Classic Audio, Sep 5th

thank you jim hey everybody it's great to speak with you i'm excited to be back with you for the

all out media call uh should be a great show i'm really looking forward to the event it's going to

be so great to have this show here around chicago it's a great tradition i'm so excited about the

card top to bottom and i'm excited to get your questions so with that we can uh jump into it

although i will say uh it's been quite a long night uh you know trying to keep hangman out of

jail uh to get ready to be there for this big match i think it's going to be uh out of this

world and uh it's definitely something that the fans want to see uh hangman versus swerve we had

prepared for a steel cage match uh we're not going to be able to sanction that it's going to be a

lights out steel cage match and i think the fans are going to be really excited to see it uh if we

can keep hangman out of prison

for what he did last night and with that jim uh we can uh take the questions right now okay tony

well we trust you'll be able to get that done and with that we're going to start with andrew

bedala from final bell media and on deck will be jason powell from prowrestling.net andrea leading

us off

activity around the date and the build time for this year's

all-star match

all out and the recent news that grand slam will be a standalone pay-per-view show and not an

episode of dynamite will you consider moving the all-out pay-per-view to later in september to

allow more time and build up now the grand slam is in a few short weeks after this pay-per-view

thank you well we don't i i have i we really grand slam australia is a different event i think

first of all i appreciate how you let into it thank you drew and i i do think there's a lot

of positivity around all out it's going to be a great crowd around chicago i expect a

a lot of positivity around all out and i do think there's a lot of positivity around all out

an awesome night on saturday it should be great wrestling a great action great fights and as far

as grand slam we're really excited to go back to arthur ash stadium and we're doing grand slam

australia as a special event next year but we've had great success in new york and i think uh as

we get closer to grand slam coming out of all out we'll see huge pickup there as well and i think

it's early to say what the future of grand slam is and i think it's going to be a great event

or the delivery of grand slam australia i think that's a huge event and really looking forward

to that uh and we'll have to really think carefully about the domestic distribution

here in america for an event taking place in australia uh i'm really excited about grand

slam australia but we have something great going with arthur ash stadium so uh you know we have

a lot of excitement about going there for grand slam following all out this year and

could certainly continue with grand slam new york as well as grand slam australia thanks drew

thank you andrew jason powell from prowrestling.net

is next to be followed by bill bodkin from the pop break jason

tony can you hear me now hey all right uh so i just wanted to know was sting's return at all

in a one-off or has he re-upped with the company perhaps in a non-wrestling role well sting is with

aew and he's retired from wrestling he's not going to have any more matches after the great

send-off the revolution sting has retired undefeated in aew as a world champion and i

think sting had this incredible

send-off from wrestling but he's still very much a huge part of the aew family

sting and darby allen have formed a friendship that extends to real life and sting is a close

friend of mine as well and i'm very blessed to have sting as part of the aew family he brings

so much positivity and really for all of us around the locker room to have sting uh is part of this

company around the offices the locker room the backstage i just think everybody's going to have

everybody was very blessed to have worked with sting and have him in this company and we all want

to see him anytime it's possible uh before all in we didn't want to ruin those surprises but

sting actually came and visited us in dallas you know when we were doing the path to all in summer

series uh and it was great to see him backstage visiting being there with his friends and family

and we love to see sting anytime backstage but it was a really great time for us to be able to see

him and it was a great treat for the fans in london at wembley stadium to have sting arrive and

be there to make sure that uh darby allen didn't get torched and and make sure darby allen was able

to leave england in one piece and i think sting is one of our greatest legends ever and i hope

sting will always be a part of aew and certainly for the foreseeable future in the long term sting

is with us still

in aew thank you thank you jason bill bodkin from the pop break is next

kevin kellum from sports kita will follow bill bill you're up

hey thanks so much one of my favorite matches in aew that you guys do is something we saw

at all in and we saw at the forum this year is the casino gauntlet match it's they're

so much fun to watch and i think it's a great match and i think it's a great match and i think

you're going to want to watch given we're at all out and we have a history of women's casino battle

royals will we potentially see a women's casino gauntlet match at all out this weekend or sometime

in the near future i think it would be uh something it would be great to advertise and build up in the

in the future and the casino gauntlet match is something that i invented this year and has really

taken off and all three of them have been great matches and i think it's a great match and i think

They've been incredibly well-received.

They've also all been in hometowns of mine.

With the great casino gauntlets we've done in, obviously, Los Angeles.

First one was in Jacksonville, then Los Angeles, then Wembley Stadium in London.

I would absolutely love to bring a casino gauntlet to Chicago at some time.

And I do think a women's casino gauntlet match can be a tremendous match, too, at some point.

So it is something that I have thought about and would like to do in the future.

I would not commit to doing it necessarily tomorrow or the next day.

But it is something that would be a great match and I think will be a great match for us in the future,

the casino gauntlet match, and particularly in the future doing a women's casino gauntlet match in AEW with our great roster.

Thank you.

Thank you, Bill.

Kevin Kellum from Sportskeeda is next.

Dominic D'Angelo from AdFreeShows will follow Kevin.

Kevin, you're up.

Hi, Tony.

I know you spoke a few weeks ago with my friend at Q101, Case Lowe, about the future of AEW.

And obviously, people are excited about that in terms of the media distribution for fans.

What is the feedback you've been getting about them that you apply to this new possible agreement

that fans are hotly anticipating, whether it be premium live events and a streaming platform,

whether it be how they receive the weekly TV shows of Dynamite Collision and all the content that AEW does?

