When Bryan Danielson announced that 2024 was going to be his last year as a full-time in-ring wrestler, the person who seemingly took it the hardest was Tony Khan, his boss in AEW and seemingly fast friend.
Discussing Danielson's future in AEW in an interview with CBS Sports, TK noted that while he loves working with the “American Dragon” as a booker, he enjoys working with him just as much, if not even more, behind the scenes as they have become incredibly close since his debut in 2021.
“I would like Bryan to stay, in a perfect world, forever here in whatever capacity he'd stay with us in. I'd hope that Bryan would finish his wrestling career here. I would do anything to make that happen. I want Bryan to stay with us wrestling as long as possible. I know that he's talked about an exit from full-time wrestling, which is what he's been doing this year whenever he's been healthy,” Tony Khan told CBS Sports.
“The only thing better than that is to have Bryan Danielson stepping up for the company, AEW, and fighting on our behalf. He's said a lot of great things about why he wants to be in this match and about why he wanted to come to AEW. I appreciate some of the complimentary things he's said about me personally, but especially I appreciate the things he's said about AEW and what we do here, and why he loves AEW. I think Bryan Danielson fits on AEW like a glove. As long as he will consider wrestling with us, that door is always open. I would bend over backwards for him and do anything for Bryan Danielson.”
Asked if Danielson could remain a member of the greater AEW family even after his time as a full-time in-ring wrestler comes to an end, Khan noted he certainly hopes so, as he would like to remain friends with the “American Dragon” for the rest of his life.
“I definitely think so. I hope so. I don't know whether he'll be wrestling full-time after that, but I really hope Bryan will stay with me here in the office forever,” Khan noted. “I talk to Bryan pretty much every day whenever I can. So I hope that will continue for the rest of our lives.”
While it's unfortunate that Danielson wants to call it a full-time career at this stage of the game, it's nice to know that TK firmly intends to keep him in the fold moving forward, as even in a limited capacity, a few “American Dragon” matches a year outside of his work-from-home creative contributions is way better than no matches at all.
Tony Khan wants to add another belt to AEW's ranks.
After finishing up his responsibilities behind the scenes at AEW Double or Nothing, Tony Khan addressed reporters about all things AEW, including some outside the box ideas for the future.
One such idea? Adding another belt for AEW talents to wrestle for, only this one would be very different from anything AEW, WWE, or any major promotion in America does today.
“We’ve talked a lot about potential additions in terms of championships. Right now, we have strong rivalries emerging. We’re still trying to build the depth back to the strongest it’s ever been. There was a point, All Out 2021, where I was coaching the Casino Battle Royal, and we had 21 women in that battle royale and a great Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander championship match,” Tony Khan told reporters via Fightful. “That was, top to bottom, up until now, the deepest the division has ever been. A lot of great people in that match have been out or injured. We’re going to keep getting depth back and getting the division stronger. Those are interesting championships, I also think something different we could do here, that I have interest in, would be mixed tag team championships. I think a lot of people would be interested in that too. That’s different than what other major promotions have, and I think it would set AEW apart. I’m interested in mixed tag team championships.”
On paper, it would be a very unusual call to debut a Mixed Tag Team Championship before a Women's Tag Team Championship, especially considering there aren't many man-women pairings in AEW, and the rare exceptions could theoretically wrestle for the men's Tag Team Championship belt if they so wanted to. Still, if it gets more female stars on television and allows for more interesting storylines, why not give it a shot, as AEW is always better off when they run more storylines, as opposed to focusing on the same few guys week-in and week-out.
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