Tony Khan and AEW have proven that they have no problem paying up for rights to songs. Khan has paid for the Major League version of "Wild Thing" for Jon Moxley, "Where Is My Mind?" by the Pixies for Orange Cassidy, and "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora for Jungle Boy.
Khan has also paid for various songs for video packages.
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip, Chris Jericho revealed that AEW tried to get the rights to a couple of famous rock songs, but were turned away by the bands.
"I knew it was time to switch things up with The Pinnacle beat us down," Jericho said about The Inner Circle turning face during their feud with The Pinnacle. "You get rid of the sunglasses and flashy sequin jackets and what's next? We come back in black and now it's more of a dark-based black type of a look. It's subtle, but it's something where people can go, 'Oh, this look is different and this attitude is different.' It's something that people pick up on, but you have to lead them down that path and let them know 'this is a different guy.' It has to be something a little different and twist to keep people's attention and keep yourself relevant."
Jericho continued by discussing the songs he wanted to use for The Inner Circle.
"We tried to get 'Back in Black' for our return promo after we attacked The Pinnacle in our dressing room. They wouldn't even give us the time of day. There have been other ones. We wanted Van Halen right after Eddie [Van Halen] died, we wanted to use 'Runnin' With The Devil and they came back with $500,000. That's just a polite way of saying 'No fuckin' way.' AC/DC didn't even come back with that, but then I see them on an Applebee's commercial using 'Back in Black.' I guess they are fans of the baby back ribs. I thought the concept of back in black fit us; we're coming back focused, serious, and darker," he said.
Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6, 2020.
In a previous interview, Jericho revealed that AEW wanted to use a DMX song for Stadium Stampede, but the family of DMX nixed the idea. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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