstage, Khan said the EVPs have a variety of responsibilities but didn’t directly answer the question or discuss the differences.
Khan also didn’t answer how many years The Elite members signed for on their new deals, saying the start dates and end dates are different due to factors like injury time.
Here’s some other notes:
Khan said the current gate for All In sits at around $10 million and 80,000 tickets.
Khan hinted heavily that the company will have a bigger presence in the UK, but that before All In wasn’t the right time to make those announcements known.
He feels MJF and Adam Cole has been one of the best, if not the best, story they have ever told on TV.
Khan said it will be up to Sting on when he wants his career to end, adding “I don’t want it to end and I won’t be the one to pull the plug on (his career).”
Khan said WBD head David Zaslav recently told his father, Shad Khan, upon meeting him that “Your son is f’n killing it!”