And what is the status of that current agreement moving forward?

Well, it's a series of great questions and very well articulated.

Thank you for those.

Well, to start with your great questions, I think that it's a really exciting time for AEW.

We are having great conversations.

I think there have been a lot of reports, and a lot of them have been pretty accurate about the status of the media deal between AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery being something that has been a very productive, ongoing conversation that we're still working on.

And there are a lot of details.

You asked some great questions.

You mentioned the future of the TV deal, which is something we all want.

AEW on TBS and TNT, it's great to be wanted by TBS and TNT.

I feel very fortunate after being here for five years that there's still this great appetite and desire to keep AEW at TBS and TNT.

And it's a mutual thing because we love Warner Brothers Discovery.

And David Zasloff, Bruce Campbell, and the whole team have been really good to AEW and me personally.

And it's great to have a media partner like TBS and TNT.

First of all, I think it's a great opportunity for us to be able to do that.

I think it's a great opportunity for us to be able to do that.

First of all, that's maybe the best media partner you can have.

I think, honestly, when you start talking about pro wrestling, to say that you're linked up with TBS and TNT,

that's instant credibility for me because I grew up watching wrestling on TBS and TNT for many, many years.

And I think a lot of Americans and people around the world recognize TBS and TNT as a great home to the sport.

With the tradition of wrestling, in particular on TBS, that goes back over 50 years into the early 1970s.

And to be here doing these shows, it's a dream come true.

We're still working through the details of the agreement, which is a very long, tenuous process, but it's a good process to do.

And especially, you know, it can be long to figure out a contract for one person, one player, one athlete between a team.

That can be a long process sometimes.

So imagine for an entire league to do an agreement for all of our events, for, you know, all these exciting things we're working on.

It's really a big deal.

And there are some really exciting things to come.

Without revealing anything that would jeopardize our company or the great status of everything we've been working on,

I can say that there's a lot of excitement on each side, on Warner Brothers, Discovery, and AEW.

And it's really good to have that kind of a great mutual collaboration.

The things you asked about, they were insightful questions.

Without getting into the future of streaming, which I think I would acknowledge,

there's been a lot of really good stuff.

There's been a lot of really good stuff.

There's been a lot of really good conversations between AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery about the streaming platforms and the future.

Obviously, Warner Brothers Discovery owns and operates quite possibly the best streaming platform in the world,

and Max, which is just a fantastic app with a massive user base, and it's growing worldwide.

It's got a great domestic name and base, and it's starting to grow really more as an international brand also.

And it's a great place to be with so much of the best.

And it's a great place to be with so much of the best content in the history of television and movies.

So that is obviously something everybody has interest in as well.

There are a lot of things to be worked out, but it's a great time for AEW.

And I can tell you that this is going to work out really well for AEW and our fans.

So it's a positive update without giving away all the information.

So hopefully that was the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the great questions.

Thank you, Kevin.

Dominic D'Angelo from Ad Free Shows is next.

Chris Mueller from The Bleacher Report will follow Dominic, who's up now.

Tony, are you able to hear me all right?

Hey, I hear you great.

Hey, awesome. Cool.

Well, yeah, really fun ending, a wild ending to the show last night.

It sets it all out very, very well.

It's very intriguing, the aspect.

We're coming up on five years of AEW Dynamite here within the month coming up.

And I just kind of want to get your perspective as, you know,

obviously this being your first wrestling promotion and only one of the kind of get your thoughts on

what you kind of learned about yourself over the course of five years.

And is there something big that you want to work on moving forward as the president and CEO of All Elite Wrestling?

It's a really great time for AEW.

I wake up right now very happy every day.

It's great to have this great roster.

In particular, I cherish every day that AEW has Bryan Danielson as the AEW world champion.

I think that's something so amazing for a wrestling company to be able to say.

And we've had great champions.

And now coming up tomorrow for the first time ever, all the champions will collide in this huge match of champions.

It's the first time we've ever had eight champions battling.

And to have Bryan Danielson teaming with the World Trios champions,

Claudio and Wheeler,

Yuta and Pac teaming up against this great group of champions,

whether I've always seen eye to eye with them in the wrestling business,

they are all great wrestlers.

And to have the Young Bucks World Tag Team champions,

the TNT champion Jack Perry and the Continental champion who had another fantastic match last night,

one of the world's great wrestlers, Kazuchika Okada,

that's a huge match for us.

And we've got a great group of champions right now,

along,

along with Will Ospreay that effectively encompasses all the champions of the company.

So we've got all these great people competing in that men's division.

And then so many great things happening in our women's division right now,

too, to have this great group of champions.

And in particular,

right now,

Mariah May culminating that,

that really that betrayal and the journey she's taken since betraying timeless,

Tony,

storm with a world championship win at Wembley stadium at her hometown.

What a moment and something really interesting to follow.

What's next for Mariah May and timeless,

Tony storm,

but,

and also really excited about having Mercedes Monet,

the TBS champion,

one of the best wrestlers on the planet,

also a great champion in new Japan pro wrestling coming off of,

I think one of the best matches she's had since she came back.

And one of my favorite Mercedes Monet matches was just a week ago on Friday.

Uh,

in new Japan pro wrestling.

And I think she can have just as great or better of a match coming up this

weekend.

And really Mercedes has been going so hard defending her championships all

over the planet.

Uh,

and to be a traveling world champion like that,

it takes a toll.

And Hikaru Shida is one of AW's greatest of all time has been three

time world champion and could potentially be a great face of AW.

I know she said,

she's the ACE of AW's women,

but she could potentially be the face of the whole company on TBS very soon

as well.

So really excited about that.

It's a really great time.

I love the company.

It's constantly changing,

but like I said,

probably the thing that puts the biggest smile on my face when I wake up in

the morning is that AW has Brian Danielson as the world champion.

And that's an amazing thing for any wrestling company to have.

And we're all really proud of him,

uh,

that he had that,

that big moment at Wembley stadium.

I think it was my personal favorite moment ever in wrestling.

And,

uh,

for some of you there in person or,

or watching on video,

then to be able to sit there with Brian and Bertie,

uh,

celebrating that championship win and them going into the media scrum.

That was a great moment to all part of this one great night.

And I'll never forget what Brian said.

Cause I felt it myself when he said he just wished it wouldn't end.

You just wish the night would just keep going on and on.

And that's the best feeling.

And I think that's all we all felt.

It was after all in and last year we came to Chicago and all out.

People thought was one of the best AEW pay-per-views ever.

And people have questioned,

how can you follow what you did at Wembley?

Well,

this year,

I think we had an even better show at Wembley.

Uh,

I thought the Wembley show all in was possibly our best show ever.

And,

uh,

it's just been probably,

I think our best year ever on pay-per-view.

Honestly,

I really believe that and revolution and all in are my two favorite shows we've

ever done.

Absolutely.

My two favorite shows.

I think top to bottom are two best shows and they were both in the same year

within six months of each other.

That's amazing.

And,

uh,

it's just a great time.

So thank you for asking.

Cause it's just kind of fun to talk about all these awesome things going on.

I know I already talked about the meteorite deal,

but that's a really important thing we're working on too.

That's going very well.

It's been great having,

uh,

so many things clicking on dynamite.

It was great,

uh,

to get John Moxley back on age,

W recently.

And that's something that's been very interesting and it's been absolutely

awesome.

Uh,

having,

you know,

like I said,

Brian Danielson is a world champion,

uh,

and can't wait for this huge weekend of wrestling,

you know,

on top of all the great things that we talked about that match of champions and

these great champions,

we have well,

Osprey's wrestling pack on Saturday in Chicago,

they only wrestled once before.

And I was there in London and it was such an Epic match.

And,

and to be able to bring that to pay-per-view and show it to

the world.

I'm so excited.

And as I said,

at the top of the call,

probably the thing I'm the most excited about is,

uh,

we've been able so far to keep hangman out of jail and,

uh,

we're able to have that steel cage match,

uh,

and that I won't be liable for what happened.

So lots of great things happening in a W and I really

appreciate you asking me.

Thank you.

Thank you,

Dominic,

Chris Mueller from the bleacher.

Report is next.

And we'll follow that with a write-in question from Tommy

Milagro from slam wrestling.net for now.

It's Chris,

Chris,

you're up.

Hey,

Tony,

there was a report recently that will Hobbs was backstage.

And I was wondering if you could give us an update on

how his recovery is going and if there is a timetable

for his return yet,

that's a great question.

Uh,

well,

Hobbs has been visiting the doctors.

He was injured wrestling against John Moxley.

And an IWGP world title match in Jacksonville in April.

And it's been several months of will Hobbs being out.

Uh,

we're hoping to get him back soon,

but,

uh,

I think there's still some time he needs for the recovery,

but powerhouse Hobbs is a huge part of a W has been a

great champion here in a W is,

uh,

absolutely one of the most popular stars.

And we really look forward to getting will Hobbs back.

Uh,

I can't say the exact date,

but he's definitely something that we're looking forward to.

And we're looking forward to seeing somebody in our plans that we want to get going in a W again soon.

And it's been really nice to see powerhouse Hobbs backstage a couple of times lately visiting us.

This wasn't the first time we've seen him,

uh,

which is a good thing that he keeps coming in for checkups and is making good progress.

Thanks for asking.

Thanks,

Chris.

So I've got a writing question here from Tommy Milagro from slam wrestling net,

which I'll read a minute.

Amy Nemity from Russell joy will be next.

Tony.

Tommy has the name.

He has the following question.

Which match do you believe has the potential to be the sleeper or steal the show match at all out this weekend?

Oh,

it's a great question.

Uh,

I,

I mean,

every match looks great.

I think that's a,

I think it's kind of,

uh,

um,

a loaded question because I don't know if there's one match,

uh,

that,

I mean,

I think hangman swerve,

the steel cage lights out is not,

it's not a sleeper match in any way.

It's like,

but it's a match you have to talk about.

And especially after what happened last night,

I don't think there's a sleeper match on the show.

I think all these matches sound absolutely awesome.

I'm really excited.

And there's a lot of buildup to them.

Uh,

you know,

I,

uh,

hopefully people won't aggregate just the beginning of that quote and talk about the matches because for anybody who says that,

uh,

the mat,

the matches aren't coming with a lot of story and build up behind,

um,

that's simply untrue.

And there's a lot of,

uh,

build into this show,

into the,

many of the major matches and not every story is the same.

Uh,

not every match evolved the same way necessarily,

but there's a lot of,

uh,

building story behind the top matches across this show.

And there's a lot of top matches and big things and big stories happening in a W.

So I'm really excited about everything we've announced.

And I think it looks like a great,

great card.

Uh,

it could be one of a W's best pay-per-views ever in the year where I think we're doing our best pay-per-views ever.

Uh,

a lot of years dynasty would have been the best pay-per-views a year dynasty at so many great moments on it was a great,

great show top to bottom.

