Tony Khan Says Viral Photo Did Not Leak the AEW Full Gear 2021 Card
Earlier this week it looked like AEW president Tony Khan might have accidentally leaked most of the card for All Elite Wrestling's final pay-per-view of the year, Full Gear. Not long after he confirmed Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page would be the show's main event a photo from the Associated Press started floating around social media showing Khan with his arms folded and a notepad in his hands while he stood on the sidelines of a Tennessee Titans game. Fans zoomed in on the notepad and noticed it had various matches listed for Full Gear with Omega vs. Page at the top.
Other matches included Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley, The Inner Circle vs. American Top Team, MJF vs. Darby Allin, CM Punk vs. Wardlow, Christian Cage vs. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express. Other names like Thunder Rosa, Jade Cargill, Britt Baker, The Lucha Brothers, Cody Rhodes, Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo and Miro were also visible. Khan then appeared on Busted Open Radio and denied that the matches listed were the official card.
"I was doodling on my notebook and I saw a lot of people took notice of the notes in my notebook, which is pretty amazing because when you're walking around with full notes, you never think photographers are going to capture the small writing you've written down," Khan said (h/t The Sportster). "I'm glad it wasn't anything more personal."
"It's funny that people run with assumptions on the internet these days. I've seen all these people jumping to conclusions that, 'oh, that must be the Full Gear card.' It is true, I announced that Kenny vs. Hangman is the main event that we've all been waiting for with Full Gear, it's going to be a huge pay-per-view, it is absolutely (booked). I just have notes and have been messing around with different ideas and playing around with stuff," he added. "You can even see, it's scratching around and written in pencil and been erased. I think it's pretty fortunate because it's gotten a ton of buzz and has gotten people wondering and people should be wondering. It creates more speculation and now I'll leave you with more questions than answers."
It's worth noting that since that interview dropped AEW has potentially set up the Danielson vs. Moxley match by placing the two on opposite ends of the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament, which will have its finals at Full Gear. Do you buy Khan's explanation, or will most of the matches on that notepad wind up happening at next month's event in Minneapolis? Let us know in the comments below!