By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW President and ROH owner Tony Khan spoke with the pro wresting media on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 to promote Friday’s ROH Final Battle on HonorClub. Refresh the page for the latest updates.
-A caller asked about the possibility of the ROH Tag Team Titles being vacated given that MJF and Adam Cole both nursing injuries. Khan said it was possible, but he did not commit.
-Khan was asked about doing more with AEW and ROH in a bundle type of deal. Khan said it’s possible and he had a good conversation with Warner Bros. Discovery recently. He also said there’s a lot of interest in the ROH media rights. Khan touted the ROH library in addition to the library that AEW has built. Khan said he acquired ROH and the library for what he considers to be “a very good value.”
-Khan was asked about rumors that The CW was interested in the ROH media rights at one time and whether he prefers to shop the AEW and ROH separately or together. Khan said it’s a value to them to have the library and pay-per-view shows. He said they’ve held some of ROH’s best events since he acquired the company. He said ROH had some of the greatest wrestlers in thew world and many of them are in AEW. He said he thinks it would be a value to have AEW and ROH media rights. He said they’ve had a lot of interested parties in the television rights. Khan said CW executive Dennis Miller did visit at an AEW show at the LA Forum. Khan said the timing wasn’t great on his side, but he feels ROH will add great value going forward. Khan spoke about the great matches that ROH has provided and touted the Briscoes vs. FTR trilogy.
-Khan was asked about the Athena and Billie Starkz saga and the involvement of Lexi Nair. Khans said it’s been a tremendous process. He said he’s visited with Athena and Starkz every week since Forbidden Door. Khan raved about working with all parties involved.
-I noted that Khan previously said he didn’t view ROH as a developmental brand and he pointed to the stars who held the titles. I pointed out that Eddie Kingston and Samoa Joe forfeited their titles and the Young Bucks and Hangman Page lost the six-man tag titles, which left me curious if his vision for the brand had changed. Khan said it has not. He said ROH will have a great world champion coming out of the Continental Classic in the form of the new Triple Crown Championship. He also pointed to Athena holding the ROH Women’s Championship.
-Khan was asked about Athena appearing on other shows beyond ROH. Khan sang her praises and said it’s been nice to have her as an anchor in ROH. He said Billie Starkz is on the rise with a nine match winning streak. He said that the winner of their match would be great to have on AEW television while also maintaining their role in ROH.
-The subject of Samoa Joe forfeiting the title rather than losing it came up. Khan said it was discussed. He praised Joe and then added that it will be good to have a champion who can consistently appear on ROH television. Khan said Joe accomplished everything he wanted to as champion and now has the new goal of winning the AEW World Championship at Worlds End.
-I missed some of the question, but I believe Khan was asked about the writing process for Final Battle. Khan spoke about a number of matches. He also spoke about Jay Briscoe and the six-man tag match that will honor him at Final Battle. Khan said he thinks it will be a great show on Friday.
-Khan was asked to evaluate Ethan Page’s work in ROH. Khan said he’s doing a tremendous job. He said he’s been “very additive” and put over his match with Kenny Omega on AEW Collision. Khan recalled Page asking him to work in ROH whenever he’s not booked for AEW. He spoke about the “heated rivalry” between Page and Tony Nese, who will meet at Final Battle.
-Khan was asked for an updated figure for HonorClub subscriptions and whether ROH events will go back to pay-per-view., Khan, who once listed the number at approaching 15,000, said Final Battle been “incredibly successful” when it comes to driving HonorClub subscriptions. He also put over the Continental Classic and Worlds End ticket sales. Khan said they’ve had “big box office returns” for ROH pay-per-views. He said that they’ve done the biggest revenues of any ROH pay-per-views since he acquired the company. He said if they do go back to the pay-per-view model with ROH, it will be due to the success that they’ve had. Khan did not list the latest subscriber count.
-The next caller asked when ROH Tag Team Champions MJF and Adam Cole will appear on HonorClub. Khan noted that he spoke about them earlier in the call and said they have not been able to appear on HonorClub due to Cole’s injury.
-Khan was asked about the ROH Pure Rules division and bringing back the rankings. Khan said he has great respect for Wheeler Yuta, who is the only multi-time Pure Champion. He touted Yuta working with Daniel Garcia, as well as Katuyori Shibata raising the profile of the division.
-Khan was asked about New Japan Pro Wrestling creating a Global Championship and whether it could be defended in AEW or ROH, as well as whether it could affect the Triple Crown Championship. Khan said he’s open to having it defended in his companies.
-The final question was about who the sixth competitor would be in the match to crown the new ROH TV Champion. Khan said stay tuned. He said there are a few more days and one more ROH on HonorClub show to go before Final Battle. They closed out the call with plugs for Final Battle and upcoming ROH television shows.
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