AEW is set to go back on the road July 7th. The promotion spent the majority of the pandemic running shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. During a recent interview with UPI, Tony Khan was asked why AEW never decided to do a video wall similar to what many sports and WWE ended up doing.

Khan noted that he did get some pressure to run his pandemic shows with virtual fans.

“I didn’t want to have a video wall, and I pushed back when I got pushed to do a video wall. It was a fine idea and WWE did it, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I respect it, it’s good and it’s economical, but I wanted to continue to find a way to do the shows for the fans every week. And the fans at Daily’s Place supported us. We built like a wrestling territory having a weekly audience. I’m really proud of that.”

“And the fans at Daily’s Place supported us. We built like a wrestling territory having a weekly audience. I’m really proud of that.”

AEW’s first four shows back on the road will be special branded episodes. The first show back “Road Rager” on July 7th will feature Cody Rhodes vs QT Marshall in a strap match. Following Road Ragers, 2 nights of Fyter Fest will lead into Fight for the Fallen at the end of July from Charlotte.

Tony Khan believes All Elite Wrestling is a viable competitor to WWE. AEW’s CEO an head of creative appeared on the Moose and Maggie show this week to announce AEW’s first shows from New York and New Jersey this September.

In discussing AEW’s rivalry with WWE, Khan says it’s “intense” and he’s excited to offer fans an alternative wrestling product.

“It’s intense,” he said. “It is a competition. There is no way around it. It’s a true competition. I’m really excited about being a challenger brand and taking on a huge company. And I think for a long time fans were demanding an alternative, and AEW on TNT has given them that.”

Tony Khan also discussed winning the Wednesday night wars against NXT as the competing brand moved to Tuesday nights. He said that they were very successful head to head against other wrestling:

“We’ve really carved out a great fanbase, and Wednesday nights we’ve made a great tradition for ourselves. We had competition on Wednesday nights and we don’t anymore. I think we were very successful head to head against other wrestling on Wednesday nights, we’ve carved out that night for ourselves.”

Apart from this, Tony Khan talked about their announced second show in Rampage and more. Rampage premieres on TNT on Friday August 13.

• Tony Khan Explains How Rampage Will Affect Their Production Schedule

Rampage will be the fourth weekly show in AEW’s repertoire. With an already packed production schedule, the company will have to make some major adjustments to make sure things run smoothly. Tony Khan recently explained how they are planning to ensure that this expansion is seamless.

The AEW president recently had an interview with PWInsider. He talked about a number of things and went into details of what changes the company is planning to make and how Rampage will fit into their plans. Khan first revealed that Rampage will not be live every week. They will instead choose between a taped show some weeks and live special on some specific markets:

“With Rampage, there’s going to be some weeks Rampage will be live and there’ll be weeks where we plan to tape Rampage after Dynamite, including here at Arthur Ashe Stadium [in NYC], where we will be filming also after. We’ll do Dynamite live and we’ll also film Rampage. And in some of the markets where we have these amazing crowds, I think it’s okay.”

Though Tony Khan confirmed that the premiere episode of their new show will be airing live and future Rampage episodes will also serve as the go-home shows for their PPVs. Regarding their non televised shows in Dark and Dark: Elevation, the AEW official revealed that they will tape Elevation before Dynamite and find a new venue for Dark:

“Before Dynamite, we used to tape Dark. That’s going to change. I’m going to tape Elevation before Dynamite now,” Khan said. “So it’s going to be a shorter Elevation and I may add matches that I’ll explain where I’ll add them from. I’m going to procure a venue for use to tape Dark and other content that’ll be great. And I’m really looking forward to this”

Tony Khan also explained that Dark will continue being their developmental show. AEW announced their expansion plans earlier this year, confirming that they will be launching their second TV show Rampage on August 13. The company confirmed that both their premiere shows will be moving to TBS in 2022.

• Tony Khan On WarnerMedia Wanting To Add Third Hour To Dynamite, If Rampage Will Be A Secondary Show

All Elite Wrestling is set to invade New York City for a very special edition of AEW Dynamite this September

AEW Grand Slam will take place Wednesday, September 22nd from the famed Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY. The venue hosts the annual US Open tennis grand slam tournament and accommodates nearly 24,000 people for tennis matches.

