AEW: Tony Khan on Meeting with Shane McMahon, Nigel McGuinness on Not Interested in Wrestling Again Unless Danielson Match, LJVM Coliseum Interested in Hosting AEW PPV Event

Aug 6, 2024

Tony Khan Comments on Enjoying His Recent Meeting with Shane McMahon

As noted before, Shane McMahon and AEW CEO Tony Khan held a private meeting this past July in Arlington, Texas to discuss “possibilities moving forward” in regards to McMahon potentially working for AEW in the future.

A recent episode of ESPN’s Sedano & Kap podcast featured Khan as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts about his recent meeting with McMahon.

“As I understand, he’s not doing anything with WWE, and I had a really nice visit with him. I heard from a lot of people that he was interested in talking and it had become, frankly, a big media story to the point where I was getting asked on the record questions about it and I answered them, just like I’ll answer you now. In advance of, I had never met him and my first conversation with him, there was a lot of buzz about this. I thought it would certainly be worth talking and I have a lot of respect for him. I had never met him, but he seemed like a really nice guy. I sat down with him, he was fantastic. I really enjoyed talking with him. He is a very smart person about wrestling and I thought he was a great guy. We have a lot of mutual friends and we both happened to be in Dallas. A mutual friend linked us up, who is one of the bigger names in pro wrestling, and that friend put us on a group chat. I had a really nice talk and I really enjoyed visiting with him. Clearly, there was a lot of interest in it. Somebody, in the middle of talking at an airport conference room, somebody just busted in and took a photo. I think that’s fine. I enjoyed the conversation and there is nothing wrong with a couple of people getting together and talking about wrestling. That’s part of what makes wrestling so great. There is a lot to talk about and we’re all fans at heart.
It’s a big thing. It’s exciting. It was nice to talk to him. I don’t know what’s to come, but it’s an exciting time in AEW.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Nigel McGuinness Comments on Not Being Interested in Wrestling Anymore Unless Its Bryan Danielson Match

A recent episode of the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast featured Nigel McGuinness as the guest. One of the topics discussed included McGuinness’ thoughts about if he was working towards a return match when he signed with AEW.

“I was open to the suggestion, open to the idea. When I originally signed with AEW, I took a flight cross country with Tony and he said, ‘I’ve got to swear you to secrecy, I’m telling you something you can’t tell another soul. We’re doing Wembley Stadium.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ Then just the idea occurred to me. ‘Could you, should you?’ Because Wembley Stadium 1992. That was an epiphany for me. That was a moment. I went there with my friend, and I sat back 50 rows back, and I just remember having this strange sensation, this weird feeling, this belief that somehow I knew I was going to be a professional wrestler. I think maybe you’ve had a similar idea yourself, but it stuck with me, certainly. So to go back to that venue and wrestle would just be off the charts. But the only thing that really made sense was Bryan [Danielson], and he broke his arm because he’s got osteoporosis.”

McGuinness also gave his thoughts about what would have happened had Bryan Danielson not broken his arm ahead of last year’s AEW All In event.

“I don’t know. I mean, there’s so much of it is out of my control, whether he wants to wrestle me. I always thought it was kind of funny. Someone asked him about that time if he’d ever wrestle me again, and he said, ‘If I ever wrestled, Nigel, I’d break his neck.’ Then three weeks later, he breaks his arm, which I thought was karma. I’ve always thought as well. Sometimes, you get couples, and the girl is always jealous and blaming the guy for cheating. ‘You’re cheating on me. You are thinking of cheating.’ I mean, it always turns out, she was thinking of it. So I think maybe when Bryan said, if I wrestle him I’ll break his neck, he probably remembers those lariats and thinks, doesn’t want that. Go back and watch that match at Liverpool where we had that incredible match. There was a time after he ran my head into the ring post. I rolled back in, blood pouring, looked him in the face and perhaps the only time I’ve ever seen true fear in his eyes. So yeah, I think he was having a flashback, PTSD from that. So I make jokes about it, don’t think he’s ever going to wrestle me to be perfectly honest.”

McGuinness also gave his thoughts about not being interested in wrestling another match unless it is against Bryan Danielson.

“It certainly feels like that. You know what I mean? It certainly feels like that. All roads to me, I think certainly aimed towards him. Because there’s so much talent in AEW, so many young guys who deserve those spots. I’m very inspired by Christian Cage, obviously, and Adam Copeland as much as I’d hate to admit it. These guys can show that they haven’t lost a step. They can still go and all the knowledge that they have, they can convey and pass on to the next generation by being in the ring with them as well. I’ve been like, wow. Getting back in the ring, I felt like, wow, it is a strange realization when you figure out that the only thing stopping you being a wrestler is you. Now, having said that I’ve certainly got no desire to step away from the announcing booth. I don’t want to become a full-time wrestler. I don’t really want to wrestle anymore, to be honest with you. Other than beating Bryan, obviously, because that’s our story. There’s our history.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem Interested in Hosting Future AEW PPV Event

The Winston-Salem Journal held a recent interview with LJVM Coliseum General Manager Brandon Berry. One of the topics discussed included Berry’s thoughts about the AEW’s upcoming Dynamite show at their venue and being interested in hosting a potential future AEW pay-per-view event.

“We are excited to leverage that national relationship as a way to introduce AEW Live to the Winston-Salem market,” Berry said. “Pay per view and other broadcasts are all options that both parties will continue to explore. We had originally planned on an event in the spring, but due to some scheduling conflicts, the date needed to get pushed. We were finally able to confirm in late spring. Both parties are excited about the opportunity and have modest expectations for the first event, knowing that the audience will continue to grow.”