Tony Khan, president, and CEO of All Elite Wrestling was a guest on this past Tuesday’s episode of The Steve Austin Show. During the podcast, Khan spoke to Austin about AEW, the reception to Double or Nothing, and what can be expected from the promotion down the road.
The Steve Austin Show returns tomorrow with the President and CEO of @AEWrestling, @tonykhan. We shoot the breeze about Double or Nothing and talk Pro Wrestling. iTunes and PodcastOne. pic.twitter.com/F4xRmcHeFJ
— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) June 18, 2019
One of the key points Khan discussed was the addition of an AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship. He said that, eventually, the company will instate this championship once the women’s single’s scene is established. “AS we focus on having the best world championship in singles and tag team, men and women,” Khan said. “That’s gonna be the focus of our promotion when I think about wins and losses mattering.”
Speaking of tag team wrestling, Khan spoke about its importance to AEW. Khan said that tag team wrestling will not only be a focus of its television programming but that AEW would hold a tag team tournament. This will play into the men’s AEW Tag Team Championship, which will be decided in the fall. Given the ongoing feud between The Young Bucks and The Lucha Brothers, expect them to be involved in this scene.
Khan also expanded on AEW’s weekly television program, which will air on TNT during the fall. According to Khan, the show will be two hours and air live from multiple venues. Though he didn’t divulge details regarding a weekly day or time, Khan mentioned that the schedule won’t be taxing for talent. “I don’t want to put too much mileage on the top performers by having them perform on shows where it’s not going to generate as much revenue,” Khan said.
Sutter’s Synopsis: To say that Tony Khan shared information on Austin’s show would be an understatement. As a fan of tag team wrestling, I’m excited to see what kind of role it will play on AEW television. One of my biggest criticisms of WWE, specifically in regard to its main roster programming, is its lack of care toward the tag team division. If one of AEW’s goals is to stand out from WWE, focusing on a type of wrestling that hasn’t been given the care it deserves is a solid strategy.
The idea of an AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship, though, is another story. While women’s wrestling will undoubtedly be a focus of AEW as well, the talent pool seems thin to warrant a tag team championship. Perhaps the best course of action, at least in the beginning, would be to utilize various independent talent in addition to full-time AEW signees. We may also see returning faces, including Emi Sakura and Yuka Sakazaki, fill out the scene in the short term.