The venue opened in 1997 and features a lightweight retractable roof. It should provide a rather unique venue for professional wrestling.

Tickets start at just $25 and will go on sale July 16th.

AEW sent in a press release for the event, including these comments from AEW CEO, GM and Head of Create, Tony Khan:

“We wanted our first show in New York City to be extraordinary and epic in scale, and there’s no better venue to bring out the best in our talent and creativity than the iconic USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. We love the concept of wrestling in a non-traditional venue and placing our AEW ring on center court in the awe-inspiring Arthur Ashe Stadium. I can’t wait for fans to experience our live AEW DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM show in one of the coolest venues on the planet.”

Tony Khan & Chris Jericho Comment

AEW President Tony Khan was quoted by NY Daily News about the event.

“No city is more synonymous with wrestling than New York City,” Khan said. “AEW is a new company and our company is in the business of both embracing tradition and trailblazing, trying to start new traditions and new history.”

Chris Jericho was also quoted.

“It’s a real cool end to the chapter of our lives that we all want to move on from,” Jericho said.

“We’ll be vindicated as the coolest wrestling company in the world today. What fans can expect is what we’ve been doing, just at a higher intensity level and a higher energy level because of the people in the crowd giving us more inspiration and more energy and more reward for what we’re doing.”

More Reactions from AEW Stars

AEW President Tony Khan was recently profiled by Forbs for their Daily Cover feature which includes an interview with the wrestling promoter and a photoshoot with several wrestlers from the company.

The AEW owner talked about their competition with WWE and he said that he doesn’t want his promotion to be the next wrestling company of the past:

“I don’t want to be the next ‘blank’ wrestling company of the past—fill in the blank, We love wrestling of the past, wrestling of the present and wrestling of the future…” said Tony Khan, “That’s what gives us a great chance to retain and gain audience share.”

The co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguar then also discussed the rise and fall of WCW and he interestingly claimed that he is glad that WCW failed:

“I’m glad that WCW failed because it created a vacancy for us to come in and succeed, but it made it a fairly bleak period for the wrestling business.”

• Tony Khan Reacts To Triple H Saying ‘Everybody Wants To Work For WWE’

Reiterating their commitment of providing an alternative, Tony Khan then said that the business is hotter than it’s been in a long time.He explained there is no reason why there needs to be only one wrestling company.

The interview also featured comments from the AEW president’s father Shahid Khan who revealed that he didn’t believe in the idea of the promotion at first. You can check out his remarks at this link.

Triple H made some interesting remarks about female talents during his latest Takeover: In Your House media call. It appears that Tony Khan does not agree with a specific part of it.

The Game was talking about how their roster has the best female talents in the world and he claimed those who are not in their company want to join it.

Khan took exception to Triple H’s remarks. On the latest Busted Open Radio, he explained that it’s ok to think that your product is the best and what offended people was the thinking that everybody wants to work for WWE:

“I think where people got offended yesterday is when he said ‘everybody wants to work there.’  That was like; people are confusing the two things.

If you want to say like ‘hey, I think my show is the best. I think my product is the best’, there’s nothing wrong with that. Like you should feel that way. That’s good.”

• AEW’s Tony Khan Explains How Unpredictable Matches Help Viewership

The AEW president then said that it’s crazy to think that everyone wants to go to WWE and there are plenty of AEW talent who have no interest in competing for the rival promotion:

“But when you say it like ‘anybody of any value wants to work here’, that’s not true. It’s crazy. There’s plenty of people who work in AEW that have no interest in working there.”

What did you make of Triple H’s remarks about the female talents? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Tony Khan has announced that the upcoming Impact world title match between Kenny Omega and Moose at the Against All Odds event will be taking place from AEW’s current home in Florida.

This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling featured a summit between the two companies. It included the AEW president Tony Khan and Impact executive vice president Scott D’Amore.

