Tag: Tony Khan

Tony Khan To Make “Major Announcement” On Next Week’s AEW Dynamite

The card for next week’s AEW Dynamite was revealed last night and it is filled to the brim with action and announcements. It was promised that Tony Khan, the Founder and President of AEW, will be appearing to reveal a major announcement for All Elite Wrestling.

When it comes to the matches, the ongoing feud between Andrade El Idolo and Darby Allin looks to be coming to a head when they face each other in a coffin match. This will only be the second coffin match ever in AEW and Darby’s second time competing with such a stipulation.

Rising AEW star Hook will also be making his way to Dynamite to compete for the first time. On the show Rampage and on pay-per-view buy-in shows, Hook remains undefeated, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the winning streak with a new wave of challengers.

You can see the full card for next week’s AEW Dynamite below:

Wardlow vs. The Butcher

Hook makes AEW Dynamite in-ring debut

* Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifier
Britt Baker vs. Danielle Camella

* Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifier
Jungle Boy vs. Kyle O’Reilly

* Coffin Match
Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo

Tony Khan to make a major announcement

Tony Khan Confirms Samoa Joe Has Joined Both ROH And AEW

Tony Khan recently spoke with the media following Ring Of Honor’s Supercard Of Honor show about signing Samoa Joe.

The former WWE Superstar debuted at the end of the event, and Khan made it clear that he’s excited to have him on the roster for both of his promotions.

“I am very excited to have Samoa Joe in both Ring Of Honor and All Elite Wrestling,” he exclaimed. “I think his timing was impeccable, and I’m sure the champ (Jonathan Gresham) agrees. But I am very excited, and we are going to hear from him shortly, and you’ll get to hear from him as well. But I know I am very excited about having Samoa Joe in AEW. Samoa Joe is going to be on Dynamite on Wednesday, and it was great to have him here on Supercard.

“I thought it made a great night of great wrestling a bit more special. And it was a really cool moment to see Samoa Joe in the ring. I think with Jonathan Gresham and Lee Moriarity. A few different generations of great wrestlers, and great Ring Of Honor stars. All people that potentially could be competing also in AEW. I am very excited about a great championship match to end a great PPV tonight.”

Jonathan Gresham joined Tony Khan in being pleased about the situation. He admitted that there are people on the roster that he sees as originals, with Joe being one of those. He is also pleased to have these veterans passing on their knowledge to the next generation of talent.

“For me, I am just very excited,” Gresham said. “From the locker room to people that are making special appearances. Like tonight, Samoa Joe. Christopher Daniels is in this locker room, Jay Lethal is here, B.J. Whitmer is here. To me when I became conscious to how wrestling can be, in my mind, how wrestling should be, I call these men, these great men, the originals. They still possess the fire and the spirit of what I believe wrestling is built upon.

“Having them here in this company, to teach the next generation, to help us understand how to be pro wrestlers, it means the world to me. I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and I am very happy these guys are coming back to an umbrella that has someone who cares so passionately about the sports and the essence of this business. Tony Khan, and Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and all these guys are keeping the business of pro wrestling alive, and I am happy to be part of it.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan And MJF Reportedly Clash Following Audacious Interview

Tony Khan was reportedly unhappy with MJF following the latter’s interview with Ariel Helwani.

AEW’s locker room may not be as harmonious as it seems on the surface.

According to a recent Fightful Select report, AEW president Tony Khan got into a “heated argument” with MJF following the latter’s controversial conversation with Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show last week. TK reportedly chastised one of his company’s most exciting young stars for failing to obtain permission from AEW’s media department before participating in the interview.

During his aforementioned appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, MJF opened up about his AEW contract status. When asked if he would consider signing an extension to his current AEW deal MJF said there was “no chance” of that happening. He then specified that it would have to be “an absolutely astronomical number” and even then he likely wouldn’t sign because he wants to test the market.

Per Fightful, AEW sources said there would not have been an issue with the content of the MJF/Helwani interview if the wrestler has gone through the proper channels prior to the interview taking place.

In the same interview, MJF complimented WWE’s revamped developmental program NXT 2.0. “There’s so many charisma machines on that program. There is. I don’t know why you’re laughing,” MJF gushed as Helwani chuckled at his suspiciously excessive praise. “They had a make out competition this past Tuesday. Gripping television.”

