AEW President Tony Khan Talks If He'll Be An In-Ring Performer, Being Hands On, AEW - UK

In only mere hours, AEW makes its much-anticipated debut with Double or Nothing. With a national television deal stateside, cable juggernaut TNT, major international distribution, including in the UK with ITV, Double or Nothing is an important moment for the promotion.

In the video above, AEW President Tony Khan recently spoke with Jack Whitehall on ITV Wrestling's YouTube channel. One aspect that has generated buzz is that AEW will be different than other wrestling organizations by focusing on the sport aspect of pro wrestling and that starts with the vision of the four EVPs, the talent, and the overwhelming success of All In.

"We have some of the best in-ring performers in the world, but they are also some of the best characters," Khan stated. "Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks had never done a show on television, yet they were able to draw a show with 11,000 people to suburban Chicago. Just based on word of mouth and through the love of wrestling they spread. The kind of people they brought to the show were some of the most rabid, passionate fans you will ever see. It was exciting, I was there, and it was one of the best shows I have ever been to."

Khan is a passionate wrestling fan himself and because of this he has taken a hands-on approach to the building of AEW and speaks with his team daily.

"I don't know any other way and that is why I get involved in the things I care about," Khan said. "In the case of AEW I have a close partnership with the Executive Vice Presidents (Cody, Kenny, and the Young Bucks), we talk every day. We have one of the most active group chats, we work very closely together it is a very great creative and business relationship."

In any sport, a key to getting known is international distribution and AEW has garnered several international distribution deals. According to Khan, this partnership will likely lead to AEW building in the UK.

"I would love to bring AEW to the UK in the future," Khan responded. "Nobody has had the distribution we have. To have TNT and ITV, this is the best distribution any wrestling company has had bar none. To have that on our side right now, we are definitely going to do some big shows in the UK."

Although he plans to be hands-on with AEW, he isn't going to be hands-on in the ring and take the "Mr. McMahon" route of becoming an in-ring performer.

"No, I'm not going to do that," Khan said when asked if he'd perform in the ring.

You can listen to Khan's full comments in the video above.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit ITV Wrestling with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.