July 22, 2026 • 22 mins
AEW President Tony Khan returns for a candid conversation with Battle about AEW’s momentum, the road to Redemption and what’s connecting with wrestling fans right now. Tony also responds to the counterprogramming surrounding AEW All Out, explains why Kevin Knight is ready to challenge Kenny Omega and discusses Mick Foley’s role and Darby Allin’s risk-taking. Plus, could the ROH Hall of Fame return and might AEW eventually create one of its own?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the battle Ground battles Tonay the.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
What's Up You guys, Welcome back into the Battleground podcast
and today on the show, a guy that is keeping
his record streak alive on the show as most appearances.
I don't think anybody's gonna be able to catch up
to him because we haven't heard from Jeff Jared in
a while. Give it up for Tony khnjoining the show.
Tony Man, it's an honor and privileged all you have.
Always have you on the show.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's great being with you.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Tim, Thanks for having me on the show, and it's
always good to see you.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
And I'll be seeing you.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
In person tonight because AEW is coming back to Nashville tonight,
Wednesday Night, Dynamite. The show is gonna be live at
seven o'clock Central. For your East Coast listeners, it's eight
pm Eastern, but a lot of you around Nashville you
can come to the show in person tonight. It's gonna
be an awesome event. Tim, you've been to a lot
(01:01):
of these. You and your son are regulars at the
aw events. We'd love for you to come. We'd love
for all of you to come. In fact, you can
still get your tickets at AW ticks dot com. That's
awtix dot com, and you can join us in person.
But if you can't be there in person, you can
watch it on TBS or stream it on HBO Max.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Tonight exactly, watch it tonight, buy your tickets if you're
in the Nashville vicinity. And of course you know this
is the go home show before AW redemption. But before
we get into you know, Tonight's card and redemption. I
know you're a STACK guy, and I want to look
back at some stats because Dynamite drew what seven hundred
and eighty six thousand viewers last week, largest audience of
(01:45):
twenty twenty six, tied its best demo rating of the year,
finish second on cable for the night. What do you
think AW is doing right now that's connecting with viewers
and driving that momentum.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Well, that's a great question.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I think that right now aw's fans are really enjoying
the shows throughout twenty twenty six, AW Dynamite on Wednesdays,
Collision on Saturdays, and our pay per views have been
consistently delivering all year and that's continuing. We're gonna have
a huge show tonight. The lineup is massive. Some of
the biggest stars in all of wrestling are fighting on
(02:21):
the show tonight. The rivalries have gotten so exciting. There's
multiple wrestlers and multiple major rivalries right now, and the
AW wrestling is, in my personal opinion, I think the
most exciting that it's ever been right now.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Absolutely, And you look at the card for Tonight's AW
Dynamite and I feel like Tony is giving us yet
another pay per view card with the stacked lineup. One
of those matches tonight, of course, being Kevin Knight massive
week ahead of him. He's got Darby Allen for the
T and T Championship tonight, then Kenny Omega this weekend
for the World Championship at Redemption. You and I have
had conversations about Kevin many times on the show. What
(02:59):
is Kevin show you that made you confident he was
ready for this opportunity?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, I really believe in Kevin.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
I think Kevin's done great night of you was part
of the team Jet Speed, but also as an individual,
Kevin has been fantastic since he left the tag team,
and I really think Kevin is an excellent wrestler. He
arrived here, it seemed like a great athlete and great person.
He has fallen under the tutelage of the Don Kallis family.
(03:25):
Don Kallas is a manager of champions. He's led top
stars to top championships throughout AEW and all over the
world of wrestling and the Jet Kevin Knight is definitely
one of the top prospects in the sport.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
He's risen to become a top star.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
It was in Nashville last Thanksgiving Eve we had Continental Classic.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
You were there. It was great to see you.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
After I saw you, I went to the hospital because
Kevin Knight had injured Darby Allen. Darby Allen was in
the Continental Classic and in the very first night of
the competition on Thanksgiving Eve, Kevin Knight and Darby Allen.
The match led to Darby being injured and put Darby
out of the tournament and put Darby in the hospital.
