Tony Khan Confirms Major AEW Event Will Become Yearly Tradition
AEW Owner & President Tony Khan was a special guest on Sirius XM's Hit 1 Celebrity Interviews ahead of AEW Dynamite in Long Island, New York.
Khan revealed some exciting news, that later this year, AEW Grand Slam would return to Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY following the success of the event last year. Not only that, but he also indicated that the tennis venue would regularly play host to the event each and every year.
"It was something I kind of conceived before the pandemic [booking AEW at Arthur Ashe Stadium]," Khan said. "It wasn't that sophisticated of a process. I was Googling stadiums with a roof. The last thing I'd ever want is a weather delay, and I realized one of the best stadiums was right under our nose the whole time.
"This amazing venue, Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the USTA have been so great to work with, and I'm so excited to be able to say that we're bringing Grand Slam back to New York later this year, and it's going to be a tradition."
During the interview, Tony Khan also delved into his sleeping routine, shedding some light on his busy schedule leading AEW, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Fulham FC.
"I pick my spots for everything," Tony said. "To sleep, there's nights where you travel, and you don't sleep as much. Then there's other nights, where you get a lot of sleep to catch up. So I try on Sunday, for example, when there's not a pay-per-view event and there's no NFL games during the off-season, that can be a good day to catch up on sleep."
The AEW booker also revealed that he made a play to get Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" for MJF's Dog Collar Match with CM Punk at the Revolution pay-per-view. However, the request to get the music licensed for the show was turned down.
"I really wanted to get Bette Midler's Wind Beneath My Wings for the MJF vs. CM Punk Dog Collar Match," Khan said. "They wouldn't do it. They wouldn't license it for pro wrestling. I thought it would have been an incredible thing, especially because I had a specific part of the song that I – in the backend of the second part of the song, that I thought was tremendous for a music video for CM Punk vs. MJF Dog Collar Match At Revolution. But, they didn't want to do it."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit SiriusXM's Hits 1 Celebrity Interviews with a h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.