Towers of Power
A Pro Wrestling Podcast hosted by three friends who love professional wrestling and sports entertainment. They will be reviewing current wrestling product, fantasy booking and sharing personal stories from attending numerous wrestling shows.
Towers of Power
Tony Khan joins our show!!!!
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AEW CEO Tony Khan joins our show to talk about coming to San Diego, why did Mick Foley really join AEW, Are we seeing a double or nothing in SoCal, and what advice he has for others.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's just here, and you're listening to the Towers of Power Pro Wrestling Podcast. Please welcome your host, Gary. Brian and future superstars.
SPEAKER_03Alright, we are back with another episode of the Towers of Power, a Pro Wrestling Podcast. I am Hollywood Chris, and joining me right now is Gary, as he does each and every week. Brian is not a good one. I don't know where Brian is. One day he'll come back. But we we are joined today by a very, very special guest. He is the face of AEW. He is not only that, but he is the head booker. He's the CEO and the owner. I cannot believe he is joining our show for the very first time. We've had the pleasure of talking to him one-on-one in the Scrums, but now he sits down with us today exclusively on our podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the one, the only, Mr. Tony Khan. How are you?
SPEAKER_01I am very well. It's great to see you guys, and I really appreciate you having me on to talk today.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Well, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. We are talking about AEW, Dynamite, and Collision coming to San Diego. This is the biggest wrestling podcast in San Diego, so thank you so much for doing it. And tomorrow night, if you're listening to this podcast, tomorrow night, July 1st, they're gonna be at Viejas Arena right there, San Diego State University, a beautiful venue. Tony, have you ever been to that venue?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I have. And it's a beautiful venue, and I'm really excited to go back. Uh, and you know, thank you for asking. Uh, you know, I'm a big basketball fan, so I have been there before.
SPEAKER_03Yes, we get those tickets right now at ticketmaster.com. You know, we got a lot of stuff that we want to kind of just talk to you about and kind of kind of really get to know Tony Khan because I feel like, you know, we know who you are, but we really don't know who you are. So for wrestling fans out there, we kind of want to know like your history as far as professional wrestling. What was the first kind of match that drew you in to professional wrestling as a fan?
SPEAKER_01Well, uh the first time I saw pro wrestling, it wasn't even a match that brought me in, it was other TV shows. I'm a child of television, and I grew up with a TV in my room, and we had a big satellite dish. So I watched a lot of different things. And uh two of my favorite shows when I was a really little kid were G.I. Joe and the A-Team. Oh there you go. On the A-Team, Hulk Hogan played the Hulk Hogan character, like Hulk Hogan with the A-Team, but uh also I was a huge fan of G.I. Joe, and Sergeant Slaughter was actually the host of G.I. Joe. He was a live action character, but he was also one of the cartoon characters, and he did the voice of Sergeant Slaughter uh and was one of the main G.I. Joe guys. So I was a big fan of that show. And when I realized Sergeant Slaughter was a wrestler and Hulk Hogan was a wrestler, I'd seen both of them on other shows. So I was interested in wrestling. And then I started watching in 1990, and uh, I don't know if it was any one match that really made me a fan. There were lots of matches that made me more and more of a fan that kind of hooked me in more and more. Uh, you know, uh, the first time I saw Sergeant Slaughter wrestle a championship fight was a very confusing thing because I'd seen Sergeant Slaughter as a good guy in G.I. Joe. And then when I started watching wrestling, Sergeant Slaughter was turning into a bad guy. And that was really interesting. Uh, so I had mixed feelings watching Sergeant Slaughter wrestle the ultimate warrior, and then uh had lots of feelings and emotions uh when I watched the Macho King wrestle the ultimate warrior. Yes, uh, and then uh started watching more wrestling that throughout that year. Came into watching WCW when I was uh eight years old, and then saw the first Super Bowl, and I loved the Steiner brothers against Lex Luger and Sting.