During the segment, Don Callis advocated keeping Sami Callihan out of the championship match this Saturday. He explained that it should be just Moose challenging Kenny Omega for his title at the upcoming show.

The Impact EVP praised Callis for his logical thinking. D’Amore said that the former Impact official understands the business very well before confirming that Saturday’s match will remain a singles bout.

Tony Khan, however, then made a big announcement. He revealed that the match between Omega and Moose will be taking place on their turf at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

• Moose Has Signed New Contract With Impact Wrestling

The Impact EVP also added his own announcement to the mix. He confirmed that the winner of this bout will defend the Impact world title against Sami Callihan at the Slammiversary PPV on 17 July.

Moose won a six-pack challenge at the Under Siege event last month to become the new #1 contender for the Impact world title. Sami Callihan then picked up a DQ victory over Moose last week during their singles match, thanks to interference from Omega and The Good Brothers.

Lio Rush made the announcement of his retirement from professional wrestling earlier today and now Tony Khan has commented on his decision. All Elite Wrestling reacted to the surprising announcement by releasing a statement on social sites, which featured the comments from their owner and president.

In the statement as seen below, Khan revealed that Rush had shared his plans with him before going public with it. Tony Khan also claimed that while the news was unexpected, he is glad that Lio has made a choice that will make him happy:

“Lio Rush reached out to me today, and he shared that he’d planned to announce his retirement from pro wrestling tonight. While this news was unexpected, I’m glad that he’s made a choice that he’s confident will make him and his family happy. Lio is a great talent, and I enjoyed briefly working with him, and I absolutely wish him the best.”

Lio Rush had made his debut for All Elite Wrestling just last month. He was revealed as a surprise entrant in the casino battle royal during the Double Or Nothing PPV on May 30. Tony Khan had even expressed interest in bringing the former WWE star back to his promotion for future appearances.

However, Rush made a surprising announcement earlier today. He made a lengthy post on Instagram and explained that a recent injury has forced him to reflect on his career and think about his future. The NJPW star then revealed that he has made the decision to retire from active competition.

• AEW’s Tony Khan Explains How Unpredictable Matches Help Viewership

AEW President Tony Khan knows a thing or two about what it takes to create a successful television product. Under his leadership, AEW Dynamite has enjoyed a steadily growing audience in recent months.

In an interview with Variety, Khan, who is also the co-owner of both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC, discussed televised sports. During the interview, he described the importance of unpredictability as a motivation for viewers to tune in across all sports.

“Unpredictable matches help viewership,” said Khan. “You definitely want unpredictability in whatever you’re offering, and that’s one of the key strengths of the NFL.”

He continued by using NCAA March Madness as an example. Khan pointed to the tournament’s inherent unpredictability and stated that this component is a factor in the games’ impressive viewership. Every year, March Madness is filled with thrilling upsets at any given turn, and this pattern creates must-see TV.

Likewise, with Khan at the helm, AEW continues to create appointment viewing with fresh matches. Specifically, working with IMPACT Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling has helped AEW present buzzworthy dream matches, such as Jon Moxley’s bout with Yuji Nagata.

This contest was particularly remarkable, as Moxley defended another promotion’s title on AEW programming. Khan explained that allowing fans to see AEW stars hold other titles is an easy way to showcase how far the company’s reach extends.

“A lot of AEW wrestlers hold belts in other companies,” Khan continued. “It’s great for us, it expands our reach, and it shows what great wrestlers we have.”

The company’s working relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance allows Khan’s promotion to feature the prestigious NWA World Women’s Championship. Plus, AEW’s own world champion, Kenny Omega currently holds both the IMPACT World Championship and the AAA Mega Championship. Clearly, the “Forbidden Door” is wide open, and AEW continues to reap the benefits.

AEW President Tony Khan talked to media after their successful Double Or Nothing event this Sunday. During the talk, he confirmed Lio Rush’s contractual status with his company.

The former WWE star made his AEW debut during the company’s latest PPV where he was revealed as the wild card entry in the casino battle royal.

