AEW: Tony Khan on Tonight’s “Important” Announcement, Paul Wight on Health Issues, Lio Rush

Feb 22, 2023

Tony Khan Comments on Tonight’s “Important” Announcement Being Something Great for AEW

The Phoenix News Times held a recent interview with AEW CEO Tony Khan. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts on his important announcement that will be delivered during tonight’s AEW Dynamite show in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Hah. Well, I can’t tell you right now, but it’s something I’m very excited about and it’s great for the company.”

When asked if this was the announcement of a second Forbidden Door event with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Khan stated:

“There are a lot of exciting things in the near future for AEW. All I can say is we have an important announcement coming at this show in Phoenix. And it’s an exciting development for the company, and I’m excited to share it with the fans in Phoenix and all over the world.”

Paul Wight Comments on His Recent Health Issues & Injuries

Metro held a recent interview with Paul Wight. One of the topics discussed included Wight’s thoughts on his recent health issues and injuries that have prevented him from having an active in-ring career in AEW.

“Well, I spent 11 weeks in a wheelchair because I was waiting for them to build the implant for my knee because of my size. ‘I had crushed all the bone in the knee, I was bleeding into my shin. So, I’ve got a good pain tolerance, but when I say I rode the tyre down to the rim, that’s exactly what I did. But, luckily I still have all my ligaments in that knee, everything’s good there, it’s a nice, brand new titanium joint so it’s good for 35 years. So, I can parachute if I want to – not that I’ll ever jump out of an airplane, we all saw the movie Operation Dumbo drop, I don’t think that’s me, we’re good!”

Lio Rush Comments on His Talks with Tony Khan Since His Release from AEW

As noted before, Lio Rush left AEW in February of 2022 following the expiration of his contract with the company. Prior to his departure, Rush was involved in an online incident with AEW CEO Tony Khan over comments Khan made regarding Big Swole’s departure from the company.

A recent episode of the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast featured Rush as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Rush’s interest in a potential return to AEW in the future.

“Uhm, I think so. I think anything is possible if you have the right intentions, if you’re coming from the right place.
Uhm, probably. I mean how could there not be. But I think Tony… I like Tony a lot. I really like Tony. I think that’s the first time I’m saying that out loud [laughs]. Yeah, I do like Tony. One thing that made me so willing to give AEW a chance [is the fact that] I feel like I was scarred from my WWE run. I feel like I was, you know, traumatized a little bit. Tony liked me a lot, I feel like we connected pretty quickly and I feel like that’s why there was a lot of emotion involved. I probably shouldn’t have brought the emotion out, but again, I’m glad I did… you know. I’m glad I showed people that I stand for something [and that] I care about myself and I care about others. It’s not always about a paycheck to me. Yeah. I’m sorry, I’m kind of.. this is huge for me. This is the first time that I’m really speaking on it. I’ve talked about, but I haven’t really, really talked about it in that sense about my relationship with Tony and stuff like that.”

Rush also gave his thoughts on if he has talked to Khan since his departure from the company last year.

“Yeah, I’ve talked to him a few times. We’ve talked a number of times. It’s always great, it’s always, you know, ‘How [have] you’ve been? Good to hear from you.’ If the show is in the area, I try to pop out and see it and stuff like that. The love is still there, the support is still there, there’s just other factors into me actually being there. I’m doing so much right now, I’m happy with what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m really trying to force something to happen. If it happens, it happens. I love the direction that I’m going in right now, I love what I’m doing. I’m glad that I feel like I don’t really have any true bad blood within wrestling. I feel like with me being so active right now and being in front of people… it’s a lot different when you’re in front of somebody. You can see them, you can feel their energy and kinda get a feel for why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com