Tony Khan isn't afraid to speak his mind when he gets in front of a microphone, and AEW's founder recently made some surprisingly blunt comments about WWE's upcoming Crown Jewel premium live event. Various important All Elite Wrestling members were taking multiple press spots in New York ahead of the Grand Slam episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite. MJF made a few noteworthy stops, while Khan spoke to local news affiliates in New York to try to whip some buzz for AEW.
That makes sense, given that last week's episode of Dynamite was a bit of a landmark for the company. The show drew 1.2 million viewers, all while fans knew that CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks weren't appearing. Punk was injured during his match at All Out, while the Being The Elite guys were suspended for a physical altercation with CM Punk following his media scrum comments. Starting Dynamite with a significant number would have made sense, given fans' interest in the post-All Out fallout. But the audience stuck around throughout the entire show, with the main event of Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson crushing the quarter hours.
While speaking to News 12, Khan spoke about why AEW has been running so many shows in the New York area over the last several months. "We're running a lot of great shows around the Northeast. It's so many great wrestling markets in one geographic region." Then came the WWE dig. "I'll say it, the crown jewel of wrestling markets — the real crown jewel of wrestling markets, not some BS overseas in Saudi Arabia. New York City is where you want to be." (h/t and thanks to wrestlinginc.com for the transcription)
Tony Khan Isn't Backing Down From WWE
There are some concerns about Tony Khan, maybe wanting to make his words a bit sweet here. The morality of WWE's agreement with Saudi Arabia is worth discussing, but it's a deal that will bring in more than half a billion dollars for the company. WWE is packing stadiums in the United Kingdom, and WrestleMania 39 is already breaking sales records. Meanwhile, AEW is struggling to sell out Arthur Ashe Stadium, which holds around 20,000 people, for what will be a historical episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite.
Conversely, there's no reason for Khan to allow WWE to bully him and AEW. Never mind that Madison Square Garden is generally considered to be WWE's home arena; it seems like Tony Khan is making a real play to cement AEW's reputation in the Northeast. AEW already does tremendously well in Chicago and aims to make a dent in Philadelphia. Being able to pack arenas in the New York area predictably would be a real boon for the company's long-term health. Grand Slam takes place on September 21 and features several championship matches that fans won't want to miss.
Sources: News 12/YouTube, wrestlinginc.com