UPDATE:

In an update from Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, the issues that arose between Khan and MJF “are now said to be settled.”

Meltzer noted that although the story is true, “there was no fight” or physical altercation between MJF and Khan.

During the interview, MJF confirmed that his AEW contract expires on January 1, 2024, and admitted that he’s not afraid to “stir the pot” until then.

“So when you’re as talented, as over, and as much of a draw as me, if I want to I can bite off Tony Khan’s fingers. He knows where his bread is buttered,” MJF said. “And if that offends somebody in the locker room, which I know it does, oh well, cry about it. Get more over than me. Oh wait, that’s right, you can’t. Because I’m literally the best talker in the business, and one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business bell to bell.”

MJF emphasized that he’d end up “wherever the money is” after his AEW contract expires in 2024.

Sources: TheSportster and Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Might Have Trick Up His Sleeve For ROH Supercard Of Honor

Tony Khan says he may have a trick up his sleeve for Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view.

It’s the first ROH show since AEW’s President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative announced earlier this month that he has agreed to purchase the company.

“I promise to work hard to make ROH Supercard a great ppv + a show to carry on the incredible 20 year legacy of @ringofhonor,” Khan tweeted Wednesday. “I’ll continue to make announcements on the card; I might even have a trick up my sleeve (which I wouldn’t announce).”

Four matches have been announced for Supercard of Honor. Jonathan Gresham and Bandido will meet to decide the undisputed ROH World Champion. The Briscoes will defend the ROH World Tag Team Championship against FTR. Also, Jay Lethal will face Lee Moriarty and Alex Zayne is set to square off against Swerve Strickland.

Other talents announced for the show are Joe Hendry and Ninja Mack.

“I had not scheduled this pay-per-view, the Ring of Honor Supercard, but I really think that is important for me because they’ve sold tickets and made a commitment to the fans to still do the show,” Tony Khan said last week. “I see it as a transitional show in many ways, and I’m really excited about it because it is the first show under the new management, and it’s also a transition show before I will relaunch what I hope to be a really great, new Ring of Honor television product. A weekly series, wherever it does air or stream.”

Supercard of Honor will be held on Friday, April 1 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Dallas, Texas. The show will be available to purchase on FITE TV and PPV.com, as well as via InDemand Cable and Satellite providers. The show will also be streamed for members of Ring of Honor’s HonorClub service.

The Supercard of Honor pay-per-view broadcast is scheduled to begin at 8 PM Easter/7 PM Central. A pre-show on Ring of Honor’s YouTube channel will begin one hour earlier.

This year’s Supercard of Honor is the fifteenth installment of the annual event. It will also be the first Ring of Honor since the start of a self-imposed hiatus for the company last December.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Tony Khan Purchasing Ring Of Honor

More details have been revealed about Tony Khan purchasing Ring Of Honor on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

Dave Meltzer noted that the deal was put together two weeks ago, and the following day is when Khan started dropping hints. Both AEW and WWE were contacted regarding the sale, but Khan obviously put together the better offer.

The tape library was mentioned as being important to AEW, and the company does want a streaming service in some form. Ring Of Honor’s old footage is something that can help with that due to having more content. Plus, Ring Of Honor owned the footage for ALL IN, which was a crucial night for AEW’s own history.

It is not believed that WWE would have run Ring Of Honor as a separate brand. However, when the company was hot in 2018, WWE made a pitch, as Triple H wanted to buy the company. There were talks that went nowhere, as Vince McMahon wanted to buy somebody bigger. WWE ended up trying to buy New Japan Pro Wrestling, Stardom, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. The company also tried to buy AAA, but nobody would sell to them for the price that WWE was willing to pay.

In a press release, Tony Khan spoke about acquiring the ROH video library. Khan said he is exploring way to make the library available to fans.

“Ring of Honor’s influence on modern professional wrestling is etched permanently in the history books, and this acquisition ensures that its legacy will be kept alive and treated with the utmost respect,” Khan said. “This deal adds thousands of hours of content to our rapidly growing library and creates new opportunities to expand our footprint on a national and global scale, while having the potential to produce new content under the ROH banner.

