October 21, 2025 • 23 mins
Tony Khan Discusses John Cena, Chris Jericho, Andrade, Britt Baker, Returning to NYC & More
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, what's up. I'm Josh Martinez from the Superstar Crossover
podcast on iHeartRadio and Z one hundred with our guest
aw Everything, Tony connos up. Man.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey, Well, I'm definitely not everything. I think the wrestling
and the wrestling fans or everything. I just am an executive.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
You know, I could have the CEO, executive owner. I
could have ran down the list. I just say everything successful.
Wrestled dream Paper View event the other night in Saint Louis.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Was there one particular match that you were most excited
about when it was over?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
At the end of the show, I was thrilled to
have gotten through a great event. So I would say
the main event to have an equip match with John
Moxley Darby Allen, and you know both of them are
going to be okay, they'll both be competing in wrestling
in the future. And that we had a great event.
And when the final bell rang, that was a great night.
It was a great return for the icon sting to
(00:51):
a w and a hard hitting fight and a great
equip match between John Moxley and Darby Allen. So I
was really happy about that. But start to finish, I
loved it. I thought it was a great event. It's
one of my favorite shows we've ever done, and that's
why I'm excited to come and talk to you.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
And now we're just hours.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Away from Wednesday Night Dynamite, which is going to be
a great show, and we have some exciting things coming
on that show coming out of this wrestl Dream pay
per view. So perfect time for me to return here
to studio and see this nice new room that you
host the show in.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So Chris Statlander retained her title against Tony Storm. We
saw that Mercedes Money became the interim Ring of Honor
TV champion, so she has twelve titles. Now, the gauntlet
was put down for the next Paper Review event between
Statlander and Monday. Do we know yet if it's going
to be a winner take all strictly for the World
(01:43):
heavyweight women's title.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Well, it's a great question.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I mean, the challenge has been put out by Mercedes
to the world champion, Chris Statlander. I think it would
be a great world title fight. Chris Statlander is a
fighting champion. Mercedes has taken on belts from all over
the world, so we'll have to see. But with all
the commitments Mercedes taken on. I think it's really impressive.
You know, I've said it before and I'll say it again.
(02:07):
That shows it's not about pure greed and money for
Mercedes because a lot of these places she's wrestling, Winnipeg, Canada, Denmark,
they're not the highest paying places.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
She's not really making money from these.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
She loves wrestling, she loves building up companies, she loves
meeting new young stars, and she really cares about the
craft and the sport of wrestling, and it's about a competition,
so as a competitor, she wants to go out and
fight all over the world. I think that Chris Statlander
is somebody who has been fighting in AW from the
very very beginning. She worked really hard to get a
(02:40):
world title shot, and then she went a long time
without a world title shot.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
She has been the TBS champion.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
But she worked her way up to the very top
of the profession became the world champion. And Mercedes in
the past has had Chris Statlander's number. So I think
that would potentially be a great world title fight for
AW full Gear and I'm excited about Full Gear coming
back here to your territory or at least close by.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So Full Gear next month November twenty third.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Twenty second, twenty second.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Okay, so I do have a have a question and
a concern as a fan who attends said full Gear.
This will be my third year going the event the
other night ended at twelve thirty in the morning. A
lot of people kind of were opinionated on the end
time from the East coast at least, are we going
to see another twelve thirty finish at Full Gear? Do
(03:29):
we know? Is there? Ah?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
No, well that was It was eleven twenty nine in
Saint Louis, which.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Is important to mention that the city you were in
was Central time zone.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
You just have my schmuck ass sitting on the couch
at twelve thirty, like I want to sleep, but I
always not watch Moxley darbyd.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
It was awesome, and you know, in the local time,
I thought it made sense and here in the local
time will definitely be out well before midnight and be
out in Eastern time here, so it's different time zones.
But I absolutely loved the Wrestle Dream Show start to finish,
and I thought we had such a great night and
put so much great action in the show and I
(04:06):
wouldn't have changed a single thing about Wrestle Dream. It's
one of my favorite AW events ever pound for pound,
especially with some injuries and some top stars away. I
thought this was the absolute best show we were capable
of putting on. So I'm more proud of what we
did at Wressel Dream, probably at least since the Pandemic
of any show we've done.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
That's a bold statement. I like that, doubling down a
big angle that happened. We talked about this off air,
Samoa Joe the ops kind of turning to the dark side,
if you will. How important is someone like Samoa Joe
to the all elite wrestling roster.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Samojo is a huge, huge part of AW, and I
think Samojo is a really important part of professional wrestling
in my lifetime. Samojo is one of the greatest professional
wrestlers I've seen. I was so so excited and we've
been so blessed to get Samoa Joe into AW. He's
been with us now for three and a half years
and he's accomplished so much. He has a resid and
(05:00):
AW that's different than anyone else. He's a multiple time
T and T champion, he's a former AW World champion
and now he's one third of the AW World Trios Champions.
With the Ops, they've been a dominant trio, and we
definitely saw the face of the OPS changed completely when
it came to Hangman Page in the World title because
Hangman Paige has been such a great world champion and
(05:23):
in order for Hangman Paige to get that opportunity and
get a fair fight, the Ops were always in Hangman's corner.
