Tony Khan was recently a guest on Wrestling Observer Radio and spoke about his philosophies around booking a wrestling show. He was asked specifically about having clearly defined babyfaces and heels.
“No, I don’t always,” Khan said when asked if heels and babyfaces should be clearly defined. “I think there are a lot of times where it makes sense. Look, MJF vs Darby on this PPV, that is one of the matches I’m very excited about. It’s very clear who is the heel in Darby vs MJF and who is the babyface.”
He continued, “So, I think that the show is stacked with great matches and I think one of the things that makes AEW great is that not every match is necessarily the black and white heel vs the black and white babyface. There are matches where it’s very obvious and there are matches where it’s less obvious.”
Fans pushing him to change creative direction
Tony Khan also commented on how often he changes his mind on a booking decision based on fan reaction.
“Yeah, I’ve definitely changed my mind based on the fans’ reactions before, many times. Definitely, I’ve changed planned plans,” Khan said.
“Certainly the fans reacting more positively or negatively to something than I expected does affect how I perceive the stories and the matches and the results.”
If you use any of the above quotes please credit Wrestling Observer Radio with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcriptions.