AEW President Tony Khan was the latest guest on Busted Open Radio to discuss his promotion’s return to touring following a year of running events from Daily’s Place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Khan also explains why he believes the pro-wrestling business is as hot as it has ever been in history. Highlights from the interview are below.
Discusses the promotion returning to live touring:
“Yeah, it’s going to be great. I’m really excited for those shows. The show is on the road, but we’re going to keep coming back to Jacksonville too. The fans have been great here and we’re going to stop through regularly. I plan to not be a stranger here. We’ll continue to do shows around here because I think the fans have supported us so great, in this area and people driving in from Orlando, Daytona and the surrounding areas. And tonight will be no exception. It’s huge what they do, because fans all around the world watch Dynamite live and on DVR every week. The support we get from these live fans makes the show go round. Virtual fans are awesome, it’s great. But there’s nothing like having these real, live fans that we get here. And the Jacksonville fans have helped keep wrestling alive this past year. It’s been awesome and now we’re thriving.”
Says that wrestling is hotter than ever:
“Wrestling is hotter than ever. This past week, to have three different wrestling shows ranked number one on their night, and to have AEW be a part of it, it’s huge. And it’s a great time for wrestling. I feel like we were all there, part of the peak era of fandom, and now it’s a splintered audience. Things are very fragmented, it’s hard to get as many people to watch something as there used to be. But I believe that, and I see it first hand with the NFL and the great numbers we do, if you deliver a quality, compelling product consistently, people are going to show up and watch it. And that’s why we built audience and we’re up year over year. And I feel like with the great card we have tonight and the big pay per view card ahead later this month, it’s a great time to come and join AEW as a fan.”
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)
