Tony Khan On Criticism Of the Lack of Build on AEW TV, Using Open Challenges

Tony Khan has seen some of the criticism of AEW’s building of storylines, and he recently responded to those critiques. On the latest episode of Busted Open Radio, Khan was asked about criticism of the amount of low-build matches that he’s booked including things like open challenges. You can check out highlights from his comments below, per Wrestling Inc:

On criticism from wrestling fans about the build of AEW shows: “I see some of the stuff people say — and I always want to take anything in good faith from the fans — but I do see a lot of people, adjacent to the WWE, in bad faith talking about the level of build. Well, there’s a lot of build around a lot of these matches, and it’s also, go back and watch an old wrestling show from the 80s or 90s, and sometimes you’ll see two wrestlers wrestling for a spot, wrestling for the win, winner’s purse.”

On his use of open challenges on AEW TV: “That is a trope in wrestling that needs to continue to be a thing. You can call it a cold match if you want, but sometimes things start out of new issues. Not everything is going to have weeks or months of build going into it, although a lot of stuff should.”

On the amount of build he’s had for some storylines: “There’s been a lot of build to a lot of this stuff. And, if people have been telling me there hasn’t, they’re completely full of s**t, or they’re just not paying attention.”