Tony Khan AEW media call notes: Wrestle Dynasty future, Tanahashi vs. Okada, WBD rumors
In a week where Tony Khan made plenty of headlines from his interview with Ariel Helwani, Thursday’s media call to hype up AEW Full Gear didn’t have as much major news items or notes coming out of it.
The full audio is available below.
One interesting bit of information included the future of Wrestle Dynasty (the Forbidden Door-esque card) which debuted earlier this year following Wrestle Kingdom. However, that is not the case for this January.
Khan said he doesn’t think there will be another Wrestle Dynasty event in 2026 even though he said it was successful and is open to doing it again in the future.
Continental Classic field
Khan said he would have loved to announce the Continental Classic field before Full Gear, but wants to gauge health of everyone in the hours following Full Gear. He thought last year’s tournament was better than the prior year’s. He is very proud of the Classic in its young history and has only had to make one change in its history due to injury (Juice Robinson).
WBD future
Asked about thoughts on AEW’s future with all the WBD rumors, Khan says he has to be careful in how he answers given it’s talking about people’s jobs. He said AEW has continued to both grow and integrate into WBD through their changes and that support has been reciprocal. He said AEW is in an advantageous position and an existing place given they are a hugely grateful beneficiary of WBD’s support. He is very optimistic about where this is all going in the future.
“It feels like AEW is in an incredibly strong position,” he said.
Blood & Guts
Khan confirms there will be another women’s Blood & Guts match someday and that the first one “knocked it out of the park.” He said Warner Bros. Discover was “so happy” with it, the fans really enjoyed it, and he was relieved there weren’t more injuries coming out of it. He put over the women for the amount of preparation and time they put into it. He also put over the effort and relief about no serious injuries in the men’s match as well.
Here’s some additional news & quotes:
- Asked about why he has so many titles in AEW and ROH, Khan didn’t directly answer but alluded to the changes that have taken place since he started AEW which includes Collision, more PPVs and buying ROH.
- He said the discussion of Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in his final match came up at AEW Double or Nothing while he and Tanahashi went to dinner. Both sides thought it was both an opportunity for an incredible business success for Wrestle Kingdom and a fitting tribute to Tanahashi.
- Khan said fans might see more ROH events on YouTube in the future given the success of Death Before Dishonor, Global Wars, etc.
- Khan said he sees opportunities for the AEW National Champion to defend the title in other promotions domestic & international, confirming that will happen at ROH Final Battle.
- He reiterated one of his biggest regrets is not having The Briscoes on AEW TV, but says he did the best he could. However, he still thinks about it every day.
- Khan calls DC ‘possibly the most significant sponsor’ AEW has had.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.