SPEAKER_03Oh, geez. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01And I thought that match was so cool. And uh then I was hooked on lots of different wrestling and trying to find all the different wrestling I could find, not just any one promotion, uh, and reading the wrestling magazines and trying to learn about all the different wrestlers in 1990 and 1991, and and then each passing year I just kept reading and trying to learn more about it.
SPEAKER_03You know, you and I are about the same age, so it's like I could relate to knowing the wrestling magazines, kind of doing the old school trade of the tapes, the VHS tapes, like, hey, I got this, what do you got? Doing that at school, things of that nature. So it's really kind of cool to hear like the background and and that some people think that, oh, you just you know, you acquired AEW, but like, no, you are a a full, uh, a full fan at the end of the day, and that you love and you appreciate the sport and the athletes that go into this because they are athletes at the end of the day. And you can actually see that live in San Diego, ticketmaster.com. Do not forget those tickets. Uh, and obviously, you guys are gonna be all over. You're gonna be in Florida, you're going overseas, you're gonna be in Boston, which is Gary's hometown. Uh, so if all these people are coming out, what could they expect to see an AEW show if they've never seen one?
SPEAKER_01Well, you can expect to see the very best wrestling in the world. AEW is where the best wrestle, and we go out and the wrestlers try to prove it every Wednesday night on Wednesday night dynamite, which is on TBS every Wednesday night, and then every Saturday night on Saturday Night Collision. If you come to the show in San Diego, which is just hours away from right now, you're gonna get to see both. It is gonna be a stacked holiday weekend fireworks-packed episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite with a world title fight, Mark Briscoe versus MJF, and the survival of the fittest match, the first ever survival of the fittest match in AEW. It's a great concept. I can't wait for this match. And we will crown a new TBS champion on TBS. And if you can't get tickets or if you can't make it to the show, it's just hours away. You can watch it on TBS. It's on 8 p.m. on TBS, or you can stream it on HBO Max. This is the best wrestling in the world, in my opinion. And we go out and try and prove it every week. And AEW is having a fantastic 2026 right now. And after an awesome Forbidden Door pay-per-view, I think it's the perfect time to come to a red hot city like San Diego, even though it's not that hot here right now.
SPEAKER_03No, it's not that hot. It's actually nice, it's comfortable. Yeah, what do you think about the weather right here in San Diego?
SPEAKER_01Different from Jacksonville, I'm sure. It is a lot, it is a lot cooler uh than it's been in Jacksonville. It is very, very nice weather in San Diego right now. It is frankly good golfing weather.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I was gonna ask you like what do you do in your spare time? Because you are a very busy man, not just AEW, but you know, the Jaguars as well, and doing a lot of things with the NFL. So, what do you do in your spare time?
SPEAKER_01I have no spare time. There's very rare occasions where if I can find like two and a half, three hours between engagements or you know, at the end of the night, I like to go out and try to get a few holes in. But that is kind of something I haven't done in recent years as much. And I got back to it this year with the AEW Fairway to Hell show. I kind of rediscovered my love of the sport.
SPEAKER_03Well, because I was gonna recommend some some great Mexican spots that we have here in San Diego. If Casey gets some time, you know, some great tacos. Like honestly, we have the best tacos in the world, despite what LA says. We have them the best right here in San Diego. So if you get some time, definitely go ahead and hit up uh any really taco stand that's around. They're gonna be great. I don't know if tacos are your thing, but if they are, I highly recommend them here.
SPEAKER_02There's one right on SDSU campus too, and I'm blanking on the name right now, but it's right around the corner from yay, there it is.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Trujillo's right across the street from San Diego State, and you definitely got to try their burritos. Really good.
SPEAKER_01I am looking into it.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I better see you there like at 12 a.m. and just be like, hey, what's up, man? Yeah, you're grabbing a burrito too. Okay.
SPEAKER_01That would be a great thing for the next time I'm on the show. Yeah. Tacos with Tony.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Burrito review with Tony.