They always had Hangman's back, they always fought side by side,
And after Hangman versus Samoa Joe at Wressel Dream, that's
what it looked like to everybody was going to be
the case going forward. It looked like these four men
have so much respect for each other, They've been through
(05:43):
so much together and they're going to keep fighting side
by side. But obviously, following what was a great world
title match Hangman versus Samoa Joe at Wressel Dream, that's
not the case that the OPS are supportive at all
of Hangman Paige, and I think going forward, it's a
very different relationship between the world Champion Hangman Page and
the World Trios Champions the Ops.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
So last week, Samoa Jo in a podcast and my
apologies for not citing the podcast that's on me kind
of mention alluded to the fact that at the end
of this contract he may retire. If he were to
retire from enterim competition, how valuable would someone like him
be to kind of the behind the scenes factor or
maybe from a training session with the.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Younger performers, hugely valuable.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Samoojo is already one of the top mentors in AAW,
and anybody who steps in the ring with Samojo learns
a lot, and anybody who gets the tutelage of Samoojo
in AAW learns a lot. I think Powerhouse Hobbs is
a great example of somebody who is currently learning a
lot from Samoojo that will benefit him throughout the rest
of his career. I know he's learning to quote Samojo
(06:47):
life lessons, life lessons that will be with him for
the rest of his life. And I am very, very
proud to have Samojo in AAW and I'm very optimistic
that eventually, whenever Somemojo does decide to retire from the ring,
I'm very hopeful and optimistic that Somemojo will stay with
us in AAW and be a mentor to the wrestlers,
(07:09):
not unlike Brian Danielson, who is still a huge part
of AAW even though he's not actively competing in the ring.
He's been now for one year away from wrestling since
Wressel Dream last year, but he's still a huge part
of AAW and continues to be And my hope is
that Samojo will stay with us in AW forever.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
So we're approaching the end of the year of AW.
Earlier this year, you guys kind of changed the way
the TV presentation was in regards to the venues, which
I thought was dope. I genuinely enjoy different venues. No
building kind of looks the same. I think that's a
really cool approach. Hell, even starting Wrestl Dream the other day,
you guys started with a match already in the ring,
(07:48):
Pyro going off just these little things to set yourself
apart from other companies across the world.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
It was, like I said, with some of the top
wrestling stars were away and I said, I'm going to
make this the best possible show, and everyone's going to
say Wrestl Dream was the greatest event AW could put on,
and it's going to be about the people who are here,
and they're are gonna love this event. And that's how
I felt at times in the Lockdown in the Pandemic.
If anybody wasn't available, we would be creative. We would
(08:17):
come up with the very best shows we could possibly
put on in a unique environment. And that's how I
felt about Wrestle Dream. So we tried a lot of
things at Wrestl Dream, and I really felt like it
was very successful. I don't think anybody had the best
of my recollection, to the best of my knowledge, had
ever had an event carry over into that view right now,
(08:37):
and we've changed it now where I don't consider it
even technically and it's.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
It's all subjective.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
These are all terms of art, and I don't consider
it a typical pre show anymore because now it's aw
Collision the Tailgate Brawl on TNT. The only times I
can ever remember in wrestling where you had a major
top cable network carrying a show that that leads into
the pay per view feed would be in the late
(09:03):
nineties you had WCW main event would lead into the
WCW pay per views, and then for a long time
on USA there was Sunday Night Heat leading into the
pay per views. But I don't think anybody on any
kind of pre show, and certainly not on the TV,
had ever had a match that carried across. There's a
huge emphasis now on the tailgate brawl internally in AAW
(09:23):
because that's an episode of Collision, and it's a super
important piece of real estate, not only a chance to
sell the upcoming pay per view, but Collision and Dynamite
are massively important to AW that relationship with Warner Brothers,
Discovery across our pay per view events on HBO Max
and Collision on TNT and HBO Max, and of course
Dynamite on TBS and HBO Max.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
That's the lifeblood of AAW.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
And so to have an episode of Collision on TNT
and HBO Max carrying into this pay per view, and
we just started doing pay per views on HBO Max,
this is a big opportunity. So I wanted to do
something very different and unique and tell people you have
to watch these tailgate brawls leading in.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
They are a huge part of the event.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
This isn't a pre show, this is a new era
and this is a new opportunity for AW to have
a tailgate brawl on such a prestigious place as TNT
and HBO Max as a great way to lead into
the pay per view.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
So you guys have done Mexico, Canada, Australia, the UK
this year alone. Over the next twelve to twenty four months,
let's say, are there some aspirations or even buildings that
you want to go to around the world that maybe
you have not gone to or maybe one, two, maybe
once or twice.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Yes, absolutely, We're going to go back to Australia, and
I'm continued really excitement about going back to Australia and
seeing new places in Australia. We had a great debut
in Brisbane, and I'm excited to go back to Australia
and visit more cities over the coming years, and also
to go tour Europe more extensively, because as you said,
(10:55):
we've been to the UK. We're going back. We're going
to debut in Manchester later this year. Really excited about that.
I'm excited to bring the Continental Classic to Manchester and
back to Cardiff, which is a great venue for us,
but Manchester will be a new city like you asked about.
And then next year, I think particularly in Europe, there
can be more opportunities. We're definitely going back to London
next year. Everyone knows that. I'm very excited to bring
(11:18):
aw all In back to Wembley Stadium, which has been
a great home to my family. We had a challenging
weekend there. Everybody in my family but me was at
Wembley this weekend while I was there for wrestl Dream.
