Tony Khan Discusses Decision To "Pause" Matt Hardy Match At All Out By Ringing The Bell

By Austin Lee

Tony Khan took part in the media scrum following the All Out pay-per-view and discussed his decision to pause the Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara match after a scary spot occurred in which Guevara speared Hardy off of a raised scissor lift and through a pair of tables. Hardy missed the first table completely and his head slammed into the concrete.

"I just want to give a note here at the beginning and say that the health and safety of the wrestlers is always the most important thing at AEW," Khan stated. "I just wanted to give everyone an update on Matt Hardy and say, most importantly, Matt is okay and he's going to be okay. What had happened was Matt had taken a fall in the match and I stopped the match, paused the match, and sent the doctor to check on him."

"I was concerned that Matt could be hurt," Khan continued. "I rang the bell to pause the match. When the doctor checked him, he passed him and cleared him on the concussion protocol. He checked with Matt and then Matt came back after and passed the concussion protocol and he's doing okay. I spoke with him after the match and talked to him again just now. He went, as a precaution, to the hospital to get some tests and check out that he's okay, but looks like he is okay and that's why the doctor cleared him to continue. It was not something that any of us enjoyed. It was a scary moment, but the most important thing is that Matt is okay. We're all really glad about that."

While Hardy was being checked on, he was audibly adamant to continue the match. Khan fielded a question about whether or not there was adequate time to make an educated decision on Hardy's condition and Khan was very confident that they followed the protocol and mentioned he would never go against a doctor's orders and mentioned the wrestlers don't have the authority to overrule the doctor's decision as well.

"Yes, there was a good amount of time to make the decision," Khan said. "The doctor did clear him. Matt did not pressure him and Dr. Sampson would not be pressured into clearing anybody. He's pulled people from our shows without hesitation, whether it's been something with a blood test or something with an injury. He's really strict about that stuff and that's why when people have had injuries that he didn't feel comfortable with people doing physicality type stuff, we never put those people out there."

"I would never go against a doctor's decision," Khan added. "Most importantly, Matt would not have been able to overrule the doctor's decision. Not with the doctor and not with me. That's what happened. The doctor cleared him, which is the first and foremost important thing. Matt also did want to continue, but the doctor cleared him. At that point when the doctor cleared him and Matt said he wanted to continue, we allowed it to continue."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling Inc. with a h/t for the transcription.

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