AEW All Out 2024 Media Scrum: Sting’s AEW Status, Media Rights Talks with WBD Update, Powerhouse Hobbs Knee Injury Update, Potential to Become 2nd Most Ever Profitable Wrestling Company, GCW, Jon Moxley

AEW CEO Tony Khan held a media scrum on Thursday to promote this Saturday’s All Out 2024 event at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• On the topic of Hangman Adam Page burning down Swerve Strickland’s childhood home angle during this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show, Khan stated in a storyline response of its “been a long night trying to keep Hangman out of jail.”
• Khan also officially announced that the Steel Cage match between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland at AEW All Out 2024 will now be an Unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage match.
• On the topic of if next year’s All Out event will be moved due to next year’s Grand Slam event being held as a PPV event in Australia, Khan stated that they are excited to go back to Arthur Ashe and have had great success in New York City. Khan also stated that they will have to think about the domestic distribution in the United States for next year’s Grand Slam event in Australia. Khan also teased that there could be a Grand Slam event from both locations next year.
• On the topic of Sting’s status in AEW, Khan stated that Sting is still “part of the AEW family.” Khan also stated that they didn’t want to ruin the surprise for All In 2024 but Sting had been backstage in Texas during their residency in Arlington. Khan also stated that he hopes that Sting remains with the company for the long-term.
• On the topic of the potential for a women’s version of the Casino Gauntlet match in the future, Khan stated it would be great to advertise and build something up in the future. Khan also stated that he created the Casino Gauntlet match and it has something that has been well received.
• On the topic of AEW’s current media rights talks with Warner Bros Discovery for a potential new deal, Khan stated “It’s a really exciting time for AEW. We are having great conversations. There have been a lot of reports, and a lot of them have been pretty accurate about the status of the media deal between AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery being something that has been a productive and ongoing conversation that we’re still working on. There are a lot of details. You mentioned the future of the TV deal, which is something we all want; AEW on TBS and TNT. It’s great to be wanted by TBS and TNT. I feel very fortunate that, after being here for five years, there is still this great appetite and desire to keep AEW at TBS and TNT. It’s a mutual thing. We love Warner Brothers Discovery. We’re still working through the details of the agreement, which is a very long and tenuous process, but a good process to do. It can be long to figure out a contract for one person, one player, one athlete. Imagine an entire league, doing an agreement for all of our events and all the exciting things we’re working on. There are some exciting things to come, without revealing anything that would jeopardize our company or the great status of everything we’re working on. There is a lot of excitement on each side. Without getting into the future of streaming, I acknowledge there have been a lot of good conversations between AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery. There are a lot of things to be worked out, but it’s a great time for AEW. This is going to work out really well for AEW and our fans.“
• On the topic of Powerhouse Hobbs’ recovery status from his knee injury, Khan stated “Will Hobbs has been visiting the doctors. He was injured wrestling against Jon Moxley in April. It’s been several months of Hobbs being out. We’re hoping to get him back soon, but I think there is still some time he needs for the recovery. Powerhouse Hobbs is a huge part of AEW and has been a great champion. We look forward to getting Will Hobbs back. I can’t say the exact date, but he’s somebody in our plans that we want to get going again soon. It’s been nice to see him backstage a couple of times lately. This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen him, which is a good thing that he keeps coming in for check ups and is making good progress.“
• On the topic of AEW’s potential profitability from their upcoming new media rights deals, Khan stated “I think it is reasonable. Whether those cash flows happen overnight when the new deal kicks in, I can’t say those things for sure yet. There is still a lot to be figured out. I do think the die is cast that AEW is going to be the second most profitable wrestling company, at this point, of all time, which is very impressive for a promotion that is just over five years old and has been on television for less than five years. It’s amazing how quickly we’re expended. The expansion of the television product going from two hours a week to five hours a week. Being very excited about what the future holds in our media deal. It’s a really great time for the company. As getting into the semantics and mechanics of the accounting, and how we’re counting all the dollars, I’m not sure exactly how much money WCW made in 1998, nor am I honestly sure how much Jim Crockett was making in 1986, but over the duration of this deal, I expect, over this multi-year period that we’re about to enter into, that we will be the second most profitable wrestling company in the history of the wrestling business. It’s a really exciting thing, and it’s also only the beginning. It’s the beginning of a really long journey. It’s been long journey, but it’s still early in the long journey. We’re really building for the future.“
• On the topic of the current status of AEW’s relationship with Game Changer Wrestling and Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport series, Khan stated that he does not know the GCW people as much but he praised his working relationship with Barnett and how he is respected. Khan stated that he would go out of his way to help Barnett and those guys.
• On the topic of Jon Moxley’s new character direction since his return to AEW, Khan stated this is something to keep an eye on and watch on AEW programming. Khan also stated that Moxley being back is good for fans and the company. Khan also stated that he is eternally grateful for Moxley no matter how any of his current storyline direction turns out.
• Khan also stated that AEW fans spend the most money per month on streaming video compared to other sports leagues. Khan stated “Did you know, of all the world’s sports leagues, that the league whose fans spend the most money per month on streaming video of every sports league out there? The league who spends, on average, the most per month on streaming video? It’s AEW. It’s ahead of every other sporting league in the world. I’ve never said AEW is the biggest sporting league in the world, but we are a big sports league now, and we have a lot of fans. We also have the greatest avidity of fans of any league in the world. It shows up in the metrics and intangible ways, too. Sure, I didn’t check the decibel meter every five seconds at Wembley Stadium because we were having such a great show, and we were in the moment trying to enjoy it as it was happening.“
• On the topic of Bryan Danielson’s current contract status in AEW, Khan confirmed that Danielson is currently wrestling without a contract right now. Khan stated that when Danielson is ready to retire from his in-ring career, he is ready for him to always have a home in AEW.
• On the topic of Mark Davis’ recovery status from his broken wrist injury, Khan did not provide any new updates but stated that they can not wait to have him back once he recovers.

Full AEW All Out 2024 media scrum audio: F4WOnline.com

Transcript h/t: PWInsider.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, & 4