AEW President Tony Khan was on a call with the media today ahead of Friday night’s ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view event.
Khan refused to talk about CM Punk on this call, but he did have plenty to say about his decision to release multiple wrestlers from AEW earlier this week.
Khan made it clear that these roster decisions weren’t about reducing the company’s budget. In fact, he intends to sign even more big name free agents this year, and he’s building up a war chest to do so:
“Any time we have to let someone go, it’s a tough call. We’ve expanded the company greatly this year, and I can tell you that I definitely plan to continue this expansion. I think we’ve built the best roster in wrestling, and I have no intention of stopping. I am gonna keep the foot on the gas pedal. We are gonna keep going after top talent, and to do so, we need a war chest, and it’s important to keep an eye on the budget.
…I’m actually expanding our budget this year, growing it. But to do so, I did have to make some cuts because we’re growing the company a lot this year. I’m gonna be very aggressive when it comes to the big name free agents for the rest of the year, as we already have been in the first quarter of the year, adding big names like Kazuchika Okada, Mercedes Mone, and Will Ospreay.”
It sounds like Khan’s decision to fire The Boys (Brandon & Brent Tate) was not because of this free agent war chest.
“They didn’t show up for work on more than one occasion, and it’s not acceptable. I think the whole locker room knew about it, and you can’t do that. And that’s it. And that’s why I had to make a tough call.”
Anthony Henry was cut while sitting on the sidelines after breaking his jaw at an independent show. Khan said it’s a “gray area” when talent get injured while working outside of AEW / ROH, but after thinking about it further, he’s decided to bring Henry back when he’s recovered:
“Any time anybody gets injured [in AEW or ROH] I feel responsible, and when it happens on the independents, it’s a challenging gray area. I’ve had a little bit of time to reflect and think about it. Anthony’s gonna be healing up soon, and I’ve thought about it, and Anthony’s gonna come back to AEW and ROH when he’s cleared, which is gonna be pretty soon. I think we’ve worked something good out, so I’d like to have Anthony back in AEW / ROH.”
What do you make of Khan’s logic behind cutting several AEW talent this week? Will he have to fire more wrestlers to keep building up that war chest? It is possible that he could land a Becky Lynch or Goldberg Drew McIntyre if their WWE contracts expire and they become free agents in the coming months?
Let me know what you think in the comments below, Cagesiders.
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