But I'm excited for us all to go back to
Wembley for aaw and have another great aw all in
where we set the world record as aaw as the
(11:39):
world record for pro wrestling ticket sales with over eighty
one thousand tickets sold at Wembley Stadium for aw all In.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So I'm just biased because I'm here in New York City.
You have full gear coming up in November. However, last
year around the holidays, you were like a mile from
where we are right now Hammerstein Ballroom. Is that something
that we can expect again?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Maybe?
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Maybe not. Do we have any ideas on specifically New
York City proper?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I really loved that and those made for great holiday shows.
It was pretty cool being home for Christmas and being
able to put on that dynamite on thirty fourth Street
on Christmas night.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Ring of Honor pay per view as well.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
We had a great Ring of Honor pay per view
and Christmas Collision also was one of the biggest successes
of the year for US. They put on Collision live
after the college football playoff game at Hammerstein. The environment
in the back was amazing because it was so much
in a good way pressure because you're going on after
one of the biggest sporting events in the country. It's
(12:40):
going to be one of the biggest audiences we're going
to get all year, and we took advantage of it.
We kicked the show off with a Continental Classic fight
between Will Osprey and Ricochet, and it was one of
the best matches we had on TV, and it was
one of our best shows. Christmas Collision was a great
event and it really performed very well for us. So
(13:00):
the idea of coming back for Christmas Collision and Dynamite
on thirty fourth Street in particular, it's enticing for sure.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So stay tuned, love that now listen.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
At the end of the day, I'll mean the first
to admit I'm just a wrestling fan. You were a
wrestling fan as well, That's why you got into the industry.
So I do have just I'm curious people watching this
a curious I'm just going to bring up some names, sure,
and you just got to let us know what's up
with them. We'll call that what's up with so and
so so? First person, I want to know what's up
with Adam Copland. There's some rumors about him, and let
(13:32):
you allowing him to do one more match and all
these weird rumors. What's up Adam colandun?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
I hope Adam Copland is a lot more matches in AEW.
Adam Copeland's a huge part of AW. We just had
a great AW all out event and it was great
for a lot of people, but in many ways, what
should have been a great homecoming for Christian Cage and
Adam Copeland was marred by FTR FTR attacking Beth Copeland.
(13:57):
They conducted themselves very unbecomingly, not sportsmanlike at all and
not the way to treat somebody who's been a friend
of yours. And Adam Copland's a huge part of AW.
Adam's out filming right now. He's a huge star in AW.
We love having Adam Copeland the rate at our superstar
in AAW, and I'm excited for him to be back
(14:19):
in AW hopefully soon after this project is done and
he's taken care of business, and then Adam will come
back and we'll get Adam Copland taking care of the
business in the ring in AAW.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
So there's this weird rumor that you know, basically Adam
Copeland is leaving AW to do one more match with
John Cena. That's why that question came up. But what's
up with Andrade?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Well, Androdde Alitelo was a great wrestler in AAW and
he left at the end of World's End twenty three.
At the end of twenty twenty three, I gave actually
here in New York press conference at the Scrum and
I said, I think Andrede al Eitle is great wrestler.
He's leaving AAW on a very high note, and he's
(15:04):
leaving on the best of terms and all that is true,
and I have a ton of respect for him. And
I can't say much more other than to say that
I'm very excited to see what happens next with Andrade.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I love the guy very much and I have a
lot of respect for him.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
What's up with Britt Baker, Britt Baker, doctor Britt Baker, DMD,
and what a great star in AW. Doctor Britt Baker
has been and she is still a fantastic, fantastic wrestling star.
And she's been away from AW for a while but
still very much with us, and at some point, hopefully soon,
I'd love to see doctor Britt Baker come back.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
And lastly, what's up with Chris Jericho.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Chris Jericho talk about one of the founding figures in AW,
the very first ever AW champion.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
We're so grateful to Chris Jericho.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
And Chris Jericho is somebody also that I would love
to see back in AW anytime. The door is always
open to get Chris Jericho back in here. And he's
been busy, He's doing a lot of things. It's speaking
of somebody that's very busy with projects, including filming and music,
and somebody we have a ton of respect for. And
Chris Jericho is somebody else we'd love to see anytime
(16:15):
in AW.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
So lastly, one of the final questions I have I
mentioned before, I'm a fan. You've been a fan your
whole life. You still are obviously. Now this is a
little out of the realm of what we discussed within
all Elite Wrestling, but I think it has to be
asked because it's a pretty big deal in the news
of wrestling. What would you say is John Sena's legacy
to pro wrestling as the fan Tony Kahn.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Wow, I wasn't expecting that, but it's a great question.
John Cena is absolutely a legendary pro wrestler who came
into the space and became a huge star very quickly
on television because he has so much charisma and he's
one of the hardest working people as far as I
know in pro wrestling. I've never actually met John Cena,
(17:00):
and I have a ton of respect for him as
a wrestler. He seems like a wonderful person. Everybody I
know that's worked with John Cena has only the very
very best things to say about him, and he's known
for being the utmost professional. I think he's also a
very very talented actor. I'm a huge fan of the
Peacemaker Show on HBO. Max aw Full Gear is presented
(17:23):
by DC DC being the presenting sponsor. We had a
great partnership going with DC. So even though I've never
worked with John Cena in any wrestling capacity. We are
partners now with DC, so that may be as close
as we ever get. But I think that he's absolutely
fantastic in the ring, and he seems fantastic out of
the ring, certainly on screen. One of the all time greats,
(17:46):
and he came into the wrestling business after many of
the top stars were either getting ready to retire or
entering the final phase of their career, and he really
stepped up as one of the biggest wrestling stars of
all time. Even though I've never met him or talk
to him, I have a ton of respect for him.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
So this is the road to Full Gear, which is
happening at the Credential Center in New Wark November twenty second.
