Tony Khan Boasts About AEW Being First WWE Challenger To Run Toronto

Tony Khan will be heading up north soon to host the first set of AEW tapings in Canada, and he asserts that the company has broken through some ceilings in doing so that can only be rivaled by WWE. The AEW CEO spoke to the "Toronto Star" and expressed his enthusiasm for bringing "Dynamite" and "Rampage" north of the border.

"For AEW and for wrestling fans, this debut in Toronto is a huge milestone," Khan said. "WWE has run shows in Toronto and through Canada for decades but there has not been a challenge or promotion with the level of international TV penetration that AEW has with our great roster of wrestlers, our unmatched financial resources, and our international television partnerships in two decades."

Besides WWE, the last major promotion to run in Toronto, Canada was WCW with their 1999 Mayhem pay-per-view. Mayhem had a tournament to determine the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. The victor ended up being Bret Hart, who defeated fellow Canadian Chris Benoit in the finals. Earlier on in the card, Hart defeated current AEW star Sting in a semi-finals match. Scott Hall also retained his United States Championship against Booker T and Goldberg defeated Sid Vicious via technical submission in an "I Quit" match. Wednesday night's "Dynamite" card has "The Bastard" PAC defending his All-Atlantic Championship against Orange Cassidy and the show will be main-evented by Bryan Danielson challenging Chris Jericho for the ROH World Title. "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn will also be in action against Swerve Strickland, furthering the rivalry between World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed and former champs Swerve in Our Glory.