(04:09):
And Kevin was still at the time a very respectable,
very nice, decent person.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
As a wrestler. He's changed a lot.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
He's really become very arrogant and self centered, but he's
also still an incredible athlete, probably a better athlete than
ever right now, and it feels like Darby Allen has
been somebody who has embodied so many of the best
things about AW In twenty twenty six, he's been the
AW World Champion. He's been to the top of the mountain,
(04:39):
literally climbed the mountain, and he's done so many things
here as the TNT Champion, as part of an undefeated
tag team with Sting as the World Tag Team Champions,
and the first championship Darby Allen ever won in AW
was the TNT Championship. In fact, he had held the
record for the most defenses of that championship. Then Kyle
(05:03):
Fletcher matched that record and Kyle Fletcher got injured had
to vacate the championship. Kevin Knight is the person who
stepped up and won the championship. This past Saturday, Kevin
Knight set the record for the most defenses of the
T and T Championship ever, and now he's trying to
extend that record.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
But Kevin has a huge week ahead of him.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
He's wrestling Darby Allen on Wednesday night Dynamite for the
TNT Championship, and regardless of the result of the TNT
title fight, Kevin is going to step into the ring
with Kenny Omega for the world title. Talk about a
huge week of wrestling and a big week of championship
fights for all of us, and for Kevin in particular,
(05:44):
It's going to be a massive week. I think this
is one of the best young wrestlers in the world,
and I'm excited to see what happens in his huge
matches this week tonight against Darby Allen on Wednesday Night
Dynamite for the TNT Championship Live on TV and HBO Max,
and versus Kenny Omega for the world title in Redemption
(06:05):
this Sunday.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think a lot of us are excited to see
what Kevin Knight's going to do, especially with this test
that he has before him.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
And you mentioned Darby Allen. I know recently we.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Had him on and I had some fun with him
and I was like, Hey, has there ever been a
time where You've gone to Tony and You're like, hey,
I really want to do this.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
But Tony's like, I love you, I can't do it.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
He told us about the time during COVID when he
wanted to get hit by a car. Anything recently stand
out that he's came to you and you're like, hey,
maybe pump the brakes, because I know he had the
fire department at his house recently because they thought his
house got blown up.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Well, to be honest, Darby has been doing some of
his craziest stuff this past year, and I think it's
fantastic what he's doing. I like talking to him about
the wrestling side of it, and then when it comes
to his very aggressive style of wrestling, the things that
he does in and out of the ring, the death defying,
the daredevil stunts. He is one of a kind and
(06:59):
I don't zoom to know better than him how those
things work. But at the same time, I do want
to know what he's thinking, what his ideas are, and
how he plans to pull them off, because usually he
has a pretty good explanation for why he can make
things work. He's quite the physicist. He knows the physics
of flying through the air and how to do these
(07:21):
things and extend his career. So I definitely believe in Darby,
and I think the risks he takes are usually almost
always very well thought out.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Absolutely, and you mentioned risk.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Somebody that you recently made all Elite is Mick Foley,
somebody who took a lot of risk in his career.
What does somebody like Mick Foley add to that AW roster,
that locker room being a part of that group.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
What's a great question, Tim. I think that McK foley
has come into AW. He adds a lot of experience.
He also brings a lot of positivity, and he's having
a great time. We've really enjoyed having Mike it so
far at AW you at Double or Nothing and at
Beach Break. Fittingly, these are two of the best nights
in the history of the company. So he picked two
(08:07):
great nights to make his debut on pay per view
with AW at Double or Nothing and on TV with
AW at Beach Break. So when Mick is in the house,
you know good things are going to happen, and.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Mick's going to be a more regular presence in the show.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I think, not necessarily every single week, but I'm excited
to have come in more and more.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
He seems to really enjoy.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
It and we love having him here and the wrestlers
can benefit from his experience, his ideas. He's coming in
with a fresh pair of eyes, which is always good
to get the perspective of somebody that hasn't been backstage
hearing the same ideas and hears some fresh thoughts. And
also in the case of Mick, his experience is very
unique because the things Mick is accomplished in the sport
(08:50):
of wrestling are very different. He's got a career path
and a list of accomplishments that are very, very different
than many other people. He's an accomplished writer, He's a
brilliant man outside of the ring, but also such a
great wrestler and a hard hitter. But somebody also that
was willing to take big risks, and certainly it has
(09:14):
taken a big toll on his body. But I'm very
glad that Micky still getting around very well and in
good shape. He looks great, and we love having make
here in all the wrestling.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Definitely a great addition to that roster and that group
there at AW. Now this weekend, of course, we're going
to kind of talk about AW or Redemption. This is
the first one that you've done, and when you add
a new pay per view to the calendar, and obviously
needs to have its own identity. What does the name
Redemption represent and what do you want this event to become.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I think this will be an awesome show.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
I'm very excited about it, and I think that fans
want to see the top champions, Fans want to see
the top rivalries, and in the case of a the
company has really had us very strong few years and
it feels like we're on a very great path as
a company heading towards AW All In in London at
(10:12):
Wembley Stadium. That's going to be a fantastic show. It'll
be by far the most attended show for AEW this
year and in years, so I'm really looking forward to that.
And on the way to All In, there's this massive
show Redemption coming up this Sunday on pay per view.
Before Redemption the last week of TV, we're going to
be shooting it there in Nashville tonight, and there's so
(10:36):
much excitement on the road to this pay per view.
