Tony Khan On Reuniting Adam Cole, Bobby Fish And Kyle O'Reilly In AEW
AEW President Tony Khan recently sat down for an in-depth conversation about the state of All Elite Wrestling with PWInsider. Khan shared his mindset when it came to the multiple new additions to the AEW Roster in 2021, including stars like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Adam Cole.
"I can't overstate how important it was to expand the roster this year. At the beginning of the year, I promised things were going to change in wrestling. There would be huge acquisitions and we delivered on that. And the biggest free agent names in wrestling this year came to AEW when CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Ruby Soho, Thunder Rosa, Andrade el Idolo, Malakai Black, and many other big-name free agents joined AEW this year. And I'm really excited about the changes to our roster.
"I think the new people have stepped in at the perfect time for us. And really this is one of the best times ever to become an AEW fan for somebody seeking out wrestling to watch," Tony continued. "I think we put on great wrestling shows every week and it's what's allowed us to keep Dynamite so strong now for a few years and allowed us to launch a new show Rampage with the buzz around wrestling and how great the wrestling business has done in 2021."
The most recent star to debut in AEW during last week's Dynamite episode, Kyle O'Reilly, is someone Tony Khan didn't foresee signing at the start of the year. Nevertheless, he thinks reuniting the Undisputed Era in AEW is going to be an unforgettable moment for fans.
"I'm very excited about Kyle joining AEW. I'm excited that Kyle debuts this week on Dynamite. It's a huge match, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly debuting as a trio in AEW against another one of the top trios in AEW, Orange Cassidy, Trent, and Chuck the best friends. It's a dream match for a lot of our fans," Tony explained. "It's also something that I had no idea would be possible at the start of the year. It is absolutely a dream come true to reunite Cole, Fish and O'Reilly in AEW and I think it's very fitting that they debut as a trio, and that Kyle O'Reilly makes his AEW debut, period, in Daily's Place this week, on the last show of the year.
"I think this show is going to have a really surreal feeling. I don't want to compare it to some of the other surreal nights in pro wrestling and you had that feeling that history was being made, but I do think after all the great shows we've seen in Daily's Place, this will be a really special moment when we see Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O' Reilly, and a number of the other three agents who joined AEW recently like CM Punk, and Bryan Danielson, and Ruby Soho, and many others making their first appearance in Daily's Place," he added. "I think it'll be surreal and it'll just be a really cool moment. I don't think anybody at the start of the year expected they were going to see CM Punk and Bryan Danielson appearing on Dynamite in Daily's Place. But here we are, it's the end of the year and that's exactly where you're going to see him this week. So I think it's very, very cool."