AEW WrestleDream Media Scrum: Jade Cargill, Adam Cole Status, NJPW Purchase Rumors, AEW’s New Era, WBD Ownership Rumors

AEW CEO Tony Khan held a media scrum on Tuesday to promote this Sunday’s WrestleDream event at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• Khan stated that he is excited to honor the late Antonio Inoki and his family will be traveling to Seattle to attend the upcoming event.
• Khan also stated that WrestleDream will be the end of AEW’s current chapter and the start of a new one for the company.
• On the topic of Jade Cargill signing with AEW, Khan stated “I have only positive things to say about Jade. It’s been great having her in AEW. She is always welcome here. She’s had a great run with us and has a great career, I’m sure, in front of her. Wishing her the best in the future.“
• On the topic of the potential of AEW moving to a monthly pay-per-view events schedule and potential streaming deal, Khan stated that he never mentioned that AEW will be shifting over to a monthly PPV schedule but feels they have had great multiple events and even added some other big events to their schedule such as All In. Khan stated that this proves that AEW does have some room to grow their PPV schedule if needed. Khan also stated that he is open to the idea of signing a streaming deal for AEW content but this would likely for a new media rights deal and not as part of their current existing one. Khan also stated that his top choice would be MAX.
• On the topic of Adam Cole’s status for WrestleDream, Khan stated “The Righteous match, as of now, that is still slotted for the event. Adam Cole, he was a little bit ginger on that leg, I think people saw. We’ll address that on Dynamite. Very excited for tomorrow’s Dynamite. It should be a great show and we’ll address Adam Cole and everything happening at WrestleDream on Dynamite.“
• On the topic of a recent rumor that he has recently purchased New Japan Pro Wrestling, Khan stated “I’m a little surprised at how that speculation picked up and the, specifically, the transactional nature of it. We have such a great partnership right now and we’re doing such great things with New Japan Pro Wrestling. I was a little surprised to see that. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed working with New Japan since nearly two years. We’ve had two great Forbidden Door events and we’ve sent a number of top AEW stars to Japan to wrestle on Wrestle Kingdom and top shows. We’ve worked together in the US. There are people in AEW who have helped develop New Japan and people from New Japan who have helped develop AEW or Ring of Honor. I want to continue that partnership for a very long and right now we have something very good going. I’m a little surprised by the speculation, I don’t know where it came from. It’s probably a good time to have a lot of speculation on the eve of WrestleDream, and I’m glad we got a lot of people talking, certainly that one video, with all the great clips of Mr. Inoki and top stars of today, I thought it got people talking and it was a positive thing.“
• On the topic of his recent “end of an era” comments and continued speculation of him purchasing NJPW, Khan stated “I definitely have no intention of clarifying those comments. I want people to order the pay-per-view. I think the internet kind of ran away with the speculation based on, I don’t know what. I’d love for somebody to go back and look for the first person to say that was and track back where the speculation came from. Certainly, I don’t know if that particular aspect of it is very credible. There are dots you can connect in wrestling and there are things I’m very excited about that we’ve been doing, and I’ve made bold proclamations before and I felt I’ve been proven right by them. We’ve come a really long way, we’ve taken big swings at doing new things this year, in particular, 2023 has been our most adventurous year and I want to keep doing adventurous things and make fan talk about AEW and hopefully making new fans of AEW. I think we’ve debunked some speculation and I’d be happy to debunk the speculation that is what I was implying because I don’t know where that particular rumor got started. I think this year, we’ve also built our reputation in a really strong way. Without completely spilling the beans of everything we’re working on, I really do think it is going to be the start of a new era of what we’re doing in AEW and I’m very excited about that.“
• On the topic of the Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata match for WrestleDream, Khan stated that this was a match he has wanted to do for some time. Khan also praised both Kingston and Shibata for what they bring to wrestling and feels this is a match that fans all over the world will love to watch.
• On the topic of the rumors of Warner Bros Discovery owning a minority share in AEW, Khan stated “It’s something we’ve talked about a lot. There has been a lot of conversations about that. It’s always been something I’ve been open to. Between Warner Bros. Discovery and myself, a lot of the financial and structural details of our partnership, we’ve been able to keep between us, but there are things that have always said to be true, that I own 100% of the voting stock of this company and that I have 100% of the decision making power in the company. I’ve been open to taking on additional partnerships or things of that nature. We have a really great deal, right now, with Warner Brothers Discovery, and I would love to have an even longer agreement. As for them and their stake in the business, that is something that would be between us, but I would also be open to that, to Warner Brothers in a future deal, having a piece or a bigger piece, potentially, but I would always want to maintain 100% voting control, as I have now, and want to maintain the majority of stock, which I have now. These are things that are important to me, but in a future deal, these are things I would be open to. There is nothing bad about it. We’ve seen in pro wrestling this year a change of control. I have no interest in a change of control. Would I be interested in taking on additional investment? Yeah, potentially. It would have to be at the right numbers and it would have to make sense for us based on how much our business has grown this year. As for a change or control or giving up voting stock, no, I have no interest in that.“
• On the topic of Wardlow’s current absence in AEW, Khan praised Wardlow for being a great star for the company and stated that he will return to AEW television when the time is right for him.
• On the topic of FOX being a potential bidder for AEW’s next televsion deal, Khan stated “I don’t think it would be fair to talk about possible bidders or outright speculation. Right now, we’re on Warner Brothers Discovery and I find that in the entertainment business, there is not a lot of loyalty at times, and there should be. This is a family business, we’re not a public company. Even if I get punched in the face with circumstances, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to take it out on staff by cutting 100 staff or laying off 30 wrestlers. I really care about the people here and I would do anything I can to protect the jobs and livelihood of the people who that work here. That’s a family business, and that’s the difference between a family business and a public company in a lot of ways. Not every family business has those principles, but we do, and that’s how I was raised. I feel there is not enough loyalty in the entertainment business. Yes, it’s no secret, and it is a business. We’ll be up at the end of 2024 and I would love to stay at Warner Brothers Discovery forever. It’s great for the fans to have wrestling on TBS and TNT. I do think there will be a lot of potential bidders. [FOX] would make a lot of sense in the future, but I don’t think it’s right for me to speculate right now because I’m at Warner Brothers Discovery, I love it here, and we’re going to be here for a while, and hopefully a really long time. They have given us these great opportunities. I see it all the time, and sometimes I’m on the other side of it as the promoter, on the other side of the negotiating table, and I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me and it would not be right to speculation on other networks or people in the wrestling business. I have a great relationship with the people you named [Fox] because we worked together on the NFL and that’s a great place for sports and wrestling, but I’m really happy at Warner Brothers Discovery and my goal, all things being equal, would be to keep AEW here forever at WBD. Mr. Zaslav [WBD CEO David Zaslav] has been really kind to me and given me great opportunities and all things being equal or even a couple cents difference, I would take a penny or two less to stay at Warner Brothers Discovery. You don’t see that in media businesses very much, that kind of loyalty. I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me and continue to do.“
• On the topic of AEW getting a new weekly television show in the form of AEW Collision, Khan stated that he felt frustrated in trying to tell the stories they wanted to tell with just three hours of weekly TV time and appreciated it when WBD offered an additional two hours for Collision. Khan also stated that he appreciates being given the opportunity to try to make a great show that is different than Dynamite but just as strong each week. Khan also stated that with Collision, AEW now has five hours each week to develop stories.

Full AEW WrestleDream media scrum audio: F4WOnline.com

Source: PWInsider.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5