Tony Khan Reveals Inspirations Behind Recent Episodes of AEW Dynamite and Collision

During a recent interview with Q101, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan discussed where he’s getting inspiration for recent episodes of AEW programming, including watching older episodes of AEW TV, along with Mid-South Wrestling and Memphis.

Additionally, Khan revealed how a vintage episode of a syndicated WWE show influenced a unique transition on AEW Dynamite. Below are some highlights:

Tony Khan on Reviewing Older Episodes of AEW To Inform Current Booking Decisions

“I’ve been watching some old AEW, which is still under my umbrella, but watching some old shows of ours that I hadn’t thought about. You know, the last three Dynamites have been totally different from each other. And I have put a lot of thought into the three of them, but it’s worth mentioning, you know, you had a four-match Dynamite 3 weeks ago with a lot of story and great wrestling. And then going into the pay-per-view, for the first time, I think I’ve ever tried it, I put eight matches on a 2-hour Dynamite, and I had a plan and a flow, and I thought it was very well put together and very different from the other shows we’ve been doing. Then this past week, I had a four-match Dynamite with a lot of story, and it was different than the four-match Dynamite from two weeks ago. And these three shows flowed into each other. It’s good to do different kinds of shows. Not every show needs to be the same, and they can serve different purposes going into a pay-per-view or coming out of a pay-per-view. And I think the last three weeks of shows have flowed very well for Dynamite and Collision. And I’d be remiss not to talk about Collision here because I think the last several weeks of Collision have been excellent, too.

“And again, different types of shows, different lengths, different time slots, different structures going into a pay-per-view, coming out of a pay-per-view. But I’ve really enjoyed putting the shows together in recent weeks, and I’ve enjoyed using different formats like you said. You know, I liked it too. The eight match dynamite and people wondered how I was going to do it. You know, is there going to be a third hour or what, you know, and are you how are you going to pull this off? And we did very well. There was a there was the overrun, and the show was, in my opinion, a very strong setup to a tremendous pay-per-view that was Forbidden Door. And the Collision shows have also featured a number of different formats, a lot of great wrestling, and a lot of different wrestlers and rivalries showcased on that show. So, I’ve been watching some old AEW, but other things to answer your question.”

On Taking Inspiration From Old Mid-South Wrestling and Memphis

“And I’ve been watching, I’ve watched a number of old Mid-South shows, which I do a few times a year just to get a feel for some different studio wrestling, just some different ideas and show flow. Also Memphis, I like watching some of the Memphis shows. Just to see the unpredictability and again the flow of the show, the way that segments come together. You know, there can be creative ways to get into one segment and to go out of a segment into the next segment for transitions. A lot of what I look at are transitions. Sometimes you’ll see transitions that will surprise you in places you don’t expect them.”

On an Old Syndicated Episode of WWE TV That Influenced Him

“One episode I thought was really interesting that did have an influence on me. there was a period like at the start of 2025 which I’ve you know I’ve talked a lot about which was a very positive transition for AEW and I made some changes and you could see at the beginning like I think it was the second and third episode of 2025 that I made an abrupt call to transition into what became a very significant revisiting of a rivalry that was a huge part of 2025, which was Hangman and MJF. And ahead of their match at Revolution 2025, which of course was an important match, and Hangman picked up a great win there, which was a very important win for Hangman on his journey to the world title. But also, with Hangman and MJF later, as MJF has come back around and risen up. I watched, and you might think, well, how are these things related? And I’ll tell you, it’s just the only thing they have in common is a transition.

“And I watched an episode of Superstars of Wrestling, and most of these shows are just so paint-by-numbers, and there would be like a couple times a year where Vince [McMahon] would deviate from whatever formula that he had for these syndicated shows, and you’d be like, ‘Wow, where did this come from?’ And there’s an episode of Superstars of Wrestling where for the entire second half of the show, Bobby Heenan is handcuffed to the guard rail. And there’s transitions in this show that you’ve never seen in wrestling, including when, at one point they go they a match ends, and Bobby Heenan’s out here like he’s begging the heels for help. He’s begging the babyfaces not to beat him up in these in these matches through the flow of the show. At one point, you see them load the enhancement wrestlers for Power and Glory while Bobby Heenan’s out there. You never see them load the enhancement wrestlers. They’re just there.

“Normally, there would be, like, these guys would come and get in the ring during a commercial break or during a video package, and you’d come out of the video package, and they would just be there, and then the big star would come out. But like Heenan is handcuffed, and they’re like showing they’re making no effort to hide the enhancement wrestlers walking out to the ring to do their match with Power and Glory. And then Power and Glory came out, and here’s to show you what a wild hair Vince was on. Then Vince, on commentary, the lone commentator cuz Bobby Henan is handcuffed and Vince is doing the voiceovers by himself, points out that Hercules had been in the Bobby Henan family at one point in 1990, which was very unusual for him.

“And you see, you see, so then when you saw MJF do a promo and there was like a guy loaded in the ring in 2025, and then he goes and he kicks a guy out of the ring and he’s like, ‘Get out of here,’ and he starts talking and does his promo and then when Hangman comes out people started to realize like wait what is Hangman doing here and it’s like oh that was his enhancement wrestler that MJF kicked out of the ring and he was about to have a match, and then when he’s like get out of that started reignited their rivalry really and it was a small transition that just is something I had thought wow I’ve never seen it like that before. And I might, you know, that could be someday, I could use that transition. So, just like small transitions and things like that.”

Tony Khan presents AEW Dynamite: Beach Break later tonight. Tonight’s show features Kenny Omega challenging MJF for the AEW World Title. Tonight’s Dynamite will air live on TBS starting at 8:00 pm ET. It will also be simulcast on HBO Max.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Q101 with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.