QT Marshall Explains His Backstage Role in AEW
It's been rewarding for QT Marshall to see how far All Elite Wrestling has come since its inception. The fact the company achieved so much success in spite of a global pandemic is especially impressive in his eyes.
"We still continued to produce some of the greatest wrestling content in the world," he said, reflecting on the recent second anniversary of Dynamite.
Even more rewarding for the veteran who wears many hats behind the scenes. A role that has evolved over time.
"When I first started as Cody's assistant there was a lot of work that needed to be done behind the scenes, and I kind of noticed that. I wanted to do as much as I can because with more work comes more responsibility, but also more money," Marshall said,
"I've always wanted to only work in wrestling. When I took the job as Cody's assistant, it was very much like a developmental deal. Just to see if I fit in and this and that and the other. I was already a producer at that point, but when the pandemic hit some of the EVPs couldn't come to work because of the pandemic, they were in California."
During this period Marshall recalled growing closer to AEW head Tony Khan. He believes trust was built between them to the extent the founder will confide in him. Here Marshall clarifies his role as assistant.
"We go back and forth. It's his show. It has always been his show," he said. "I've seen it firsthand, everyone pitches ideas. Myself included. He is the be-all and end-all, but he does need someone to put pen to paper. I don't mind doing it. It was something I saw Cody doing so I took over formatting the show. Even if I formatted it with only the matches that were advertised, he is going to look at it and say, 'let's do this and that.' We all have our part in it, but it is his show.
"We do have nights like in Rochester. I got there and got to the hotel, and we were up until 5 or 6 a.m. just going over everything. I think about a lot of his ideas and putting them on paper and timing it out to see if it works. How we can all make sense. People are tweeting at me asking if [being called his assistant] bothers me. Why would it bother me? I'm his assistant. I try to stay in my lane. I don't want people to say I'm writing the show. I'm physically writing. Typing the format. But creating a show is not what I do."
Marshall describes himself as helping provide that bridge between production and creative.
"If Malakai Black is coming in and has this cool entrance idea, I work with him," he said, providing an example. "I work with production. We make it work. When it comes to talent, talent does pitch ideas to me because I guess they feel it's easier for them to pitch to me. But Tony has an extremely open door policy. It's crazy in fact how many people who can walk into his office any day of the week, especially on TV when we're really busy. He loves it. He is very hands-on. I am the guy that takes a little bit of the load off without overstepping my bounds."
At the same time, the Nightmare Factory coach isn't always in the loop. Like when Khan decided to add a Buy In to an upcoming episode of Rampage on Friday. An episode going against a super-sized SmackDown.
"That came as a shock to me. I don't know all that was happening," he said. "Those are his cards he keeps close to his chest. I believe they counter-programmed us first. They announced they were going to do an extra half hour because they were on FS1 and wanted to go against us. At the end of the day, it's more content for the wrestling fan. Does it make you choose? Yeah, but that's fun about it. Are we going to win? Who knows. I don't think there is a winner or loser. I think the fans win automatically. It puts our wrestlers on a different level.
"....Lee Moriarty got to be on a live Buy In. That's a great experience for him and to be out there with a guy like Bobby Fish. Then you have a massive match with Bryan Danielson versus Minoru Suzuki. We're giving it to you for free because that is what we want to do. Our pay-per-view model is not the be-all-end-all. It's about creating good content for the fans. That is what Tony wants to do. For him, the way people are taking it. Is he is trying to go against WWE? You can say that. That's how it looks and maybe deep down it's what he wants. At the end of the day, I think he is just trying to put out the greatest show possible and get the most eyes on it as well."
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