SPEAKER_01Gary, Taco Time with Tony. That's good stuff, Gary.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, thank you. Appreciate it. Gary, Gary's the marketing genius behind us, just so you know. So um, we do want to talk about Forbidden Door. You just spoke on that. It was Red Hot Pape Review that happened on HBO Max. Phenomenal talent. Uh, I do want to ask you this. Who was the brainchild behind the uh the death's door, the circle steel cage, for the very first time that we've seen it on national TV? Was this a brainchild of yours?
SPEAKER_01Noah. The idea, well, I wanted a steel cage match, and the idea to have the circular steel cage was Mike Mansurri. I've never seen it before. And uh, you know, Mike's got great ideas like that. So uh he suggested, what about this design? And I thought it was a great idea. So that's how we built it. Uh, you know, last year I had the Steel Cage match on Forbidden Door, and it was a great match.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And when I wanted to bring the cage back this year to Forbidden Door and call it Death's Door, uh, Mike had a great idea for the design. So uh Mike is responsible for the design, and and then I chimed in the name.
SPEAKER_03It it was so unique just to see on social media. I mean, that was like the big thing that people were like reposting, like, you know, the the pyro, you know, effects that were going off on that. So it was so cool just to see something different, something outside the box that we haven't seen in quite some time in professional wrestling in general. So kudos to you guys uh pulling it off. It was phenomenal. Uh, one other thing I want to talk about is you did recently sign a uh a wrestling legend and the hardcore icon, Mick Foley. He is now all elite. Uh, what was the whole, I guess, like conversation? I mean, don't give me details, but like, what was the whole initial thing of bringing Mick Foley into AEW?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think Mick Foley really is a fan of AEW. So we had some really nice talks, and Mick wanted to be involved. He still really loves wrestling and he loves AEW wrestling. He loves so many of the wrestlers that are here and he loves the shows. And he had never participated in AEW. So his first time working with us was at Double or Nothing. And I can now say Mick Foley loves working in AEW too. He had a great time and loved the environment. And I really appreciated all the positive things he said about the backstage environment and the quality of the show. He loved Double or Nothing and loved working in AEW Double or Nothing. So I thought that was awesome.
SPEAKER_03How important is that for you as somebody who's calling the shots, like to make sure that the environment backstage is a good working, good communication. How important is that to you?
SPEAKER_01Well, uh, really love being able to have a nice backstage environment at the shows and everybody enjoying coming to work. I think that is always a good thing. You know, there are so many wrestling shows every year, and the fans are so loyal to watch wrestling 52 weeks a year. It's the only sport that goes year round with no offseason and no time off. It's very hard on the wrestlers, and the fans also have to support the shows year-round and watch wrestling year round. And so it's part of being a wrestling fan, it's part of working in wrestling that there's no off season in this sport, and that means you want to make it a very pleasant environment to come in. And we try to do that. So I think it's a lot of fun to work in AEW and we try to make it that way.
SPEAKER_02Is there any like um business lessons that you've learned by running AEW that that surprised you?
SPEAKER_01That's a great question, Gary. Yeah. Uh a lot. I've learned so many things working in AEW. A lot of it is very specific to wrestling, about things in a wrestling show, about why certain things, very mechanical things, uh, and and specific nuanced aspects to producing wrestling television. I also have learned a lot of things about uh the media, about uh about the the sports media, about like the business side of it, but also just about engaging with you guys and uh trying to get out and and do a lot of interviews and and talking to a lot of people. I've done a lot more interviews in wrestling now than probably I have in football and with the NFL and the Premier League combined. And so I do a lot of wrestling promotional work, and I really enjoy these conversations. I get to see you guys uh and visit with old friends, but also get to uh uh spend a lot of time with people on the other side of the media, the business side. And on the corporate side of sports media, I've been able to build a lot of lasting relationships and strong relationships. And I think that's really been something that's helped AEW from the very beginning is having those relationships and also as the company has grown and evolved and expanded, and as the media properties and the landscape of TV and sports media has evolved, AEW has grown and evolved with it. So uh it's been a lot I've learned on the business side, but also just working with people and and visiting with people and doing interviews like this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. You never know who you're gonna meet along the way. And we've definitely noticed that with you in doing all these media scrums. And again, like we were at the media scrum at Revolution up in LA, and it was great just to have you come in and talk. It was just a small little group of us, but it was so great to be able to sit down and ask you some questions there too. So you're crushing it, you're absolutely crushing it. You're doing everything that you know you should be doing exactly.
