Tony Khan confirmed last month that he has been running the booking side of AEW without the executive vice presidents — Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks — since late 2019. He explained in an interview with PWInsider at the time, “I felt like I needed to take over and be more accountable as the CEO and as the Booker. I was the final say, but there were probably too many different people with input on segments and this show wasn’t as organized at the end of 2019 as I thought it could be. So for the past two years, we’ve been a lot more organized and I’ve written every show by hand, which allows me to know which segments are where and I think the shows have gotten significantly better.”
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He elaborated further in a new interview with PW Torch, stating that it was much easier to book shows by himself over booking via committee.
“Around the start of 2020, the end of 2019, I moved more towards me writing the show, and I think it helped,” Khan said (h/t Wrestling Inc.) “And I think the show has been better for it. Not because everybody doesn’t have any good ideas, because they’re still contributing their ideas, that part hasn’t changed. The idea of getting everybody in a room together and trying to spitball ideas, and then three people get really into one idea and they get 10 steps down the road on it, and the other two people are like, ‘What is this?’ That’s just an example.
“But in general, I have found it much easier and more productive if I just try to organize a show at home between shows and have a good idea arriving for TV what I want to do next week. Which is why, generally, until we get pretty close to the pay-per-view, we are always announcing matches a week ahead. Then when we get closer to the pay-per-views and we are building the pay-per-views, and I am only announcing a few things as opposed to the whole card.”
AEW’s next pay-per-view, Full Gear, takes place this Saturday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Check out the full card for the show below:
- AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Dr. Britt Baker vs. Tay Conti
- AEW World Tag Team Championships: Lucha Brothers vs. FTR
- AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament: Bryan Danielson vs. Miro
- Darby Allin vs. MJF
- CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston
- The Inner Circle vs. Men of the Year & American Top Team (Minneapolis Street Fight)
- Christian Cage & Jurassic Express vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Falls Count Anywhere)
