Tony Khan Expected Negative Reaction To Lights Out Match At AEW Full Gear

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, AEW President Tony Khan said that he expected a negative reaction to the Lights Out match between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley at Full Gear, which is why it was saved for PPV. Here are highlights:

On the reaction to the Lights Out match: “I expected it and that’s why we put it on PPV. We would never do anything like this on TV. Our friends at TNT know what we’re trying to do in putting hardcore matches in the main events of PPVs. There’s gonna be two wrestlers that wanna settle it so we’re not gonna sanction it. We’re gonna turn the lights off and turn a blind eye to it and not be liable for what occurs in the ring. I think it’s a very logical thing and I’m not surprised that people are shocked. I think most people did love it. It got a huge amount of interest and it did exactly what we wanted it to do which was start a conversation. To me, I absolutely loved it.”

On the creative process for Dynamite: “We have the best production meeting in wrestling on Tuesday nights. You have myself, The Young Bucks, Cody and Kenny. We’re the lead in creative and at the end of the day, I have the final say in everything. I’m accountable with everything we do both on-screen and off. And that’s how it goes.”

On working with wrestlers vs. other athletes: “I am a wrestling person who speaks the language of a wrestling person and that makes it easy for me and everyone here,” said Khan. “At my heart I love wrestling more than anything else. People ask me if I get nervous and I get a lot more nervous before a Jaguars or Fulham game. But I get more excited and have more fun at AEW than anything else. The shows are fun and we have fun doing them. We don’t just have fun putting them on as we have fun putting them together. I love that process and it’s really special to me.”