Immediately following this past Saturday night’s Full Gear PPV, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan took part in a media scrum, where he talked about a number of topics, including Darby Allin‘s huge TNT Title Match victory, which was one of the main highlights of the night.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“I’m a huge fan of Darby.” “I think it was very appropriate that the fourth match between Cody and Darby here in AEW was this championship win for Darby, because Darby’s debut here came against Cody. Our executive vice presidents do a great job scouting people and bringing them to our attention, and Cody wanted to work with Darby from the beginning.
And I was very, very up for it and was excited to sign Darby to a multi-year deal. And then quickly, when I saw what value he adds to this company I extended it. So Darby’s signed here for many, many years to come. Because after the match he had with Cody, I realized Darby is going to be a huge, huge star.
I knew he had potential, but I had no idea until Fyter Fest in Daytona in 2019. I really, really believe in Darby. I think everybody, you know, our fans, and everybody in the company believes in him.”
Khan then talked about how fitting of a victory this was for Allin and that the seeds of his rivalry with Team Taz started about six months ago.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“It’s crazy, because yesterday marks six months since the build of Team Taz vs Darby started, so I thought it was really fitting that he won the match, and then that story is continued.” “It’s also fitting because it was after the third Cody/Darby match, which was the semi-finals of the TNT Title tournament, that Darby kind of had a beef set up with Taz, because Taz tried to part some advice to Darby that Darby didn’t want, and then Taz kind of condescended Darby.”
Khan then talked about Allin being his own man and that he made himself a star, as well as that being the most important thing. He also talked about Darby being a really tremendous person to work with and that he is somebody that is really the future of AEW.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“He’s his own man. He made himself a star, and that’s the most important thing.” “He’s just a really tremendous person to work with. I talk to him pretty much everyday, which is funny because I don’t think there’s anybody I have less in common with than Darby. I just really enjoy working with him. I’ve really bonded with him personally. I think he’s somebody that’s really the future here.”
Hurricane and Gangrel made an appearance during the Elite Deletion Match at Full Gear, and Khan talked about them not being booked on anything in the immediate future, but Khan also really being open to both of them coming back.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“To be honest, I don’t have either of them booked on anything in the next loop or in the immediate future.” “But I’m also really open to both of them coming back.”
Khan then revealed that he was present at the Hardy Compound during the producing and shooting of the Elite Deletion Match and that he really enjoyed spending time with Gangrel and Hurricane.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“I was at the compound for the Deletion producing the match, and I spent time with both guys.” “I’ve known Shane [Hurricane] for a while, and I had never met Gangrel before. I really enjoyed spending time with both guys, and I’d love to see both of them come back at some point. I think that would be a lot of fun.”
You can check out Tony Khan’s comments in the video below:
