Tony Khan addressed Adam Cole’s status at the AEW All In: Texas post-show.
Jon Alba asked about Cole, noting that it was a sensitive issue.
Khan said Cole was a great wrestler and a great human being. He said they had a hard discussion.
He noted that everything was in place as recently as Friday night for the Cole/Fletcher match to go ahead.
Khan added:
Somewhere between late last night and early this morning, let’s say early this morning, we talked, and he just wasn’t feeling well. And that’s the unpredictable nature of some of these kinds of injuries. And I think it’s really important Adam Cole takes the time to get right because he’s a great figure in AEW.
Asked about the possibility of visiting Latin American markets, such as Chile, Khan said they were always looking at new markets but highlighted the success of Grand Slam: Mexico. He added that they were keen to return to Arena Mexico.
He said that he did not know the Max streaming numbers for that event, but was convinced that they had to be among the strongest AEW had done.
Khan then spoke at great length about his appreciation of lucha libre and the luchadores within AEW.
Asked about the possibility of women’s tag team titles, Khan spoke up the women’s division and the ability to put on a match like the Casino Gauntlet, even with a few injuries. He said he was interested in a women’s tag division but wanted “some stability.”
On the rules regarding the winners of the Casino Gauntlet matches, he said he would be providing more clarity soon. Khan said it would be safe to say that the challengers had earned “some say” in when they get their title shots.
Earlier, at the beginning of the presser, Tony Khan briefly stated that he did not know the pay-per-view buy total yet, but that the early buys were “ahead of anything we’ve had.”
He then introduced a series of roster members.
Dustin Rhodes
Among other things, Rhodes said:
There’s so many people in the business that do a lot of bad things in my view, and they get pushed through the moon. And it’s not fair for somebody that works their ass off each week. But to finally do this now, my work has paid off and I’m very proud of myself. I’m very proud that we always kick ass on pay-per-views. Nobody can touch us. Nobody.
Kazuchika Okada and Don Callis
Okada entered with his new AEW Unified Championship, as well as the Continental Title and the International Championship.
Callis, fully in character, talked about Okada wrestling a “flawless strategy” and how they had put Okada “down for good.”
Okada himself spoke only briefly, telling Kenny to “get well soon.”
Tony Khan said that there would not be outside interference in future AEW Unified Championship defenses, which would carry forward the Continental Classic rules.
‘Timeless’ Toni Storm
As usual for these events, Storm was fully in character. She had a list of people to thank and one of people to tell, “go f—k yourself”. Wendi Richter and her mother made the second list.
She ended her segment by carrying Renee Raquette out of the press room because she liked her pants.
Athena
Athena mentioned that she hadn’t wrestled so much back-to-back since spending time in Japan. She said that AEW now stood for ‘Athena Elite Wrestling’.
She told Toni Storm, “I am forever,” and had been the best wrestler for years.
During this segment, Tony Khan stated that there were “close to 29,000” in attendance and noted that the actual number might be closer to 30,000 when the full walk-up count was tallied.
‘Hangman’ Adam Page
Khan asked Page if he was okay, to which he immediately answered, “No.”
He said it had been an incredible journey over six years, and he never could have imagined what AEW could have become. He added he was “so proud of that.”
Page said, with this title reign, he had high expectations for himself, knowing what it’s like to have held the title previously.
He said it was impossible to get into the headspace for a Texas Death Match until you’re physically in it.
