Tony Khan discusses what he looks for when scouting independent wrestlers
Tony Khan spoke about what he looks for when scouting talent during the AEW Full Gear post-event media event.
The AEW president addressed the topic when asked if he still watches independent wrestling.
“Yeah I do. Sometimes I go to independent wrestling,” Khan responded.
He continued to say that he scouts wrestlers in a similar way to how he scouts football players. He’s not necessarily looking for talent that is able to contribute right away, and he looks for wrestlers and players who can fill a role for the organization as well as potentially grow into other roles.
“I look for wrestlers that the fans connect with, and it’s all different things. Just like in football, football players are built different. You’re looking for different players that play different roles. Not every player is the same height and speed and skillset. And, there are things that you look for in some players versus other players and you look for some people who can come and play a role in your organization.”
“When you’re looking you say ‘Oh I think this person could do this and maybe they could grow into a role’ and same thing when you’re scouting a football player.”
Khan continued to say that wrestlers and football players can both under perform and over perform the expectations the organization has when they first bring them in, saying:
“Whether it’s football or wrestling, people can over perform or under perform those expectations but they are just estimations and ideas that you have. In the end, I go out and I look for people that I think could connect with the fans and people that could be a good fit for AEW. And especially people who would be good in our locker room and be a good part of our company but also people that are going to be great wrestlers for us. And it doesn’t necessarily in every case have to be right away, sometimes it can be, but it could be somebody for the future.”
Khan’s comments regarding what he looks for when scouting independent wrestlers comes in around the 1 hour and 40 minute mark of the below video:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.