And one of our best shows I think ever,

and it would be hard for dynasty now competing with the best show of the year because there's so many other great shows,

you know,

forbidden door was a great show.

And,

uh,

it's just been an awesome year.

Top to bottom forbidden door was one of our best shows,

I think.

And,

um,

but,

and really,

like I said,

I think revolution and all in,

I would probably put at the top of maybe the two best we've ever done.

So just all year,

we've been absolutely crushing it on pay-per-view.

And,

uh,

I think all out top to bottom has what it takes to be the very best.

And it also has one of those great things that has made some of the best a W pay-per-views.

It's going to have the Chicago wrestling fan,

one of the world's great natural resources.

And whenever we bring a W back here to Chicago,

I know we can count on some of the best wrestling fans on the planet.

And I think people all over the world enjoy tuning into the shows because the Chicago fans have a great reputation and have been supporting a W since even before we launched.

And,

uh,

I think it'll be a great show top to bottom.

So,

like I said,

I don't really think there is a sleeper match on the show.

I mean,

when you're talking about all these great matches,

like,

you know,

obviously the lights are on,

but I don't think there is a sleeper match on the show.

I mean,

when you're talking about all these great matches,

the lights out steel cage match with hangman versus Swerve Strickland,

and you got the world champion,

Brian Danielson versus the TNT champion,

Jack Perry.

I'm very,

very excited for Mercedes Monet versus Hikaru Shida.

I'm very excited for MJF versus Daniel Garcia.

I think young bucks versus Claudio and Yuta will be a great matchup and really excited to see the young bucks defending against a top team,

Claudio and Yuta,

who have been one of our best teams ever and already are the world trio champions with pack and to see pack versus Will Osprey.

I know I talked a bit about that match,

but it's something I'm really excited about.

And it's something I've seen before and I think can be even better now,

just like we've saw Hikaru Shida has had a shot at the championship before.

Well,

now she's going to get a fair chance without Camille there for any outside interference.

Just so many great things on the card top to bottom,

but I don't think there's one sleeper match.

I think they're all really standout matches.

And that's really what makes this like an all-star show that people have really bought into gotten excited about.

I think,

uh,

you know,

the Chicago street fight with Willow Nightingale and Chris Statlander is something that I look forward to.

And I think they've had great matches individually and they've had great matches against each other,

but also some of the best pay-per-view matches against other opponents.

And,

you know,

to put them together in a Chicago street fight,

that should be awesome top to bottom.

I just feel really,

really strong about the show.

And I think everything,

it should be great.

Thank you,

Tommy and Amy Nemany from Russell Joy will be next followed by Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer.

Amy,

you're up.

Hey,

hi.

So I would like to dive in on Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland.

One year ago,

tomorrow,

Swerve Strickland told Hangman Page a former teacher who had just donated $50,000 to the Chicago Public Education Fund to find that spark inside to find that fire or step aside last night.

Hangman Page burned down Swerve Strickland's childhood home.

Can you talk about how we got here how we got to this point?

And can you talk about the process of burning down Swerve's house on national television?

Thank you.

Well,

it was quite a moment in wrestling history.

I'm glad you asked.

And it was something that from a production standpoint is a very challenging thing to do.

But I think Hangman and the team he brought there with him to film that did a great job on it.

And I have so much respect for Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page both.

I think they've both been excellent as the world champion of this company.

And each of them,

I think,

is,

you know,

to me,

it's like being more than I think each of them has been a face and ambassador leader in this company.

And they've also become iconic rivals.

And I think when I think of Hangman,

I'll think of Swerve.

And when I think of Swerve,

I'll think of Hangman forever now.

And that's one of those great things to be in wrestling to have that counterpoint to yourself.

And I think that's one of those great things to be in wrestling to have that counterpoint to yourself.

And the things they've done to each other are so,

Yeah,

the things they've done to each other are so,

they're very much in line.

are so,

they've done a benefit to them.

are so very much a percentage to them.

you know,

when I think of Swerve,

they're not only the extreme they've done to each other,

but they've done a big job

that's plenty of hard work,

And I think the other thing that I think it's even the biggest asset,

that not like the other hot dogs,

is having a good match against him is just a completeホ увид.

the horror that they have inflicted upon each other.

And in a way,

they too.

Uh,

is so indelible that this rivalry will surely live on forever.

Rivalry will surely live on forever in the memories of AEW's fans.

And I think we'll be at the forefront of what we've done here in AEW.

I think we're all really proud of the Swerve versus Hangman rivalry.

But at the same time, it makes sense to have this as an unsanctioned match, I think, for AEW after all the things that have happened.

Because, you know, as a company, we can't be responsible for what happens on Saturday in this match.

It is going to be insane.

You've seen what Swerve and Hangman are capable of and putting them in a steel cage environment and not sanctioning it as a wrestling match.

Really, as a fight, it's going to be just absolutely phenomenal.

And I can't wait for all that on pay-per-view this Saturday.

I'm so excited.

I'm so excited that it's just 48 hours away.

And burning down a house, I think, will be one of the signature AEW moments.

And I thought it was a great wrestling moment.

As a fan and someone who loves wrestling, I thought it was incredible.

Now, as a promoter and somebody who's responsible for the things that happen, it's absolutely crazy.

And if we were in banking or accounting or consulting, this would not happen.

And you could not have something like this play out in your office.

But in the world of professional wrestling, that's what makes this sport the greatest of them all.

And it's why I love wrestling so much.

Because when something like this happens, I think we all know this should be settled in the ring.

And in this case, it needs to be settled in a steel cage without any rules and without any liabilities,

without any sanctioning bodies.

Trying to interfere.

I think these two need to have a fight on pay-per-view.

And what's great is there are people all over the world that are really excited.

And what happened last night lit a fire in the hearts of wrestling fans all over the planet.

To see Hangman Page versus Swerve Strickland in the unsanctioned lights-out steel cage match this Saturday on pay-per-view at AEW All Out.

I can't wait.

And I know there's people all over the world that can't wait for this show.

Thank you for asking.

Thanks, Amy.

Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer is next to be followed by Liam Crowley from comicbook.com.

Dave, you're up.

Hey, Dave.

Tony, can you hear me?

Yeah, I do.

Hey, Dave.

Hey, how you doing, Tony?

Good, Dave.

Good to be here.

Not too long ago, MJF did an interview talking about, you know, it's pretty much defending the company and where it stands.

And made a statement that AEW is fixing, you know, in theory based on the new TV deal, I suppose, or new media rights deal, to be the second most profitable wrestling company in history.

And for 2025, is that viable?

Or do you think that it may take longer?

Or, you know, what would you say as far as the veracity of that statement that you're about to become the second most profitable company in history?

Is that, you know, is that reasonable or is that not reasonable, I suppose?

I think it is reasonable.

Now, as to whether those cash flows happen overnight when the new deal kicks in, I can't say those things for sure yet.

And there's still a lot to be figured out.

But I do think.

The die is cast that AEW is going to be the second most profitable wrestling company at this point of all time.

Which is very impressive for a promotion that is just over five years old.

And has been on television for less than five years.

And it's amazing how quickly we've expanded.

And the expansion of the television product going from two hours a week to five hours a week.

And being very excited about what the future holds in our media deal.

So, it's a really great time for the company.

So, I think Max was right on with what he was saying.

Now, as to getting into some of the semantics of it.

And the mechanics of the accounting.

And how we're counting all the dollars.

And I'm not sure exactly how much money WCW made in 1998.

Nor am I honestly sure how much money Jim Crockett was making, you know, 1986.

But I think over the duration of this deal.

I expect over.

Over this multi-year period that we're about to enter into.

That we will be the second most profitable wrestling company in the history of the wrestling business.

And it's going to be a really exciting thing.

But it's also only the beginning.

It's the beginning of a really long journey.

Like I said, you know, to be not even five years on television.

This is not the first step.

It's not the second step.

It's been a long journey.

But it's still early in a long journey.

So, you know, for the golfers out there.

I still feel like, you know, we played some holes.

But I still think we're on the front nine here.

And really building for the future.

So, I'm very excited about it.

And then to go back to my football metaphors.

You know, the deal is very much in the red zone.

And I've said it's right there to be pushed in.

You know, and that's where we're going to put the ball in the end zone.

And it's going to be a huge touchdown for AEW.

And I agree with what Max said.

I think, you know, he made some great points.

And whether or not people agree with MJF and the way he carries himself around the wrestling ring.

He's a very intelligent person about the wrestling business.

For such a young man in his 20s.

One of the most astute historians that I've met for his age.

And that reminds me a lot of myself in my teens and 20s.

As a fan of a lot of the older wrestling.

And the history of it.

And grew up reading your stuff, Dave.

And.

I think that you, Max, had a very good point there.

Thanks for asking.

Thank you, Dave.

Liam Crowley from comicbook.com is next.

To be followed by Bill Pritchard from WrestleZone.

Liam.

Again, something that's really piquing my interest on AEW programming right now.

Is the return of Jon Moxley.

And all his cryptic words about the company no longer possibly belonging to you.

It seemed like he was talking to Tony Schiavone in a way to direct words towards you.

Something that I also noticed was that GCW is running a Bloodsport event.

Also in New Jersey.

The weekend of AEW Full Gear.

That Sunday.

Full Gear taking place the day before.

I'm just curious what your current relationship is like with GCW and Josh Barnett specifically.

I like Josh a lot.

You know, Josh is a really good guy.

We brought Josh in to AEW.

I don't know the GCW people as well.

But Josh and the Bloodsport, you know, I think we treat a little differently.

I think we've had some people here that do stuff in GCW.

I know Billy Starks and some of the young wrestlers have been there a good amount.

But the Bloodsport, it's interesting.

Josh is a guy I respect and like very much.

And Josh has a lot of friends in the company.

That I really, really, really like and respect.

And have, you know, I would go out of my way to try to help those guys out.

Out of respect.

Because that's how we do stuff.

If that makes sense.

Does that, does that, Liam, is that kind of what you're looking for?

Or do you have any follow-up to that?

I don't know if we can do that.

Yeah, I have to, I just have to undo them again.

Hold on one moment.

Hi, Tony, back.

Yeah, no, well, thank you for the answer.

I guess a follow-up on that would just be your reaction to when Moxley said those words on Dynamite,

I believe, last week when he said that this is not your company anymore.

What do those cryptic words kind of mean to you?

Well, it's something to keep an eye on.

It's definitely something to watch on AEW TV every week.

Something to keep an eye on.

On all of our shows.

And having Jon Moxley back in AEW, however this plays out, I think is good for the fans and good for the future of the show.

And it was a big thing for Jon Moxley to go become the IWGP World Champion and make history.

It's something nobody has ever done.

And for all we know, maybe nobody will ever do it again.

But it is historic to be the first ever person to hold the AEW World title.

The WWE World title.

