Tony Khan Avoids CM Punk Question, Calls MJF A “Needle Mover”
Tony Khan has done his best to avoid any CM Punk questions during recent interviews while also going on to praise MJF.
The main event of AEW All Out on September 4th saw CM Punk win the AEW World Title from Jon Moxley in the main event. Even though it was a huge match with two top stars, the headlines from the show came after when Punk went on a rant during the media scrum while AEW’s Owner Tony Khan sat right there beside him.
Following his rant at the media scrum, Punk went back to his locker room and was confronted by The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega), who didn’t like some of the things he said. When The Elite got into the room with Punk, a fight broke out that also included Punk’s friend/AEW Producer Ace Steel throwing a chair at Nick Jackson and biting Kenny Omega’s arm.
In the days and weeks following All Out, there have been numerous reports about what happened during the backstage altercation. Everybody involved is suspended while Punk is also out of action after having surgery to repair a torn triceps that is going to keep him out of the ring for eight months.
During an appearance on Rock 105.3’s The Show to promote the AEW Grand Slam Dynamite & Rampage shows in New York City, Tony Khan didn’t respond when asked about what he was thinking during the post-All Out media scrum as he sat next to CM Punk. When asked “what’s going on” it led to Khan talking about the AEW Grand Slam shows instead.
“What’s going on is, it’s the best show in pro wrestling tomorrow night on TBS. AEW Dynamite Grand Slam.”
“Since All Out, it’s been very newsworthy shows and they’ve also been some of our best shows and best ratings. That’s for a reason. AEW has put on some of our best matches. Right now, there is a lot of excitement in the company, not only with all the big championship fights, people are excited about the return of MJF. That’s pretty huge. That’s one of the main things we’re focused on in AEW.”
When Khan was asked if the backstage drama has taken away from MJF’s return, Khan also avoided that question and then went on to praise MJF, who returned to AEW at All Out after taking the summer off.
“I’m not going to comment again on that, but I will say that MJF’s return has been a massive needle mover for AEW and has generated a ton of interest. Having MJF back on Dynamite has been great. That’s another reason why we’ve seen a great ratings bump. He’s a great star and a huge part of AEW.”
MJF has also done a lot of media to promote the AEW shows in New York City including a comment saying that his relationship with Tony Khan has improved since he came back to the company.
H/t to Fightful for the transcription.