Tony Khan speaks at length to crowd before Collision went live about Elite attacking him on Dynamite, detailed quotes from Triller feed that aired it

AEW Collison last Saturday began airing early on Triller. It was fascinating to witness AEW’s pre-broadcast rituals being filmed with high-quality, professional cameras rather than a cellphone in the audience.

Bobby Cruise began speaking to the fans in Jacksonville.

“Anybody here a Miami Heat fan?” Bobby Cruise asked to a middling reaction. “Anybody here a Celtics fan?” Once again, the reaction was middle-adjacent. “Okay, anybody here not care?” The reaction to this last proposition was uproarious and hilarious.

“You just want to see AEW, I get it,” Cruise joked as he stood at ringside, between the ring and the commentary table.”

Cruise then turned to a member of AEW’s security team and said, “Sam here — the head of security — isn’t my biggest fan, but he is ready to go, aren’t you?”

Sam gave Cruise nothing to work with.

“Okay, who was here in January? I know we had AEW Dynamite here on Wednesday. Who was here in January? It’s a little warmer tonight, huh? I remember that one. That (episode of Dynamite) felt like I was back in Boston.”

Then, Cruise introduced Tony Khan by saying, “Everyone who is a Jags fan, are you happy with the draft?” Once again, the response was middling. “Speaking of the Jags, here is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tony Khan.” Khan came out on stage to a fantastic response.

Khan came out in a neckbrace, and the fans started a “Tony! Tony!” chant. Khan seemed genuinely moved, and it’s moments like this that make me think, “What a nice, likable, genuine young man. It is a shame his phone apps are basically food for a Gremlin after midnight.”

“Thank you; thank you so much,” The cute, fuzzy Mogwai version of Tony Khan said: “I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to be here with all of you today — here in Daily’s Place.”

The crowd reacted way better to Tony Khan than they did to Bobby Cruise, no offense to Cruise. He was doing fine; they just seemed really happy to see Tony Khan.

“Thank you for being here today, Jacksonville,” Khan continued. “I have never been so happy to be here with all of you. I feel very fortunate, and I’ve never loved pro wrestling more than I do at this moment, right here today. It’s going to be a great night here. It’s been a great day for the Jaguars, and it’s been a great week for AEW.” (Has it, though? Really?)

“I personally I—,” Khan paused for a split second, “—I never thought I would step into a wrestling ring and leave the way I did (on Wednesday), but I also never felt more fortunate to be able to walk out of anything like that under my own power! I felt very fortunate that I had the support of everyone in the back and all of you great fans.” The fans liked being called great.

“And, most importantly, I’m so glad we were able to bring AEW back to Daily’s Place tonight — the home of AEW. Moments from now, we’re about to go live. Bobby, how long until we go live?”

“Four minutes!” Cruise said.

“We’re a few minutes away from going live!” Khan relayed Cruise’s response to the audience, and his enthusiasm is catchy. (Even if C.M. Punk does happen to think Khan is a “clown,” I can’t help but imagine he also admires Khan’s unabashed love for the art of professional wrestling. That might explain why he tried to stick around and make things work after Brawl Out?)

“…I just wanted to come out here and thank you all for being here tonight,” Khan continued. “We have a little bit of time before we get started. But I have to say, before we get started, I usually take a little bit of a survey, and I have to ask: How many of you have been to AEW before?” A good portion of the crowd responded, and Khan looked sincerely grateful. “How many of you are here tonight for the first time ever?” An equally good portion of the crowd responded, and Khan looked equally grateful.

“Whether you have been here many times, or whether this is your first time, or anything in between, (There is an in-between option? Is it anything like the Upside Down?) I can promise you we’re going to have a great time tonight. (Is it like The Further?) We have some of the best wrestlers in the world in the back, and they’re ready to give you a great show right here tonight.” (Is it like the multiverse in Spider-Man?)

“They are also going to give you an update on my status during the show.” (I bet the crowd can’t wait to find out your medical condition during the show. Also, I had no idea they were deaf and blind. Is that what you meant by the “In-between?”) “But, the most important thing I can tell you is I feel very blessed and lucky to be here tonight with you, and there is nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than right here in Daily’s Place with you right here tonight.”

“We’re going to get things started hot (it is Florida.), fast, and furious. (Fast & Furious is the worst ride in all of Florida. Do not waste your time in line for that crap. It’s just the old Earthquake ride with a Dwayne Johnson overlay.)”

“Bobby, it sounds like we’re very close to getting ready to go live,” Khan paused to hear something said by Bobby Cruise. “2:45 is it? We’re ready to go! Alright, we’re almost ready to go! We’re going to have a great night tonight. It means the world to me that you are here. We really appreciate you. God bless you, and may I say…” Tony Khan then shouted a word I don’t recognize, but it could have been a sports reference? To be fair, I have profound hearing loss, so there are a lot of words I don’t recognize.

Tony Khan then pretended that he’d hurt his neck in his excitement, winced, and put a hand to his neck brace.

“I love you,” Khan said. “Thank you very much! I’ll see you again very soon! Thank you, Jacksonville.”

With that, Khan turned, walked upstage right, and made his exit.

“Alright, folks, two minutes until we’re live on TNT!” Bobby Cruise said.

For about half a minute, nobody else spoke on the microphone, and the fans in the crowd started chanting, “Whose house? Swerves house!”

“It sounds like you guys are ready for the new champ, huh?” Cruise said, and the crowd popped. “(We have about) 90 seconds! Alright, Jacksonville, get ready!” There was another pause, and then Cruise concluded, “Just under one minute, and we are live with Collision.”

At that point, the screen faded to black, and the opening began to play.