Keith Mitchell appeared on “Talk Is Jericho” this week to discuss how he began working with AEW, as well as past talks he has had with the WWE.
Keith Mitchell talking about how he came to AEW:
“First of all, I got a call from several different wrestling friends who hung out at the Red River Saloon after hours at Impact for years, Kaz and Chris Daniels. Both called me and said I should talk to this guy (Tony Khan),” Mitchell began. “Then Cody called. Tony called me, and he thought I was the director and I had to explain the difference. He called his partner Bernie. We had a three way chat and we hit it off pretty well. He said, ‘This weekend the Jaguars are playing at home. Come to the game, hang out, and we’ll meet.’”
“I went to the game. I know he’s a busy person during the game. He’s VP and has a lot going on. I met him just briefly. He was in and out in a hurry, but the next day I went to his office. We talked and he told me his vision on what he wants to do. He brought me to Daily’s place because he had a dream of Daily’s place being a great venue.” Mitchell continued, “First of all, I wasn’t really excited about doing that because a stage in an amphitheater is not easy for a wrestling venue. I found out later that his inspiration for doing Daily’s Place was an episode of South Park. Sure enough, I got a frame from South Park and I put a camera at the very top and gave him the exact same shot as the scene in South Park. He was just so excited. After doing Impact for 20 years, this was now 2018, I was very interested and wanted to talk more.”
Keith said he did have multiple talks with WWE in the past:
When asked if he had talked with WWE in the past, Mitchell shared: “Yes, multiple times when I was at WCCW. In fact, Fritz (Von Erich) bi**hed at me because I didn’t take the job.”
When asked why he didn’t take it, Keith said, ‘Several things. The perceived attitude of the territory. Whether or not that’s true, I hear different stories from different people. Moving to Connecticut from Texas. My wife and I went up in February which is not a good time to bring somebody in if you’re trying to get them to move. It was cold. To get the house I had in Texas on an acre of land, and a nice house. Why would I move all the way across the country to live in a miserable climate right next to New York City, and live in a house a third of the size of the one I’m living in now? I met with Linda (McMahon). She was as sweet as she could be. She was a very nice person.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Talk Is Jericho with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription
