Kenny Omega has shared another interesting story about Tony Khan and the early days of AEW.
The Cleaner recently appeared on the Swerve City podcast to discuss a number of different topics regarding the launch of the still-adolescent company. During his chat, Omega revealed one of his first conversations with Khan, and how he was willing to purchase a streaming service in case AEW didn’t get a television deal. Check out his full comments on the subject below.
Recalls one of his first conversations with Tony Khan about starting a new wrestling company:
I went to the room at the Tokyo Dome hotel and [Tony] was just talking. I could definitely get a grasp that he was a historian. He knew facts about everything. Super ultra fan type stuff and interesting data to know because he was able to predict the wrestling forecast and things and why it is actually realistic that we could pull it off.
Says Khan even pitched buying a streaming service so that AEW would have a platform:
I remember him saying, and he seemed very committed, ‘I’m going to start a promotion. Whether I can get a TV deal or not, I’m going to find a way to have our product be seen, whether it be buying my own streaming service or what. I’m going to do this.’
What helped him ultimately decide to join AEW:
For me, it was that timing of, there was never going to be a time where Jericho was going to be available, [Jim Ross] was going to be available, Mox, myself, the Bucks, Cody, Hangman (Page), people you can build a foundation of a promotion around. If it wasn’t then, it was kind of never. I thought, ‘I don’t know if I want to challenge American wrestling right now.’ I was so happy and content in New Japan, but I was also worried about my longevity there.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)