ROH MEDIA CALL

[Comrade Khan]

put this here since lots of talk of regal

 

[Comrade Khan]

Tony Khan says going into Grand Slam, he had several personal challenges going on with his family. His dad Shad Khan wasn't able to be there because Tony's mother had a stroke after All Out, before Grand Slam. Says it was a really stressful time for his family. He says his mother was at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and doctors weren't able to initially figure out what led to her stroke. She was able to go home. A few weeks later, around his 40th birthday, his mother had a second stroke. Tony Khan says his mother had a spot on his heart doctors found, and the doctors said if they could fix that, they could hopefully stop the strokes. As AEW was in Toronto, she was going into surgery. He watched AEW Rampage that night from his mother's hospital room (this was the week of the Jags/Colts game). The operation on her heart went well, but he says it's a really challenging recovery for her. His mother is now doing really well. She had a great Thanksgiving with the family, and she seems to be doing better and better every day. Is grateful to his family and that he was able to be there with her during such a trying time for them all.

Tony Khan says after this week, he will be limiting how much of Ring of Honor you see on AEW TV. He doesn't want it to overshadow AEW on its own platform. He'll address the future of ROH after Final Battle. Says AEW comes first and foremost, yet ROH is very important and doesn't want it to take a backseat to anything. But doesn't want it to pull focus of ROH on AEW.

Tony talks about Rampage's low ratings. Says Rampage this week will have a big card, would like to use the depth of the AEW roster, get all hands on deck,
and get big matches on Rampage.

Tony Khan says there are several Latin America countries AEW could be successful in. There are no concrete plans to run, but he will look into it. Thinks ROH could run internationally as well, and has in the past. He would love to continue this in the future with his vision of Ring of Honor, with an international AEW or ROH show.

Asked about Athena, Tony Khan says he's very pleased with the work she's done. Believes she's reached another level the past several weeks, past several months. He likes her aggressiveness she has displayed and called it "compelling TV." Calls it her best work in AEW so far.

Tony Khan says that there is a connection between NJPW and ROH. Says Juice Robinson could be a great TV Champion in ROH. He would consider letting Juice Robinson defend the title in NJPW if he beats Samoa Joe at Final Battle. He also says that he can talk more about ROH/AEW/NJPW on Saturday.

Asked about using Maria Kanellis in a backstage capacity, Tony Khan says he's talked to Maria about Women's Wrestling Army, and says she has a great eye for women's talent.

Tony Khan is asked if he sees Jade Cargill as AEW's version of Roman Reigns or Mandy Rose (in regards to length of title reign). Tony says he sees Jade as her own star. Says there's no comparison for Jade Cargill, she's in a class all her own. Says Jade is a great champion with huge star power, great crossover appeal. When she walks into the room at sporting events, people immediately take notice.

Tony Khan won't get into Shane Taylor's contractual status, but is excited to have people who have had success in ROH's past on the brand. He thought the story made sense with Shane Taylor's history with Keith Lee, and itseems to be a bit of a "family affair" when they meet with former partners and opponents. . Keith himself was the one who brought it up to Tony Khan.

There's a lot of crossover between AEW and ROH creative teams. Tony Khan heads them both up, but there's some crossover, and a few people that are individual to certain brands.

 

[Comrade Khan]

• On Arn Anderson and Jake "The Snake" Roberts maybe being integrated back onto TV, Tony Khan says he'd like to incorporate them more. "More content, more hours" would make that possible. Mentions the possibility of Ring of Honor inclusion, hinting on a content announcement after Final Battle.
• On why FTR is not featured on the Final Battle card, Tony Khan says he has a great appreciation of them. Through no fault of their own, he says they have been involved in a lot of storylines that have been put on hold due to outside circumstances. He notes that the CM Punk injury changed months of story for FTR. Says FTR has been great with rolling with the punches of changing plans. Says FTR has been supportive of what's happened with Tony's mother. He notes how they want to wrestle every week. He's had stuff for them that had to change due to their other commitments. Says what FTR has done this year is "pretty remarkable."
• Tony Khan says he's full of the Christmas spirit right now after what happened with his mother. He says starting tonight, through the holiday season, there is going to be a lot of Christmas on AEW television. Says he feels a bit like Scrooge with a new lease on life which will be felt in AEW as well.
• Tony Khan says tonight's Acclaimed vs. FTR match is massive. Says it will be first and foremost tonight on Dynamite.
• Tony Khan says FTR were the MVPs of the last two ROH PPVs. Says in regards to them not being on the PPV as of now, he wants to wait until how tonight plays out vs. The Acclaimed and they'll go from there.
• Tony Khan says William Regal's release dictates he is able to go back to WWE and coach, but not be able to go on-air in the next year. He says he was surprised by the tweet from WWE showcasing him on TV and didn't think it was in the spirit of how accommodating they were.
• Asked about adding more PPVs to the AEW calendar, Tony Khan says he hasn't locked in anything like that yet, but that 2022 was their most successful PPV year yet. He believes one of the best things about AEW is how much they put into their PPVs, and doesn't want to saturate the market.
• In terms of Ring of Honor's progress with what Tony Khan expected of it, he said a few things have been different than what he thought. He's overall pleased and says it's been beyond all projections a success. Said he's playing with house money on this show.
• Tony Khan mentions Final Battle is an experiment on seeing if there is a market for Saturday afternoon PPVs, given how much competition is on a Saturday night typically.

 

[Chris]

I haven't been reading a lot of this yet but people are talking about how he's brought up the Christmas spirit in relation to tonight's show A LOT and I'm trying to wrap my brain around if that means anything or of he's just a holiday mark lol

 

[Comrade Khan]

I haven't been reading a lot of this yet but people are talking about how he's brought up the Christmas spirit in relation to tonight's show A LOT and I'm trying to wrap my brain around if that means anything or of he's just a holiday mark lol

the stuff about his mum is pretty fucked up

 

[Comrade Khan]

• Tony Khan puts over Chris Jericho for an incredible year in AEW and with the Ring of Jericho in ROH. Says Anarchy in the Arena may be the best match for AEW this year, and is incredibly excited to see how Jericho vs. Claudio shapes up at Final Battle.
• Tony Khan says that he's curious to see how Claudio deals with the departure of William Regal, and how the Blackpool Combat Club shapes up afterwards. If Claudio can't beat Jericho at Final Battle, he may have to join the Jericho Appreciation Society.
• Tony Khan says that Final Battle will answer a big question in "What is the future of Ring of Honor?" Will we continue with the Ring of Jericho Run? Or will Claudio save the company? What about FTR, the ROH World Tag Team Champions? Will they carry AEW's championship tonight into ROH?
• Tony Khan keeps saying that he can not wait till after Final Battle to talk about the future of Ring Of Honor.
• The media call has been concluded.

 

[Chris]

Most repeated from whats already been posted but here's some full transcripts of Regal comments and also the news about Tony's mom

Tony Khan details why he agreed to not renew William Regal's AEW contract

Khan addressed Regal's status during the pre-ROH Final Battle media call.

www.f4wonline.com

 

[Roy Mustang]

Sounds like ROH got a TV deal... thank god. Also the wording from TK makes me think Claudio and Juice win this weekend. Also I hope FTR lose. No way Acclaimed should lose the titles yet

 

[Alexa]

Tony Khan puts over Chris Jericho for an incredible year in AEW and with the Ring of Jericho in ROH...this confirms TK is a mark