Anarchy in the Arena: Tony Khan Teases "A Lot" of Stars Wanted to Be Team AEW's Fourth Man

AEW Double or Nothing goes down this Sunday, May 26th.

By Liam Crowley

All Elite Wrestling's biggest storyline to date comes to a head this Sunday. AEW Double or Nothing will see a unit of FTR, Bryan Danielson, and Darby Allin represent AEW in a clash with The Elite in Anarchy in the Arena. This match was conjured up as a way for AEW stars to push back against The Elite's authoritarian takeover of the company, as Jack Perry and the Young Bucks had unleashed an attack on AEW President Tony Khan last month and used their Executive Vice President power to seize control of AEW operations as a result. Team AEW's original fourth man, Eddie Kingston, suffered a leg injury during a NJPW show and was forced to pull out of the bout, leading Allin to fill in just days later.

Allin's involvement is a bit of a miracle. The former AEW TNT Champion broke his foot just this past March and suffered facial injuries after being hit by a bus in April.

TONY-KHAN-AEW-BRYAN-DANIELSON
(Photo: AEW)

Responding to a question from ComicBook's Liam Crowley during the AEW Double or Nothing media call, AEW President Tony Khan shared the story about how Darby Allin's return came to be.

"I reached out to him one night and I think he read my mind," Khan said. "I texted him to ask, 'Hey, how are you doing? How's it going with the injury?' He responded immediately. 'I'm doing good. I can fill in and substitute for Eddie Kingston as the partner on team AEW for Anarchy in the Arena if you'd like.' I think he knew what I was thinking."

Allin was only cleared for the match just a couple of days ago. Had he not been given the green light, Khan teased that there were numerous stars ready to represent AEW should Team AEW need more members.

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"There were a lot of people that wanted to step up and be a part of Team AEW. There were a lot of names I think that would have been great," Khan continued. "There are a lot of people that could have stepped into this role and done excellent with it. Looking at where we were last week and taking everything into account, I think Darby Allin was the perfect choice. If he had not gotten cleared, I would not have pushed him in there."

AEW Double or Nothing goes down this Sunday, May 26th.

AEW Double or Nothing Card

  • AEW World Championship: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Christian Cage
  • AEW TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Mercedes Moné
  • Anarchy in the Arena: The Elite (The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada, Jack Perry) vs. Team AEW (FTR, Bryan Danielson, Darby Allin)
  • AEW TNT Championship – Barbed Wire Cage Match: Adam Copeland (c) vs. Malakai Black
  • AEW Women's Championship: "Timeless" Toni Storm (c) vs. Serena Deeb
  • AEW International Championship: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Will Ospreay
  • Unified Trios Championships: Bullet Club Gold (c) vs. Death Triangle
  • FTW Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. HOOK vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  • Trent Beretta vs. Orange Cassidy
  • IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

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