During a recent interview with The New York Post, AEW President Tony Khan commented on how Nick Gage’s appearance in AEW happened, why there hasn’t been more crossover with Impact Wrestling, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On the rumors of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk joining AEW: “I can’t comment on those two guys, but I think there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now.”
On how Nick Gage’s appearance happened: “I was working on it with Max (MJF) before Chris, the Five Labours of Jericho and I thought Nick Gage would be an excellent Labour of Jericho and a great opponent for Chris, very different from the first opponent (Shawn Spears). This is a great test for Chris as a match, but also generating a lot of excitement in the wrestling community, particularly the internet wrestling community where Nick Gage is something of a cult hero and a hardcore hero and it should be a really, really fun no-rules match.”
On if he has any reservations about putting Nick Gage on national TV: “He’s demonstrated that he has changed a lot. 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.”
On why there hasn’t been more crossover with Impact: “There are legitimately a few reasons for that. They’re telling different stories with different wrestlers, they have a different crew and also they tape a lot of their TV a month at a time. A lot of stuff is already set there and we’re live every week, so our stuff is moving every week. So they move at a different pace sometimes, the stories, and that’s a big reason why. They’re focusing on different programs. We each have different contenders. I do think there is going to be some more interesting collaborations with them. I’ve enjoyed working with them. Sometimes the TV taping cycles present challenges in booking stuff.”
On the current state of AEW: “I think this is the all-time high for momentum for AEW. 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.”
