According to Tony Khan, it was Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho and Rocky Romero who helped end the “cold war” that existed between NJPW and AEW to the point that they are joining forces with Wrestle Kingdom.
“I’m thrilled to help with Wrestle Kingdom. When I became a wrestling promoter, AEW at the very beginning of our journey did not have the best relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling and it’s really grown a lot. It got very strong in 2021. There was something of a cold war between us in 2019 and 2020 but there were a few links between us in John Moxley and Chris Jericho, guys that worked in both companies,” Khan told Slam Wrestling during today’s Full Gear conference call.
The two promotions became really close during the pandemic, each leaning on each other.
“There was not a lot of communication in 2019 and 2020 between AEW and New Japan. I was happy to have Chris and John still participating in New Japan while they were primarily wrestling in AEW. In 2020, the pandemic hit and it changed a lot of the relationships and the dynamics in wrestling. I became close with Rocky Romero and then I became close with Gedo, and we were able to put together an agreement in 2021 to start working together closely. It was a big change from our first two years and then in 2022 we worked together to put on the first Forbidden Door and both companies have had tremendous success,” remembered Khan.
“We built a great relationship with each other and in this case AEW has grown so much. We have so many huge stars and great big names in AEW and I think that it’s really exciting to see so many of AEW’s great stars wanting to participate in New Japan Pro Wrestling, wanting to help our partner and joining in and and helping us with this cross promotional effort. Just as New Japan has sent great stars to participate in AEW, and a lot of the top stars in AEW, frankly, have come from New Japan and built a great reputation in New Japan and come to AEW. I think it’s great to be able to have the relationship work both ways and be able to help them and support them and that’s what being a partner and a friend is all about,” he said.
One Full Gear feud that has come out of the working relationship between both companies is AEW World Champion Will Ospreay putting up the title against his former protegee, former ally in NJPW’s United Empire, Kyle Fletcher.
“It’s interesting because a lot of times people have friendships in wrestling and they go sour. Will (Ospreay) is not the only person that’s experienced that, I think a lot of wrestlers have have found that when it comes down to it, it’s lonely at the top and people end up fighting their friends for those positions. In Will Osprey’s case, he’s the number one wrestler, the AEW World Champion, and everybody’s gunning for him, including his former friends. We learned last night that jealousy is a component in this. I have a lot of respect for Kyle Fletcher admitting the truth. A lot of people wouldn’t be man enough to admit that they are jealous of Will Osprey and have been jealous of Will Osprey and his success. I do think that’s a big component in these things and Kyle Fletcher is the one who’s man enough to admit it.
Although they are at odd with one another, Khan complimented both men and what they have brought to AEW.
“I am really looking forward to Kyle Fletcher and Will Osprey fighting for the world title this Saturday at AEW Full Gear. They are two of the very best stars in AEW, fighting for the top championship in the sport, and to have so much excitement around each of them individually, and about this fight between them. I think is great for the company, great for AEW and everyone involved. I’m really proud of both of them. Both of them have been great champions in AEW and held multiple championships. However, now Ospreay is the champion. He’s the world champion, and as you’ve said, a lot of his former friends and teammates have come looking for a fight. I think that because Ospreay has been hugely successful and when you have a lot of success, everybody wants a piece of it, including your friends,” Khan told Slam.
Khan also spoke about the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery and how that might affect AEW,
“I think the lifeblood of AEW and the most important focus on the business side is putting on great wrestling television and keeping a very strong relationship, because the primary revenue of AEW comes from our domestic deal with Warner Brothers and as I’ve been very outspoken regarding the huge change at Warner Brothers, and for us, I believe it’s a huge change for the very positive. We’ve had a great thing going. We’ve had a great relationship with Warner Brothers Discovery and I think we’ve performed very, very well,” said Khan revealing that he has met with the new Skydance team many times already.
Word is that under Skydance, Parmount+ and HBO Max will be combined into one service. Khan is convinced that is good news for AEW.
“They’ve talked about a bundle with HBO Max and Paramount Plus. I think that creates great opportunities for AEW to grow our viewership. When you ask me what the most important business goal for AEW is and I think international growth is very, very important. I would still say the lifeblood for the business engine of AEW is domestic and that’s where having this great relationship and continuing that relationship is very, very important. It’ll be very, very exciting for us going into 2027 that we’re performing so well and that right now this is a tremendous time for AEW.
Khan was quick to point out though that AEW is a different kind of wrestling promotion.
“I really care about this. We do this 52 weeks a year. I’ll never take a day off from it. You’ll always get my very best and I’m not chasing you (Skydance) for money. I’m not doing this for the money. We do need the money to make this a strong company and to grow the business but it’s because I love wrestling and I am a big wrestling fan and I do believe it was very much appreciated and we were rewarded with a great media rights contract with several 100 million dollars over several years. It’s very, very imperative to AEW that we continue doing this great job that we’re doing week in, week out,” said Khan.
Full Gear takes place this Saturday from the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
The card thus far is:
AEW TBS Championship (Three-Way Match): Queen Aminata (c) vs. Maya World vs. Persephone
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship (Tag Team Match): The Brawling Birds (Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor) (c) vs. Wrathlander (Harley Cameron and Kris Statlander)
AEW World Tag Team Championship (Tag Team Match): The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Davis and Doyle (Mark Davis and Jake Doyle)
AEW World Trios Championship (Texas Deathmatch): “Hangman” Adam Page and Brodido (Brody King and Bandido) (c) vs. Swerve Strickland and The New Level (Austin Creed and Kofi Kingston)
AEW World Championship (Singles Match): Will Ospreay (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
Anarchy in the Arena Match: Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia and Gabe Kidd) and The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. The Cut (Jay White, Ace Austin, Austin Gunn, Clark Connors, Colten Gunn and David Finlay)
AEW Women’s World Championship (Singles Match): Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Marina Shafir
AEW International Championship (Singles Match): Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Adam Copeland
AEW National Championship (Singles Match): Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov
