5 Things That Could Be Tony Khan’s HUGE Announcement On AEW Dynamite
Tony Khan has promised to shake the earth tonight. Who emerges from the rubble?
Tony Khan is a very enthusiastic fellow, quite rightly: he has transformed the pro wrestling business with a product that is seminal at its best and is tantalisingly close to catching WWE RAW’s P18-49 demographic.
This enthusiasm however can get the best of him.
Desperate to flog a Dynamite main event when the pandemic battered ratings, he claimed that the pre-taped Jon Moxley Vs. Jake Hager match of April 15, 2020 would “go down as the best empty arena match of all time”. It didn’t. It wasn’t even the best empty arena match of the month. Every match was an empty arena match.
Khan also promised that the balance of power was shifting, in November 2020, leading to the return of PAC. PAC might be the best wrestler on earth who isn’t booked frequently in main events, but that was hyperbole. The weight of the promotional machine almost crushed Christian Cage at Revolution 2021. Khan’s enthusiasm isn’t always infectious, or even earned.
All of which is to state that he might be setting up even his ultra-ardent base up for disappointment tonight - but the man is a wrestling promoter. If the debuting act puts on a show, the hype will have been warranted. The pro wrestler is supposed to hype a new act. “Here’s the latest some guy from NXT, suddenly, here’s their music that some of you recognise” isn’t the way it should be done.
It isn’t Jeff Hardy. He’s still waiting out his 90-day no-compete.
So who is it…?
6. Here Comes The Money?
Tony Khan has excitedly tweeted about the “Forbidden Door,” which has now become a catch-all term for any new signing.
The wording is interesting; on February 5, when clarifying the new definition, Khan wrote that the Forbidden Door can be opened “for anyone from any wrestling promotion in the world, whether or not it’s a company AEW is on good terms with”. AEW is not on good terms with WWE. AEW is their biggest competitor. Khan also said “They’re also welcome to slam the door in the face of their prior company”.
Is Khan alluding here to the motherlode of shocks? Is Khan alluding here, with the wording “slam the door in the face of their prior company,” to an embittered ex-WWE star cutting a scathing, bridge-burning shoot promo on Vince McMahon?
Is…is Khan alluding here to the debut of Shane McMahon?!
Writing subjectively, Shane McMahon is the worst wrestler alive. He can’t aim a worked punch, let alone throw one, and yet he thinks he’s a hard-nut prizefighter. His character work and how it clashes against his execution is about the only thing he connects with - aside, of course, from the potatoes he throws, being so fundamentally useless at his craft. Shane McMahon: MMA ass-kicker is about as convincing an act as 2017-era Kane: lucha libre aerial artist.
But the prospect of a McMahon appearing on AEW television is simply too seismic, too compelling, to not consider.
It’s probably not happening, but the surreality aspect is surely worth giving John Silver or whoever a black eye.