And the IWGP World title.

And he's been a great champion for all of those companies.

And so much more than a champion.

We're very fortunate to have Jon Moxley in AEW.

And whatever he's referring to and whatever he's doing, I think AEW is a better place with Jon Moxley here.

And Jon Moxley coming to AEW is one of the reasons we've been successful as a promotion.

And however, whatever he's referring to.

When he speaks to.

Tony Schiavone, whatever he's been doing,

however this plays out,

I am eternally grateful to Jon Moxley.

He is a founding father of AEW

and a trailblazer in professional wrestling

and a great author.

Thank you.

Thank you, Liam.

We have 15 minutes to go.

We've got a full lineup here, Tony.

So let's go with Bill Pritchard from WrestleZone next

to be followed by Lyric Swinton from Blavity.

Bill.

How you doing, Tony?

Hey, Bill.

I'm fantastic.

Thanks, man.

So I wanted to go back to the hangman swerve segment

from last night.

I just kind of wanted to get your feedback

about how the whole thing played out,

not just on the show, but throughout the day.

You started with the clip on social media of swerve

and Nana showing like, hey, I bought my childhood home.

And people were like,

there's this feel-good moment.

And then kind of quickly put it together like,

hey, what if this is an angle?

What if hangman's involved somehow?

And it's like one of those, I guess, obvious conclusions.

I don't know if it was completely obvious,

but just wanted to get your thoughts on like

how people initially reacted to it,

maybe speculated on where it was going

and then seeing the final angle, just the reaction to,

people kind of getting to the obvious conclusion

and still being surprised at what they actually saw

once the show went off the air.

Well, it's great question and great points.

I think the response to the conclusion of AW Dynamite

with hangman Page and swerve Strickland

to set up their lights out steel cage match this Saturday,

just 48 hours from now at AW All Out,

has been overwhelmingly positive.

I think we've had just a fantastic response from the fans

who thought this was a great ending to the show.

If we were in another line of work,

people would be shocked by this, but in wrestling,

I think people saw it coming in some way

and still were blown away by it, truly.

And it was something that made a lot of sense.

And it was one of those great wrestling ideas.

And one of those great wrestling ideas.

And one of those great wrestling moments.

And I think that it's helped build even more interest

in a pay-per-view that has been really coming together

fantastic since we got back from Wembley Stadium

and even building there at Wembley Stadium

and really with hangman and swerve, I think it's great.

You know, I've watched really firsthand as a wrestling fan

over the last 30 plus years,

as wrestling fans and the overall audience profile has changed

and the way they consume wrestling has changed

and the percentage of the wrestling fans

that are watching stories develop online,

that are following the news in wrestling,

that are reading the sheets,

that are keeping track of news outside of the ring

and behind the scenes in the production of the shows.

It's amazing.

It's a massive percentage of the audience now

that follows these things compared to when I was a kid.

And it was frankly more of a niche interest.

There was huge mainstream interest in wrestling

that would go up and down cyclically

based on what was happening in the business.

But I think in terms of what we have now,

as far as the, first of all, it's a boom time in wrestling.

This is a golden age for the sport.

And so many ways, this is a great time to be in wrestling.

And AEW is a huge part of

the wrestling conversation happening today in September, 2024.

It's an awesome thing.

And when you look at that, historically,

I think the avidity of wrestling fans is at an alltime high.

I've gotten some statistics that I am really impressed by.

That's really impressive. As I've gotten

into this media rights deal i've learned things about aw that even i didn't know that are so

impressive insights that really rocked me and to watch wrestling fandom change and see how big

aw is a part of it here's a statistic that will blow your mind and we're talking about

the avidity of wrestling fans this started with a great question about swerve strickland versus

hangman page this rivalry is a big part of aw this is a wrestling story and a wrestling rivalry

that should be settled yes in a wrestling ring but not in a traditional wrestling match first

of all a steel cage uh and it may be the perfect place to contain this and hopefully keep the fans

safe but also uh now that aw can't sanction this but i will promote it on pay-per-view and that's

one of the great

things about being in wrestling i mean if it was uh in another sport you know they wouldn't want

the liability and uh would have to not allow something like this to be battled out after what

happened last night but i've learned so much about the avidity of wrestling fans and so to

have an audience of wrestling fans that even if they are following ahead to see what happens

if they're not following ahead to see what happens if they're not following ahead to see what

happens if they're uh looking for spoilers if they're looking for inside news about the future

and what's to come i think that's great and however people can serve their avidity and

service their fandom i think it's really important to take care of the fans that take care of us

we've got the greatest fans in the world aw it's even more powerful than i knew

here's an insane stat about all the sporting leagues

did you know that of all of the world's sports leagues

that the league whose fans spend the most money per month on streaming video of every sports

league out there the league who's the league whose fan spends on average the most per month

on streaming video it's aew it's ahead of every other sporting league in the world i've never

said aew is the biggest sporting league in the world but we are a big sports league

now and we have a lot of fans and we also have the greatest avidity of fans of any league in the

world and it it continues to show itself up it shows up in the metrics and it shows up in

intangible ways too i mean sure i didn't actually check the decibel meter you know every five

seconds at wembley stadium because we were having such a great show and we were in the moment and

producing the show and trying to enjoy it as it was happening but to have a crowd like that

of over 50 000 pay have these people going crazy like they were a small crowd in a small you know

intimate place as if we were in the esports stadium in dallas or the hammerstein ballroom

in new york there were over 50 000 people going crazy singing the final countdown uh singing the

fdr theme you know doing all there for all these great beautiful moments and and there for will

and you know just in all these epic parts of the show and i think right now when you see

that the fans are following along and you have fans that want to know what's coming next and

they'll even uh look online they'll check social media they'll google it they'll you know look to

news sources to find out what's going to happen next in aw and in wrestling that's a good thing

so i look at our fan avidity as a really positive point for

aw thank you

thank you very much bill lyric swinton from blavity is next to be followed by

samantha shipman from the daily ddt eric

it's actually about all of the aw's pay-per-views and so there's been a lot of special shows this

year from you know forbidden door obviously all in stadium show

eubs the only out of town show that's ever been a contender to a wwe is abc tetris i know�

Even Revolution earlier this year was Sting's retirement.

