AEW Double or Nothing 2021 Post-Media Scrum: Tony Khan on Lio Rush, Mark Henry, NJPW, & More

AEW CEO Tony Khan held a post-show media scrum following this past Sunday’s Double or Nothing 2021 event to discuss a variety of AEW-related topics.

On the topic of Lio Rush’s surprise appearance, Khan stated that Rush agreed to a handshake deal to work AEW dates and expects him to continue working for New Japan Pro Wrestling for their Strong television series.

On the topic of his promo about the recent rumors of WWE and NJPW being in talks for a partnership, Khan stated that he first talked to NJPW officials over the idea of giving the promo. Khan stated:

“I talked to New Japan and I asked them if they thought it would be a good idea and a good promo. They thought it was great and I thought it would be a great promo. It made sense. It was a big weekend for us and it’s true, we have a lot of stuff going with New Japan. Everyone is welcome to talk to each other and we’ve done some great stuff with New Japan just in the last few weeks and I think we’re going to do a lot of great things going forward with everything we’ve talked about and agreed to. I’m excited about it.”

On the topic of Mark Henry joining AEW, Khan stated that he is friends with Henry and Henry had contacted him saying that he was available for work and could do things that would be really interesting for the company.

“Mark Henry and I are friends. Mark told me he was available and to do things that I would be really interested in doing. I thought that would be really interesting because he’s not only a good friend but a really respected person in the wrestling business. A great wrestler, a great mind, a great scout, and a great analyst in wrestling. He gives his opinions on the radio, but he provides great scouting reports and he really has helped mentor a lot of wrestlers in addition to being a great wrestling mind. I think he could be not only a great on-air personality but a great backstage influence. He’s a great friend and person, so it’s just great to have Mark in the AEW family, and it was great to announce it on such a special show.”

On the topic of former AEW Spanish commentator Willie Urbina mocking Hikaru Shida’s accent, Khan stated that he apologized to Shida after he found out about the incident from this past Friday’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

On the topic of AEW Dark and AEW Dark Elevation, Khan stated that both shows will have changes made to their format and runtime length once the company resumes touring this July.

On the topic of Don Callis’ status in AEW, Khan stated that he currently considers Callis to be an important member of AEW’s team since he has been helping weekly behind the scenes for Dynamite tapings and Kenny Omeg’a segments for shows.

Full video of Tony Khan’s AEW Double or Nothing 2021 post-show media scrum:

Source: F4WOnline, Fightful 1, & 2

Transcript h/t: Fightful 1 & 2