AEW Full Gear 2021 Media Call – ROH Library, NWA, Battle of the Belts, Owen Hart Cup, NJPW, More

AEW CEO Tony Khan held a media call this past Thursday to promote tonight’s Full Gear 2021 event.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• On the topic of the 10-match format for AEW’s Full Gear 2021 event, Khan stated that the card length and four-hour run-time is something that they will continue doing for their big events due to the positive reception they have received for their events. Khan also stated that he likes the four hour length for AEW’s big pay-per-view events.
• On the topic of Hangman Adam Page and his storyline journey towards his AEW World Championship match at Full Gear, Khan stated that Page has been a great example of a homegrown talent for AEW that has “blossomed under the eyes of the fans from the beginning.”
• On the topic of holding future events in the West Coast and Mountain time zones, Khan stated that the company is currently planning on holding shows in the West Coast next year. Khan also stated that the reason AEW has not traveled as much as they originally wanted to has been due to issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.
• On the topic of interest in Ring of Honor’s tape library and talent, Khan stated “Well, there’s a lot of great stuff there. They’ve had a lot of great matches and shows in their library and they have some very good talent. I can’t say with any certainty, but we’ll see what happens on the business side and as far as the talent goes, I would say stay tuned to AEW. There’s Dynamite every Wednesday, Rampage tomorrow, Full Gear on Saturday. You never know who is going to show up in AEW. As for the business side of it, I’m good friends with a lot of people in the company of Ring of Honor and the agent that represents them is my neighbor in LA. He lives down the block and is a friend of mine. I am very familiar with what is going on there but I can’t say with any degree of certainty what will happen on the business side.”
• On the topic of AEW holding an all-women’s event in the future, Khan stated “I don’t think I get enough credit for what I did for the NWA show because a good number of people who wrestled on the NWA show were wrestlers I sent and paid. I do think I contributed because the highest-paid wrestlers on that show were people I paid separately what they already make in AEW to go wrestle on that show. I don’t think they did a very good job of telling people that. I wish they told more people that because it was one of the points I made when we closed it, ‘I think it would be nice if you told people I’m paying the wrestlers’ because it is a big contribution from me. I did pay the wrestlers for that show. It’s like when you pay for a dinner and nobody thanks you. That was one thing. I have really been making a big effort to grow and improve the women’s division and I think I have made a lot of strides with your women’s division.”
• Khan continued “As a company, we’ve added big free agents and I’m really excited with what is happening with the TBS tournament right now. Among the big free agents are Thunder Rose, who came over from the NWA, and Ruby Soho. I had a great conversation with Ruby. She’s in the TBS tournament and has been in a lot of tournaments. I was talking to her about the tournament and she’s the ultimate straight shooter and she said she loves this tournament and has never been in a tournament like this and loves all the stories in it. There’s a story building with her and Kris Statlander. I’m excited for Jade vs. Red Velvet, Shida vs. Nyla Rose, and we’ve seen great build towards Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter. I have been and am trying to actively make big strides in women’s wrestling. As far as stuff that’s been happening on the all-women’s shows at other places, I’ve made great contributions, including financial contributions, which they could have done a better job telling people about.”
• On the topic of Windham Rotunda, former Bray Wyatt in WWE, Khan stated that the last time he saw Rotunda was last year at Chris Jericho’s birthday party.
• On the topic of AEW’s upcoming move to TBS, Khan stated that there will be some visual tweaks and changes made to presentation of Dynamite for TBS.
• On the topic of the upcoming AEW television special this January on TNT, Khan confirmed that it will be called “Battle of the Belts.”
• On the topic of the Owen Hart Cup tournament, Khan stated “There will be updates on the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament after Full Gear. There is so much on the card and so many stories and I didn’t want the Owen Hart Cup to lose the focus when I start talking about it. The Owen is going to be a big prize in AEW and I’ll have some interesting announcements about it. You’ll get more announcements and I’ll save it for Dynamite or Rampage after the pay-per-view.”
• On the topic of AEW’s relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Khan stated that NJPW was initially upset at him when AEW started but over time they changed their view of him after seeing that he wasn’t going to prevent them from doing what they wanted to do. Khan also stated that he believes the current relationship between both companies is great.
• In regards to the TBS Championship, Khan stated that it will be viewed as equal in status to the company’s TNT Championship in terms of prestige.

Sources: PWInsider, Fightful 1, 2, & 3

Full media audio call: F4WOnline.com