AEW may be considered a more ‘hardcore’ wrestling product compared to its rivals in WWE, but Tony Khan isn’t afraid to cater to the casual fan. During AEW Full Gear’s Ground Zero pre-show, fans saw A.J. Befumo of the viral Costco Guys take on QT Marshall. While Befumo does have wrestling experience, he is better known for his TikTok videos, in an example of AEW appealing to an audience wider than die-hard wrestling fans.
Speaking on the Full Gear post-show media scrum, Khan was asked about Befumo’s match and appealing to the more casual fans. Making light of a previous interview where he called AEW for “sickos,” Khan said he had no issue catering to a more lax audience.
“I love reaching the casual fan… I’m a sicko wrestling fan but I care about the casual wrestling fan. I care about anybody who watches wrestling.”
Khan shared how he got into wrestling in a casual manner, as his introduction to the industry came through Sgt. Slaughter’s role on G.I. Joe. Khan had been unaware that Slaughter was a wrestler before the show, and said that a guest appearance by Hulk Hogan on the A-Team turned Khan onto watching wrestling.
Returning to the present, Khan suggested that bringing the Costco Guys on board may help some people get more into pro wrestling.
“I do believe that there’s going to be some kids and some young people and fans of all ages that probably have not watched a lot of wrestling that really liked Big Boom A.J, Big Justice, and The Rizzler.”
Khan also had some choice words for detractors of bringing the trio in, and believes their negativity may not just be about AEW appealing to casual fans.
“If anybody has anything negative to say about those guys, maybe they just have a negative outlook on a lot of things in life.”
Befumo also spoke on the media scrum with Khan inviting the wrestler/TikTok sensation to come back to AEW anytime he can. In the meantime, Khan won’t back down on appealing to casual audiences and continuing the tradition that got him into wrestling in the first place.