By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW President and ROH owner Tony Khan spoke with the pro wresting media on Thursday, March 30, 2023 to promote Friday’s ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view. Refresh the page for the latest updates.
-Tony Khan touted the ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view event for Friday and tonight’s go-home show on HonorClub. Khan said he will have “some very exciting news” to share on next week’s AEW Dynamite.
-Khan said he believes ROH Supercard of Honor can be the best show of the weekend. He also spoke about how he believes ROH and AEW can complement each other.
-Khan spoke about how happy he is that he was able to work with the late Jay Briscoe. He said he’s never seen such an outpouring of love and support as he did around Jay’s passing. They opened the phone lines for questions.
-Khan was asked about the thought and detail that went into making the video package for the Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston main event and whether there could be more of those types of videos in both ROH and AEW. Khan spoke about his respect for the history of wrestling and also praised the person who produced it. Khan said Eddie Kingston actually suggested that they make the video when Khan was at his house.
-The next caller asked about plans for the women’s division at Supercard and going forward. Khan said he feels that some of the best matches on the ROH shows have come from the women’s roster. He said Athena vs. Willow Nightingale is one of the best matches they’ve had on ROH on HonorClub. Khan said Athena will be wrestling Emi Sakura on tonight’s show and there will be an ROH Women’s Championship match on the Supercard event.
-Khan said next week’s ROH on HonorClub show will be filmed in New York (where Dynamite is being held).
-The next caller asked about AEW coming to Western Canada and whether an ROH tour or show could follow. Khan spoke about the success the company has had with its shows in Canada. He also spoke about how well they’ve performed on ITV in England, and said they’ve also seen “great growth” on TSN, including a record rating for Dynamite when the show was in Winnipeg.
-Khan was asked if he would be scouting for talent in Los Angeles this weekend. Khan said he is always scouting for talent and he and others in the company will do that this weekend. Khan also spoke about resolving Bandido’s work visa renewal and said he believes he can be successful in both ROH and AEW.
-The next caller brought up the Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata match and specifically about Yuta’s growth. Khan said Yuta is a future top star in the business. Khan said he’s already a major star who has accomplished a lot. Khan said some smart wrestlers recommended Yuta. Khan said he watched footage of him and they brought him in for AEW Dark. Khan also labeled Daniel Garcia as a rival and a peer of Yuta. Khan said Yuta is a guy who everyone likes and respects in the locker room. Khan said Shibata is one of the great stars of his generation.
-Khan was asked to name some of the biggest lessons he’s learned about managing talents. Khan said he’s learned a lot since he took over. He spoke about launching a challenger brand. He said they are still growing and learning every day. He said he has great conversations that help him run the company better than the day or week before. Khan said he feels the AEW and ROH shows have been great. Khan noted that this would be the first ROH pay-per-view under his watch that won’t feature The Briscoes vs. FTR. He said he’s trying to give the most people the best opportunities he can and he thinks it’s going well. Khan said he wants to continue to grow the company and have a balance between locker room health and growth. Khan also compared what he does to coaching a football team and being a Broadway director.
-Khan said HonorClub subscriptions are up to around 15,000 (they were at 12,000 coming out of AEW Revolution).
-Khan was asked about the Reach For The Sky ladder match and whether it could become an annual tradition. Khan credited QT Marshall for the concept and said that he ran it by Mark Briscoe, who was very comfortable with the idea. Khan also spoke about Mark going after the ROH TV Title and how he’s come up short before. Khan compared Briscoe’s quest for the ROH TV Title to actress Susan Lucci (she was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards before she finally won her first after her 19th nomination). Khan spoke glowingly about the Briscoe family. He recalled that he tried repeatedly to get the Briscoes cleared for AEW television.
-Khan was asked for more details about getting the Briscoes approved for AEW television and whether Will Ospreay would have been on Supercard of Honor had he not suffered an injury. Khan confirmed that Ospreay would have been on the card were it not for injury. As for the Briscoes, Khan said this is the third television management team that he’s worked with and it was the first time they were given a chance to sign off on using Briscoes.
-A caller asked Khan about doing more with NJPW. Khan said it’s been a great relationship and they can do more with both AEW and ROH. Khan spoke about the late Antonio Inoki being a dreamer and how he was able to bring other companies together.
-Khan was asked about William Regal’s exit from AEW. Khan said he tried to be accommodating to him.
-Khan was asked if the way he books ROH has influenced how he books Dynamite and Rampage. Khan said it has and he recalled telling Kenny Omega about how it’s reinvigorated him. Khan reminded everyone that he has a big announcement coming on Wednesday’s Dynamite. Khan also said there would be a post event media scrum on Saturday. They closed out the call shortly thereafter.
These calls/conferences/scrums all make it look like TK is trying out for a softball team.