AEW President Tony Khan did an interview with Sports Illustrated to discuss the premiere of Rampage on Friday night on TNT.
The show had three title matches featured on the one-hour broadcast. He also talked about next week’s Rampage, which is where CM Punk is rumored to make his promotional debut. Here are the highlights:
On the premiere:
“This was one of the biggest nights in the history of the company, and it was a great show,” said Khan, who spoke with Sports Illustrated moments after the show went off the air. “We went in with a tremendous card of three championship matches and a plan to deliver the best one-hour wrestling TV show anyone’s seen in a very long time. We needed to hit a home run, and we did. Everyone across the board, including production and staff, did a tremendous job.
We highlighted our people, and that led to great moments,” said Khan. “Tonight was all about showing fans the top stars of AEW, ones that are becoming mainstream names in wrestling and even outside of it, too. This is the perfect time to launch Rampage, and I wanted to go in as hot as possible.”
On next week’s Rampage in Chicago:
“Next week’s Rampage is ‘The First Dance’, and I think everyone knows what to expect—and everyone is very excited. We built a foundation here for what you’re going to see next week. This was a huge premiere, and there is tons of anticipation for next week in Chicago.”
On if CM Punk will be on next week’s Rampage:
“I can’t answer that question,” said Khan. “But it’s a very good question to ask.”