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The following are the highlights from Tony Khan’s media call held today ahead of AEW’s Revolution PPV on March on March 6:
-Tony opened the call saying he’s excited to be here and he apologized for the delay in starting the call. He said there’s a big announcement tonight and more to come. Tony said Revolution is one of their best events and he’s looking forward to a great PPV.
-Tony is asked about the big announcement and any insight he can give about it. Tony said he doesn’t want to say too much more. He said it’s a major announcement that will affect pro wrestling and it will be awesome for the fans and a lot of the wrestlers.
-Tony is asked about AEW having a lower African American audience than WWE in the Neilson ratings. He asks Tony if that’s something AEW can change. Tony said that’s something he wants to change. He said that’s why there’s so much great and diverse talent on the show. Tony says there’s diversity among the champions and new stars coming in. Tony said looking at the free agents they’re signing and the push Jade Cardgil is getting as well as stars getting pushed up the card is consistent in growing that audience.
-Tony is asked if there’s anything he can do to peak the company when it comes time for the next TV contract negotiations in late 2022/2023. Tony said that could happen at any time if they were to renew. Tony said he thinks Warner is very happy with their audience. He talked about the strong ratings and being in the top 3 on cable every week since the move to TBS with Dynamite.
-Tony is asked if he sees AEW coming from other western time zones in 2022. Tony mentions Double or Nothing and TV on June 1. He said Rampage is also coming to Ontario on June 3. He said he looks forward to doing more dates in western and mountain time zones.
-Tony is asked about the stacked card for Revolution. He is asked if Revolution will set the tone for AEW. Tony said it will set the tone for AEW this year. He said it’s awesome to be back on the road in Orlando where there’s a lot of good wrestling fans and a lot to do. Tony mentions they’re taping Dark tomorrow and Rampage on Friday. He also mentions there’s a fanfest on Saturday. He said the card is one of the strongest they’ve had which is consistent with the Revolution brand.
-Tony is asked about the AEW roster growing by leaps and bounds. He said some people have to go. Tony is asked about managing such a big roster and what’s his comment on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW. Tony said he’s pleased that he has added all the talent. He said he’s pleased with Dynamite growing and leading into Rampage being another opportunity to showcase even more talent. Tony said he thinks there will be more opportunities for the roster they have. Tony said he’s always looking for people within to step up.
Tony said it’s sad that Cody Rhodes and Brandi left. He said he hasn’t said much, but what he does have to say about them is positive and he wishes them the best.
-Tony is asked about Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa and what people can expect from the match and the future of the women’s division. Tony says he expects a great match and the two names will closely be associated together. Tony said he’s really excited to see them wrestle for the championship. He says it’s a huge match that means a lot.
-Tony is asked what are the plans at this point to get the library into the streaming service and is HBO max a possibility. He’s asked if there’s any possibility of past and current content being available on a streaming service. Tony said it’s something they’re looking to do. He mentions warner media as a potential future partner.
-Tony is asked about using the new AEW music for entrance music. He said he is leaving it up to the talent whether or not they want to use the song off the album. Tony mentions that Hobbs used his song off the album at a Dark taping, but he told Tony he likes his original song better so he will stick with that. Tony said he just heard from Scorpio Sky and he wants to use his track off the album for his entrance. He said it’s on a case by case basis and it depends on what the wrestler wants for their entrance music.
-Tony is asked how difficult it is to manage the roster. Tony mentions Rampage and how they’ve built a good audience on Friday night and they come in first and second in that time slot. He said they get more wrestlers on TV and develop other wrestlers.
-Tony is asked about putting together the match order for the show. Tony said it’s always a challenge to put the card order together. Tony said it’s going to come together and it will be a great wrestling PPV. Tony said the card is as deep and strong as any card they’ve put together.
-Tony is asked about Double or Nothing taking place at the T Mobile arena and if it’s a sign they are targeting bigger arenas for PPVs going forward. Tony said they are looking at bigger venues for PPVs going forward.
-Tony is asked about coming AEW coming to the UK. He said he’s looking to do it and would love to go to Craven Cottage. He said he can’t announce anything today. He said it would be awesome to combine his love of Craven Cottage and bringing the Fulham Family together with the AEW family. Tony said he would love to travel throughout the UK with AEW.
-Tony is asked about Jeff Hardy saying he’s heading to AEW and should fans consider it a forgone conclusion that he’s AEW bound. Tony said Jeff is still obligated to another company for several more days. Tony said he would like to have conversations with Jeff about potentially bringing him to AEW when he’s clear.
-Tony is asked about whether or not Cody had an option to renew his contract like the Young Bucks did. Tony said he tried to reach a longer agreement with Cody beyond what he had for the option years and he felt they were going to come to an agreement. He said they weren’t going to get a longer deal done, but he didn’t want to keep someone there that didn’t want to be there.
-Tony is asked about AEW music being played live this weekend and Tony said fans will hear live AEW themes at the fanfest this weekend. Tony said R.J. City is in Jacksonville right now and said he’s a great content creator. Tony said he’s part of the IWC and he thinks R.J.’s stuff is great and he’s there to create content on the road to Revolution.
-Tony is asked about the potential of trios titles and is he considering it. Tony said there’s a lot of interest in it and they have a lot of great trios. Tony said he is interested in it, but he wants to wait to do it when Kenny Omega is back.
-Tony is asked about MJF’s promo on Dynamite last week. He’s asked about the trust that goes into talent tackling that type of promo. He’s asked if MJF is a generational talent. Tony said working in sports you work with extraordinary people. Tony said MJF has a lot of different talents and is a well rounded wrestler. Tony said he has all the talent and it almost becomes routine to see talent do extraordinary things, but he never wants to take it for granted. Tony said MJF’s promo moved a lot of people and it was impactful because people weren’t expecting it. Tony said the promo isn’t at all inconsistent with who MJF is.
-Tony is asked about Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker. He mentions they main evented the last time they wrestled each other. Tony is asked if Rosa vs. Baker will main event Revolution. Tony mentions Baker has main evented some of the biggest events in company history. He says Baker main evented at Grand Slam, which was their biggest show ever. Tony mentions Britt has main evented other big shows on TV as well for AEW. Tony said he’s worked on the card order and Rosa vs. Baker is not slotted for the main event. Tony said there are a lot of main events on this show and mentions Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole will get the main event spot. Tony mentions Hangman’s match quality and what a big fan he is of Adam Cole. Tony mentions that Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa is a really selling point along with Moxley vs. Danielson and Kingston vs. Jericho.
-Tony is asked about Cesaro and whether or not Tony is interested in him. Tony says he likes Cesaro a lot and he met him many years ago. He said he’s a gentleman and he has a ton of respect for him as an athlete and wrestler. Tony said he would be open to bringing in Cesaro.
-Tony is asked if he has any information about the AEW videogame. Tony said he doesn’t have any specific updates except they’re working on it every day and they will be recording content from Dark. He mentions the fans chants from Dark will be in the game. Tony said the console game is on track. He said it’s a major investment that will profit in a major way for them.
-Tony is asked about if the roster feels pressure to fill Cody Rhodes’s void. Tony said he’s already done PPVs without Cody and they were very successful. He mentions that Cody wasn’t on All Out, which is the best show they ever did. Tony said he will miss Cody, but he doesn’t feel pressure.
-Tony says Orange Cassidy and Danhausen are both very different in response to a question. Tony said they’re very different wrestlers in the way they approach the matches. Tony said they both have a lot of young fans. He said there’s differences and they compliment each other well. Tony said Cassidy has delivered big matches with big ratings. Tony said Danhausen brought a big audience with him to AEW.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @SR_Torch
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