Tony Khan on Mariah May has Become One of “Biggest Stars in Wrestling” & RJ City’s Impact on May vs. Toni Storm Storyline

Sports Illustrated held a recent interview with AEW CEO Tony Khan. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts about the process that led to Mariah May’s signing with AEW.

“I reached out and said I had this idea for her in AEW, and that it was a long-term plan. She responded to me that night, and that’s how it all started.”

Khan also gave his thoughts about how a talk he had with Bryan Danielson about May’s work in Stardom led to his decision on wanting to bring May to AEW.

“Bryan Danielson and I were flying home from Double or Nothing, and we were talking about wrestling and what stuck out to us, and Bryan asked, ‘Have you seen Mariah?’ I said I had, and that I was amazed at how, very quickly, she’d become one of the top stars in Stardom. We both agreed she was very polished and charismatic. That’s when I asked Bryan if he’d seen All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard.”

Khan also gave his thoughts about how a talk he had with Toni Storm about his plans for a storyline for May inspired by the classic All About Eve film led to the “Timeless” Toni Storm character.

“I went to Toni Storm and suggested these movies–All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard–because she had that larger-than-life persona like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard and Bette Davis in All About Eve,” said Khan. “That is ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm. She’s that starlet, with that presence–backstage, in the ring, out of the ring–of one of those rare old Hollywood stars. This is the role Toni was born to play, and she is absolutely incredible at it.”

Khan also gave his thoughts about RJ City being his “right hand man” and the impact he has had on the development of the May vs. Storm feud storyline.

“My right hand in all of this is RJ. He was the only person in the office who’d seen All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, and he understood old Hollywood and the old movies. He’s been so valuable and tremendous throughout this process. He has a great aptitude for wrestling, and he was also able to use these movies for inspiration.”

Khan also gave his thoughts about May’s work in AEW and his belief that she has become one of the biggest stars currently in wrestling.

“I saw something in her, and I asked her to do something very different when she came to AEW. There was even some backlash at the beginning when people were pushing back that she came into AEW as this big fan of Toni Storm, which was very different from what she was doing in Stardom. Now we’re going to learn how and why she did all this, and how she became one of the biggest stars in wrestling in less than a year in AEW.”