Is your week also dragging? Like some wrestling fans, are you also impatient for Saturday to arrive?
Have no fear. Read this recap of the media call with AEW president Tony Khan ahead of the massive card coming to us from Texas this Saturday!
This year has seen Mercedes Mone gather a staggering number of championships. There have been rumors surrounding her booking and how much control she has over her own matches. Khan iterates that he has sole responsibility and he’s had final say on creative since day one of AEW.
Khan says that there have been some rough patches but he’s learned from the difficult times and iterates the summer of 2020 as some of AEW’s best stuff, the foundation for what All Elite Wrestling is in 2025. He reiterates that there have been less voices in creative this year and it’s been a tighter, more focused approach to each night.
Khan puts over Mone and her All In opponent, AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm and mentions that he meets with them weekly – as many of AEW talent do but he has final say on what happens in the ring. Mone is one of the biggest AEW stars but “is great to work with [backstage]” and “is very trusting of AEW.”
Khan is asked next about the potential of more baseball parks hosting AEW events in the future, as Khan has helped build up TrueMedia, partnering with 27/30 MLB teams with a focus on data and analytics. Aside from the Texas Rangers, he’s had a few discussions with other TrueMedia clients about the untapped market in these amazing ball parks.
The new Unified championship will not be retiring either of the Continental or International belts but Khan says the Unified belt represents the “significance of this match”. The lineage of both belts will be contained in the Unified Championship. Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada is a rich story line with a ton of history and the two champions are poised to have another great match. This will be the first title unification in AEW history. In Khan’s opinion, Omega/Okada is one of the “best one-on-one rivalries in all of sports”.
All In will have two Casino Gauntlet matches. The potential is always there for big PPVs to have big names show up. Khan says he’s been loving the effort from the wrestlers, support from the fans, and the focus of the show. It’s possible with two such matches, but the focus has been there and AEW has enough talent to support two Casino Gauntlet matches, a first for AEW at All In 2025 as there will also be a Women’s Casino Gauntlet match.
Mark Briscoe has had a great 2025 so far and Khan puts him over as someone who has always had a “great connection with the fans.” Regardless of what situation Briscoe finds himself in, both in the ring and out of it, he ‘keeps it 100’, as the kids say these days. Dallas is special as this is where Khan and the Briscoe brothers first connected when they were together in Ring of Honor. The FTR / Briscoes trilogy started and ended in the Dallas area, at the Curtis Culwell Center. The final match would be the last time Khan would see Jay Briscoe. He puts over Mark Briscoe as one of the locker room leaders.
Regarding talent diversifying their time with other ventures outside of AEW, Khan is 100% supportive and very proud of any AEW wrestler booking something so significant, such as MJF being in Happy Gilmore 2. MJF has been with AEW since the beginning and something like this is huge for both him and AEW. He puts over MJF’s work ethic as someone who is never satisfied and always wants to be the best. MJF’s resume proves it.
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD has been the subject of recent rumors, rumors regarding her departing AEW. Khan quickly denies this claim. He’s never had that conversation with Baker. He recognizes that many talented wrestlers have not been featured this year. He relates it to other sports where there are only so many slots you can use. He thinks the depth AEW shows is going to show when the timing is right, like when substitutions are made in other sports. It’s not about forcing everyone onto TV every week. It’s got to be the right situation.
Khan says both “The Fallen Goddess” Athena and Thunder Rosa could be involved in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In on top of their title match at Supercard of Honor. Athena began her current title reign years ago in Arlington, TX so there is the potential for some ‘circling’ this weekend.
Some injuries in AEW have changed the flow. Jamie Hayter has been out longer than expected with an injury. Khan mentions Queen Aminata has been involved with both AEW and ROH programming and has taken advantage of the time she’s been given. There has been another injury in the ROH Women’s Division, with the Women’s World TV title. Red Velvet has had a lot of momentum in 2025 and she’s been representing ROH regularly in CMLL. She was injured in Mexico and has not been in the ring since. She will be able to work through it but won’t be able to defend her title this weekend. There will be an interim title-holder while Red Velvet recovers, hopefully within a couple of months. She should be back before Death Before Dishonor.
“Hangman” Adam Page and Jon Moxley have been circling each other for years and both have proudly carried the AEW brand at different times. This match feels like the culmination of the last few years. Both men are among the many that are responsible for the current success that All Elite Wrestling enjoys and both have been Men’s Champion. “So much of AEW’s history is tied to both men.”
“Hangman” Adam Page has gone from being “the #1 draft pick” in 2019 to exactly what any team wants out of a #1 pick. He wasn’t at his peak at the time. He was ‘the guy’ based on potential. He’s reached that potential and he’s “entering his prime.”
So much hinges on the tag match with the Young Bucks against Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland. If the EVPs lose, they will be stripped of that title. If Strickland / Ospreay lose, neither can challenge for the Men’s World Championship for a full year. The Young Bucks have cost Strickland a title win and he doesn’t like the idea that he might not be able to challnge for the AEW Men’s World Championship for a calendar year. Ospreay has had his back in recent weeks, even sticking his head out for his close friend. This match could be one of the best tag matches of the year, if not all of AEW’s history. Outside of the ring, Strickland has been out in major media and has never hesitated to represent AEW wherever he can. “He’s a great franchise player.”
Khan ends with a note of his gratitude for everyone that’s supported AEW since the beginning. “It’s going to be an awesome weekend”.
