All Elite Wrestling President and Head of Creative Tony Khan held an online media briefing this past Tuesday afternoon ahead of AEW's upcoming Fyter Fest and All In shows. Khan began the call by thanking the journalists in attendance and emphasizing on the importance of the milestones the company will be achieving this week.
As the floor was opened to the media for questions, Phil Strum from USA Network's "Under The Ring" raised a concern on the status of the Young Bucks vs. FTR tag team match at All In following Cash Wheeler's arrest a couple of days prior. Khan responds stating that he himself is still in the process of gathering the specifics on the developing situation before releasing an official decision regarding Wheeler's status for the show. He further describes the matter as temporarily inconclusive until all pertinent information and facts are presented to him for meticulous decision-making.
At this time, I think it's a very inconclusive situation. It differs from other times where we've come in and weighed in on a situation or acted on a situation based on the evidence because in this case and everything we're looking at, I don't think we have those facts right now. So at this point, I think it's rather inconclusive, but I do very much look forward to the match, and we'll keep an eye out throughout this week.
He later on adds that he was not made aware of the arrest prior to the public news release reiterating that he is still gathering as much information regarding the situation as possible prior to finalizing a decision on the matter much like other authorities have.
On the other hand, when asked about hosting more AEW shows outside of the United States in the future, he expects it to be possible despite uncertainty of specific locations where these shows may be held. He also brought up AEW's strong bonds with international partner ITV in the United Kingdom, further insinuating the possibility of more AEW shows in the U.K. region.
If you look at how I've done things historically, when something succeeds like this, I think there's a very good chance for that [hosting AEW events in the UK]. And I'm so optimistic about the future of AEW. In the UK, we have a great relationship with ITV. As you mentioned, I think they are the perfect partner for AEW pro wrestling in England, and they have that history of carrying pro wrestling for decades.
Khan also provided a ticket sales update as of the time of writing. A total of 80,000 tickets have been sold with an estimated gate nearing $10M as he adds that it will be the largest gate in the history of All Elite Wrestling and for professional wrestling in the European continent.
Khan also commented on the finality of the All In match card, reminding the attendees of the traditional "card subject to change" nature of professional wrestling events. He states that there will be adjustments to the card going forward, but promises that these changes will not distort the overall quality of the show.
There will be adjustments to the card. Some of them have been planned from the beginning, some of them are things we're dealing with on the fly... I wish that everything in pro wrestling happened in a vacuum and that all of our best ideas, as they played out on paper, didn't get changed up... And I might have to make some changes in the body of the card as it stands right now, but they're not substantive changes that will change the quality of the show, and I'm very glad that the big matches are in such a good position right now.
To listen to the full media briefing with Tony Khan for All In 2023, click on Women's Wrestling Talk's call recording on our YouTube channel below.
Comments