Talking about the kind of deal they have, Khan revealed that Lio hasn’t signed any papers and the two parties are working on a handshake deal:

“I don’t have a pen to paper [deal], but Lio and I have a handshake [deal] that he can work here and do New Japan both, I think we have something good on a handshake, and I think he’s doing that on a handshake with New Japan too.”

Tony Khan then talked about the high flying star’s future with the company and said that he think Rush will come back. Though he revealed that Lio Rush has other commitments in the near future:

“I think he’s gonna come back. We’ll get to it, I’d like for Lio to come back. He’s also doing some stuff for New Japan, so he’s got some dates booked right now.

He was free for this, and I’m going to respect the calendar, so I’m not gonna go out and ask him to cancel indie dates to do stuff for us. And he’s got a pretty solid calendar, but he was free for this, and I wanted him to come.”

Apart from this, Tony Khan also revealed that he wanted to bring Lio Rush in for battle royal at All Out last year but the former NXT star was not free at the time.

Tony Khan addressed reports of negotiations between WWE and NJPW recently in a pre-event promo to the live crowd before Dynamite on Friday night.

“There is room for only room for one Khan in the wrestling business,” Tony Khan said before the show. “It’s me, Tony Khan, not some con man from Connecticut.”

During the post-event media scrum from Double or Nothing last night, Khan revealed that he spoke to NJPW before cutting that promo to ask if they thought it was a good idea.

“I talked to New Japan and I asked them if they thought it would be a good idea and a good promo. They thought it was great and I thought it would be a great promo,”  Khan said (transcriptions via Fightful).

Khan continued to tease that there are big things coming regarding the relationship between his company and New Japan.

“It made sense. It was a big weekend for us and it’s true, we have a lot of stuff going with New Japan. Everyone is welcome to talk to each other and we’ve done some great stuff with New Japan just in the last few weeks and I think we’re going to do a lot of great things going forward with everything we’ve talked about and agreed to. I’m excited about it.”

NJPW has a Road to Dominion event tomorrow. The show will be headlined by the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) defending the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Dangerous Tekkers, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi.

AEW President Tony Khan decided to have some fun when he sent a taunting message to WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan in a video shared on Twitter. 

The big story on Friday was how the WWE President has been negotiating with NJPW for the last few months about WWE becoming the exclusive North American partner for NJPW. AEW does have a working relationship with NJPW right now. 

Tony hyped Friday’s Dynamite show on TNT and then had some interesting things to say about Nick. 

Tony started out by noting that he saw Nick has had reported talks with NJPW and gotten a lot done while he’s had the likes of Yuji Nagata, Ren Narita, and Rocky Romero on AEW programming before bringing up having a Roppongi Vice reunion in addition to IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley defending the title on Dynamite. 

“So you must’ve really gotten a lot done in the two months, Nick, and in fact, I think there’s only room for one Khan in the wrestling business, Nick, and it’s me. It’s Tony Khan, it’s not some con-man from Connecticut. Have a fun show tonight, Nick, see you on Dynamite.”

The AEW President has done these types of promos during the paid ads on Impact Wrestling. 

AEW President Tony Khan is pumped for what’s in store for the promotion this year. He talked about it during the latest episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast with Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone where they previewed this Sunday’s Double or Nothing. 

“There’s going to be a huge expansion of AEW, and I think that’s where Double or Nothing comes in.” 

Khan touted Double or Nothing is one of AEW’s signature events and says they expect Sunday’s show to be one of the best pay-per-views they’ve presented. He thinks having the return of crowds is going to help boost this great card.

“I also think we have to start expanding the roster in AEW, and there’s going to be great moments, great surprises on the show.”

Khan stated that they’re doing just that and going to deliver an awesome wrestling pay-per-view for the fans. He’s excited about what they have in store for wrestling fans this year and said the company is going to change. “I’m very happy with what we’ve done in these first two years, and now is the time to build off it and grow.”

It’s already been confirmed Dynamite will move to TBS in January 2022 while they’ll be premiering a new one-hour weekly show, Rampage, on TNT starting in August.

AEW Dynamite will not air tonight in its usual time slot due to the NBA Playoffs. Instead, it will air on Friday night. According to a report from PW Insider, this will also be the case for next week’s show.

