Thursday afternoon Tony Khan, the head of creative and CEO of AEW, sat down with the media. Ahead of AEW Revolution this Sunday, Khan addressed the card and the future of the company moving forward into 2025.
Sting and AEW
“Setting up an incredible retirement match for Sting this Sunday at Revolution Pay-Per-View. He’s an incredible pro wrestler and an incredible man and giving him the sendoff that he deserves. These past few years have been really important to me and now having a match for the weekend with high stakes, a personal rivalry, a great story. It’s going to be a tremendous show and it’s certainly something that nobody will ever forget.”
The importance of Sting to wrestling, and to AEW was littered throughout the media call. Tony Khan was able to draw from his childhood love for wrestling by having Sting repel from the rafters one more time in his career. Khan would go on to say that Sting is always welcome in AEW.
“I would love to have Sting back in any capacity… He’s our greatest legend.”
Jennifer Pepperman and Kamille
“I love collaborating with the people in the office and Jen is somebody who’s got a really great wrestling mind.”
Jennifer Pepperman is a recent hire in the corporate offices of AEW. With a history in WWE as well as other Emmy award winning TV, she was a huge asset for Khan.
Tony would commend Pepperman for “learning the culture” of AEW and catching up on the last 4 years of the company’s history. Khan would say Jen Pepperman brings lots of knowledge inside of wrestling and out.
The following question would bring up wrestling free agent Kamille Brickhouse. Khan would say that Kamille is a great free agent and someone the company has scouted. According to TK she is “definitely under consideration.”
Domestic Media Rights and Christian Cage
Tony Khan would say 2024 and the upcoming 25 would be two of the most exciting years for the company. This year’s AEW Revolution marks the four year anniversary of the first PPV and the Q1 event that kicks off AEW yearly cycle. Tony would reiterate the importance of 2024, coming off a “record year” for AEW in 2023.
Khan would go on to say that AEW Dynamite was regularly ranked in the “top 5” cable show every Wednesday night. TK would state later in the call that he was expecting all three shows; Dynamite, AEW Collision, and AEW Rampage to all get a “huge bump” when the next rounds of TV deals are finalized.
When asked about the TNT title match, TK raved about both competitors.
“It was very, very cool. And I really, really think the sky’s the limit for Daniel Garcia. He would be a great champion in any company and in AEW, he would be a great champion for any title. I think the TNT title is all about pro wrestling. We’ve seen so many great wrestlers hold the title and I believe Danny Garcia fits that tradition like a glove.”
Tony would say that Christian Cage has set himself apart from every other wrestler who has held the TNT title, and what he is doing with the title is great.
“Christian Cage is also somebody that has been a great champion. He’s done it a different way than anyone else who’s ever held the title, but he has established himself as a great champion. I also have an incredible amount of personal respect for Christian Cage, who I believe might be the best wrestler in the entire world. And I’m glad that people have come to see that.”
Main Event and Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat
Tony Khan would address a question about the main event by saying it’s “hard to pick a number one contender” when you have two great wrestlers like Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page. Khan would address Samoa Joe as being a formidable champion.
TK would say that the descent into darkness that Swerve and Hangman have had in their story is the entertainers knowing their parts and running with them. From breaking into Hangman’s house, the violent Texas Death match or their drive for the title. Khan is sure this will be a top pick for match of the year at the end of the show.
Khan also addressed the “Meat Madness Match” and the change to the All Star Scramble. TK would say he is listening to the fans. The chants during matches like Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Miro or Lance Archer vs. Brian Cage. The fans’ adoration with big meaty men slapping meat has been heard.
The downfall to the match was booking. The original plan was to feature a scramble of only the biggest meatiest men. Although due to injuries and travel issues, we are getting an All Star Scramble filled with top talent from AEW and ROH.
Economics of the Company and Disciplinary Committee
When asked about the possibility of expanding the pay per view numbers going into 2024 Tony Khan had promising words for the media. He would say that after record years in 2022 and 2023, the only way to go was up.
Khan would state that in 2022 AEW added a 5th event with Forbidden Door, and in 2023 the company would add three more totaling 8 PPV events on the yearly cycle. One of the newest events was All In, in London. The London event last summer was the largest event in AEW history.
Khan would go on to say that “9 would be that sweet spot.” The Possibility of 10 could be on the horizon.
“I’m very excited about the upcoming media rights renewal deal that will really put us over the top in many ways in the not in there into going from being a milestone business that has accomplished things that will live in the history books and a great business to being what I think will be a sustainable business for many, many years to come.”
Khan would address the disciplinary committee and their members. He would list “two attorneys” and Brian Danielson as members. He would say that having “different backgrounds and different backgrounds in wrestling” was a huge deciding factor in naming the members.
The AEW Revolution 2024 full media call can be found here. When aggregated please credit, Sports Events Guide and AEW.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
