AEW President Tony Khan recently joined the Battleground podcast for an interview where he discussed the company’s current creative direction, the upcoming All Out pay-per-view, major talent developments, and why he believes AEW is having its best year ever. He provided behind-the-scenes details on several key storylines and company decisions.
Taz’s “Selfless” Hall of Fame Request
Khan began by addressing the recent decision to hold legendary announcer and former ECW World Champion Taz’s Hall of Fame ceremony off the air during their residency at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena. He revealed that the move came at the direct request of Taz himself, who wanted the television time to remain focused on the current roster.
“He shot me a text message and said, ‘Can we do this off the air?'” Khan said. “And for all the reasons he said later in the video we did together, he said he wanted to really give the screen time to the wrestlers today, focus on them, and not spend the TV time on honoring his legendary career, which I was excited to do, but I understood Taz’s perspective… But Taz said, ‘Hey, Wednesday night dynamite is for the wrestlers.’ Taz is the host of the show. He’s a legend in wrestling. He’s a great commentator. But he said, ‘Let’s keep the wrestling show about the wrestlers today, and my retirement, my great career, celebrating that we can talk about that off the air’.” Khan described the request as “very selfless” and was “happy to honor his request.”
The “Generational Hating” of MJF
Khan praised the most recent episode of AEW Collision, calling it “one of the best shows of the entire year, start to finish. Really a perfect wrestling show, top to bottom.” He pointed to the main event between Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita and its controversial finish as a key example of the company’s strong storytelling.
“The big twist at the end, the man whose wedding I had attended just hours earlier. He came down to Philadelphia. He skipped his own honeymoon to cost Mark Briscoe that TNT championship match,” Khan said of MJF’s interference. “That is truly generational hating from MJF, and he is absolutely—he fits that billing, and there is no love lost between Mark Briscoe and MJF. That is a real rivalry. That is a very personal situation.” Khan also noted that while many AEW stars attended the wedding out of respect for MJF’s wife, AEW interviewer Alicia Atout, Mark Briscoe “wisely took the high road” and did not attend.
State of the AEW Women’s Division
Khan spoke highly of the current state of the AEW women’s division, stating it is “at a great level, and having the best year we’ve ever had, the wrestling is outstanding, top to bottom.” He pointed to the upcoming TBS Championship match at All Out between Mercedes Moné and the returning Riho as a prime example.
“When you have Riho, who is somebody that I have so much respect for… I really think has the talent to be the face of TBS, somebody who’s represented us as a world champion… She is a perfect challenger for Mercedes Moné for the TBS championship at All Out,” Khan said. He also hyped an upcoming tag team match on Dynamite pitting Moné and Emi Sakura against Riho and Alex Windsor, stating it will provide a “really valuable perspective” heading into the pay-per-view.
Praise for Harley Cameron
Khan was also asked about two specific talents who have been making waves in the company. He offered extensive praise for Harley Cameron, calling her an “incredibly valuable wrestler” who brings a unique skill set to the roster.
“She’s a great, great talent. Absolutely, we’re really lucky to have Harley Cameron in AEW,” Khan said. “She’s worked so hard. She hasn’t been wrestling that long, and it’s amazing. She’s gotten very, very good in the ring, but she has so many talents outside the ring too, and it’s like Harley can do almost anything. So I’m a big, big fan of Harley Cameron, and I think she brings a really, really valuable perspective to AEW… somebody that might be very different than what they had imagined a pro wrestler would be like.”
Bryan Danielson Joins Commentary
He then detailed the decision to make Bryan Danielson a permanent member of the commentary team. “As we were preparing for Forbidden Door, I thought Bryan would be fantastic on the commentary team for that show, knowing the background he has… and how much research he does on pro wrestling worldwide,” Khan explained. “He did a fantastic job on Forbidden Door. So I had talked to him maybe after his promotional tour of Australia was complete about Bryan joining us on Wednesday, and it worked out perfect.”
On AEW’s “Best Year Yet” and New Ventures
Finally, Khan addressed AEW’s recent business strategy of holding multi-week “residencies” in major wrestling cities like Chicago and Philadelphia, stating he has no concerns about the crowds going stale in those markets. He also highlighted the company’s new partnership with HBO Max, which will begin offering AEW pay-per-view events for the first time with All Out.
He concluded by stating his belief that 2025 is on pace to be AEW’s best year to date. “Since January, I think we’re having, so far, the best year of wrestling from January to September we’ve ever had,” he said. “We’ve accomplished so many cool things this year. Hit new milestones. We did our biggest crowd ever here in North America for All In Texas. We set the record for the most wrestling fans ever at the London O2 for Forbidden Door… Our weekly TV shows, most importantly, are really good shows.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Battleground podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