“I will immediately begin exploring opportunities to make ROH’s video library available to fans, who’ll have the opportunity to witness the beginnings of the careers of some of AEW’s biggest stars.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Announces He Is The New Owner Of ROH

Throughout the past few weeks, Tony Khan and various AEW stars have hyped a “massive announcement” to be revealed on tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Tony even promised to personally appear in the ring for the big moment, which was a promise he fulfilled at the opening of the show this evening.

After thanking the crowd and promising the get the action going soon, Tony Khan said it would be the biggest night in the history of the company.

It was revealed that the major announcement is Tony Khan signed a deal to become the official owner of Ring Of Honor.

Earlier this week it was reported that sources from multiple wrestling companies say there was a possible sale of ROH and another promotion. It’s clear now that the deal was between AEW and Ring Of Honor.

ROH has been on a hiatus since December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, and Supercard of Honor is scheduled to be their first show back on Friday, April 1. The company announced in the lead-up to Final Battle that they were taking some time off during the first quarter of this year to “work internally to reimagine” the company and return with a “new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience.” You can click here for the updated Supercard of Honor line-up and more news from the company.

Tony Khan previously indicated that the announcement was not related to any individual talent acquisition, and instead, it had to do with a new business deal for AEW. He recently stated that keeping the details quiet was because the AEW legal team had him under NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) until everything was finalized, but assured fans that it would be “huge” for the promotion.

You can see a press release from Tony Khan below:

TONY KHAN ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE RING OF HONOR

— Video Library, Brand Assets, Intellectual Property from Independent Professional Wrestling’s Most Prestigious Promotion Purchased Under New Partnership with Tony Khan —

March 2, 2022 – Moments ago on AEW: Dynamite live on TBS, it was announced that TonyKhan has agreed to acquire the assets of Ring of Honor Wrestling Entertainment, LLC from Sinclair Broadcast Group, including the promotion’s extensive video library dating back to 2002,brand assets, intellectual property, production equipment and more.

Known widely as the independent promotion that birthed some of wrestling’s biggest stars of today, including AEW’s CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, and highlighted dozens of members of the AEW roster, Ring of Honor’s purchase signifies a new chapter in the future of professional wrestling as AEW’s meteoric rise continues to draw the youngest-skewing wrestling audience on television.

“Ring of Honor’s influence on modern professional wrestling is etched permanently in the history books, and this acquisition ensures that its legacy will be kept alive and treated with the utmost respect,” said Tony Khan, CEO of AEW, Chief Football Strategy Officer of the Jacksonville Jaguars and GM/Sporting Director of Fulham F.C.

“This deal adds thousands of hours of content to our rapidly growing library and creates new opportunities to expand our footprint on anational and global scale, while having the potential to produce new content under the ROH banner. I will immediately begin exploring opportunities to make ROH’s video library available to fans, who’ll have the opportunity to witness the beginnings of the careers of some of AEW’s biggest stars.”

More than 40 members of the AEW roster have appeared in Ring of Honor during their careers.The promotion launched the careers of numerous AEW superstars, including CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Hangman Page, Dr. Britt Baker and Adam Cole. Additional members of the AEW roster have made their mark in ROH, including the late Brodie Lee, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, ReDragon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly), Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta), Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Mercedes Martinez, Serena Deeb, Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Keith Lee, Eddie Kingston, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, QT Marshall, Danhausen, Lance Archer, Griff Garrison, Thunder Rosa, Wheeler Yuta, Luchasaurus, Orange Cassidy, Ethan Page, Austin Gunn, PAC, Kip Sabian, Jon Moxley, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Jerry Lynn, BJ Whitmer, and Sonjay Dutt.

“Ring of Honor has produced some of the best professional wrestlers over the past 20 years,but more importantly, it created a family. I will be forever grateful to everyone in the ROH family who has worked tirelessly for the past two decades to take ROH to levels previously unimagined,” said Joe Koff, Chief Operating Officer, Ring of Honor Wrestling. “Tony has the utmost appreciation and respect for Ring of Honor, and I’m truly excited to see how he continues the legacy.”This acquisition will be completed through an entity that is wholly-owned by Tony Khan.

