Tony Khan Talks WBD Relationship, Kenny Omega – Stars from ROH’s Final Battle event on Friday, as well as Tony Khan, took questions following the event for media. Here is a recap:
FTR & Mark Briscoe
- Regarding the tribute match to his brother Jay, Mark Briscoe said tonight was “therapy” to him, that no shrink in the world could help him in the way Friday’s match helped him.
- When asked if they would go after the Trios titles, FTR said they would let Mark Briscoe branch out as a singles wrestler first before teaming as a trio again.
- Mark Briscoe explained how he saw the ‘Dem Boys’ tweet from one of WWE’s partner’s account, saying that it “triggered” him. He said he’s not on Twitter because he doesn’t feel it’s good for him, so he used his wife’s phone to look for a FTR tweet and found the tweet in question. He said faith in God is what is getting him through these times and he knows Jay is doing good without having to think about bills or Twitter posts.
Ethan Page
- Page was wearing a forehead bandage from his I Quit match against Tony Nese on the show.
- When asked about being in ROH instead of AEW, Page said you should elevate the place you are in or else you shouldn’t be there.
- Regarding Scorpio Sky’s appearance at the show, Page said they have a real genuine friendship now despite not knowing one another when they first teamed together and he’s happy they are back together.
- Page mentioned wrestling one of the best in the world in Kenny Omega this past Saturday. Tony Khan wished Omega the best in his recovery, with Page concurring.
Kyle Fletcher
- Khan mentioned this was Fletcher’s first singles championship in his career.
- Fletcher said wrestling as a singles is a different challenge as every idea he has is in his brain, it’s all on him. It scares him as he has no one else to blame if something goes wrong, and that it was very challenging in that aspect.
Billie Starkz
- Says she had just turned 18 when she started wrestling for Ring Of Honor. Tony Khan said it was at Universal Studios and thought she had something at that time.
- When asked about what drives her to be a wrestler at 19, Starkz said that the love for wrestling is what drives her. She mentioned that she’s lost friends and her childhood for it.
Athena
- Athena said she enters the ring like it’s her last match because after her achilles surgery, she thought she may never come back.
- When asked why she thinks she’s trusted to headline Ring of Honor shows, Athena said she didn’t know why Khan trusts her, as it’s nerve-racking to follow the kind of matches that went on at Final Battle. She says she will always deliver, however.
- “It’s very interesting,” Tony Khan said when asked about Athena returning to AEW television. He put over some of the biggest wrestlers in the world have wrestled in Ring of Honor and Athena is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now.
Tony Khan
- When asked about the speculation with Warner Bros. Discovery amid recent reports of WWE and WBD talks, Khan said he’s had “really good conversations” with WBD in recent days. He said it was a great week for AEW ratings wise and both Dynamite and Collision have been on a roll in recent weeks. Khan said that AEW stands to be in a position to grow in 2024.
- Khan said to be in AEW is to be constantly attacked. At this point, he doesn’t worry about it and just focuses on putting on great shows. He said it’s amazing how so many people in wrestling are on X/Twitter and as a result, there is a bit of an echo chamber and lots of negativity and bad faith. He brought up the turnstile count debate, saying many people didn’t go through the turnstile and that is normal in pro sports.
- He said there is a reason that people every single person that has stepped into his position has gone out of business, he’s the only one left and thanked the fans for that. He said that it’s worth the fight, he loves the fight, and he’s never going to give up the fight. He mentions people like Jim Crockett and Ted Turner and says he’s fighting for them.
- Regarding Kenny Omega, he’s glad Omega listened to his doctors and didn’t wait any longer. He’ll leave it to Omega to give updates on his health. He said there are good reasons to be very optimistic.
- When asked about Final Battle’s ticket sales, he said that to sell 2,000 tickets tonight is great for an ROH event and Final Battle was one of the biggest gates in ROH history. He said that Friday’s number was consistent with the crowds they’ve had for other ROH pay-per-views.
- Khan said he was definitely considering adding more Ring of Honor events, mentioned this was the first show exclusive on Honor Club. “Huge leap in subscribers” on Honor Club this week. He said it may make more sense for ROH shows to be on Honor Club in the future.
- When asked about the Von Erichs, he said their representative reached out to Sonjay Dutt and liked the idea of using the Von Erichs as the Dallas metroplex area is their territory, and would coincide with the release of The Iron Claw. He said they’ll be back tomorrow for Collision. He would love to use them again in the future.
Tony Khan Talks WBD Relationship, Kenny Omega