I think that for the wrestlers individually INADW who are
trying to either stay at the top or work their
way back to the top, or in some cases get
to the top for the first time some of the
young rising stars in AAW Redemption represents an opportunity for
the wrestlers, but also for AW as the company is
(10:59):
really on tremendous trajectory, and we've had great growth.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
You mentioned yourself earlier.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
This is the most viewers we've had for AW Dynamite
in years, and when you add in the TBS viewership
is the highest it's been in years. Over the last
few weeks, two weeks in a row, the most viewers
on TBS since.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
The summer of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
But also in twenty twenty four we had no streaming
on HBO Max. We've added more viewers and more fans
that watch that way too. So the company's growing and
we've gone through a challenging time. We've gone and grown,
and I really feel like AW has redeemed ourselves, showing
last year that AW was voted by Sports Illustrated the
(11:45):
top pro wrestling promotion in the world.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Great publications like Sports.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Illustrated, ESPN, Yahoo, the New York Post all gave AW
the award for the best wrestling event of last year
and this year in twenty two twenty six, I think
ADW is running even stronger and better.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
I think ADW right now is the best that it's
ever been.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
We say that AW is where the best wrestle and
I really believe that and I think you'll see that
tonight on Wednesday night, Dynamite on TBS, and this weekend
with a big weekend of Collision on TNT and Redemption
on HBO Max pay per view and all these shows
you can stream on HBO Max. The pay per view
is going to be I think such an exciting show.
(12:29):
And I'm really looking forward to Dynamite tonight because people
say it looks like a pay per view card undo
itself and it's completely free if you have TBS.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah, and that's I think that that just goes to
show right there, what you're putting out every Wednesday night
on TBS. You're giving fans pay per view level cards
for free on TV. And I know you and I
have had this conversation. You've got great partners with TBS
and everybody else. I think that that's why people are
gravitating towards it, because you're giving them a pay per
(13:00):
view show card every Wednesday night.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
And it's not just fluff.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It's not filler like these are from top to bottom
pay per view cards.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
And they lead to the next one. You know, there's
great rivalries and stories. These are great matches between great wrestlers,
but Also, there are some real rivalries developing and continuing
to develop, and you'll see that every week on AW.
I think it's the most exciting wrestling television right now,
and I think that it has been for years.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Absolutely for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Now fans already know Kenny Omega, Will Osprey, they're on
that collision course all in right, Well, we'll see.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I think Kevin Knight has something to say about that,
my friend.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Well, that kind of leads into the next thing is
how do you make Omega versus Kevin Knight at Redemption
feel like an essential chapter and not simply kind of
a stop on the way to Wimbley, Because.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Well, that's a great, great question.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And I think that Kevin Knight himself and Kenny Omega
had a very interesting confrontation last week on Dynamite. It
led to will Osprey getting involved, and for the first
time ever on Dynamite tonight, you're gonna see Kenny Omega
teaming with Will Ospray and John Moxley.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
That will be very interesting.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
Of course, Kevin Knight a member of the Don Kallas
family and a leader in the Don Kallas family. We've
seen Kevin Knight just this past weekend on collision, leading
a group of the Don Kallis family, including the trio
that will be wrestling against Omega, Osprey and Moxley on
Dynamite tonight.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
And Kevin Knight is somebody really.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
On the rise in aw somebody very capable of becoming
world champion. He's already shown he can be the world
trios Champion, He's won multiple titles here in aw and
now the greatest TT champion ever in the opinion of
many of the fans and certainly in the opinion of Kevin.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Himself and Don Kallas.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
And I do think that Kevin Knight has everything it
takes to be the world champion, and he is going
to make sure that Redemption and his match versus Kenny
Omega is a must see match, and that Redemption is
a must see pay per view for all the wrestling
fans this Sunday very true.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And I mean as much as we'd all like to
see Kenny Omega and will Ospray and Wimbley, I.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Would also pay to see will Ospray and Kevin Night.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
And Wimbley because both are gonna give you a five
star match for sure, regardless of who it is at Wimbley.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Well It's amazing how far Kevin has come.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
When he came to AW and arrived, he was wrestling
against Will Osprey in the Owen Heart Tournament years ago
and just a couple of years ago, and it's amazing
how far Kevin has come in a short time. I
really do believe he is somebody that can be a
great world champion in this sport, and he's facing somebody
(15:47):
who I believe is one of the greatest world champions
ever in this sport, one of the greatest wrestlers I've
ever seen, and somebody I personally believe is one of
the all time greats, Kenny Omega, and I can't wait
for Kenny Omega versus Kevin Knight this Sunday as part
of this major AW redemption pay per view, and you're
going to get to see both of them wrestling for
(16:07):
free on Wednesday night Dynamite Tennight.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Absolutely now exciting thing because obviously we're on the road
to redemption, and then we've got Wimbley All Out was
already announced for Chicago, and there's another event now that
has been announced happening on the same day in the
same market. Do you view that as healthy competition? Maybe
a compliment or is that simply the reality of today's
(16:31):
wrestling business.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
It's probably all of the above. I think it's all
the above. It's the reality of current wrestling. It's the
frankly predatory nature of scheduling of events, but also the
compliment that says that aw's doing very well in Chicago's
a great city for wrestling.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I'm very excited about AW all out.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And it's not something unexpected to have competition, and I
do welcome it. And I also really am excited about
the run of show is coming up tonight just to
stack dynamite a major redemption pay per view this weekend,
and I think it's gonna put us on the course
to all.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
In and then all out absolutely. And of course you're
no stranger to competition.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
You got you got an American football team and you
got a European football team, so competition no stranger to
Tony Kahn for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Now I do want to shift gears for a second.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
I want to talk about Ring of Honor because I
was talking about this recently with a friend. Ring of Honor,
of course, has the Hall of Fame you introduced it
back in two thousand, What was it twenty twenty two,
but there hasn't been another class since then. Is the
ROH Hall of Fame something you intend to bring back
or is that just kind of there for right now?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
What a great question.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Nobody's ever asked me about that, or if they have,
it's been a really long time and I can't remember.
