AEW President Tony Khan recently spoke with Mike Johnson of PWInsider, and discussed the past year AEW has had, roster additions, and more. Below are highlights:
Favorite AEW accomplishments of 2021 from a company perspective:
“Well, it’s been a great year for the company. I think one of the most important things we did this year was get the show back on the road. And I think it’s very fitting that been on tour now for about six months. The first six months of 2021, we spent at Daily’s Place. And now as we approach the end of the year, and as we approach the end of this great run of Dynamites on TNT for over two straight years. Now, with Dynamite going to TBS and Rampage staying on TNT. It’s very fitting that this week we’ll be in Jacksonville where we’ll have a live Dynamite. That is the last Dynamite ever on TNT and we’ll have our first ever Rampage show emanating from Daily’s Place. And it’ll be the last Rampage to the year, the last show of the year for AEW, and should be a really fun night for the fans and I think it’s still fitting that we’ll end the year in Daily’s Place where we spent the entire first half of the year and most of last year. The fans were so great, so supportive, and I’m really excited to go back to Daily’s Place, but I think it’s just really important bringing AEW back to the fans on the road.”
Whether he would want to change anything over the last several years:
“In many ways, I wouldn’t want to go back and change a single thing, Mike. I would probably take Doc Brown’s advice about that DeLorean and I wouldn’t go back and change stuff because I wouldn’t want to change anything where it is right now. But one thing I wish I could go back and do is if I’d known that Brodie Lee was going to leave us so soon. I would’ve cherished every moment that much more with him and I really did enjoy spending the time with him and talking to Brodie, but I never knew Brodie was going to leave us. If there was anything I could do to go back and help him or extend his situation, extend his life, that would be what I would go back to. As far as going back and changing the shows, changing anything about AEW, that I wouldn’t do. We have such a great thing going right now and all the things that I’ve learned in the last three years in the wrestling business, I’m glad that I learned, they were lessons. Along the way, I think the shows have gotten stronger and better To me, 2021 was the best year yet for AEW. I thought we did our best pay-per-view and our best run of television. Really, if you look at where we’ve ended up this year, we really have closed so much of the gap of our competition year over year, and have hit new highs in pay-per-views where the four biggest pay-per-view event we’ve ever done were this year. Our last pay-per-views are the two biggest ones we’ve ever done in particular, All Out 2021 and Full Gear 2021. I also have really high expectations for the next PPV. So, just a really exciting time. For the most part, I wouldn’t change a thing. I just wish there was some way Brodie would still be here with us.”
AEW roster additions:
“I can’t overstate how important it was to expand the roster this year. At the beginning of the year, I promised things were going to change in wrestling. There would be huge acquisitions and we delivered on that. And the biggest free agent names in wrestling this year came to AEW, when CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Ruby Soho, Thunder Rosa, Andrade el Idolo, Malakai Black and many other big name free agents joined AEW this year and I’m really excited about the changes to our roster. I think the new people have stepped in at the perfect time for us. And really this is one of the best times ever to become an AEW fan for somebody seeking out wrestling to watch. I think we put on great wrestling shows every week and it’s what’s allowed us to keep Dynamite so strong now for a few years and allowed us to launch a new show Rampage with the buzz around wrestling and how great the wrestling business has done in 2021.”
