AEW will kick off the new year with AEW Dynamite on January 4 in Seattle. The first AEW show of 2023 will feature a new set design, marking a new era for the company.
Though WCW didn't close until 2001, the January 4, 1999 episode of WCW Nitro damaged the product in the eyes of many fans as the show closed with Hulk Hogan winning the WCW Championship by hitting a finger poke on Kevin Nash.
Since its inception, AEW has drawn comparisons to WCW as they were immediately viewed as a viable contender to WWE with big free agent signings and a television deal with TNT.
Speaking to Will Washington, Phil Lindsey, and Righteous Reg of Grapsody, Tony was asked about the death of WCW and the mistakes the company made.
"It wasn’t even one thing with WCW, it was so many things. It’s like death by 1000 cuts. It’s an expression, but it’s true. 1000 small paper cuts, you probably would bleed out. They’re all painful. it wasn’t just one thing, it was so many things. Even in some of the shows, the one show, January 4, how many things could there be on one show?" he wondered
When asked if AEW fans would be seeing a finger poke of doom on January 4, 2023, Tony laughed and said, "Well, you know, you never know. On the other hand....I gotta keep you guys on your toes. January 4, we have a huge show coming, the start of a new year for AEW. I’ve thought about January 4, 1999 and next time I talk to you guys, if you ask me what my show had in common with that January 4 show, I’ll tell you. It won’t be that [finger poke of doom]."
Khan continued, elaborating on the comparisons fans make between AEW and WCW.
"There are so many great heights, and they are different companies. There are heights WCW rose to, and they were around for a long time and when they rose to the heights they rose to, it was management came in and made great changes, they pivoted the business in a lot of interesting ways, which I think of all of us l talk about for hours in the way they helped grow the business. Just like death by 1000 cuts, they made a lot of changes, you could probably point to a few big ones. Hulk Hogan coming in was a big one. That changed a lot of things. Not all, right away, some big positives at first, not as much for a bit, then a lot more positives for a while. The reason people want to compare the two companies, most of all, is we’re the only two wrestling companies to air on TBS and TNT. There are some people that have worked in both companies. Sting is an important face in both companies. Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross have been voices for both companies. The TBS and TNT name being so synonymous with pro wrestling. That is a utility we’ve been able to provide to the fans, bringing wrestling back to TBS and TNT, that’s why people want o make comparisons. They’re very different. A lot of reasons, one, why WCW went out of business don’t really exist and aren’t realistic business concerns for AEW because it’s not a company owned by a network or media property. It’s a family business, owned and operated and run by me. I love wrestling and I’m not going anywhere," he stated.
AEW will make its Seattle debut on January 4 followed by AEW Dynamite at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California on January 11.
Fightful provides live coverage of AEW Dynamite every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Fans can check out the full interview with Tony Khan in the video above.
