AEW Full Gear 2022 Media Call: The Elite, Owen Hart Tournament, Mercedes Martinez, Thunder Rosa, CM Punk

AEW CEO Tony Khan held a media call on Thursday to promote this Saturday’s Full Gear 2022 event in Newark, New Jersey.

Some of the topics discussed included Khan declining to comment about AEW’s investigation of The Elite’s Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks over their involvement in the backstage fight incident at AEW’s All Out 2022 event this past September.

On the topic of this year’s Full Gear event taking place in New Jersey, Khan stated that the success of AEW’s Grand Slam event in New York City influenced his decision to hold this year’s Full Gear event in New Jersey. Khan also stated that the reason for Full Gear’s Saturday date is due to him not wanting to compete head-to-head against the NFL, which his family owns a team in.

On the topic of AR Fox, Khan stated that he is currently open to the idea of offering a coaching job to Fox for him to help coach their younger talents.

On the topic of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, Khan stated that he currently has plans to hold another tournament in 2023. Khan also stated that he wants to continue AEW’s working relationship with Martha Hart and the Hart family.

On the topic Mercedes Martinez’s injury status, Khan stated that Martinez has been recently medically cleared for an in-ring return.

On the topic of CM Punk’s current status in AEW following his involvement in the backstage fight incident at AEW’s All Out 2022 event, Khan stated:

“I can’t comment on that. I have nothing but positive things to say about the contributions CM Punk has made in AEW on screen and I certainly have a lot of positive things to say about the things he did in AEW to date, but I do understand why you’d ask and I appreciate you asking.

Khan also stated that he did not have any knowledge beforehand that Punk would go on a rant during his All Out 2022 post-show media scrum interview. Khan stated:

“You were, I don’t wanna comment beyond this but you were sitting five feet and I did not know… No I did not know [that Punk was going to go on a rant], but I will not comment beyond that except to say I had Keith and Swerve coming up right after that and I had Toni Storm after that and I had important stuff to talk to them about.”

On the topic of Thunder Rosa’s injury and status of the AEW Women’s World Championship, Khan stated that there was some consideration to strip Rosa of her title due to her injury but he decided against it at the time. Khan also stated that this could change in the future due to AEW’s need to have an official Women’s champion around at some point.

On the topic of Full Gear’s card, Khan stated that the main show will feature 10 matches and is currently planned to end on a “very reasonable time.”

On the topic of the Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill feud for the TBS Championship, Khan revealed that Tony Schiavone had suggested some of the ideas they have used for the booking of this feud.

On the topic of Hangman Adam Page’s injury situation, Khan stated that Page is currently “doing well” and he is “anxious” for Page’s return to the ring.

On the topic of why AEW has frequently held shows in the Northeast region, Khan stated that this was due to financial-related reasons over cost savings for traveling. Khan stated:

“As far as running here in the New York/New Jersey area, specifically in New Jersey in Newark at the Prudential Center, there arw fans from the Tri-State area. We set up shows here and had Grand Slam, [which was] one of our biggest TV events of the year at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which has been an amazing venue for us. Then of course AEW Full Gear, this show Saturday night, which is such a stacked event. They’ve both been huge financial successes. From a live event standpoint and a commercial standpoint, I expect Full Gear will be a big success on Saturday night. We hit over a million dollars in ticket sales for [the event at] Arthur Ashe Stadium and we’re closing in on over a million dollar in sales here. Frankly, there were major cost savings that people might not think about in routing everything mostly in the Northeast and that’s why there has been so many shows in the Northeast recently because we’ve saved million of dollars between Grand Slam and Full Gear, which were both big financial successes and million dollar tent pole shows. We saved millions of dollars in between those shows by routing everything. Now moving West, I’m really excited to move the show West too.”

Full Gear 2022 media call audio: F4WOnline.com

Source: PWInsider.com, Fightful.com 1, & 2