I really think that's a tremendous thought. I have not
added to the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame. It
was a fantastic inaugural class that ring the previous administration
had inducted, so that was something that had already been
(18:04):
set up when I bought the company. I think they
picked a fantastic class, and I do think there are
people that would be fantastic additions to the Ring of
Honor Hall of Fame, And it is definitely something to
think about and something I am interested in.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
It's a great thought by you, Tim.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
I'm glad you brought it up, and I'll have to
think more about that now that you brought that up.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Nice Now, if it does return, would you kind of
keep it like the original presentation or turn it into
like a live ceremony that people could watch on Honor
Club As one of the major ROH events.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
I'm not sure because you just got me thinking about
it again.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
I'll have to consider that, but it's a great thought
by you, and I'll take that under advisement.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
It's a good consideration by you.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Does Athena go in because she's the longest reigning ROH
Women's champion as of today.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
I absolutely think she would have an excellent case to
be in that.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yes, awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Speaking of Hall of Fame as well, kind of shifting
to AW, the company.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Is, you know, seven years old.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Obviously Sting's retirement and the legacy of mister Brodielee have
already created Hall of Fame level moments. At what point
would you consider saying, okay, we can have an AW.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Hall of Fame.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
It's a very important consideration also, And as soon as
you brought up the ROH one, I knew the aw
question was not far behind. I'd never launched a Hall
of fame personally, the ROH class, which is a great group.
They picked the group that is five wrestlers, four inductions
across five wrestlers with of course Brian Danielson, CM Punk,
(19:37):
Samoa Joe and the Briscopes, Mark and j Brisco. I
think that's five great wrestlers for great acts to put
in a Hall of fame. And I've never launched any
AW Hall of Fame as of yet and have not
worked on the Roh Hall of Fame yet. So those
are great thoughts and something to think.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
About, absolutely, because you know, as wrestling fans, we could
always consider who we would consider going into if AW
did a Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
I mean, obviously, do you wait for the ten years?
Do you wait for this?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I mean obviously you put Brody in, you put Sting
in as as your top two to go in, and
I mean we could fantasy book this all day, but
I just wanted to kind of get your thoughts on
potentially the Hall of Fame for AW.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
I think it's a good thought. I'd be interested in
doing it. And uh uh, I'm not going to list
the class.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Here with no time on the Battleground podcast.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I get the feeling that's what you were trying to
get me to do.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
No, I was just wanting to know about a hall
of fame.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
I mean, if you slipped up and said somebody's name,
then we can make headlines.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
But I wasn't goading you into it.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Yeah, it's a great idea, and you know, as I've said,
you're the you brought it up.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
I think it's a great thought and I'll have to
consider it.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So Tony, it's always an honor and or privilege to
have you on the show. Before I let you go,
make the pitch right now, directly to wrestling fans here
in Middle Tennessee, why do they need to be It's
a pinnacle tonight for AEW Dynamite and Collision.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Well, God bless you for this opportunity.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
I really appreciate you giving me the chance to do this,
and thank you all for listening to the Battleground. Tim
does a great job on this show and I appreciate
him giving me a platform to talk about AEW All.
Elite Wrestling is coming to Nashville tonight and there are
still tickets available. You can join us in person. It's
going to be a pack house with fans who love wrestling.
(21:28):
You'll have such a great time. You can get your
tickets right now for tonight's show at awtix dot com.
Aw ticks dot com And hey, you may want to
watch it at home, and the great news is you
can watch it live.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
The show's on at seven pm.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Central time there in Nashville, or for Tim's East Coast
listeners or people listening in other territories.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
It's on at eight pm but seven pm Central.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
And I would love for all of you to join
us in person or watch the show tonight. W's having
a fantastic twenty twenty six. I think we're gonna keep
it running tonight, and we're gonna have a great Dynamite tonight.
