AEW: Tony Khan on Deal for Final Countdown, Harley Cameron Reportedly Signed Contract, More News

Tony Khan Comments on Getting Deal for Final Countdown for Forbidden Door II

A recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast featured AEW CEO Tony Khan as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts about AEW getting the rights to use “Final Countdown” by Europa for Bryan Danielson’s entrance at this past Sunday’s AEW and NJPW Forbidden Door II event.

“Well we were negotiating for years (to get Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’), trying to get the deal done and this is the best rate I ever got recently and it was something I felt would add to the presentation of Forbidden Door and Bryan-Okada is one of those special matches and anything I could do to add to the presentation and make the night more special, I really wanted to do so, that’s what led to The Final Countdown at Forbidden Door this past weekend as part of the great event.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

---

Harley Cameron Reportedly Signed to Contract with AEW

Harley Cameron reportedly recently signed an official contract with AEW, according to Fightful Select.

It was reported that their sources stated that Cameron’s contract with AEW is a full-time type deal although it is currently not known when she had actually signed the contract beyond she has not wrestled since her signing.

Prior to her signing, Cameron has made several appearances for AEW since her official debut this past December. Cameron is currently working as a member of QT Marshall’s QTV stable.

---

AEW News & Notes

As noted before, Trench and Parker Boudreaux have been absent from AEW since this past February and March respectively due to both suffering unknown injuries. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW officials currently do not have any creative plans for Trench and Boudreaux’s returns from injuries to the company.

THQ Nordic recently released a FAQ for the AEW Fight Forever video game revealing that the game does not feature cross-play support for online multiplayer between consoles and they were still working on getting the game to be Steam Deck certified.

As noted before, AEW recently fired producer BJ Whitmer following his arrest over a domestic violence incident earlier this month. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW had actually fired Whitmer before the initial report of his arrest had been made public and while he was in jail over the incident.

This past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Hamilton, Canada featured Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland and Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin officially announced as the next set of official teams for AEW’s Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament. It was also announced that Lee & Strickland will be facing off against Cassidy & Allin in a First Round match for the upcoming tournament at the July 5th Dynamite show in Edmonton, Canada.

Besides Britt Baker, Max Caster reportedly was also pulled from this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Hamilton due to him recently suffering an illness, according to PWInsider. Caster was also pulled from his scheduled appearance for Beyond Wrestling’s Wrestling Open event on Thursday in Worcester, Massachusetts due to his illness as well.

AEW officials reportedly have tentatively planned out some of their top storylines through this August’s All Out 2023 event, according to Fightful Select.

AEW Director of PPVs Tim Walbert reportedly recently left the company, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Walbert had departed from AEW at some point over the last week or two. Johnson also reported that it the reason for Walbert’s departure is currently not known nor his plans for the future of his career in wrestling.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that the Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship was something that was meticulously planned out by both Omega and Ospreay. Those spoken to reportedly stated that Omega and Ospreay had recieved a standing ovation and praise from their peers when they returned backstage from their match. In regards to potential injuries, it was reported that Omega had told others backstage that he was feeling fine after the match despite some concerns over some of the spots done.

As noted before, Adam Cole was pulled from this past Sunday’s AEW and NJPW Forbidden Door II event in Toronto, Canada due to an illness and causing his match with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor to be canceled as a result. In a recent episode of the Wrestling Observer Live podcast, Lawlor gave his thoughts about being hopeful of having a match with Cole in AEW in the future. Lawlor stated “I hope Adam Cole recovers from whatever affliction he’s suffering from. I hope it’s not the flu. I hope it’s something less like that… I hope he recovers, I hope we can get that match done in the future but I’ve got a lot of things on my plate coming up and quite frankly, I don’t know when it’s gonna go down so…” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)