SPEAKER_03And the thing I have to give you so much credit for, Tony, is for you to actually be up there during the media scrum and say, like, hey, did did everybody ask a question? Is there anything else left on the table? And I have to give you so much credit because you could have easily just cut it whenever you wanted to and just walked away, but you took the time to actually sit with everybody just to make sure that everybody was heard. And that's the thing with professional wrestling fans and and just like us media people, we want to be heard at the end of the day, and we want to make sure that we are asking those questions from the audience to whoever we can because they don't have access to you like the way we do. So I do really appreciate that. And on you know, on behalf of a lot of the media, we want to say thank you for actually doing that and you know, hosting those scrums after each show. So thank you very much for that.
SPEAKER_01Well, I really appreciate that. Thank you. I think there's a lot more accessibility in wrestling today. First of all, there's a lot more people doing wrestling shows than there were when I was a kid. You know, you guys have the biggest wrestling podcast and show in San Diego. That's awesome. Uh, and there were not a lot of shows like this when I was a kid, especially not regionally in the different towns. I think it's awesome that all the big towns generally have people covering wrestling now in all the major markets, any big city where they have MLB, MBA, NFL, you're gonna find that there's often some really good wrestling media in these towns, just like with you guys here in San Diego. And I really believe that that's one of the things that's helped wrestling. And as the business has changed, having so many super fans and people that really love wrestling, covering wrestling, and making it easy to get that access and making uh it possible to get in touch with the wrestlers and get in touch with me. I think that's something we do really well at AEW, and I'm very proud of that. You know, I love uh being able to answer all the questions and stay in touch with the wrestling media. Uh, I know that the reason 99% of you guys go into wrestling media is because you love wrestling.
SPEAKER_03Without a doubt.
SPEAKER_01And that's what that's that's awesome. So that I love spending time and trying to answer all the questions.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we we myself and Gary have been in the media world for 20 plus years. So for us to go finally go ahead and use our platform to do something like this, what we're both passionate about, it's really great. And having you on is awesome. Uh, and I would probably be uh hung out to dry if I didn't ask you this question from one of our listeners. They actually DM me, her name's Maria. Maria wants to know what are the chances of you bringing double or nothing here to San Diego?
SPEAKER_01That's a great question. Uh, well, I'm not sure. We aren't that far out yet for next year's pay-per-views, or certainly the year after. At some point, I would love to bring a major pay-per-view event to San Diego. I think it's a great town for that. Uh, Southern California has been such a great home to AEW. And I love bringing the TV shows and the pay-per-views to Southern California. Of course, we have Dynamite and Collision, which is going to be a massive event coming up just hours from now. So hopefully we get all the great support from the San Diego fans. And uh it's a great thought. Certainly, there's a lot of towns around San Diego here in Southern California where super wrestling fans could come in. Uh I think that would be would be tremendous, uh, particularly if it was possible for a lot of fans to come, frankly, from south of the border and come see the show.
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Because I think that's one of the really good things about San Diego, and there's a lot of Latino fans here that love wrestling, and there's so many wrestling fans in Mexico, and this is right across the border from Tijuana. So uh there is that aspect which is tremendous. There is also the lure, the glitz, and the glamour of Los Angeles, and it is very close, it's a very drivable. I've done it many times, and I'm sure you guys have too. And we have a very special thing going there too, with our pay-per-views. So there are some great options here in Southern California. I'm a big Southern California guy, so I love having the shows here, and you know, it's definitely a very good thing to think about, whether it's double or nothing or any big AEW event.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think it would be great venues. We have all the venues. We have every venue you want, every venue you want, Tony. You got it. All right.