We're gonna have a big weekend with Collision on Saturday
and a great pay per view AW redemption for the
first fine ever, and you're all gonna be a huge
(22:17):
part of it. Thank you for listening to the Battleground,
thank you for following AW, and I hope that you'll
be able to check out Dynamite tonight.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Absolutely, Tony, it's always an honor and a privilege to
have you on the show, and we'll see you at
the show tonight at the Pinnacle.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
It's great to see you and I look forward to
seeing you in person tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the battle Ground battles Tonay the.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
What's Up You guys, Welcome back into the Battleground podcast
and today on the show, a guy that is keeping
his record streak alive on the show as most appearances.
I don't think anybody's gonna be able to catch up
to him because we haven't heard from Jeff Jared in
a while. Give it up for Tony khnjoining the show.
Tony Man, it's an honor and privileged all you have.
Always have you on the show.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's great being with you.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Tim, Thanks for having me on the show, and it's
always good to see you.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
And I'll be seeing you.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
In person tonight because AEW is coming back to Nashville tonight,
Wednesday Night, Dynamite. The show is gonna be live at
seven o'clock Central. For your East Coast listeners, it's eight
pm Eastern, but a lot of you around Nashville you
can come to the show in person tonight. It's gonna
be an awesome event. Tim, you've been to a lot
(01:01):
of these. You and your son are regulars at the
aw events. We'd love for you to come. We'd love
for all of you to come. In fact, you can
still get your tickets at AW ticks dot com. That's
awtix dot com, and you can join us in person.
But if you can't be there in person, you can
watch it on TBS or stream it on HBO Max.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Tonight exactly, watch it tonight, buy your tickets if you're
in the Nashville vicinity. And of course you know this
is the go home show before AW redemption. But before
we get into you know, Tonight's card and redemption. I
know you're a STACK guy, and I want to look
back at some stats because Dynamite drew what seven hundred
and eighty six thousand viewers last week, largest audience of
(01:45):
twenty twenty six, tied its best demo rating of the year,
finish second on cable for the night. What do you
think AW is doing right now that's connecting with viewers
and driving that momentum.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Well, that's a great question.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I think that right now aw's fans are really enjoying
the shows throughout twenty twenty six, AW Dynamite on Wednesdays,
Collision on Saturdays, and our pay per views have been
consistently delivering all year and that's continuing. We're gonna have
a huge show tonight. The lineup is massive. Some of
the biggest stars in all of wrestling are fighting on
(02:21):
the show tonight. The rivalries have gotten so exciting. There's
multiple wrestlers and multiple major rivalries right now, and the
AW wrestling is, in my personal opinion, I think the
most exciting that it's ever been right now.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Absolutely, And you look at the card for Tonight's AW
Dynamite and I feel like Tony is giving us yet
another pay per view card with the stacked lineup. One
of those matches tonight, of course, being Kevin Knight massive
week ahead of him. He's got Darby Allen for the
T and T Championship tonight, then Kenny Omega this weekend
for the World Championship at Redemption. You and I have
had conversations about Kevin many times on the show. What
(02:59):
is Kevin show you that made you confident he was
ready for this opportunity?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, I really believe in Kevin.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
I think Kevin's done great night of you was part
of the team Jet Speed, but also as an individual,
Kevin has been fantastic since he left the tag team,
and I really think Kevin is an excellent wrestler. He
arrived here, it seemed like a great athlete and great person.
He has fallen under the tutelage of the Don Kallis family.
(03:25):
Don Kallas is a manager of champions. He's led top
stars to top championships throughout AEW and all over the
world of wrestling and the Jet Kevin Knight is definitely
one of the top prospects in the sport.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
He's risen to become a top star.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
It was in Nashville last Thanksgiving Eve we had Continental Classic.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
You were there. It was great to see you.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
After I saw you, I went to the hospital because
Kevin Knight had injured Darby Allen. Darby Allen was in
the Continental Classic and in the very first night of
the competition on Thanksgiving Eve, Kevin Knight and Darby Allen.
The match led to Darby being injured and put Darby
out of the tournament and put Darby in the hospital.