Dynamite will air on Friday night at 10 PM est next week on June 4th, 2021 instead of its usual timeslot.

Additionally, it is being reported that his likely won’t be the last time Dynamite is preempted during the NBA Playoffs. Following the conclusion of the NBA Playoffs, AEW Dynamite will return to its normal time slot on Wednesday nights.

Unfortunately for AEW, this means both the important go-home show for this weekend’s PPV and the usually high-rated first post-PPV edition of Dynamite will not air in its usual time slot over the next 2 weeks.

TBS Move Could Prevent Preemptions

AEW’s move to TBS in 2022 will likely prevent further preemptions of Dynamite. TNT has a lot of sports programming and these have caused disruptions to Dynamite’s schedule over the last two years.

Tony Khan was asked about Dynamite possibly moving nights to make room for the NHL back in April. Khan said at the time they would consider a move if it made sense for AEW. Knowing what we know now, it’s likely Khan already knew about the move to TBS at this time.

“If there was ever an opportunity to move, or if there was a deal to be had, I would consider it,” Khan said back in April. “If we did something, it would have to be a really good deal for AEW.”

Tony Khan’s AEW made a couple of big revelations earlier today including the announcement of a new television show called Rampage and their move to TBS in 2022. The AEW president talked about these big announcements during his appearance on Busted Open Radio and went in length to explain how the new show will fit into their current dynamic.

During the talk, Khan revealed that the warner media officials had shown interest in adding a third hour to Dynamite instead but he insisted on the third-hour being on a separate night:

“I didn’t want to do three hours of Dynamite. They (warnermedia) asked at one point if I wanted to do three hours of Dynamite. It came up about doing a third hour and I said I really believed in doing it on another night.”

Tony Khan also explained how Rampage will be positioned among their current programs. He explained that it will not be a secondary show. He claimed that Rampage would rather be a partner and equivalent of Dynamite:

“I promise you Rampage isn’t going to be a secondary show. Rampage is going to be the partner of Dynamite, the equivalent of Dynamite. We have these two strong franchises in Dynamite and Rampage and they are our weekly core properties. And then we’ll have our peripheral properties (Dark and Elevation).

They’re probably the equivalent of what you’d seen, partially a developmental show, partially a syndicated show.”

Khan said that both Rampage and Dynamite are going to be their core properties in terms of content for the rest of the year and on TBS from next year. AEW Rampage will premiere on TNT on August 13. It will air on 10 pm (Eastern) on Friday, right after the broadcast of WWE’s premier show SmackDown.

AEW dropped some bombshell news on Wednesday. Two years after the announcement of AEW Dynamite at the 2019 TurnerMedia up-fronts, AEW President Tony Khan reveals that All Elite Wrestling has negotiated its relationship with its television partner. The main developments:

• AEW Rampage is the new television show launching Friday, August 13th. Rampage will air Friday nights at 10pm (Eastern) on TNT.

• AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage are moving to TBS in 2022.

• AEW will present quarterly specials on TNT in 2022. Think, Blood and Guts, Beach Break, Winter is Coming, etc.

Here’s the official word from Tony Khan:

Tony Khan on Busted Open

The announcements were made during Tony Khan’s weekly appearance on Wednesday’s episode of Busted Open on SiriusXM. Here are some additional highlights of Khan’s conversation with Dave LaGreca and Mark Henry:

• Tony ran down the card for tonight’s AEW Dynamite. Top matches he’s excited for include AEW World tag team champions The Young Bucks will defend against the Varsity Blonds, Moxley & Kingston vs. The Acclaimed, Serena Deeb vs. Red Velvet, Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal, Anthony Ogogo vs. Austin Gunn and more.

• He called MJF the ‘Bret Hart of the Create-a-Pro dungeon’ (wrestling school) on Long Island, NY. Tony said C.A.P. has produced many talented AEW stars, including The Acclaimed, Kris Statlander, members of the Dark Order and more.

• Max Caster has a killer rap lined up for The Acclaim’s entrance tonight on Dynamite. Luckily, Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston have thick skin.

