AEW President and CEO Tony Khan discussed various topics with Dean Moses from amNY, including the company’s upcoming return to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, next month for Full Gear.
Khan said, “The Prudential Center is a great home for AEW, we had our first ever dynamite on TBS there when the show came over from TNT to TBS in January of 22 and in Newark, in recent years, we’ve had Full Gear now three out of the past four years in Newark at the Prudential Center, I think it’s become a great home for the event, and I think there’s a good chance we’ll have our biggest crowd yet for Full Gear at Newark this year.”
On AEW continuing to build on its international expansion:
“We built a lot. It’s been six years of AEW, and again, it feels like we started just yesterday. I’m very interested in taking AEW and visiting more of Europe. I think there are more opportunities there. We’ve had great shows in the UK, particularly with shows in London. We’ve set records at Wembley Stadium, and we’ve had great events in Cardiff, Wales. And I’m really excited about this year taking AEW to Manchester for the first time. I think there’s more opportunities there internationally, for AEW…I think that’s very attractive, just international expansion.”
On the memorable moments AEW has created like Sting’s final match:
“Before Sting went out for his last match, as they were showing the video package, and as his sons were about to make their entrances and they were on the stage, that was really special. Sting said some very nice things to me right before he went out that I’ll never forget about how fantastic his run had been, and how happy he was about all this and the things he said afterwards. That was really probably the highlight.”
On the hardest times AEW has gone through:
“The hardest times in AEW, by far, was when we lost Mr. Brodie Lee, who was a great TNT champion and a great person in and out of the ring, a great father and the head of a great family. That was really probably some of the most important times ever in AEW, and also when we lost the late great Jay Briscoe. I think those are the times that are probably memorable and challenging, but they’re really important to remember. And I think about Brodie Lee, and I think about Jay Briscoe a lot, and I think it’s important to honor the memories.”