(04:09):
And Kevin was still at the time a very respectable,
very nice, decent person.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
As a wrestler. He's changed a lot.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
He's really become very arrogant and self centered, but he's
also still an incredible athlete, probably a better athlete than
ever right now, and it feels like Darby Allen has
been somebody who has embodied so many of the best
things about AW In twenty twenty six, he's been the
AW World Champion. He's been to the top of the mountain,
(04:39):
literally climbed the mountain, and he's done so many things
here as the TNT Champion, as part of an undefeated
tag team with Sting as the World Tag Team Champions,
and the first championship Darby Allen ever won in AW
was the TNT Championship. In fact, he had held the
record for the most defenses of that championship. Then Kyle
(05:03):
Fletcher matched that record and Kyle Fletcher got injured had
to vacate the championship. Kevin Knight is the person who
stepped up and won the championship. This past Saturday, Kevin
Knight set the record for the most defenses of the
T and T Championship ever, and now he's trying to
extend that record.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
But Kevin has a huge week ahead of him.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
He's wrestling Darby Allen on Wednesday night Dynamite for the
TNT Championship, and regardless of the result of the TNT
title fight, Kevin is going to step into the ring
with Kenny Omega for the world title. Talk about a
huge week of wrestling and a big week of championship
fights for all of us, and for Kevin in particular,
(05:44):
It's going to be a massive week. I think this
is one of the best young wrestlers in the world,
and I'm excited to see what happens in his huge
matches this week tonight against Darby Allen on Wednesday Night
Dynamite for the TNT Championship Live on TV and HBO Max,
and versus Kenny Omega for the world title in Redemption
(06:05):
this Sunday.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think a lot of us are excited to see
what Kevin Knight's going to do, especially with this test
that he has before him.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
And you mentioned Darby Allen. I know recently we.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Had him on and I had some fun with him
and I was like, Hey, has there ever been a
time where You've gone to Tony and You're like, hey,
I really want to do this.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
But Tony's like, I love you, I can't do it.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
He told us about the time during COVID when he
wanted to get hit by a car. Anything recently stand
out that he's came to you and you're like, hey,
maybe pump the brakes, because I know he had the
fire department at his house recently because they thought his
house got blown up.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Well, to be honest, Darby has been doing some of
his craziest stuff this past year, and I think it's
fantastic what he's doing. I like talking to him about
the wrestling side of it, and then when it comes
to his very aggressive style of wrestling, the things that
he does in and out of the ring, the death defying,
the daredevil stunts. He is one of a kind and
(06:59):
I don't zoom to know better than him how those
things work. But at the same time, I do want
to know what he's thinking, what his ideas are, and
how he plans to pull them off, because usually he
has a pretty good explanation for why he can make
things work. He's quite the physicist. He knows the physics
of flying through the air and how to do these
(07:21):
things and extend his career. So I definitely believe in Darby,
and I think the risks he takes are usually almost
always very well thought out.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Absolutely, and you mentioned risk.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Somebody that you recently made all Elite is Mick Foley,
somebody who took a lot of risk in his career.
What does somebody like Mick Foley add to that AW roster,
that locker room being a part of that group.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
What's a great question, Tim. I think that McK foley
has come into AW. He adds a lot of experience.
He also brings a lot of positivity, and he's having
a great time. We've really enjoyed having Mike it so
far at AW you at Double or Nothing and at
Beach Break. Fittingly, these are two of the best nights
in the history of the company. So he picked two
(08:07):
great nights to make his debut on pay per view
with AW at Double or Nothing and on TV with
AW at Beach Break. So when Mick is in the house,
you know good things are going to happen, and.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Mick's going to be a more regular presence in the show.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I think, not necessarily every single week, but I'm excited
to have come in more and more.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
He seems to really enjoy.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
It and we love having him here and the wrestlers
can benefit from his experience, his ideas. He's coming in
with a fresh pair of eyes, which is always good
to get the perspective of somebody that hasn't been backstage
hearing the same ideas and hears some fresh thoughts. And
also in the case of Mick, his experience is very
unique because the things Mick is accomplished in the sport
(08:50):
of wrestling are very different. He's got a career path
and a list of accomplishments that are very, very different
than many other people. He's an accomplished writer, He's a
brilliant man outside of the ring, but also such a
great wrestler and a hard hitter. But somebody also that
was willing to take big risks, and certainly it has
(09:14):
taken a big toll on his body. But I'm very
glad that Micky still getting around very well and in
good shape. He looks great, and we love having make
here in all the wrestling.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Definitely a great addition to that roster and that group
there at AW. Now this weekend, of course, we're going
to kind of talk about AW or Redemption. This is
the first one that you've done, and when you add
a new pay per view to the calendar, and obviously
needs to have its own identity. What does the name
Redemption represent and what do you want this event to become.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I think this will be an awesome show.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
I'm very excited about it, and I think that fans
want to see the top champions, Fans want to see
the top rivalries, and in the case of a the
company has really had us very strong few years and
it feels like we're on a very great path as
a company heading towards AW All In in London at
(10:12):
Wembley Stadium. That's going to be a fantastic show. It'll
be by far the most attended show for AEW this
year and in years, so I'm really looking forward to that.
And on the way to All In, there's this massive
show Redemption coming up this Sunday on pay per view.
Before Redemption the last week of TV, we're going to
be shooting it there in Nashville tonight, and there's so
(10:36):
much excitement on the road to this pay per view.