So with the success of All In and the inclusion of future stadium shows,

are you interested in there being one specific tentpole pay-per-view for AEW akin to like a WrestleMania?

Or are you looking to make every pay-per-view special in its own right?

So are you looking to make All In potentially that tentpole event if you are looking to have one singular tentpole event?

I think we have all these great events and All In has been the biggest event in many ways.

Yet we have all these great events that have had moments that are indelible and unique.

For many fans, the greatest moment ever in AEW happened at All Out.

And.

It's when, after Kenny Omega retained the title against Christian Cage,

a series of events unfolded that resulted in Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson winning this company three years ago this week.

And to celebrate the three-year anniversary of two great stars arriving now three years later,

Bryan Danielson has finally become the AEW world champion.

He's also wrestling without.

Officially a contract right now.

We're very fortunate to have Bryan Danielson here as AEW's leader, our locker room leader.

And the face of the company is the AEW world champion.

But I know that when Bryan is ready to retire from in-ring wrestling here, he'll always have a home in AEW.

We'll always be happy to have him.

But right now, as Bryan is firing on all cylinders, every time he goes out there,

I try to enjoy it because I realize that every moment could potentially be our last.

And it's something I'm going to really be cognizant of during this Saturday's pay-per-view

because to have Bryan Danielson versus Jack Perry, the AEW versus TNT champions,

that's pretty cool and pretty special to begin with.

And when you have Bryan and Jack, and when you look at when Bryan arrived in AEW three years ago,

he was standing side-by-side with Jack.

He came out.

He came out to defend Jack and to defend AEW.

And looking where we are three years later, the people he came out to defend Jack from

are the very people Jack's fallen in with.

And looking at where AEW's gone and how we've grown and the things we've done since Bryan came in

and the journey he's had here and we've all had together, it's been a really, really special thing.

So I think when you say that some of the biggest moments,

that happened at All Out, of course, All In has been our biggest show for attendance,

but there's been memories at other events.

And I think in addition to that great moment at All Out that we'll celebrate three years of Danielson and Cole

and what happened there, I thought this year's revolution was maybe the best show we've ever done.

I think Sting's retirement could be the best thing we've ever done.

I think Sting's three years in AEW from his arrival, his first,

his match was also at Revolution in 2021.

And when you look at Sting's three-year journey here also, how special that's been.

And so, again, you know, whether it's Revolution or All Out or All In

or the original AEW pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, where maybe the biggest moments happened,

where we had Chris Jericho versus Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley arrived.

And those were the first three champions in the history of the company.

And you had future world champions.

That means Hangman Page and MJF clashing earlier in the show.

So many great moments.

And I think there's been so many great AEW shows and events.

So I think they each stand out and are special in their own ways.

And some of my favorite things that have ever happened in AEW have happened at Full Gear.

And I think some of our best shows have been at Full Gear.

One of my favorite shows of the pandemic era,

and I think maybe the best show anybody did in the pandemic era,

was Full Gear 2020.

It was the first time any of us had heard those kind of pops in a really long time.

And it felt so good.

You know, when FTR won the belts,

excuse me, when the Young Bucks beat FTR,

when the Young Bucks beat FTR for the belts,

what a moment, what a pop.

When Darby Allin won the TNT championship from Cody,

what a pop, what a moment.

And we, in 2020, you know, it feels like a long time ago,

because it was almost four years ago.

But those were great moments.

And that's been a signature show for us.

And we've added new big events where there's been huge moments.

Like I said, Dynasty, top to bottom, could be the best show of the year.

And because there's so much competition,

it probably hasn't gotten as high praise it deserves

as one of our best events we've ever done at Dynasty.

And we've introduced new pay-per-views.

So I think the idea is these pay-per-views have an important identity.

They are tentpole events.

They're like the playoff games in sports.

It's a little different the way that they come

as far as the cadence and the scheduling of them.

But that's the idea.

And these are premium top events in wrestling.

And as I said before, our fan avidity has made this model a huge success for us.

We have a great pay-per-view business

because we have the best fans in the world.

And those numbers prove it.

I think it's a great, great thing

to have so many great fans.

We have great signature events with great traditions

that the fans can look forward to year in, year out.

And I'm really excited about All Out.

And of course, All Out, this is now our sixth All Out.

And it's kind of crazy.

And to have our sixth All Out across five years,

all in Chicago minus the one year we were in Jacksonville,

I think it's been a great run.

And I think each event,

has an important significance in AEW

as far as those major pay-per-view shows.

Thanks for asking.

Thank you, Larry.

Tony, we're at time, but you have a minute for Samantha Shipman.

We announced her and you have a minute for her question?

Yeah, sure.

Okay.

Samantha, we're going to complete today's conference with you.

Are you ready?

I have a question.