What can we expect from right now till Full Gear
on AWTV?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You can expect the very best of AW right now.
We're coming off AW Wrestle Dream. There were so many
exciting developments, awesome matches, but also rivalries and big changes
in AW. We've got a huge Wednesday Night Dynamite coming up.
It's on the superstation TBS and it's going to be
on HBO Max this Wednesday night again very very soon
(18:33):
hours away. Eight pm Wednesday Night Dynamite. There's a tradition
of wrestling on TBS that goes back over fifty years,
and every Wednesday night we're on TBS. I am so
proud to be able to keep that tradition going, and
I'm very proud that we are now the longest running
primetime pro wrestling show ever on TBS or TNT, and
(18:54):
we're doing it this Wednesday on TBS with the Ops.
We were just talking about the OPS World Trios champions.
They will be defending the titles against the number one
contenders who earned that shot with a win at Wressel Dream.
The Hurt Syndicate. The Hurt Syndicate have comeing to AW.
They have been fantastic stars. They have gotten a lot
(19:16):
of buzz in AW. They won the World Tag Team Championships.
They were an undefeated tag team for a long time,
undefeated in competition that had never been pinned, and the
only group that had gotten the best of them at
times had been the Demand, The Gates of Agony, the
Goa and Ricochet. There's been great matches in that rivalry,
Rickochhet versus Shelton Benjamin Outstanding Gates of Agony, Goa versus
(19:40):
Hurt Syndicate, great tag team matches and the trilogy of
trios matches culminating in the Tornado Trios match at Wressel
Dream this past weekend. The Hurt Syndicate, with the win,
have earned a chance at the World Trios Championship and
the Trios Champions are the Ops. We saw a major
shift in the Ops demeanor and mindset at Wressel Dream.
(20:02):
And I'm so excited for this Wednesday to have the
Ops defending the World Trios title versus the Hurt Syndicate.
And you know there's gonna be people watching this closely.
The world champion Hangman Page Ricochet, the demand a lot
of people with a lot, you know, a lot of interest,
and certainly we'll be watching this one closely. But I
(20:24):
know fans all over the world are gonna want to
see the Hurt Syndicate versus the Ops for the World
Trios title this Wednesday night.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
And I know I said one last question, but I
did just think of one in about thirty seconds or less.
What are your thoughts the darby Allen John Moxley match
we saw Finnish Wrestle Dream.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
What a fantastic match. I absolutely loved it. I'm so
glad that both men are okay. I was glad to
see Sting back in aw By the.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Way that all White look. He looks so much more
badass than ever before.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
He looks.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I don't know, if it's like Santas thing, I don't know.
I don't care. What's gonna be called. Oh looks so
bad as old.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Man's Sting is just as dangerous as ever and now
maybe even more menacing.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
It looks really cool. It's a great match.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
I'm very happy that John Moxley had this fantastic equip
match with Darby Allen. I'm very happy for Darby Allen
that hopefully he got some closure to that chapter with
John Moxley and that he was able to come back
from Mount Everest in one piece. And I'm glad that
John Moxley and Darby Allen made it out of this match,
both in one piece. And I'm very proud to have
(21:30):
John Moxley and of course Darby Allen the winner of
the equip match here in aw.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Well one more time, Tony Kahn, appreciate you stopping by it, bro.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Hey, I appreciate you having me and while I'm at it,
if I may, if I may plug one more thing.
Of course, I absolutely loved the World Tag Team Championship
match the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kenoski Takeshia and AW
Unified Champion Kazuska Okada versus the AW World Tag Team
(21:59):
Champions Tod King and the Ring of Honor World Champion Bandido.
And you've got all these great champions and championships in
one great match. And it was an amazing title fight.
I think it was the longest match of the evening.
Some people it was even their favorite match of the evening.
It was a great fight. And now after getting the
win and after becoming I believe only the third person
(22:22):
in all these years ever in AW ever to get
a win over Okada, putting him in pretty rare air,
very rare company. I believe Brian Danielson and Kyle Fletcher
are the only other people ever to get.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Any kind of win against Okada in AW.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Bandido pinned the almost unpinnable with Okada. The Unified Champion
has been on such an unprecedented run since winning the
Continental Classic, he had been completely dominant in twenty twenty five.
Nobody has gotten the best of Okaday. Omega, not even
the great Kenny Omega at aw All in Texas, and
(22:55):
now Okada has unified the continental title and the International title.
It's a one on one match. It's going to be
a great fight. There's going to be no outside interference.
This is just going to be an awesome one on
one wrestling match. I can promise there will be a winner.
It will be an awesome match. Bandido versus Okada one
on one on Wednesday night Dynamite and coming out of
(23:17):
that tag team fight, that's a match I know. I
personally really want to see Okata versus Bandido on Dynamite,
and I think a lot of the fans are going
to be excited for that as well. I'm also very
excited about revealing the Women's World Tag Team Championship bracket
on Wednesday Night Dynamite and revealing who these top tag
teams in aw are going to be competing for the
(23:38):
women's World tag team titles coming very soon too. So
a lot of exciting things on this show and it's
just hours away at eight pm Wednesday night on TBS
or HBO Max Bang.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
There's no where I could close it after that, so
we're done eks
Hey, what's up. I'm Josh Martinez from the Superstar Crossover
podcast on iHeartRadio and Z one hundred with our guest
aw Everything, Tony connos up. Man.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey, Well, I'm definitely not everything. I think the wrestling
and the wrestling fans or everything. I just am an executive.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
You know, I could have the CEO, executive owner. I
could have ran down the list. I just say everything successful.