I think that for the wrestlers individually INADW who are
trying to either stay at the top or work their
way back to the top, or in some cases get
to the top for the first time some of the
young rising stars in AAW Redemption represents an opportunity for
the wrestlers, but also for AW as the company is
(10:59):
really on tremendous trajectory, and we've had great growth.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
You mentioned yourself earlier.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
This is the most viewers we've had for AW Dynamite
in years, and when you add in the TBS viewership
is the highest it's been in years. Over the last
few weeks, two weeks in a row, the most viewers
on TBS since.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
The summer of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
But also in twenty twenty four we had no streaming
on HBO Max. We've added more viewers and more fans
that watch that way too. So the company's growing and
we've gone through a challenging time. We've gone and grown,
and I really feel like AW has redeemed ourselves, showing
last year that AW was voted by Sports Illustrated the
(11:45):
top pro wrestling promotion in the world.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Great publications like Sports.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Illustrated, ESPN, Yahoo, the New York Post all gave AW
the award for the best wrestling event of last year
and this year in twenty two twenty six, I think
ADW is running even stronger and better.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
I think ADW right now is the best that it's
ever been.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
We say that AW is where the best wrestle and
I really believe that and I think you'll see that
tonight on Wednesday night, Dynamite on TBS, and this weekend
with a big weekend of Collision on TNT and Redemption
on HBO Max pay per view and all these shows
you can stream on HBO Max. The pay per view
is going to be I think such an exciting show.
(12:29):
And I'm really looking forward to Dynamite tonight because people
say it looks like a pay per view card undo
itself and it's completely free if you have TBS.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah, and that's I think that that just goes to
show right there, what you're putting out every Wednesday night
on TBS. You're giving fans pay per view level cards
for free on TV. And I know you and I
have had this conversation. You've got great partners with TBS
and everybody else. I think that that's why people are
gravitating towards it, because you're giving them a pay per
(13:00):
view show card every Wednesday night.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
And it's not just fluff.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It's not filler like these are from top to bottom
pay per view cards.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
And they lead to the next one. You know, there's
great rivalries and stories. These are great matches between great wrestlers,
but Also, there are some real rivalries developing and continuing
to develop, and you'll see that every week on AW.
I think it's the most exciting wrestling television right now,
and I think that it has been for years.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Absolutely for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Now fans already know Kenny Omega, Will Osprey, they're on
that collision course all in right, Well, we'll see.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I think Kevin Knight has something to say about that,
my friend.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Well, that kind of leads into the next thing is
how do you make Omega versus Kevin Knight at Redemption
feel like an essential chapter and not simply kind of
a stop on the way to Wimbley, Because.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Well, that's a great, great question.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And I think that Kevin Knight himself and Kenny Omega
had a very interesting confrontation last week on Dynamite. It
led to will Osprey getting involved, and for the first
time ever on Dynamite tonight, you're gonna see Kenny Omega
teaming with Will Ospray and John Moxley.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
That will be very interesting.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
Of course, Kevin Knight a member of the Don Kallas
family and a leader in the Don Kallas family. We've
seen Kevin Knight just this past weekend on collision, leading
a group of the Don Kallis family, including the trio
that will be wrestling against Omega, Osprey and Moxley on
Dynamite tonight.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
And Kevin Knight is somebody really.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
On the rise in aw somebody very capable of becoming
world champion. He's already shown he can be the world
trios Champion, He's won multiple titles here in aw and
now the greatest TT champion ever in the opinion of
many of the fans and certainly in the opinion of Kevin.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Himself and Don Kallas.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
And I do think that Kevin Knight has everything it
takes to be the world champion, and he is going
to make sure that Redemption and his match versus Kenny
Omega is a must see match, and that Redemption is
a must see pay per view for all the wrestling
fans this Sunday very true.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And I mean as much as we'd all like to
see Kenny Omega and will Ospray and Wimbley, I.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Would also pay to see will Ospray and Kevin Night.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
And Wimbley because both are gonna give you a five
star match for sure, regardless of who it is at Wimbley.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Well It's amazing how far Kevin has come.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
When he came to AW and arrived, he was wrestling
against Will Osprey in the Owen Heart Tournament years ago
and just a couple of years ago, and it's amazing
how far Kevin has come in a short time. I
really do believe he is somebody that can be a
great world champion in this sport, and he's facing somebody
(15:47):
who I believe is one of the greatest world champions
ever in this sport, one of the greatest wrestlers I've
ever seen, and somebody I personally believe is one of
the all time greats, Kenny Omega, and I can't wait
for Kenny Omega versus Kevin Knight this Sunday as part
of this major AW redemption pay per view, and you're
going to get to see both of them wrestling for
(16:07):
free on Wednesday night Dynamite Tennight.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Absolutely now exciting thing because obviously we're on the road
to redemption, and then we've got Wimbley All Out was
already announced for Chicago, and there's another event now that
has been announced happening on the same day in the
same market. Do you view that as healthy competition? Maybe
a compliment or is that simply the reality of today's
(16:31):
wrestling business.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
It's probably all of the above. I think it's all
the above. It's the reality of current wrestling. It's the
frankly predatory nature of scheduling of events, but also the
compliment that says that aw's doing very well in Chicago's
a great city for wrestling.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I'm very excited about AW all out.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And it's not something unexpected to have competition, and I
do welcome it. And I also really am excited about
the run of show is coming up tonight just to
stack dynamite a major redemption pay per view this weekend,
and I think it's gonna put us on the course
to all.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
In and then all out absolutely. And of course you're
no stranger to competition.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
You got you got an American football team and you
got a European football team, so competition no stranger to
Tony Kahn for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Now I do want to shift gears for a second.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
I want to talk about Ring of Honor because I
was talking about this recently with a friend. Ring of Honor,
of course, has the Hall of Fame you introduced it
back in two thousand, What was it twenty twenty two,
but there hasn't been another class since then. Is the
ROH Hall of Fame something you intend to bring back
or is that just kind of there for right now?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
What a great question.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Nobody's ever asked me about that, or if they have,
it's been a really long time and I can't remember.
