Tony Khan On Saving Thunder Rosa's Championship Victory For AEW Dynamite
AEW Owner and President, Tony Khan, joined SiriusXM's Busted Open Radio to recap Wednesday night's St. Patrick's Day Slam episode of Dynamite.
At the event, Thunder Rosa, in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas, captured the AEW Women's World Championship by defeating Dr Britt Baker, D.M.D in a Steel Cage Match. Tony expressed his delight at the match and said it was a fitting moment for the Mexican-American wrestler.
"It was incredible," Khan said. "I thought it was very fitting that one year after the original St. Patrick's Day Slam, which won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match of the Year, and Dave [LeGreca], I know you spoke about it as your pick for Match of the Year also last year. To come back this year at St. Partick's Day Slam with a Steel Cage Match in Thunder Rosa's hometown San Antonio, I thought it was such an incredible way for Thunder Rosa to win the championship for the first time.
"It was a great milestone to have the first Mexican-American women's World Champion ever in AEW, in Thunder Rosa, crowned in her hometown. I thought it was so cool. The entrance was her idea with the mariachi band. She asked me about it after the pay-per-view, I thought it was awesome and I was just really excited about this match, and I thought it was such a great way to thank the fans, and it was a great way for AEW to come to San Antonio."
Tony Khan also noted that the St. Patrick's Day Slam has become a special part of the AEW calendar, and disclosed more viewers tuned in compared to last year.
"I also thought it was so perfect to be able to schedule the St. Patrick's Day Slam, and book such an awesome venue as the Freeman Coliseum," Tony said. "It's a great wrestling building, and we ended up having an awesome sell-out crowd. So, it was an awesome moment for Thunder Rosa, and I just thought it would be a great chance to create a special moment for the wrestling fans too.
"It was a very memorable end to Dynamite, and I think we've really built the St. Patrick's Day Slam now into a special event. The viewership was way up from last year, so I was really happy, there were over 200,000 more people watching it live, just in America alone."
Despite Dr Britt Baker, D.M.D's 290-day reign as AEW Women's World Champion coming to an end, the AEW President had much praise for her title reign overall.
"I think the other thing, in addition to celebrating what a win it was for Thunder Rosa the new champion, is, to talk about what an amazing champion Britt Baker was, I think for almost ten months as the champ," Tony Khan said. "She had so many great defences. Some of the biggest shows we've had were main-evented by Britt Baker defending the World Title. Like, the AEW Grand Slam, which is still the biggest TV show we've really done since we went back on tour. And the first-ever Battle of the Belts. The first-ever episode of AEW Rampage in her hometown beating Red Velvet.
"So many special moments, of course, the original St. Patrick's Day Slam a year ago was a great match, but it wasn't a sanctioned match and Britt went on not long after to win the championship, and it was one of the best title reigns we've had in our three-year history."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit SiriusXM's Busted Open Radio with an h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.