Wrestled dream Paper View event the other night in Saint Louis.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Was there one particular match that you were most excited
about when it was over?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
At the end of the show, I was thrilled to
have gotten through a great event. So I would say
the main event to have an equip match with John
Moxley Darby Allen, and you know both of them are
going to be okay, they'll both be competing in wrestling
in the future. And that we had a great event.
And when the final bell rang, that was a great night.
It was a great return for the icon sting to
(00:51):
a w and a hard hitting fight and a great
equip match between John Moxley and Darby Allen. So I
was really happy about that. But start to finish, I
loved it. I thought it was a great event. It's
one of my favorite shows we've ever done, and that's
why I'm excited to come and talk to you.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
And now we're just hours.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Away from Wednesday Night Dynamite, which is going to be
a great show, and we have some exciting things coming
on that show coming out of this wrestl Dream pay
per view. So perfect time for me to return here
to studio and see this nice new room that you
host the show in.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So Chris Statlander retained her title against Tony Storm. We
saw that Mercedes Money became the interim Ring of Honor
TV champion, so she has twelve titles. Now, the gauntlet
was put down for the next Paper Review event between
Statlander and Monday. Do we know yet if it's going
to be a winner take all strictly for the World
(01:43):
heavyweight women's title.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Well, it's a great question.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I mean, the challenge has been put out by Mercedes
to the world champion, Chris Statlander. I think it would
be a great world title fight. Chris Statlander is a
fighting champion. Mercedes has taken on belts from all over
the world, so we'll have to see. But with all
the commitments Mercedes taken on. I think it's really impressive.
You know, I've said it before and I'll say it again.
(02:07):
That shows it's not about pure greed and money for
Mercedes because a lot of these places she's wrestling, Winnipeg, Canada, Denmark,
they're not the highest paying places.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
She's not really making money from these.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
She loves wrestling, she loves building up companies, she loves
meeting new young stars, and she really cares about the
craft and the sport of wrestling, and it's about a competition,
so as a competitor, she wants to go out and
fight all over the world. I think that Chris Statlander
is somebody who has been fighting in AW from the
very very beginning. She worked really hard to get a
(02:40):
world title shot, and then she went a long time
without a world title shot.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
She has been the TBS champion.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
But she worked her way up to the very top
of the profession became the world champion. And Mercedes in
the past has had Chris Statlander's number. So I think
that would potentially be a great world title fight for
AW full Gear and I'm excited about Full Gear coming
back here to your territory or at least close by.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So Full Gear next month November twenty third.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Twenty second, twenty second.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Okay, so I do have a have a question and
a concern as a fan who attends said full Gear.
This will be my third year going the event the
other night ended at twelve thirty in the morning. A
lot of people kind of were opinionated on the end
time from the East coast at least, are we going
to see another twelve thirty finish at Full Gear? Do
(03:29):
we know? Is there? Ah?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
No, well that was It was eleven twenty nine in
Saint Louis, which.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Is important to mention that the city you were in
was Central time zone.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
You just have my schmuck ass sitting on the couch
at twelve thirty, like I want to sleep, but I
always not watch Moxley darbyd.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
It was awesome, and you know, in the local time,
I thought it made sense and here in the local
time will definitely be out well before midnight and be
out in Eastern time here, so it's different time zones.
But I absolutely loved the Wrestle Dream Show start to finish,
and I thought we had such a great night and
put so much great action in the show and I
(04:06):
wouldn't have changed a single thing about Wrestle Dream. It's
one of my favorite AW events ever pound for pound,
especially with some injuries and some top stars away. I
thought this was the absolute best show we were capable
of putting on. So I'm more proud of what we
did at Wressel Dream, probably at least since the Pandemic
of any show we've done.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
That's a bold statement. I like that, doubling down a
big angle that happened. We talked about this off air,
Samoa Joe the ops kind of turning to the dark side,
if you will. How important is someone like Samoa Joe
to the all elite wrestling roster.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Samojo is a huge, huge part of AW, and I
think Samojo is a really important part of professional wrestling
in my lifetime. Samojo is one of the greatest professional
wrestlers I've seen. I was so so excited and we've
been so blessed to get Samoa Joe into AW. He's
been with us now for three and a half years
and he's accomplished so much. He has a resid and
(05:00):
AW that's different than anyone else. He's a multiple time
T and T champion, he's a former AW World champion
and now he's one third of the AW World Trios Champions.
With the Ops, they've been a dominant trio, and we
definitely saw the face of the OPS changed completely when
it came to Hangman Page in the World title because
Hangman Paige has been such a great world champion and
(05:23):
in order for Hangman Paige to get that opportunity and
get a fair fight, the Ops were always in Hangman's corner.
