Tony Khan has looked back on his time as the owner of AEW, admitting that one decision has “by far” been his biggest regret so far.
Since launching back in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has gone through multiple highs and lows as the alternative wrestling promotion to worldwide leader WWE. While the company has put on a number of all-time great matches in its short history and has seen many moments divide fans’ opinions, especially the more violent ones, there is one decision Khan made that is easily his biggest regret.
When asked the question on Barstool Sports’ My Mom’s Basement podcast, Khan stated that not featuring Jay Briscoe on AEW TV before his death in 2023 is at the top of the list. Khan added that he fought to get Briscoe on TV, but network TNT would not allow it:
“I fought really hard to get Jay Briscoe on the show,” Khan said. “There were multiple times where Mark and Jay Briscoe came to Dynamite and didn’t do anything. And they just came and I brought them, and I was trying to — I kept pulling moves. It was a different time. It was a different management, it wasn’t Mr. [David] Zaslav. I could have now literally gone to him.
“I fought really, really hard to get Jay Briscoe on the show, but I really wish I’d been able to have Jay Briscoe on Dynamite just one time. And he came to the show many times. That’s my biggest regret by far.”
Briscoe was banned from appearing on TV due to homophobic comments he made on social media back in 2013. Despite the fact that Jay Briscoe had repeatedly apologised for the comments he made, he was never allowed on AEW programming. Following Briscoe’s death, Jay’s brother Mark has been regularly featured on AEW TV, competing in the main event of the August 6 edition of Dynamite.
Tony Khan Names Best Decision Since Starting AEW
Also in the interview, Khan was asked about the best decision he had made since starting the pro wrestling promotion. Praising his relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery and the decision to stick with them as part of the new media, Khan named this as the best decision:
“I think the best decision since starting AEW was sticking with our great partners at Warner Bros. Discovery,” Khan said. “We’ve got a great thing. And we were able to build it and grow it. You know, I want to continue and we are continuing [to grow]. We’ve got TBS every Wednesday and TNT every Saturday…
“But this year we really expanded it [with the HBO Max simulcast] and we’ve been able to reach a new audience. A lot of fans, and particularly skewing younger with a younger audience, are primarily watching streaming. And HBO Max is one of the best streamers. We didn’t have that until this year. So that’s huge, and I think that’s been absolutely fantastic. That partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery has been a lifeblood of AEW.”
H/t to F4WOnline for the use of transcriptions.
Featured image: AEW
