WWE unloaded recently. This is according to comments that sources of the Wrestling Observer claimed to have heard WWE officials and backstage employees make of Tony Khan and his recent tirade on social media.
The tirade of Khan’s seemed to be directly in response to WWE going head-to head with AEW Rampage by adding a half hour to their regular programming that usually lasts two hours. These announcements were announced as early as last week, but Tony responded by adding a buy-in.
Well, the WWE comments picked up by the Observer sources seem to be quite critical of how Khan conducted himself and how he’s been using his resources.
These aforementioned comments and reports stated that he: “will spend so much and lose so much money in the long run,” amongst other statements like: “we beat Ted Turner and Ted Turner is smarter than Tony Khan…”
Well, Tony being Tony, he got wind of the statements and made a statement in return of his own. He said:
“I’ve never met Ted Turner. It’s very possible Ted Turner is smarter than me, but he didn’t know 1% of what I know about professional wrestling or WCW would still be on TNT/TBS. @AEW is here to stay, watch #AEWRampage LIVE tonight on TNT or WatchTNT app on your phone or any device…”
via Tony Khan /Twitter
Khan on the Impact of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson
Tony Khan also made some statements about CM Punk and Bryan Danielson and the impact that they’ve had on his company. He said:
“…I’d say since Punk came in, before Bryan, and now with Bryan, we’ve seen at least six business metrics go up…We’ve had our all-time record for pay-per-view. Those digital numbers, live event attendance – all-time highs. We were already, before the pandemic, the number one attended wrestling company in the world…This is all viral…AEW is a company that has been around for just a couple of years. We just had our two year anniversary show last week. It’s pretty cool. It’s a movement very fitting in 2021…I think All Out and Grand Slam are both at the top…The past few months have been great. It’s a great time to be a wrestling fan and get into it…”
Khan is certainly right about that. I’ve written it here before, and I’ll write it once more because it’s worth saying over and over again. It’s an incredible time to be a fan of pro wrestling.
It’s equally amazing to be a journalist during all of this. Can’t wait to see what happens next. We’ll keep you posted, dear readers on all news moving forward.
