AEW president Tony Khan has officially addressed the rumors of ‘locker room unhappiness’ in AEW.
In recent weeks, rumors swirled of “morale being low” in the All Elite Wrestling locker room. Fan speculation stirred after various wrestlers liked specific tweets or implied their desire for more television time on the product. In addition, a few recently released talent cited lack of communication and television time as a factor in their departures.
During an appearance on Superstar Crossover with Josh Martinez, Khan finally addressed the rumors. He made it clear that AEW has a great team, and he believes the recent promotions will help communication within the company. He also spoke highly of the environment in AEW.
“We have a great crew. We’re very happy with the shows we’ve been doing,” he declared. “I think we have a great team of people. I recently did some promotions and added to the team. With a new group, hopefully, the communication is only going to get better, because I can only be in so many places at one time and talk to so many people with such a big team. So, I think that’ll help.”
“Also in general, I think we have a really great environment and a great backstage,” Khan continued. “Overall, it’s been a great summer for us and it’s only going to get better. A lot of the biggest stars in AEW have been out, so it’s been great for us to maintain this position. Last week, on Wednesday night, AEW Dynamite, number one show on all of cable last Wednesday. That’s been the case six out of the last seven weeks. That kind of consistency has been thanks to our wrestlers, our staff, and most importantly the wrestling fans that have kept us going. As I mentioned a bit ago, Friday Night Rampage, we did our best number in a long time, being top five on Friday on cable.”
Khan also noted that AEW has good camaraderie. He pointed out that while he can’t get everyone on the show, it creates an atmosphere where the performers aim to maximize their minutes. Overall, he stated that the “vibe” is positive and everyone is excited ahead of All Out and the “Grand Slam” special.
“There is a lot of really good camaraderie and momentum. I can’t get everybody on the show,” he explained. “It is challenging, in some ways, when you have three hours of television. I get that, if you’re looking at a competitor that has seven hours of television, the people in that company are twice as likely to be on TV if you look at it that way. It’s very competitive for spots, but it also means people have to do the most to maximize the time they do get, wherever it is, whether it’s on TV or streaming.”
“[And] I do think our TV show and the participation we’ve had from fans and why we all feel so good this year to is, it’s great to be back on the road this last year after doing the shows in lockdown and a sometimes empty stadium. Overall, I think the vibe is positive and we’re all really excited. It’s a big time of year for AEW with All Out coming up, one of the biggest events on the calendar. We approach one of our biggest TV event of the year, coming up to New York for AEW Grand Slam next month.”
All Elite Wrestling will host AEW Dynamite Quake by the Lake event tonight on TBS at 8pm est. There, Jon Moxley will defends his AEW Interim World Championship against “The Wizard” Chris Jericho.
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