Further details about the extent of this acquisition will be announced in the coming weeks.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan To Make A “Massive” AEW Announcement

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan is planning on making a “massive” announcement during Wednesday’s Dynamite episode from Daily’s Place at Jacksonville, FL.

Khan first revealed to Busted Open Radio last Friday how he’d been “working on something pretty big” for AEW, calling it “massive” and something that would be a “big deal in pro wrestling.” It was reported the next day that Khan was in meetings all day that Friday, trying to put together the “massive” deal for AEW.

No other details were provided until AEW tweeted a pre-Dynamite video this week, where Khan said he hopes to reveal the announcement soon, noting that the AEW legal team has him under NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) to prevent him from revealing any details before the deal was finalized. Khan noted in that video that they were “working on something that’s going to be really great for the fans and the wrestlers, and it’s going to be awesome.”

He added in Wednesday’s video, “I am so excited, and I don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to tell the fans, but I know that it’s coming very soon so stay tuned to AEW. Stay tuned to AEW, I promise you something big is coming. It’s not like ‘The First Dance’ where I can put a date and a time and a place on it and say that I know exactly when, but it is like ‘The First Dance’ in that I know something big and important is coming to AEW and I’m very excited about it. It’s a little bit different than anything we’ve done before, but it’s going to be awesome.”

In an update, Khan returned to Busted Open Radio today and provided an update on the “massive” announcement. He noted that he’s looking to reveal the big news during Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite on TBS.

“I am going to tell everyone right now you definitely don’t want to miss Wednesday night Dynamite next week,” Khan teased. “I’ve been talking a lot about a big announcement in the world of pro wrestling — not only is there going to be a lot of great wrestling on the show, the Casino Tag Battle Royale, 15 tag teams entering the ring. I’m going to add a lot more to the card, but I’m going to promise you guys right now that I have a huge announcement coming. Nobody knows what it is. It’s going to be something very important in the wrestling business. It’s not one particular piece of talent, it’s something very special and I’m excited about it. I believe it’s something we’ll be in position to announce on Wednesday. So I’m pretty excited about that.”

There is still no word on what Khan has to announce.

AEW has already announced two matches for Wednesday’s Dynamite, which will be the go-home show for the Revolution pay-per-view – six-man action with Adam Cole and reDRagon vs. AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page, John Silver and Alex Reynolds, plus the Casino Tag Battle Royale to determine who will join AEW World Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express and reDRagon in the Triple Threat title match at Revolution.

For those who missed it, below is the video Khan released on Wednesday before Dynamite:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody Rhodes Was Reportedly Upset With Tony Khan Over This particular Issue

Cody Rhodes had a few problems with AEW president Tony Khan before parting ways with the promotion.

Cody Rhodes has left AEW along with his wife Brandi, sending shock waves through the wrestling world. The former TNT Champion is now the hottest free agent in the business, and he has been heavily linked to WWE since the news of his departure broke.

It was initially reported that Rhodes and AEW president Tony Khan were at loggerheads over contractual issues but, according to Andrew Zarian, there were a few other incidents involving Tony that got under Cody’s skin.

One of those is rumored to be a video in which Khan implied AEW’s success was all down to him.

“Somebody sent me a link to a Forbes article and said, ‘This really upset certain people, especially Cody’. I don’t if that’s 100% true but this kind of plays into everything,” Zarian said on Wrestling Observer’s We’re Live Pal (H/T WrestleTalk.com).

“It was the Forbes video, the profile they did on Tony, and Tony starts it off by pretty much listing, ‘I’m the GM, I’m the booker, I’m the this, I’m the…’, essentially he’s a one-man show.”

It’s reported that Rhodes wasn’t the only one upset by Khan’s comments. Zarian added that there may have been a few other issues leading to Rhodes’ exit.

“I don’t know if that’s necessarily one of the things, but it was a multitude of things,” the wrestling insider continued.

Over the last few months, there have been reports citing various problems between Rhodes and the other AEW EVPs. Khan was also on the end of lots of criticism for his handling of certain issues, including Big Swole’s comments on her release.

