Tony Khan says he wants AEW wrestlers to have opportunities outside of the business, and if they aren’t detrimental to the company, he tries to be accommodating.
In recent months, several AEW stars have landed opportunities in other non-wrestling roles. Among other examples, Samoa Joe was cast as Sweet Tooth in the Twisted Metal series on Peacock. Plus, Swerve Strickland continues to build his music career; he was recently featured in a new song by Anthiny King.
During the AEW Revolution media call, Khan was asked to share his thoughts on AEW talent getting opportunities elsewhere. He stated that the company works with the wrestlers and aims to accommodate them if the opportunities don’t hurt AEW.
“We work with the wrestlers in AEW anytime they have a big opportunity. If people come to us and say this is going to be good for us, and it doesn’t even have to be great for the company, as long as it’s not going to hurt the company if it’s going to be good for them. I want people to have these opportunities and take advantage of them. I want a happy roster, and as long as it’s not going to hurt AEW, I want to try and facilitate that. So when people have opportunities in film, television or other media, if it’s not going to affect the storylines of the TV in a major detrimental way. Then, of course, we always want to try and accommodate those things when possible.
Khan then noted that some people have come to AEW because they want the opportunity to explore opportunities outside of wrestling, and they didn’t have the freedom to do so elsewhere. He stated that AEW has set itself apart by being an accommodating place to work.
“We’ve had people come into AEW, and that was one of the reasons they really wanted to come here is there are other opportunities in wrestling, and they weren’t given that kind of freedom for outside projects,” Khan said. “I think that’s one of the things where we’ve set ourselves apart as being a very accommodating place to come and wrestle.”
AEW: All Access, AEW’s new reality show, will premiere on March 29. More information is available here.
On March 5, AEW will present its first pay-per-view of 2023, AEW Revolution. WrestleZone will have coverage of the show as it airs.
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