The Acclaimed reached new heights with “Scissor me, Daddy Ass!”
During an appearance on Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, Tony Khan was asked about how wrestlers of color have been pushed into more prominent roles in AEW, something that the company was criticized for early on. Khan noted how Ricky Starks, Stokely Hathaway and Top Flight were some of the many names that are becoming key parts of AEW programming.
“It was something people asked questions about at the beginning of the year, and I always said I had a lot of plans and a lot of ideas, and it was something that was gonna grow and develop at AEW, and I thought it would really be a strong point for us by the end of the year,” Khan noted, “and I think it is really a strong point for us in terms of things we’ve done well is push a diverse roster of wrestlers in 2022, and I also think we’ve made a lot of stars.”
Khan then spoke about how The Acclaimed has become one of the most popular acts in wrestling. Khan noted how the two started as new team in Daily’s Place during the pandemic, but the whole thing has exceeded expectations.
“The Acclaimed embody a homegrown starring act. Every arena we go in, fans can not wait to see them. It’s an act that started in Daily’s Place with the three of us in my office. It took pieces of what both of them are. Max and Anthony are both great people, and they have both been allowed to take what I think makes them special and put it into an act, and then we found the perfect mentor for them, a great wrestler, a legendary tag team wrestler and just a great mind for wrestling in Billy Gunn. The whole thing came together great.”
Interesting developments after the bell between the #GunnClub and #TheAcclaimed here on #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TBSNetwork! pic.twitter.com/ZfWOPbsmRi
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 7, 2022
Tony Khan was then asked if any of the Billy Gunn material was intentional, or if it was in response to “scissor me, daddy ass” getting over as well as it did.
“You know how many eight-man tags I booked on Dark and Elevation with The Gunns and The Acclaimed? How many times do you think The Gunns and The Acclaimed have teamed in an eight-man tag? A lot. So the way it’s come together is beautiful, and we saw we had something, and then we built off it, then teased like we were gonna take it away from people, only to bring it back,” Khan said.
“When Bowens went for one last one after he had already been beaten down, it’s everything that’s great about wrestling. It’s ridiculous. It’s sad, it’s tragic — Bowens reaching up for one last one after he had already gotten beaten down, and Billy didn’t want to do it. He was just trying to take care of his own kids, but in the end, you realize his kids are terrible, terrible people. He has more of a bond with The Acclaimed,” Khan explained. “Really, that’s his family, so that’s what’s been special on the show this year.
“These are just the top wrestlers in AEW, and they happen to also be people of color. That’s what I always wanted it to be. It was what I always said. We’re pushing the best people, the top people, but we also have this great crew of people that, a lot of them started on Dark and Elevation,” Khan added. “And really, some of them, before Elevation even started, on the original Dark shows, a lot of it was in Daily’s Place in an empty arena, and people that have really come a long way.”
Read More: Anthony Bowens: The Acclaimed Are Trying To Get ‘That’s Right’ Over Like Steve Austin’s ‘What’
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