Cody has since issued a statement on his departure in which he thanked Khan and several other AEW personalities.

“I loved my time at AEW. Amazing locker room. Amazing fans. Amazing people.” He wrote as part of said statement on social media, “The revolution was indeed televised, and I’ve been incredibly lucky to be part of that.” He added, “I have had so many milestones and beautiful memories of this renaissance… through sweat, blood, tears, literal fire, and all that… I left it all on the mat.”

Source: TheSportster

Tony Khan Admits He ‘Can’t Renew’ All AEW Contracts Due To Incoming Stars

According to the company’s president Tony Khan, AEW roster cuts are unavoidable.

Tony Khan has confirmed that an exodus of AEW talent is imminent as the company will not be renewing every contract that is due for renewal.

During a recent chat with Scott Fishman of TVInsider, the AEW president addressed the issue of his promotion’s ever-expanding roster and acknowledged that the reason so few wrestlers have parted ways with AEW was that he didn’t want to fire people during a pandemic unless it was absolutely necessary.

“When we started a lot of people had contracts that were a couple of years long and a lot of them are coming up. I have really tried hard to be very considerate of the people on the roster, especially going through the pandemic,” Khan said.

TK admitted that he would be unable to renew all the contracts that are up for renewal, in part because AEW has brought in some big-name talent in recent months, including Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, and Keith Lee.

“Really only two places were running and the other place was cutting people left and right. I did want to give some job security to people. Now with so many wrestlers coming in, I can’t renew all the contracts,” Khan confessed. “I’ve had to make some tough choices based on ability, fan response, or both. I try to maintain the best roster I can for the company and fans,” he added.

Whereas WWE often releases talent who still have time left on their deals, Khan prefers to keep his wrestlers under contract until their deals expire, which means he technically isn’t firing them. In the wake of another wave of mass WWE layoffs last year Khan actually called into question the legitimacy of the contracts WWE offers to performers.

“Anybody who signs a contract [with WWE] these days, is not signing a real contract, in my opinion,” TK proclaimed during a Busted Open Radio appearance. “It’s a temporary arrangement. People who come wrestle with me, a lot of these people are frankly lifers and they know that. There are some people who are here and work really hard. There are some people who come in and work more than really hard.”

Source: TheSportster

Tony Khan Brought Jay White To AEW Dynamite To Make Up For “Forbidden Door” Botch

The AEW debut of top NJPW star Jay White was just put together on Sunday.

As noted, White made his AEW Dynamite debut last night during a backstage segment that saw The Young Bucks and Adam Cole attack Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero). After taking out Romero with a BTE Trigger, the trio went to finish off Beretta until Cole stopped and pointed out White as he approached. They backed off as White sent Beretta flying face-first into a production truck. White then walked away, stopping to nod at The Elite and compliment Matt Jackson on his earrings.

White was later referenced in another backstage segment with Cole and The Bucks. The brothers looked ahead to defeating RPG Vice on Rampage, and Cole said White can have their backs on Friday’s show. The Bucks pointed to how White was once enemies with the injured Kenny Omega, but once you take the oath to be in The Bullet Club, it’s for life.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1491592268431691776

Khan took to Twitter after Dynamite and revealed that he didn’t secure White until Sunday. He brought White in because he botched his own definition of “The Forbidden Door” when first teasing a surprise for last night’s show. In his post-Dynamite tweet, Khan said he brought White to Dynamite because he heard the fan feedback and wanted to make sure Dynamite was special.

“I didn’t secure @JayWhiteNZ until Sunday. I realized after the fact that Friday night I butchered my own definition of Forbidden Door in hyping tonight. I heard the fans’ feedback, & wanted to ensure that tonight was a special #AEWDynamite for all. Thank you everyone who watched!” Khan explained.

White will also appear on AEW Rampage this Friday night, but it appears he has not been signed to a contract.

White is currently working a storyline in Impact Wrestling with bellow Bullet Club members Guerrillas of Destiny from NJPW, and Chris Bey from Impact. The February 19 No Surrender event will see White take on Eric Young in singles action, while G.O.D. challenge Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers. White has made a few appearances for Impact since last year due to their working relationship with NJPW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.