Catch Busted Open weekday mornings from 9-12pm (EST) on Sirius XM Fight Nation (Ch. 156).

AEW President Tony Khan recently appeared (again) on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Khan discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, including the general landscape of pro wrestling.

“Wrestling is hotter than ever,” Khan claimed on the podcast, which is a pretty bold claim to make. “This past week, to have three different wrestling shows ranked number one on their night? And to have AEW be a part of it? It’s huge.”

“And it’s a great time for wrestling” Tony Khan added. “I feel like we were all there, part of the peak era of fandom, and now it’s a splintered audience. Things are very fragmented, it’s hard to get as many people to watch something as there used to be.”

Tony Khan on Modern Pro Wrestling

“But I believe that, and I see it first hand with the NFL and the great numbers we do, if you deliver a quality, compelling product consistently, people are going to show up and watch it” Tony Khan continued.

“And that’s why we built audience and we’re up year over year. It’s a great time to come and join AEW as a fan” Khan concluded.

Again, it’s interesting for Khan to make such a bold claim when you look at the general lay of the land in pro wrestling 2021. Whilst AEW is doing extremely well in the ratings; compared to the late 90’s and early 2000’s and the Monday Night Wars there’s a gulf in the popularity and mainstream appeal of pro wrestling.

Tony Khan opened what he has coined “The Forbidden Door” in wrestling this year by seemingly breaking down barriers between promotions. He spoke with Entrepreneur recently regarding how “Forbidden Door” decisions are made.

Khan began by talking about how when he was younger, it was common for wrestling promotions to work together.

“When I was younger, there were partnerships between a lot of the other wrestling companies. And there was the Wrestling Peace Festival, which was a great idea, and some of those companies did keep working together,” Khan said.

“You saw wrestlers from AAA in WCW, and you saw wrestlers from New Japan in WCW, and so I think it’s very natural. Twenty years later, things have come back full circle, and now you’re seeing those wrestlers from New Japan and AAA competing again on TNT. You’re seeing IWGP titles defended on TNT. I think it’s the natural balance of the universe just coming back.”

How Are Forbidden Door Decisions Made?

Khan was also asked how the promotions involved make decisions on who wins, loses, and more. He would say that he goes into it with the same mentality as a sports general manager goes into making trades with other teams.

“I have to make sure we’re getting taken care of, and obviously the promoter we’re working with is going to have stuff they need to make sure they’re getting taken care of,” Khan continued. “And I’m pretty reasonable. I don’t want to screw it up for anybody. So whether it’s Konnan with AAA or dealing with the New Japan office or talking to Scott [D’Amore] and Impact, I just generally go into it like I’m dealing with another party in sports if you’re making a trade or something. You know, you just try to work it out and be a good person and a fair partner in the negotiation.”

The “Forbidden Door” will open again on next week’s Dynamite, when NJPW’s Yuji Nagata challenges Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship.

The NBA Playoffs get going on May 22nd, 2021 and several of the games will air on TNT. The episode of AEW Dynamite originally scheduled for May 26th, 2021 will not air in the promotion’s usual time slot due to the basketball schedule.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the show scheduled for the 26th will now take place on Friday, May 28th. Additionally, the show will air at 10 PM est rather than at 8 PM est. AEW’s next PPV is scheduled to be Double or Nothing on May 30th, 2021. This means the delayed show on the 28th will be the go-home show for the event.

AEW was also forced to move several shows last summer to make way for the NBA Playoffs. The NBA was forced into a bubble for the end of the season and playoffs last year, months after the season would have normally already ended.

Tony Khan On AEW’s Deal With Turner For Wednesday Nights

Turner Sports also recently signed a deal with the NHL. The deal is not expected to impact AEW programming much, however. Tony Khan recently spoke about AEW’s deal with Turner for Wednesday nights during an appearance on Busted Open Radio.

“I know Wednesday night is our slot and our home,” he said. “I’m thrilled with our partnership with TNT. It’s the lifeblood of our company and our primary revenue source and t’s the way most fans get exposed to AEW and see our show. And tonight and every night that we do Dynamite, for a lot of wrestling fans, it’s a really important night of the week.”

