A host of topics were addressed by AEW owner Tony Khan and members of the roster at a media scrum after Full Gear.
** Tony Khan kicked things off by confirming that the next AEW PPV, Revolution, will take place on Sunday, March 5th at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
** Khan was then interrupted by new AEW World Champion MJF, who said that he was the best wrestler in the world, that no one was on his level, and that he had made AEW destination TV again. He then left with a “Thank you, fuck you, bye.”
** Khan said that the buy rate for the PPV would be similar to recent shows, hoping for around 140,000.
** He stated that DDT Pro Wrestling and AEW had some degree of “visa reciprocity” and that talent such as Akiyama may appear again.
** Khan noted that Full Gear had featured a lot of homegrown talent taking on wrestlers who had established themselves elsewhere.
** The Acclaimed joined the presser. Max Caster said they are the best tag team in the world. Anthony Bowens added that it’s always special to be able to perform for the AEW fans, and that Full Gear was even more special because it was close to where he grew up. Caster said that The Acclaimed have been moving ratings and selling out merchandise.
** Saraya came out next to say she is “100%” and has ongoing tests and conversations with doctors and MRI specialists. She talked about having ring rust but praised Britt Baker for “carrying her” for much of their program. She says that it feels good to perform under her own name.
** New AEW Interim Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter was next. She said that winning the belt is “very validating”. When asked about the interim status of the title, Khan said that he is evaluating the situation but hopes that Thunder Rosa will return soon.
** Jungle Boy was next out. He said that he wants to face Christian whenever he is cleared, but that he is done with Luchasaurus. He said that he used the name “Jungle Boy” on the indie circuit because he didn’t want to lean on his family name, but he’s happy for “Jack Perry” to naturally become more used, noting that it was a big part of his feud with Christian.
** Alone again at the desk, Tony Khan then took a series of questions. When asked about the potential of joining a streaming platform, he said that AEW had an excellent year on pay-per-view, particularly with the NJPW-partnered Forbidden Door show. He said he felt good about the current model.
** Khan talked up the fanbase in Newark and praised the Prudential Center as a world-class venue.
** When asked about the status of Andrade and Miro, Khan talked about the size of the AEW roster and that he would like to get them both involved. He noted that they were in different situations.
** Khan said that Adam Cole and Adam Page are doing really well, and that he hopes they both will be back soon.
** On the current state of the live sports market, Khan said that AEW was able to take a long view and that Warner Brothers Discovery was giving them more opportunities. He said that it was a difficult time for many but that AEW was up, year on year. He said he was “really optimistic”.
** When asked about whether Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks had taken up their full range of duties as EVPs since returning, Khan said that yes, they had been involved in the production of the shows. Noting that Kenny Omega was involved with AEW Fight Forever, he then segued into promoting the video game.
** Khan was asked about balancing transparency as a media-friendly company with privacy regarding wrestlers’ injuries and the recent investigation after All Out. He said that this was “tricky”. He said that AEW offers a lot of transparency but that it is a subjective call when it comes to anything from show quality to legal concerns. He said he tried to avoid false advertising.
** He said that running an event in Montreal is under consideration, and he credited the city for its wrestling history and for some historically big wrestling gates.
** When asked about ROH, Khan promoted Final Battle on December 10th, then talked about Chris Jericho vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the ROH World Championship on Dynamite. He talked about Final Battle’s start time being an “experiment” at 4 pm Eastern Time. He said that 2022 was shaping up to be ROH’s best year for PPV revenue, without cannibalizing AEW. He added that he was still optimistic about getting Ring of Honor on weekly TV.
** When asked about allowing AEW talent to go to Japan for Wrestle Kingdom 17, Khan said that it was a challenge because Dynamite is taking place in Seattle that same night, so the bigger stars will most likely stay in the US.
** Khan was asked about Colt Cabana being Chris Jericho’s opponent for the ROH World Championship and whether CM Punk had Cabana moved to Ring of Honor. Khan said that Punk had not demanded that Cabana be moved, and that he was chosen as Jericho’s opponent because of his history with ROH and because he is a great wrestler.
** When asked about The Elite coming out to ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ by Kansas, Khan said the licensing of the song was a great deal and that it might be used again.
** On the number of pay-per-view events that Khan had run in 2022, including the ROH-branded ones, he said that there was differentiation and that, although ROH title defenses had taken place on Dark and Dark Elevation, it was good to distinguish the two products. He added that AEW fans did not need to buy the Ring of Honor PPVs.
** Khan was asked about giving Ring of Honor a separate YouTube show. He said that he had considered many options but that it was a valuable property. He reiterated that he wanted a weekly TV show.
** When asked about the value of Twitter to AEW and his view on the stability of the social media company, Khan said that he was not sure about the future of the platform but that it was “still working.”
** Closing out the scrum, he said that he did not have further detail on the forthcoming UK tour, but that London would be home to one event.
