It’s certainly an exciting time in professional wrestling.
AEW President Tony Khan recently spoke with the New York Post ahead of the company’s debut at Arthur Ashe Stadium in September. Khan briefly touched on the rumors of former WWE Champions CM Punk and Daniel Bryan becoming “All Elite,” but he wasn’t able to say very much
“I have no comment on those, but those are good questions but I can’t comment on those. I can’t comment on those two guys, but I think there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now.”
With or without Punk and/or Bryan potentially joining the fold, AEW is riding high right now, and Khan shared his belief that the company’s momentum is at an “all-time high” right now.
I think this is the all-time high for momentum for AEW,” said Khan. “We had great momentum when the pandemic shutdown occurred. We had done an amazing pay-per-view last year in ‘Revolution’ just a few weeks before the pandemic hit. The Dynamite shows were very well received, our tickets were flying and things were going great. People thought it was tough for us to have to go to empty arena shows and do all the things we did.
“I think we are now in as strong a position as we’ve ever been and I do think the next few months will be a very important time in the history of AEW. Right now we are writing a really important chapter in our legacy.”
Khan would also discuss how the deal with Nick Gage came together. Gage will face former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho on Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen, and Khan explained why he felt comfortable putting the controversial Game Changer Wrestling star in the spotlight. He acknowledged Gage’s previous legal troubles, but he pointed out how other wrestlers have made similar mistakes and bounced back.
“He’s demonstrated that he has changed a lot,” said Khan. “He’s built a strong reputation as a hardcore wrestler, and he’s been fulfilling his dates and commitments and he has a lot of support from the company. He made a big mistake [robbing a bank in 2010] a long time ago. I think there have been other people in wrestling that have made similar mistakes and come back and had great careers.”
