Shoot Interviews
Shoots Interview

Tony Khan ROH Final Battle Media Conference Call

- Tony Khan said between All Out and Grand Slam, his mother had a stroke, and it was a rough time for he and his family in addition to the things coming out of All Out. He noted that after that they got her home and spent time with her, his mother had another stroke in October. Just horrible news.

- Tony Khan speaks about William Regal right out of the gate. He says he has a lot of respect for William Regal. William Regal approached AEW and requested they not renew his contract at the end of the year so he could spend time coaching his son and head back to WWE. Regal's request happened around October, before the Toronto shows. Tony Khan had to really think about it. The Khan family was still handling the All Out fallout, Toronto shows, and the health issues of Tony's mom. Tony Khan says that William Regal had a lot of good reasons for going back, especially his son. Considering where he was with his mother at that point, he said he understood that letting Regal out of his deal in that situation was the best move for them. Tony Khan said that William Regal is with AEW through the holidays, but they're going to make some on-screen sacrifices to help him do the right thing for his family, because they feel it's the right thing. Tony Khan said his mother is improving as well.

-Tony Khan says he's very impressed with Athena, and he likes the aggressive side of her. It's compelling TV and he thinks she's doing her best work in AEW now.

- Tony Khan says he'll address the ROH TV situation after Final Battle.

- Tony Khan is open to Juice Robinson doing title defenses in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and said he can talk more about ROH/AEW/NJPW Saturday.

- Tony Khan says he's looking to have stronger lineups on AEW Rampage. He's been trying to limit the ROH exposure on AEW TV of late after hearing the criticisms.

- Tony Khan won't get into Shane Taylor's contractual status, but is excited to have people who have had success in ROH's past on the brand. He thought the story made sense with Shane Taylor's history with Keith Lee.

- There's a lot of crossover between AEW and ROH creative teams. Tony Khan heads them both up, but there's some crossover, and a few people that are individual to certain brands.

- Tony Khan answers @NYCDemonD1va's question about FTR not being featured. Tony Khan says at no fault of FTR's own, they have been thrown off a lot of matches because of injuries to other people. Specifically CM Punk's foot injury, and other things.

- Tony Khan says tonight will be a big night for FTR. He says both have been very supportive to him personally over the past few months too. He's had to change things in the past due to their global commitments and injuries to others. He appreciates they want to be on TV more.

- Tony Khan says he hasn't locked in any additional, expanded AEW PPV dates, but that 2022 was their most successful PPV year yet. He believes one of the best things about AEW is how much they put into their PPV, and doesn't want to saturate the market.

- Tony Khan says that the ROH PPV shows have performed beyond all projections and even doubled many of them.

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