Tony Khan Talks Controversy Around Jon Moxley Vs. Kenny Omega Match, AEW Creative Process
Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega engaged in a brutal, violent Lights Out match at Full Gear that has many wondering if that will be the norm for AEW pay-per-views. Tony Khan responded to that and the reaction it generated when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"I expected it and that's why we put it on PPV. We would never do anything like this on TV. Our friends at TNT know what we're trying to do in putting hardcore matches in the main events of PPVs. There's gonna be two wrestlers that wanna settle it so we're not gonna sanction it. We're gonna turn the lights off and turn a blind eye to it and not be libel for what occurs in the ring," said Khan.
"I think it's a very logical thing and I'm not surprised that people are shocked. I think most people did love it. It got a huge amount of interest and it did exactly what we wanted it to do which was start a conversation. To me, I absolutely loved it."
As AEW president, Khan is at the head of creative and he talked about the process that goes on each week before Dynamite.
"We have the best production meeting in wrestling on Tuesday nights. You have myself, The Young Bucks, Cody and Kenny. We're the lead in creative and at the end of the day, I have the final say in everything. I'm accountable with everything we do both on-screen and off. And that's how it goes," stated Khan.
Khan talked about how he's been in sports his whole life so he's used to dealing with a lot players with ideas. Whenever you manage a roster there are all kinds of issues and problems that come along with that but he says he is uniquely positioned to run this league.
Khan is also a co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC and he talked about the differences in working with wrestlers vs. other athletes.
"I am a wrestling person who speaks the language of a wrestling person and that makes it easy for me and everyone here," said Khan. "At my heart I love wrestling more than anything else. People ask me if I get nervous and I get a lot more nervous before a Jaguars or Fulham game. But I get more excited and have more fun at AEW than anything else.
"The shows are fun and we have fun doing them. We don't just have fun putting them on as we have fun putting them together. I love that process and it's really special to me."
Khan's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In the full interview Khan discusses how AEW Bash At The Beach came together, CM Punk tagging him and Vince McMahon in a tweet, his early memories of Chris Jericho, the controversy around Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega's brutality, MJF's heel turn, checking AEW and NXT's viewership each week and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.