AEW President Tony Khan addressed several topics following AEW WrestleDream, including significant technical failures with the Amazon Prime Video pay-per-view stream.
He also talked about the return of Sting in the main event, and the absence of Bryan Danielson from the commentary desk.
During the media scrum, Khan also discussed the status of AEW’s partnership with NJPW and the implications of Konosuke Takeshita holding the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Amazon Prime Streaming Failure
When asked about the pay-per-view feed on Amazon Prime going out multiple times, including during the main event, Khan confirmed he was aware of the situation. He stated it was a “technical problem with the Amazon delivery” and was “something out of AEW’s control”.
Khan clarified that other streams, including HBO Max, were unaffected. He compared the incident to a similar problem that affected the ROH Death Before Dishonor event earlier in the year.
“It does remind me to some extent of what happened earlier this summer with Death Before Dishonor… I thought the show was perfect… and there was just this technical thing completely out of our control with a streaming provider,” Khan said.
He noted that the replay will be available for subscribers and that Amazon would have to address the issue. “Since I don’t own Amazon Prime, some of that’s out of my control,” he added.
Sting’s Return to Aid Darby Allin
Khan commented on Sting’s appearance in the main event, his first on AEW programming since his retirement match at Revolution. He clarified that Sting is “still a huge part of AEW” and the “family”.
He explained the return was based on Sting’s genuine, close bond with Darby Allin.
“He was always open to returning to AEW especially if Darby ever needed anything,” Khan said. “It is a really close bond; those two are very close.”
Bryan Danielson’s Absence Explained
Regarding Bryan Danielson’s absence from the commentary table, Khan explained it was a combination of factors. He confirmed Danielson had a family commitment, but also noted the nature of the main event played a role.
Khan stated it “made sense given what was happening with the main event.” Weaving storyline into his answer, he added: “It would have been really, really hard for Bryan to restrain himself” while watching Darby Allin in that position against Jon Moxley.”
“I told him, ‘Hey, if you have a family thing, tonight’s probably the night to go… because I don’t want to put you in a position where you might be risking your job if you get up from the desk and interfere in this match,'” Khan said.
NJPW Partnership and Takeshita’s IWGP Title Win
Khan was asked about the future of AEW’s partnership with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, including the status of IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita and the possibility of another joint show during Wrestle Kingdom weekend.
He appeared to rule out a joint event similar to last year’s Wrestle Dynasty, noting that NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom will be “more focused on one event” this year, namely Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement.
Regarding Takeshita, Khan emphasized that the new IWGP champion is an AEW talent. “Make no mistake, Takeshita is an AEW wrestler, he’s an AEW guy, and we’re all really, really proud of him”. He praised Takeshita’s journey from debuting on AEW Dark: Elevation to winning a world title, calling it “a really, really cool thing”.
Khan also pointed to the “very noticeable” animosity between Takeshita and his tag team partner Kazuchika Okada during their match at WrestleDream.
Praise for St. Louis
Khan opened the press conference with high praise for St. Louis, calling it a “worldwide mecca of pro wrestling”. He noted it was an honor to have Charlie Thesz, the wife of Lou Thesz, in attendance.
“She came back and saw me backstage after watching the show… she said she was blown away, she was so impressed, and it was really, really high praise,” Khan shared.
