Tony Khan made certain to give fans a one-of-a-kind experience at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2.
The PPV was main-evented by Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada, a first-time-ever encountar between the two pro wrestling megastars, but fans got an added bonus because of Tony Khan’s pocketbook. Danielson entered to the notorious “Final Countdown” song by Europe, something he was known to enter to back during his early “American Dragon” days in the squared circle and the crowd popped big for the 1986 pop song.
During the post-Forbidden Door media scrum, Tony Khan revealed to Joel Peal of Fightful that securing the rights to “Final Countdown” cost him a pretty penny.
“I was very excited about ‘Final Countdown’ but it’s also the kind of thing that I’ve only been able to get on a one-show contract and it was a very expensive one night and it was as expensive as a wrestler’s contract, but it was worth it and I thought it added to the show and it was great for the presentation.”
Tony Khan said that “The Final Countdown” was on a one show contract and was as expensive as a wrestler’s contract
My man saw the price tag to use it permanently and said “Nah I got wrestlers under contract that ain’t getting that much” 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/kvmSDSNZnu
— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) June 26, 2023
Tony Khan Loves Licensed Music
Tony Khan‘s track record for utilizing licensed music has been pretty extensive for a new company. He’s purchased the rights for “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas for The Elite, “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora for Jack Perry, “Wild Thing” for Jon Moxley, “Ruby Soho” by Rancid for Ruby Soho, two different songs for Orange Cassidy, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” by Elton John for “AEW Collision” and of course “Cult Of Personality” by Living Colour for CM Punk. He also did a similar one-time deal for MJF‘s return at All Out 2022 when he used the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil.”