Various: Tony Khan on Lack of DQ & Countout Finishes in AEW, Friday’s NJPW Strong Card, Indies

Tony Khan Comments on Lack of DQ and Countout Finishes Done in AEW

A recent episode of The Way of The Blade podcast had AEW CEO Tony Khan as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts on his booking philosophy for the lack of disqualifications and count-outs for match finishes in AEW.

“Count-out finishes aren’t always popular. For me as a promoter, you can count on one hand the number of count-out and disqualification finishes that I’ve done. I really like doing conclusive finishes, but I definitely think a count-out is a much more conclusive finish than a disqualification. Sometimes, there’s a storyline reason for both, but ultimately, it often feels unsatisfying.

I will not let people off the hook for this could I feel like half the matches on the show are like a disqualification and it’s been that way my whole life [with] multiple promotions on television. Really, the competitive promotions on television. Such a large percentage of their matches ended in a disqualification. I found it very unsatisfying. Instead, you watch ECW or All-Japan, and there are a lot more finishes and maybe the happy medium is [something like] Smoky Mountain [Wrestling] was a very well booked promotion.

I have no problem with doing it. Sometimes, I probably underdo them [to the point] where you never see them. But when we do them, they really do make sense.”

Khan also stated that the NWA territories era of wrestling is a big inspiration behind his booking of his champions in the company.

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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Full Card for Friday’s Episode of NJPW Strong

New Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced the full card for tonight’s Tag Team Turbulence Finals themed episode of NJPW Strong, which airs on New Japan World starting at 10PM EST.

• Kevin Knight vs. Bateman
• Adrian Quest, Fred Rosser, & Karl Fredericks vs. Misterioso, Royce Isaacs, & Jorel Nelson
• Tag Tam Turbulence tournament Finals match – The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson)

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Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Japanese indies and AEW talent Ryo Mizumani reportedly was recently hospitalized due to COVID-19 and pneumonia-related issues, according to PWInsider. It was also reported that a growing number of other Japanese female wrestlers from various Japanese promotions have also recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Major League Wrestling reportedly is currently expected to announce a new media rights deal soon for the company, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that MLW owner Court Bauer recently teased on Twitter about MLW’s days on YouTube coming to an end in regards to their content being available on the platform.

As noted before, Alberto El Patron (former Alberto Del Rio in WWE) is currently facing the possibility of life in prison over kidnapping and sexual assault charges filed against him regarding an alleged incident in San Antonio, Texas in May of 2019. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that El Patron’s criminal trial is currently scheduled to start on August 2nd in San Antonio.

Ring of Honor announced that Quinn McKay will be the final official competitor for their upcoming Women’s World Championship tournament due to the results from a fan vote that was in favor of her addition to the tournament.