Tony Khan responded to criticism from fans that AEW is too willing to use blood in its matches.
Since its inception, AEW has been more likely to feature blood in its matches than the PG-rated WWE. The company has received criticism in the past for being too liberal with its use of blood and hardcore violence, with some fans believing they feature these things too often and diminish their effectiveness.
Speaking to News 12 Long Island ahead of AEW Dynamite at the UBS Arena in Long Island, NY, Tony Khan addressed this criticism and said he believes it’s unfounded and doesn’t happen as often as people might say.
“It’s certainly not every week, you don’t see it on a weekly basis. Occasionally, there are big matches and it’s only when the circumstance is such that it’s a big street fight or these big crazy matches or fights ahead of a pay-per-view where things have gotten crazy and there has been a big melee.
Tony Khan continued, noting that the company tries to focus on all facets of wrestling, but that they’ll go to old-school brawling when the occasion is right.
“For the most part, we do try to focus on the wrestling, the best interviews, the most exciting wrestlers, a lot of high fliers, technical wrestling, and a lot of crazy brawling too. For the most part, you see a focus on the in-ring action, but every once and awhile, when things have gotten out of hand, it’s been old school pro wrestling in a way that has been very healthy and has been well-received by our media partners and fans.
“It’s almost been universally praised and when it hasn’t, overall, we’ve done well on the aggregate and most of the focus is on wrestling and not the brawling, but you see some of the old-school brawling too and that’s part of pro wrestling and that’s what makes it fun.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Tony Khan confirmed the return of AEW Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium later this year.
h/t Fightful