I really think that's a tremendous thought. I have not
added to the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame. It
was a fantastic inaugural class that ring the previous administration
had inducted, so that was something that had already been
(18:04):
set up when I bought the company. I think they
picked a fantastic class, and I do think there are
people that would be fantastic additions to the Ring of
Honor Hall of Fame, And it is definitely something to
think about and something I am interested in.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
It's a great thought by you, Tim.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
I'm glad you brought it up, and I'll have to
think more about that now that you brought that up.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Nice Now, if it does return, would you kind of
keep it like the original presentation or turn it into
like a live ceremony that people could watch on Honor
Club As one of the major ROH events.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
I'm not sure because you just got me thinking about
it again.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
I'll have to consider that, but it's a great thought
by you, and I'll take that under advisement.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
It's a good consideration by you.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Does Athena go in because she's the longest reigning ROH
Women's champion as of today.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
I absolutely think she would have an excellent case to
be in that.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yes, awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Speaking of Hall of Fame as well, kind of shifting
to AW, the company.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Is, you know, seven years old.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Obviously Sting's retirement and the legacy of mister Brodielee have
already created Hall of Fame level moments. At what point
would you consider saying, okay, we can have an AW.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Hall of Fame.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
It's a very important consideration also, And as soon as
you brought up the ROH one, I knew the aw
question was not far behind. I'd never launched a Hall
of fame personally, the ROH class, which is a great group.
They picked the group that is five wrestlers, four inductions
across five wrestlers with of course Brian Danielson, CM Punk,
(19:37):
Samoa Joe and the Briscopes, Mark and j Brisco. I
think that's five great wrestlers for great acts to put
in a Hall of fame. And I've never launched any
AW Hall of Fame as of yet and have not
worked on the Roh Hall of Fame yet. So those
are great thoughts and something to think.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
About, absolutely, because you know, as wrestling fans, we could
always consider who we would consider going into if AW
did a Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
I mean, obviously, do you wait for the ten years?
Do you wait for this?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I mean obviously you put Brody in, you put Sting
in as as your top two to go in, and
I mean we could fantasy book this all day, but
I just wanted to kind of get your thoughts on
potentially the Hall of Fame for AW.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
I think it's a good thought. I'd be interested in
doing it. And uh uh, I'm not going to list
the class.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Here with no time on the Battleground podcast.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I get the feeling that's what you were trying to
get me to do.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
No, I was just wanting to know about a hall
of fame.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
I mean, if you slipped up and said somebody's name,
then we can make headlines.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
But I wasn't goading you into it.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Yeah, it's a great idea, and you know, as I've said,
you're the you brought it up.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
I think it's a great thought and I'll have to
consider it.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So Tony, it's always an honor and or privilege to
have you on the show. Before I let you go,
make the pitch right now, directly to wrestling fans here
in Middle Tennessee, why do they need to be It's
a pinnacle tonight for AEW Dynamite and Collision.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Well, God bless you for this opportunity.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
I really appreciate you giving me the chance to do this,
and thank you all for listening to the Battleground. Tim
does a great job on this show and I appreciate
him giving me a platform to talk about AEW All.
Elite Wrestling is coming to Nashville tonight and there are
still tickets available. You can join us in person. It's
going to be a pack house with fans who love wrestling.
(21:28):
You'll have such a great time. You can get your
tickets right now for tonight's show at awtix dot com.
Aw ticks dot com And hey, you may want to
watch it at home, and the great news is you
can watch it live.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
The show's on at seven pm.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Central time there in Nashville, or for Tim's East Coast
listeners or people listening in other territories.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
It's on at eight pm but seven pm Central.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
And I would love for all of you to join
us in person or watch the show tonight. W's having
a fantastic twenty twenty six. I think we're gonna keep
it running tonight, and we're gonna have a great Dynamite tonight.
We're gonna have a big weekend with Collision on Saturday
and a great pay per view AW redemption for the
first fine ever, and you're all gonna be a huge
(22:17):
part of it. Thank you for listening to the Battleground,
thank you for following AW, and I hope that you'll
be able to check out Dynamite tonight.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Absolutely, Tony, it's always an honor and a privilege to
have you on the show, and we'll see you at
the show tonight at the Pinnacle.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
It's great to see you and I look forward to
seeing you in person tonight.
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