SPEAKER_01Make a phone call. Yeah, well, this is gonna be a great show at this venue. Like I said, I'm a big basketball fan, and that's the last time I was here. So it should be great.
SPEAKER_03Yes, VAH Arena, ticketmaster.com, get those tickets before they're gone because you don't want to miss out right here in San Diego. Of course, all elite wrestling.com. In case you're not in San Diego, you're listening across the country, they're coming to a sound, a sound, a sound, a city near you or a sound, whatever. Uh, they're both bringing the sound and the city and the fighting as well. So uh Tony Khan, before we go, I I know you're very busy. One last question. Um, how about making our podcast all elite? How do we get that? How do we become the official podcast?
SPEAKER_01It's all elite. But we need to be with AEW. It is your podcast, is this podcast is very elite. In fact, I would say it's all elite. This is an all-elite podcast. You've got me on here. Uh, you guys are huge fans. I've always had great interactions with you. I think it's safe to say that your podcast, you towers of power, are all elite.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Wow. It's unbelievable. You heard it here first. Yes, I'll take that too. Well, Mr. Khan, thank you so much again, once again, for your time. We really appreciate you taking, like I said, time out of your busy schedule today. Uh, don't forget ticketmaster.com, get those tickets, and all elite wrestling.com for further info when they come to you. Sir, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thanks, guys. Wow, unbelievable. The man Tony Khan coming through our show. There was you know, there were so many questions that I wanted to get to, but I knew that I could feel that, like, hey, time was coming. Like, and I knew that he had another interview that he had to do, uh, probably within the next half hour or so. So that's why I was like, all right, let's give him time to take a breather and like kind of just kind of chill out, relax. Um, I don't know. Do you think that we're really all elite? I think we're half elite. Okay, we're half elite. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I mean, I didn't sign any contracts or anything, which I was ready to do. I got number two pencil right here.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I you gotta shoot your shot when you have the band in front of you. Like, it's not every day that we speak to a billionaire. I know.
SPEAKER_02I've never talked to so many dollar bills in my entire life.
SPEAKER_03Dude, I gotta tell you, I was I was a little nervous. I'm not gonna lie, man.
SPEAKER_02I see, I wanted to kind of like I like that he's just so cool, chill, down to earth. Like great to see you guys again. I mean, like the fact that he remembered who we are and gave us give our podcast so much props. Yeah, you know, it goes a long way.
SPEAKER_03I do wish I asked some more sports questions because I know that's also his passion, but you know, couldn't slide that in, but I know, you know, like and here's the thing like I was I was the one kind of like steering everything, so I was like, I kind of would feel it. So I was looking at the clock and I kind of felt like okay, like I think he's trying to wrap it. So I'm like, all right, let's just go ahead and call it and cut it wherever we did. But uh no, uh, I mean it's great phenomenal that he actually gave us that much time. I thought it was gonna be like a five, 10 minute podcast, but no, he gave us a lot of time.
SPEAKER_02So I was probably I was almost close to 30 minutes. Yeah, 20, 30 minutes.
SPEAKER_03Really appreciate him taking time today. Like I said, busy schedule, AEW, all elite, gonna be right there at V House Arena tomorrow, July 1st, ticketmaster.com. I don't know how many times I gotta play. Ticketmaster.com, ticketmaster.com, get those tickets, allelitewrestling.com as well. And once again to you, thank you so much for tuning in and listening. Gary, what are the socials?
SPEAKER_02At GDubs33 on Instagram, at towerspowerpod on X, and at Gary underscore Dudman on X.
SPEAKER_03Also at towerstopowerpod on IG and mine at Hollywood Chris. We will go ahead and uh thank you again. Like I said, each and every day we're in the Rust community just like you. We want to learn, grow, develop, share the podcast, like it, do whatever you can, let the let people know we we're all elite. Yeah, according to Tony Kurt. Tony said it himself. Tony said it himself. I'm gonna have that on a clip right here. But uh, thank you again, and we will see you again next time.
SPEAKER_02Later.
