AEW: Tony Khan on CM Punk’s Importance to AEW, Longtime Seamstress Retires, More News

Tony Khan Comments on CM Punk’s Importance to AEW

Sports Illustrated held a recent interview with AEW CEO Tony Khan. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts on CM Punk’s upcoming return to AEW and his importance to the company.

“We haven’t seen CM Punk in a long time, since All Out last September. He looked great in his last match. To the fans, he’s very important. He’s very important to the company, too. He’s been a big draw for us and historically throughout his career, and the launch of the new show happens to line up with the schedule on his rehab of his triceps injury.”

Khan also gave his thoughts about Punk’s return being timed with AEW’s upcoming debut of their new Collision television series.

“We have an amazing opportunity with AEW on Saturday nights on TNT, starting June 17, and it was truly the brainchild of [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president] David Zaslav. He asked about more AEW, specifically Saturday nights, on TNT. When it was pitched to us by TNT, I was so excited. It’s so exciting the timing [of Punk’s return from injury] coincides with the launch of Collision.”

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Longtime Wrestling & AEW Seamstress Sandra Gray Retires

Longtime wrestling and AEW seamstress Sandra Gray will be retiring from wrestling soon.

Prior to the start of Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Colorado Springs, Colorado, AEW held a retirement ceremony on the stage for Gray in front of the live crowd. Dustin Rhodes led the ceremony that was attended by AEW CEO Tony Khan and several members of AEW’s roster and staff. Gray was presented with a bouquet of flowers as a gift by the company.

In regards to Gray’s retirement, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Gray is currently not planing to take a complete break from wrestling and will still work on gear for talent from her home.

Prior to her retirement ceremony, Gray had been working as a seamstress in wrestling since 1996 and had worked for WCW, WWE, and AEW.

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AEW News & Notes

As noted before, Fuego Del Sol has been out of action for AEW since this past February due to a foot injury. Del Sol recently provided an injury update on Twitter revealing that he recently has been running the ropes as part of his training for an in-ring return to AEW.

Jeff Jarrett filed a trademark for “Heat” on June 1st for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

AEW recently released three new trailers for their upcoming Fight Forever video game focusing on Sting, Brodie Lee, and Abadon.

This past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Colorado Springs, Colorado featured a singles match between Ricky Starks and Jay White. Near the end of the match, The Gunns came out to interfere in the match and help White win. Prior to the show, Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW currently has plans for White’s Bullet Club Gold group to grow in size and get new members.

Pro Wrestling Revolver recently announced that Jon Moxley will be holding a wrestling training seminar for the company on June 16th in Dayton, Ohio.

In response to a fan question on Twitter, New Japan Pro Wrestling talent KENTA stated that he would be interested in a potential match against CM Punk in AEW but only if the money was right for him. KENTA stated “I don’t really care who’s the original G2S. There is only one truth. If you want me to have match against Punk, Give Me correct amount of money. Other than that I don’t need to have this match. Seriously.“

In a recent virtual fan signing event for K&S WrestleFest, Jim Ross stated that he does not believe that former WWE commentator Mauro Ranallo will ever end up working in AEW. Ross stated “He’s a friend of mine (J.R. said about Mauro Ranallo)… No (I don’t see him coming to AEW). He has mental health issues. He can help any organization, Mauro. Mauro Ranallo is that good. But he’s not a great traveler and that’s not knocking Mauro. It’s just he has issues that are more important than who’s doing Dynamite next week.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts about working with Bryan Danielson in the company. Khan stated “Bryan and I have had a very close relationship since he came to AEW. He’s one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and he’s one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known. He has a great mind, and I love talking to him about stories, matches, ideas and psychology. I work with a number of people closely to bounce ideas off, and Bryan has been involved with us in the office more than ever lately. He had some very complimentary things to say about our relationship and working together, and to receive that type of praise from someone I respect so much, those are quotes I’d want on my tombstone.“