They always had Hangman's back, they always fought side by side,
And after Hangman versus Samoa Joe at Wressel Dream, that's
what it looked like to everybody was going to be
the case going forward. It looked like these four men
have so much respect for each other, They've been through
(05:43):
so much together and they're going to keep fighting side
by side. But obviously, following what was a great world
title match Hangman versus Samoa Joe at Wressel Dream, that's
not the case that the OPS are supportive at all
of Hangman Paige, and I think going forward, it's a
very different relationship between the world Champion Hangman Page and
the World Trios Champions the Ops.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
So last week, Samoa Jo in a podcast and my
apologies for not citing the podcast that's on me kind
of mention alluded to the fact that at the end
of this contract he may retire. If he were to
retire from enterim competition, how valuable would someone like him
be to kind of the behind the scenes factor or
maybe from a training session with the.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Younger performers, hugely valuable.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Samoojo is already one of the top mentors in AAW,
and anybody who steps in the ring with Samojo learns
a lot, and anybody who gets the tutelage of Samoojo
in AAW learns a lot. I think Powerhouse Hobbs is
a great example of somebody who is currently learning a
lot from Samoojo that will benefit him throughout the rest
of his career. I know he's learning to quote Samojo
(06:47):
life lessons, life lessons that will be with him for
the rest of his life. And I am very, very
proud to have Samojo in AAW and I'm very optimistic
that eventually, whenever Somemojo does decide to retire from the ring,
I'm very hopeful and optimistic that Somemojo will stay with
us in AAW and be a mentor to the wrestlers,
(07:09):
not unlike Brian Danielson, who is still a huge part
of AAW even though he's not actively competing in the ring.
He's been now for one year away from wrestling since
Wressel Dream last year, but he's still a huge part
of AAW and continues to be And my hope is
that Samojo will stay with us in AW forever.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
So we're approaching the end of the year of AW.
Earlier this year, you guys kind of changed the way
the TV presentation was in regards to the venues, which
I thought was dope. I genuinely enjoy different venues. No
building kind of looks the same. I think that's a
really cool approach. Hell, even starting Wrestl Dream the other day,
you guys started with a match already in the ring,
(07:48):
Pyro going off just these little things to set yourself
apart from other companies across the world.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
It was, like I said, with some of the top
wrestling stars were away and I said, I'm going to
make this the best possible show, and everyone's going to
say Wrestl Dream was the greatest event AW could put on,
and it's going to be about the people who are here,
and they're are gonna love this event. And that's how
I felt at times in the Lockdown in the Pandemic.
If anybody wasn't available, we would be creative. We would
(08:17):
come up with the very best shows we could possibly
put on in a unique environment. And that's how I
felt about Wrestle Dream. So we tried a lot of
things at Wrestl Dream, and I really felt like it
was very successful. I don't think anybody had the best
of my recollection, to the best of my knowledge, had
ever had an event carry over into that view right now,
(08:37):
and we've changed it now where I don't consider it
even technically and it's.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
It's all subjective.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
These are all terms of art, and I don't consider
it a typical pre show anymore because now it's aw
Collision the Tailgate Brawl on TNT. The only times I
can ever remember in wrestling where you had a major
top cable network carrying a show that that leads into
the pay per view feed would be in the late
(09:03):
nineties you had WCW main event would lead into the
WCW pay per views, and then for a long time
on USA there was Sunday Night Heat leading into the
pay per views. But I don't think anybody on any
kind of pre show, and certainly not on the TV,
had ever had a match that carried across. There's a
huge emphasis now on the tailgate brawl internally in AAW
(09:23):
because that's an episode of Collision, and it's a super
important piece of real estate, not only a chance to
sell the upcoming pay per view, but Collision and Dynamite
are massively important to AW that relationship with Warner Brothers,
Discovery across our pay per view events on HBO Max
and Collision on TNT and HBO Max, and of course
Dynamite on TBS and HBO Max.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
That's the lifeblood of AAW.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
And so to have an episode of Collision on TNT
and HBO Max carrying into this pay per view, and
we just started doing pay per views on HBO Max,
this is a big opportunity. So I wanted to do
something very different and unique and tell people you have
to watch these tailgate brawls leading in.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
They are a huge part of the event.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
This isn't a pre show, this is a new era
and this is a new opportunity for AW to have
a tailgate brawl on such a prestigious place as TNT
and HBO Max as a great way to lead into
the pay per view.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
So you guys have done Mexico, Canada, Australia, the UK
this year alone. Over the next twelve to twenty four months,
let's say, are there some aspirations or even buildings that
you want to go to around the world that maybe
you have not gone to or maybe one, two, maybe
once or twice.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Yes, absolutely, We're going to go back to Australia, and
I'm continued really excitement about going back to Australia and
seeing new places in Australia. We had a great debut
in Brisbane, and I'm excited to go back to Australia
and visit more cities over the coming years, and also
to go tour Europe more extensively, because as you said,
(10:55):
we've been to the UK. We're going back. We're going
to debut in Manchester later this year. Really excited about that.
I'm excited to bring the Continental Classic to Manchester and
back to Cardiff, which is a great venue for us,
but Manchester will be a new city like you asked about.
And then next year, I think particularly in Europe, there
can be more opportunities. We're definitely going back to London
next year. Everyone knows that. I'm very excited to bring
(11:18):
aw all In back to Wembley Stadium, which has been
a great home to my family. We had a challenging
weekend there. Everybody in my family but me was at
Wembley this weekend while I was there for wrestl Dream.
But I'm excited for us all to go back to
Wembley for aaw and have another great aw all in
where we set the world record as aaw as the
(11:39):
world record for pro wrestling ticket sales with over eighty
one thousand tickets sold at Wembley Stadium for aw all In.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So I'm just biased because I'm here in New York City.