“We have a contract with over two and a half years left for Wednesday nights in this slot. And if there was ever an opportunity to move or if there was a deal to be had, I would consider it. If we did something, it would have to be a really good deal for AEW and it would have to make sense for us. As it stands right now, that is the spot we’re in. If we move, I would certainly consider a deal if there was something in it for AEW.”

AEW Dynamite next week will be unopposed. Tony Khan recently spoke to PW Insider about how he feels NXT moving nights will help create more wrestling fans.

 “I think there are a lot of wrestling fans who like AEW, and I think among the world of wrestling fans, we have a chance to continue building an audience and getting fans to check out the show now because we won’t be opposed by another wrestling show next week,” he said. “I think we’ll have some new fans coming in then I really hope, checking us out, and I hope to make some new wrestling fans in general, fans of AEW and then they can check out other companies and find what they like in wrestling, and find the wrestlers and the moves and the stories they like, and I just want to make new fans of wrestling.”

Khan also spent some time during the interview talking about tomorrow’s house show. AEW will present “The House Always Wins” tomorrow from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.

“This is an experiment,” Khan said regarding tomorrow’s show. “It felt like a great week for us to do it where we have the whole crew available to us and we got a really good house for Dynamite this week, we have a great crowd, and with the recent sales of Dynamite, tickets have trended really well, Revolution did very well, the weather’s been great, the fans have been great, we wanted to do something special for our fans here in Jacksonville.”

AEW President and CEO Tony Khan commented on Chris Jericho appearing on Sunday’s episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show on Peacock. 

Khan was on Busted Open with Dave LaGreca and Tommy Dreamer where he talked about why he approved of Jericho’s appearance on the show. 

Khan started out by stating that he never even considered this was going to be a possibility and when he first heard about it, he had to think about it for a minute. He brought how Jericho and Austin had talked about it beforehand. 

“When Chris brought it up to me, at first I was taken aback because Chris doing something on Peacock on WWE’s channel is obviously going to give me pause. But when he said it was Steve hosting the show, I didn’t have to think very hard about it.”

Khan continued by stating that he looked at this appearance as him or anyone else from AEW going on the Busted Open Radio show as he trusts Jericho to go on this show and feels the same way with him appearing on a WWE show. He also trusts Austin to do a great job with the interview. 

“They’re both friends of mine, and I feel like it’s probably going to be a very good show,” Khan said. “I haven’t watched it yet, but Chris told me I’m really going to like it, and it’s a great chance for us to go out and promote AEW to a different set of fans. I was all for it, and definitely, Steve being the host had a lot to do with that.”

This will be the first time that an AEW star will appear on WWE programming. 

On Wednesday night before AEW Dynamite went live on TNT, AEW President Tony Khan came out for his usual promo to thank the fans for attending the show and reminding them not to swear. He also made an interesting announcement. 

Khan told the fans in attendance about plans for their first house show. This is where he informed them that the promotion will be running a house show at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL on April 9.

Interestingly enough, this live event will be taking place during the same week as WrestleMania 37, which just so happens to be in Tampa. Thus, for those fans planning to attend WrestleMania, they can come see AEW in person if they drive 3 hours to Jacksonville. Tickets go on-sale this Monday. 

As it stands right now, there’s no word yet on which wrestlers will be appearing at the house show. AEW will air a live Dynamite on April 7th then tape the following week’s episode that Thursday and then run the house show. Thus, if fans really wanted to see a ton of AEW action, they have the chance to witness three straight nights of it. 

Jim Ross has stated in the past that AEW did have plans to start running house shows last year but those plans were delayed because of the pandemic.

AEW President Tony Khan recently confirmed that AAA star Laredo Kid will be returning to the promotion this Wednesday.

Laredo Kid first performed in All Elite back at Fyter Fest 2019. The AAA star’s appearance on Wednesday will be his debut on AEW’s Dynamite show.