When we first saw Kyle Fletcher come into AEW,

he was with Aussie Open, who I would say in the last couple of years

has been one of the top five tag teams in the world.

Obviously, we've seen Kyle's ascent,

especially in the last couple of months of him just becoming a rising star.

Mark Davis was injured nearly a year ago at WrestleDream.

Is there an update on Mark Davis?

And also, with Mark Davis, if he is returning anytime soon,

will we see Aussie Open competing as a tag team?

Or is Kyle just on this path as a star that you just kind of have to let that play out?

Well, those are great questions.

Mark Davis has been injured now for quite a while,

and we get regular updates, and he's had surgery, he's in recovery,

and we can't wait to have Mark Davis back in AEW.

I think Aussie Open has been a great team, but you're absolutely right in what you said.

Kyle Fletcher has taken a great journey here in this competition.

And in particular, lately, he's been on this amazing run of some of these fantastic matches in AEW

and really all over the world where he's competed in ROH and been a great TV champion in ROH

and I think opened some eyes there to what a great single star Kyle Fletcher is and what he's capable of,

what a great survival of the fittest match Kyle had earlier this year.

And we've seen him then take that title, wrestle top,

I thought Kyle Fletcher and Lee Johnson had a great rivalry on ROH that was some of the best matches we've had on the TV show, and then to have Kyle Fletcher go to CMLL, compete at the highest level there at our partner, at our CMLL promotion we have such a great relationship with and such a great working partnership that's been established, Kyle Fletcher's been a big part of it.

And he's continued to impress and impress and impress, so I think it's been unfortunate to have Mark Davis out, we really miss him and I look forward to Mark Davis returning to AEW, and I have to say that while Mark Davis has been out, Kyle Fletcher has absolutely stepped up to the occasion, his star is rising, and we love having Kyle Fletcher in AEW, and as for the future of them individually or collectively I think that remains to be seen.

So I think it's really great questions and I think you definitely captured what's happening, that Kyle is on the rise for sure.

Okay, thank you Samantha.

Sorry we couldn't get to everyone, we have quite a lineup here, great interest obviously today Tony.

Any closing thoughts?

Well thanks Jim, it's a great time for AEW, there's been a lot of great questions today.

I'm really excited to have all out here in Chicago, it's always great to bring AEW here to Chicago.

And it's a home to me personally and a home to wrestling.

And this is going to be a great event.

I really enjoyed taking all your questions today.

Hopefully, if I didn't get anybody's question, I hope that you'll get a chance to come to All Out.

And I'll try to answer as many as I possibly can.

Really excited about this show.

I just think it has a really special feeling.

I'm always excited for All Out.

This year in particular just feels really big that AEW's got so many cool things happening.

And it feels like the company has some really exciting momentum to build on.

And I think the show is just going to be great.

It's coming up very soon, obviously.

And I'm just really very grateful to all of you that you took the time to cover AEW and spend your time on this.

Thank you for covering us.

A lot of you have been covering us for many years.

And I really appreciate you guys giving us fair coverage and an opportunity to grow the business.

And give all these wrestlers and the big staff we have here and all the jobs we create in wrestling the opportunity to do this.

Thank you for covering us.

And thanks for coming to the media call today.

And like I said, I hope to see you all at the Scrum.

I hope you all enjoy All Out.

And I look forward to reading all of your coverage.

And thank you all for taking the time to visit us today.

Jim and Robin, thank you for being such great moderators and hosts of this.

It's a great tradition.

And I always look forward to these pre-pay-per-view calls, especially for a pay-per-view with a great tradition like All Out and a great city like Chicago with such a great lineup like this that could be the best lineup we've ever put top to bottom on pay-per-view.

I think it's going to be awesome.

And I'm excited to see you all this weekend on Saturday in Chicago.

And then I'll red-eye down for the start of NFL season right after that.

But first things first, before I head to...

Miami to kick off the NFL, we have some very, very, very, very important business to do in AEW and very excited about All Out Saturday night before the NFL kicks off.

Hope to see you all Saturday.

And also, it's a special three-hour block of collision tomorrow.

And for the collision, it's going to be something really different for us to go on Friday night and do this.

But I think to have All Out on Saturday.

And to still be able to deliver the great action we've been providing on collision.

It'll be a little different doing three hours on Friday.

Different than anything we've done.

But I think it's a great way to go.

And it ensures the fans are going to get a great All Out on Saturday that we will not be competing with the NFL.

Which is not in anybody's interest.

And anybody outside the NFL ever to compete with the NFL, which is the greatest media sports marketing machine in the history of the world.

And I do think it'll be an exciting three-hour block tomorrow also.

And I'm looking forward to that.

And I think there's some really great stuff.

So, hopefully, we'll see some of you there, too.

And just really thank you.

And looking forward to seeing you either at collision or at the pay-per-view.

And particularly at the Scrum After.

Thanks for doing this.

And I hope you all have a great weekend.

Thank you, Jim.

Thank you, Tony.

Thanks to everyone.

It's always a fast hour with Tony.

And today was no exception.

So, with that, we're going to.

Be distributing the audio recording of today's session with Tony to all attendees shortly.

So, again, on behalf of Tony and everyone at AEW, wish you safe and happy travels to Chicago this weekend for AEW All Out.

If you can't make it, we thank you for joining us on Saturday night with the pay-per-view.

No matter where your plans are this weekend, always know that AEW appreciates you.

And we appreciate what you do.

So, with that, thank you again.

And hope to see you this weekend in Chicago.

Peace.

Thank you.