You have full gear coming up in November. However, last
year around the holidays, you were like a mile from
where we are right now Hammerstein Ballroom. Is that something
that we can expect again?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Maybe?
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Maybe not. Do we have any ideas on specifically New
York City proper?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I really loved that and those made for great holiday shows.
It was pretty cool being home for Christmas and being
able to put on that dynamite on thirty fourth Street
on Christmas night.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Ring of Honor pay per view as well.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
We had a great Ring of Honor pay per view
and Christmas Collision also was one of the biggest successes
of the year for US. They put on Collision live
after the college football playoff game at Hammerstein. The environment
in the back was amazing because it was so much
in a good way pressure because you're going on after
one of the biggest sporting events in the country. It's
(12:40):
going to be one of the biggest audiences we're going
to get all year, and we took advantage of it.
We kicked the show off with a Continental Classic fight
between Will Osprey and Ricochet, and it was one of
the best matches we had on TV, and it was
one of our best shows. Christmas Collision was a great
event and it really performed very well for us. So
(13:00):
the idea of coming back for Christmas Collision and Dynamite
on thirty fourth Street in particular, it's enticing for sure.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So stay tuned, love that now listen.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
At the end of the day, I'll mean the first
to admit I'm just a wrestling fan. You were a
wrestling fan as well, That's why you got into the industry.
So I do have just I'm curious people watching this
a curious I'm just going to bring up some names, sure,
and you just got to let us know what's up
with them. We'll call that what's up with so and
so so? First person, I want to know what's up
with Adam Copland. There's some rumors about him, and let
(13:32):
you allowing him to do one more match and all
these weird rumors. What's up Adam colandun?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
I hope Adam Copland is a lot more matches in AEW.
Adam Copeland's a huge part of AW. We just had
a great AW all out event and it was great
for a lot of people, but in many ways, what
should have been a great homecoming for Christian Cage and
Adam Copeland was marred by FTR FTR attacking Beth Copeland.
(13:57):
They conducted themselves very unbecomingly, not sportsmanlike at all and
not the way to treat somebody who's been a friend
of yours. And Adam Copland's a huge part of AW.
Adam's out filming right now. He's a huge star in AW.
We love having Adam Copeland the rate at our superstar
in AAW, and I'm excited for him to be back
(14:19):
in AW hopefully soon after this project is done and
he's taken care of business, and then Adam will come
back and we'll get Adam Copland taking care of the
business in the ring in AAW.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
So there's this weird rumor that you know, basically Adam
Copeland is leaving AW to do one more match with
John Cena. That's why that question came up. But what's
up with Andrade?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Well, Androdde Alitelo was a great wrestler in AAW and
he left at the end of World's End twenty three.
At the end of twenty twenty three, I gave actually
here in New York press conference at the Scrum and
I said, I think Andrede al Eitle is great wrestler.
He's leaving AAW on a very high note, and he's
(15:04):
leaving on the best of terms and all that is true,
and I have a ton of respect for him. And
I can't say much more other than to say that
I'm very excited to see what happens next with Andrade.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I love the guy very much and I have a
lot of respect for him.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
What's up with Britt Baker, Britt Baker, doctor Britt Baker, DMD,
and what a great star in AW. Doctor Britt Baker
has been and she is still a fantastic, fantastic wrestling star.
And she's been away from AW for a while but
still very much with us, and at some point, hopefully soon,
I'd love to see doctor Britt Baker come back.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
And lastly, what's up with Chris Jericho.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Chris Jericho talk about one of the founding figures in AW,
the very first ever AW champion.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
We're so grateful to Chris Jericho.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
And Chris Jericho is somebody also that I would love
to see back in AW anytime. The door is always
open to get Chris Jericho back in here. And he's
been busy, He's doing a lot of things. It's speaking
of somebody that's very busy with projects, including filming and music,
and somebody we have a ton of respect for. And
Chris Jericho is somebody else we'd love to see anytime
(16:15):
in AW.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
So lastly, one of the final questions I have I
mentioned before, I'm a fan. You've been a fan your
whole life. You still are obviously. Now this is a
little out of the realm of what we discussed within
all Elite Wrestling, but I think it has to be
asked because it's a pretty big deal in the news
of wrestling. What would you say is John Sena's legacy
to pro wrestling as the fan Tony Kahn.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Wow, I wasn't expecting that, but it's a great question.
John Cena is absolutely a legendary pro wrestler who came
into the space and became a huge star very quickly
on television because he has so much charisma and he's
one of the hardest working people as far as I
know in pro wrestling. I've never actually met John Cena,
(17:00):
and I have a ton of respect for him as
a wrestler. He seems like a wonderful person. Everybody I
know that's worked with John Cena has only the very
very best things to say about him, and he's known
for being the utmost professional. I think he's also a
very very talented actor. I'm a huge fan of the
Peacemaker Show on HBO. Max aw Full Gear is presented
(17:23):
by DC DC being the presenting sponsor. We had a
great partnership going with DC. So even though I've never
worked with John Cena in any wrestling capacity. We are
partners now with DC, so that may be as close
as we ever get. But I think that he's absolutely
fantastic in the ring, and he seems fantastic out of
the ring, certainly on screen. One of the all time greats,
(17:46):
and he came into the wrestling business after many of
the top stars were either getting ready to retire or
entering the final phase of their career, and he really
stepped up as one of the biggest wrestling stars of
all time. Even though I've never met him or talk
to him, I have a ton of respect for him.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
So this is the road to Full Gear, which is
happening at the Credential Center in New Wark November twenty second.