“Nearly 2 years after his AEW debut in a classic match at Fyter Fest 2019; Laredo Kid will return for his AEW Dynamite debut this Wednesday LIVE on TNT” Tony Khan wrote on Twitter.

Tony Khan on Laredo Kid

Khan confirmed that Laredo Kid will be joining Death Triangle members Penta and Rey Fenix. Kid replaces PAC who was injured at the AEW Revolution PPV, hurting his ankle.

“Reuniting with the Lucha Brothers Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M to battle World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler.”

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PAC and Rey Fenix are the number 1 contenders to The Young Bucks’ AEW Tag Team Championships. It has not been confirmed when the match for the titles will be taking place.

“With PAC recovering from injuring his ankle at Revolution, he’s not yet cleared for the tag title shot with Rey Fenix v. The Young Bucks” Khan continued on Twitter. “So Death Triangle are bringing back the Lucha Brothers’ original Trios partner Laredo Kid to get the edge ahead of the title match!”

Tonight on Dynamite, Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker will face off in a Lights Out match to headline the show. AEW’s women’s division experienced some growing pains since the onset of the promotion but seems to have really hit a new stride as of late. Tony Khan recently spoke to the Sporting News about the growth of the division.

“I think we’ve seen great development of the women’s roster since AEW launched,” Khan said during the interview. “Wrestling fans voted Dr. Britt Baker the most improved wrestler in the world last year for 2020, in the Wrestling Observer awards, and she’s been a great leader in the women’s division. She’s been a great leader in the women’s division and we’ve added great talent internally.”

Khan then listed a few names that AEW has been able to acquire that have helped the division grow.

“I think Red Velvet’s come in and done a really good job for us, and Serena Deeb has come in and not only been great for us, but then as a full-time AEW contract wrestler, went out and won the NWA women’s title. Serena, Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch are great examples of people who weren’t here at the beginning, who I think have upgraded our talent, and stepped in and become really great additions.”

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Tay Conti was also specifically mentioned by Khan during the interview.

“Tay Conti is somebody who I’ve always thought had tremendous potential — she has vastly improved and I think she could be a front-runner this year, potentially, to break out and be one of the most improved wrestlers in the world. I think she had all the tools and all the personal charisma that it takes to be a great wrestler. She always had everything it took, and now with more experience, more reps and great coaching, we’re seeing that.”

AEW signed several big-name male stars right out of the gate. Marquee female wrestlers equivalent to Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Jon Moxley simply weren’t available in the free agency pool when AEW started. Since then, however, they’ve added to the roster through free agency and worked to grow stars in the division.

“The women’s division, we signed a lot of great wrestlers and we’ve seen some development but we’ve also had a lot of huge movement in free agency since then,” Khan continued.

“I think now for our women’s division, for us to have great new stars with buzz who have really added to the show in the past six months or a year, it really helped us a lot. I’m so excited for the main event this week of the Lights Out match with Dr. Britt Baker versus Thunder Rosa, which is one of my favorite stories we’ve ever told on all of AEW, really.”

The ending of Sunday’s AEW Revolution PPV would cast a shadow across the show in its entirety. The Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch with Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley was a bloody affair; however the ending ‘explosion’ left a lot to be desired, with some sparkles and small blasts.

Eddie Kingston appeared at the end of the show, trying to help his friend Jon Moxley. Kingston covered his longtime friend in the ring before the impending end of show blast. As mentioned, the blast itself was miniscule.

The issue with this was that Eddie Kingston was selling the explosion massively. Tony Khan discussed the ending during the Revolution post show scrum. “Who would have thought when he drew up the big plan with crayons that maybe the bomb might fail to take both guys out?” Khan noted, saying how Kenny Omega ‘built’ the explosives himself in storyline.

“I thought that for the battle, it really delivered excellent action” Khan continued. “Both guys came out okay, which is great because on paper it looked like the kind of match where somebody could get hurt.”

Dave Meltzer recently reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Kenny Omega was “furious” at the botch that took place. It’s not currently clear how AEW appear to be trying to rectify the situation, but it is likely that they will try and address it on screen as many fans online have lambasted the brand for the finish to the PPV.