AEW's Tony Khan Responds To Question About ROH Still Not Being Developmental
It's now been nearly two years since Tony Khan first purchased ROH, and there are still plenty of questions regarding the promotion and where it stands compared to Khan's other promotion, AEW. Those questions have ramped up with ROH Final Battle set to take place this Friday, with many wondering if ROH is truly its own thing or a developmental wing for AEW programming.
The topic was broached on Tuesday when Khan held a media scrum for Final Battle. The AEW/ROH owner appeared to firmly reject ROH being a developmental brand, believing ROH has shown can stand on its own since he bought it. He also noted that ROH allowed him to highlight talent and stories that he'd otherwise be unable to spotlight in AEW
"It's a sustainable company that we've been able to build that has great shows that puts a lot of great matches into the wrestling ecosystem that I was very excited to revive," Khan said. "Because it has a great history, and it had a lot of value that it could add, to my own portfolio personally, but also to the world. And I think what we're seeing here with this event, and you look at some of the matches ... with the five hours of AEW TV ... I don't know if it would've been possible to develop those stories. And certainly, for some of the young wrestlers, I think it's been excellent, but we have a great veteran crew, and it's really about great wrestling and a prestige product."
Khan Praises Blend Of Young And Veteran Talent On ROH Roster
It's a product Khan is also looking to grow, both through different platforms and via the ongoing Continental Classic tournament. The tournament will see the ROH World Title, along with the NJPW Strong Openweight Title, merge with the newly created AEW Continental Championship to form a Triple Crown Championship, which Khan said would be a touring title and one that represents ROH.
"I think it's really important to know that whoever comes out of the Continental Classic ... when you look at this incredible field with 12 wrestlers, any of them would be a great champion," Khan said. "They're all very established stars. And the way the tournament's shaking up ... I think it's something to watch for that there's going to be a great World Champion coming out of it for ROH ... no matter who wins the Continental Classic." Another positive Khan sees in ROH is its roster, a mixture of younger talents and veteran stars. That dynamic is highlighted in Final Battle's main event, where ROH Women's World Champion Athena defends the title against former protege, Billie Starkz.
"It's a great blend," Khan said. "And [it comes] without having the necessary elements of other televised wrestling shows by having the streaming product we have right now. We're not as locked into specific format times, so people can have longer matches, or in some cases if they're not ready to have longer matches, shorter matches, and not be thinking about commercial breaks, or certain aspects of it. But there are other aspects that it's great for the people to learn, working on television, working within the same arenas with the same production staff. There's a lot to be said for the young wrestlers, but it's also a great group of top veterans and it's a prestigious wrestling product with prestigious champions. "