What can we expect from right now till Full Gear
on AWTV?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You can expect the very best of AW right now.
We're coming off AW Wrestle Dream. There were so many
exciting developments, awesome matches, but also rivalries and big changes
in AW. We've got a huge Wednesday Night Dynamite coming up.
It's on the superstation TBS and it's going to be
on HBO Max this Wednesday night again very very soon
(18:33):
hours away. Eight pm Wednesday Night Dynamite. There's a tradition
of wrestling on TBS that goes back over fifty years,
and every Wednesday night we're on TBS. I am so
proud to be able to keep that tradition going, and
I'm very proud that we are now the longest running
primetime pro wrestling show ever on TBS or TNT, and
(18:54):
we're doing it this Wednesday on TBS with the Ops.
We were just talking about the OPS World Trios champions.
They will be defending the titles against the number one
contenders who earned that shot with a win at Wressel Dream.
The Hurt Syndicate. The Hurt Syndicate have comeing to AW.
They have been fantastic stars. They have gotten a lot
(19:16):
of buzz in AW. They won the World Tag Team Championships.
They were an undefeated tag team for a long time,
undefeated in competition that had never been pinned, and the
only group that had gotten the best of them at
times had been the Demand, The Gates of Agony, the
Goa and Ricochet. There's been great matches in that rivalry,
Rickochhet versus Shelton Benjamin Outstanding Gates of Agony, Goa versus
(19:40):
Hurt Syndicate, great tag team matches and the trilogy of
trios matches culminating in the Tornado Trios match at Wressel
Dream this past weekend. The Hurt Syndicate, with the win,
have earned a chance at the World Trios Championship and
the Trios Champions are the Ops. We saw a major
shift in the Ops demeanor and mindset at Wressel Dream.
(20:02):
And I'm so excited for this Wednesday to have the
Ops defending the World Trios title versus the Hurt Syndicate.
And you know there's gonna be people watching this closely.
The world champion Hangman Page Ricochet, the demand a lot
of people with a lot, you know, a lot of interest,
and certainly we'll be watching this one closely. But I
(20:24):
know fans all over the world are gonna want to
see the Hurt Syndicate versus the Ops for the World
Trios title this Wednesday night.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
And I know I said one last question, but I
did just think of one in about thirty seconds or less.
What are your thoughts the darby Allen John Moxley match
we saw Finnish Wrestle Dream.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
What a fantastic match. I absolutely loved it. I'm so
glad that both men are okay. I was glad to
see Sting back in aw By the.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Way that all White look. He looks so much more
badass than ever before.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
He looks.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I don't know, if it's like Santas thing, I don't know.
I don't care. What's gonna be called. Oh looks so
bad as old.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Man's Sting is just as dangerous as ever and now
maybe even more menacing.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
It looks really cool. It's a great match.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
I'm very happy that John Moxley had this fantastic equip
match with Darby Allen. I'm very happy for Darby Allen
that hopefully he got some closure to that chapter with
John Moxley and that he was able to come back
from Mount Everest in one piece. And I'm glad that
John Moxley and Darby Allen made it out of this match,
both in one piece. And I'm very proud to have
(21:30):
John Moxley and of course Darby Allen the winner of
the equip match here in aw.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Well one more time, Tony Kahn, appreciate you stopping by it, bro.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Hey, I appreciate you having me and while I'm at it,
if I may, if I may plug one more thing.
Of course, I absolutely loved the World Tag Team Championship
match the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kenoski Takeshia and AW
Unified Champion Kazuska Okada versus the AW World Tag Team
(21:59):
Champions Tod King and the Ring of Honor World Champion Bandido.
And you've got all these great champions and championships in
one great match. And it was an amazing title fight.
I think it was the longest match of the evening.
Some people it was even their favorite match of the evening.
It was a great fight. And now after getting the
win and after becoming I believe only the third person
(22:22):
in all these years ever in AW ever to get
a win over Okada, putting him in pretty rare air,
very rare company. I believe Brian Danielson and Kyle Fletcher
are the only other people ever to get.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Any kind of win against Okada in AW.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Bandido pinned the almost unpinnable with Okada. The Unified Champion
has been on such an unprecedented run since winning the
Continental Classic, he had been completely dominant in twenty twenty five.
Nobody has gotten the best of Okaday. Omega, not even
the great Kenny Omega at aw All in Texas, and
(22:55):
now Okada has unified the continental title and the International title.
It's a one on one match. It's going to be
a great fight. There's going to be no outside interference.
This is just going to be an awesome one on
one wrestling match. I can promise there will be a winner.
It will be an awesome match. Bandido versus Okada one
on one on Wednesday night Dynamite and coming out of
(23:17):
that tag team fight, that's a match I know. I
personally really want to see Okata versus Bandido on Dynamite,
and I think a lot of the fans are going
to be excited for that as well. I'm also very
excited about revealing the Women's World Tag Team Championship bracket
on Wednesday Night Dynamite and revealing who these top tag
teams in aw are going to be competing for the
(23:38):
women's World tag team titles coming very soon too. So
a lot of exciting things on this show and it's
just hours away at eight pm Wednesday night on TBS
or HBO Max Bang.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
There's no where I could close it after that, so
we're done eks
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