AEW has never been shy about putting championship gold all over its television shows, and Tony Khan has no problem defending that decision.
During his interview with Yahoo Finance, Khan was asked what separates AEW from its competitors seven years after the company’s launch. He immediately pointed to the roster, the in-ring product and AEW’s focus on presenting major matches with real stakes.
The discussion then turned to AEW’s numerous championships. Khan acknowledged that the promotion has a lot of titleholders and title matches, but argued that the number makes sense when AEW produces four hours of television every week.
“That’s a great question. I say AEW is where the best wrestle, and I really do believe it. I think we have the best roster of wrestlers, and we’re very focused on that.
“We make sure that all of our pay-per-views are action-packed. I try to pack as many great rivalries in as we can. We have a lot of title fights, too.
“We do have a lot of great title fights, and we have a lot of great champions because we have four hours of television. When you have four hours, 52 weeks a year, you’re doing 104 episodes. You want to have great champions, great stakes and great fights.
“Across the women and men, we have a lot of great champions and championships. But believe me, when you look at how many people are in my locker room and how many great wrestlers there are, the truth is there are so many of them who are clamoring and hungry for championships.
“The wrestlers would say they want more, but there are a lot of champions and championship fights. I think that’s what makes it exciting.”
Khan used AEW’s recent television shows as an example. Beach Break featured multiple championship matches and changes, while the following Collision also leaned heavily on title bouts. He insisted that even shows without the biggest advertising push still receive his full attention.
“We had three great championship fights on the show Saturday. Wednesday’s show, Beach Break, was the most-watched show in a long time, and I’m very proud of it. It’s a show I think people will remember 20 years from now because of the great fights we had.
“Saturday’s show may not be a show they talk about 20 years from now, but it was a fantastic show, and there are matches people will remember for a long time. I think all of our shows are important, and I wanted to put just as much attention into that one, even though it didn’t necessarily have all the hype and advertisements around it.
“Every show is important. Just as an example, we had multiple championship fights on each show last week and multiple championship changes. That’s part of what makes it exciting every week, to come and see the best wrestlers fighting for high stakes.”
Khan sees championships as tools that give AEW’s weekly matches more meaning. Critics may still believe the company has too many belts, but Khan clearly has no plans to move away from title-heavy programming.
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