Tony Khan Says Adam Cole Brought AEW The Toughest Competition During Wednesday Night Wars

AEW President Tony Khan made his weekly trek to Busted Open Radio to discuss the success of AEW's All Out PPV. Khan revealed that he had never been happier than he was in the aftermath of the show, one that he called several years in the making.

"I've never felt better. I've never felt better about anything," Khan said. "This show was almost two years in the making really. There were things that happened on this show that have been talked about for so long. I always dreamed of the day that Adam Cole would come to AEW. I always believed that some day it would be possible, though I didn't know it would be so soon. That's a dream come true. He's always been a talent we've had a close eye on and he's been somebody I've been very fortunate to get a closer look at, because our Women's World Champion Dr. Britt Baker obviously lives with him. He's somebody that I've know and kept an eye on. Bryan Danielson being available, Bryan Danielson being a free agent, his contract expiring and him wanting to come to AEW, that's not something anybody had planned for or expected a long time ago. That came together relatively quickly.

"That was huge news for AEW. And those were great surprises that really put this over the top in my opinion. The way the end was layered, it was just perfect. Everybody I talked to about it said it was perfect. And then when we executed it, everybody went out there and we did it perfectly. CM Punk is something that, really again, almost two years in the making. Conversations about his possible return, and it definitely wasn't anything that was going to happen overnight, and it certainly wasn't anything that would've happened in the pandemic era. But it was something that really changed our business and put our PPV numbers at a whole other level. Our TV ratings have been consistently higher than they ever have."

Khan continued to praise the free agent crop, which in addition to Cole and Danielson also featured CM Punk and Casino Battle Royal winner Ruby Soho. In particular, Khan called Cole the wrestler that brought AEW the toughest competition during the Wednesday Night War

"It was a great feeling," Khan said. "I felt really good to be sitting there with Adam Cole. He was absolutely the person who brought us the toughest competition when there was a Wednesday Night War. It's a dream free agency acquisition for AEW. To bring in that free agent crop, it's really special. And it's only the beginning."

Another thing Khan discussed was the idea to debut Cole and Danielson back to back to close the All Out PPV. He explained that everyone he pitched the idea to loved it, and he's over the moon that it was as received as well as it was.

"It was one of those ideas that, not many people do you tell about these things, but every single person I did tell thought it was the greatest thing," Khan said. "So I knew it was going to work and I felt like it was going to be the perfect end to the perfect show. I'm very gratified that people loved it and I really believe that it's going to keep paying off for us."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription