1
00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,360
Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready, shots up, about to

2
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:16,360
Speaker 1: hit the fan? Welcome to on sanctioned Thursday's are Wrestling

3
00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:21,880
Speaker 1: with Freddy. Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to Wrestling with Freddy.

4
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,200
Speaker 1: And today we're joined at a visionary we've helped we

5
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,680
Speaker 1: define modern professional wrestling. He is the president, the CEO,

6
00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,680
Speaker 1: the general manager I'm not done yet, and the.

7
00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,879
Speaker 2: Head of creative for All Elite Wrestling.

8
00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:36,960
Speaker 1: And he's been at the forefront of bringing fans of

9
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,000
Speaker 1: bold and alternative approach to sports entertainment, which has now

10
00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,720
Speaker 1: become mainstream. Under his leadership, aw's grown from an ambitious

11
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,360
Speaker 1: idea to a globally recognized wrestling brand, consistently pushing creative

12
00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,560
Speaker 1: boundaries and expanding what's possible in the industry for everyone involved.

13
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,640
Speaker 1: We're excited to dive into aw's evolution and revolution and

14
00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,920
Speaker 1: what the future looks like for the company. Please welcome

15
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,680
Speaker 1: mister Tony Kahn. Welcome back to the show, sir. It's

16
00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:03,279
Speaker 1: good to have you.

17
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,440
Speaker 3: It's great to see you, Fred Thanks for having me

18
00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:06,040
Speaker 3: on your show.

19
00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, man, you know, I really appreciate you coming back.

20
00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,800
Speaker 1: We were talking a little bit about the show, a

21
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,479
Speaker 1: little bit before the show starts. But first things first,

22
00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,000
Speaker 1: I'm trying to find a babysitter. I'm doing everything I

23
00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:19,840
Speaker 1: can to get to Revolution because you guys are in

24
00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,520
Speaker 1: my city. Thank you for bringing wrestling to Los Angeles.

25
00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,360
Speaker 1: We love wrestling. So if I can get a sitter,

26
00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,800
Speaker 1: I'm there. If I can't, I get to watch on TV,

27
00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:29,840
Speaker 1: which is honestly just as awesome because you guys have

28
00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,960
Speaker 1: great commentators. It's why I like UFC and not going

29
00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:34,440
Speaker 1: to the fights, but watching them because I think they

30
00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:35,360
Speaker 1: have great commentators.

31
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:36,400
Speaker 2: I think you guys do too.

32
00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,280
Speaker 1: But let's talk Revolution, Man, what match are you most

33
00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:42,000
Speaker 1: excited for? You guys have been telling so many stories

34
00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:44,959
Speaker 1: to build this up. I'm really really excited for this

35
00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,000
Speaker 1: pay per view, not just because it's in LA, but

36
00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:48,960
Speaker 1: because of the stories that you guys have been telling.

37
00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,200
Speaker 3: Well, thank you man. I'm very excited for this show.

38
00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,680
Speaker 3: I think it's stacked from top to bottom. There's so

39
00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,880
Speaker 3: many matches to be excited about on this one, and

40
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,560
Speaker 3: Revolutions always one of aw's best shows. I think there's

41
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,000
Speaker 3: so much to look forward to on this one, whether

42
00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:09,600
Speaker 3: it's Hangman Page versus MJF and the Texas Deathmatch. I

43
00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,440
Speaker 3: cannot wait for that. I'm so excited about John Moxley

44
00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,800
Speaker 3: versus Kenoski Takeshitu of the Continental Championship. I think FTR

45
00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,520
Speaker 3: versus The Yumbucks will be outstanding. I can't wait to

46
00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:26,399
Speaker 3: watch Bandido wrestle and Rode Iliglos or Strickland versus Brodie King.

47
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,919
Speaker 3: There's so many exciting things on this pay per view

48
00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,359
Speaker 3: that I'm looking forward to, and certainly I thought Chris

49
00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,200
Speaker 3: Statlander and Techla's strap match was fantastic. I can't wait

50
00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,120
Speaker 3: to see them go two out of three falls. And

51
00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:41,960
Speaker 3: it be a lot to look forward to on this

52
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,680
Speaker 3: pay per view for sure. And I love having aw

53
00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,320
Speaker 3: in Los Angeles. It's such a great city for wrestling.

54
00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,079
Speaker 3: There's so many great fans of all different experiences, all

55
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:57,040
Speaker 3: different backgrounds, celebrity fans like yourself kids. Just a great

56
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,040
Speaker 3: wrestling city here and Revolution and will be a great

57
00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:01,959
Speaker 3: show this weekend.

58
00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, so many matches, man, It's it's it feels like

59
00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,600
Speaker 1: in a time where pay per views or premium live

60
00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,080
Speaker 1: events for the for the other guys. I still hate

61
00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,080
Speaker 1: that name, but it felt like, you know, matches were

62
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 1: getting longer, but there were fewer matches, and you guys

63
00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,840
Speaker 1: have really maintained consistency and given a ton of matches,

64
00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,840
Speaker 1: there doesn't seem to be the concern for time. You guys,

65
00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,200
Speaker 1: let these guys tell us and girls tell these stories

66
00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,000
Speaker 1: that they want to tell in there, and.

67
00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:30,280
Speaker 2: I really appreciate it.

68
00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,360
Speaker 1: I want to jump into sort of a reflection, if

69
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,480
Speaker 1: you will, Tony, when you look back at aw's journey

70
00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,840
Speaker 1: from launch until now, what's the biggest shift you've seen

71
00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,880
Speaker 1: in the company's identity or the direction that you've wanted

72
00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,040
Speaker 1: to go. Have you had to shift directions at times?

73
00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,280
Speaker 1: Is that a consistent thing or is it kind of

74
00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,560
Speaker 1: stay the course? Like, how how have you seen it?

75
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,560
Speaker 3: Well? I think the biggest change is when we started AW,

76
00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,760
Speaker 3: there were only a few pay per views. There was

77
00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:00,880
Speaker 3: four big pay per views, and now we've built this

78
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,600
Speaker 3: amazing calendar of events. Revolution is one of the original

79
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,120
Speaker 3: events from the first year of thew and has always

80
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 3: been one of our best shows since we launched the promotion.

81
00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,240
Speaker 3: I think that the biggest change for me is the television.

82
00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,559
Speaker 3: We used to have two hours of TV every week

83
00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,080
Speaker 3: with just Dynamite every Wednesday night. The tradition at Dynamite

84
00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,520
Speaker 3: is still going very very strong and heading for our

85
00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,120
Speaker 3: seven year anniversary of Wednesday Night Dynamite on TVs.

86
00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,120
Speaker 2: That's so crazy, man, that's so great.

87
00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,320
Speaker 3: And it's awesome. And now Collision is doing really really well.

88
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,839
Speaker 3: We're having this amazing year and we launched a second show.

89
00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,240
Speaker 3: It's been almost three years now doing Saturday Collision, and

90
00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,960
Speaker 3: both shows have been tremendous. I think we're on a

91
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,920
Speaker 3: great run of television on Wednesday nights with Dynamite and

92
00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,279
Speaker 3: Saturday nights with Collision. So it's a very different thing

93
00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,520
Speaker 3: doing two TV shows every week four hours versus one

94
00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,240
Speaker 3: show two hours, so doing twice as much TV every

95
00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,520
Speaker 3: single week, that's a major change. Also doing it in

96
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,200
Speaker 3: a simulcast. We used to have all the shows on

97
00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:11,200
Speaker 3: TBS and TNT. We brought HBO Max in and now

98
00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,800
Speaker 3: we've got a great streaming partner and a great library

99
00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,839
Speaker 3: of classic events and live streaming events. So I think

100
00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:24,120
Speaker 3: those changes have really been probably the most major. Certainly

101
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,880
Speaker 3: they affect everything we do every week, and it's been

102
00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,320
Speaker 3: a really really great thing to have HBO Max come

103
00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:35,400
Speaker 3: in carrying the events and brought new fans to aw You.

104
00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,960
Speaker 1: Know, you said something there that I don't want to sidetrack.

105
00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:44,000
Speaker 1: But you have multiple TV shows now plus the simulcast,

106
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,840
Speaker 1: like you said, but that's not the only thing you do.

107
00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:53,120
Speaker 1: You also are running the professional soccer teams, football teams.

108
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:58,479
Speaker 1: How are you managing to grow AW? And I've seen

109
00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,560
Speaker 1: massive improvements in AW. Like you guys are always sort

110
00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,520
Speaker 1: of seem to be growing in the right direction and

111
00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,800
Speaker 1: you're not having like the growing pains that a lot

112
00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:08,920
Speaker 1: of people maybe anticipated you guys would.

113
00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:11,440
Speaker 2: How are you do you have a team?

114
00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:11,599
Speaker 1: Like?

115
00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,279
Speaker 2: Are you doing this by yourself? How the hell are

116
00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:13,919
Speaker 2: you doing all this?

117
00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:16,960
Speaker 3: Yeah, a bunch of teams. I think at every company

118
00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,920
Speaker 3: I work at, we have a great team of people,

119
00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,159
Speaker 3: and I'm really blessed to work with great people at

120
00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,800
Speaker 3: the Jaguars, and great people at Fulham and great people

121
00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:29,320
Speaker 3: at AW. I have different involvement in all these companies,

122
00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:31,000
Speaker 3: but I have a lot of involvement in all these

123
00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,160
Speaker 3: companies that I really enjoy. I think that the experience

124
00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:39,440
Speaker 3: working in football helped me get the credibility to get

125
00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,320
Speaker 3: TV partners interested in launching a wrestling promotion with me,

126
00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,040
Speaker 3: because I had good experience working in the National Football

127
00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:47,359
Speaker 3: League in the Premier League.

128
00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,560
Speaker 1: What was that process like, trying to get television excited

129
00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,960
Speaker 1: about another wrestling brand did you find was it an

130
00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,120
Speaker 1: uphill climb for you or did they seem receptive?

131
00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:00,160
Speaker 3: It was an interesting thing. So it was almost eight

132
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,600
Speaker 3: years ago, like eight years ago. Next month, I was

133
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,120
Speaker 3: at a party in Beverly Hills and I saw my

134
00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,920
Speaker 3: friend Kevin Riley. I don't know if you know Kevin.

135
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,040
Speaker 3: Kevin was the president of TBS and TNT.

136
00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:12,720
Speaker 2: I don't think I met him.

137
00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,360
Speaker 3: It's been a while, but Kevin has had an incredible

138
00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,920
Speaker 3: career in television and has been involved in producing some

139
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,480
Speaker 3: of the greatest TV shows and has worked at NBC, Fox,

140
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,360
Speaker 3: and then was the president of TBSTNT and the original

141
00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:31,560
Speaker 3: chief creative officer on HBO Max. And Kevin is a

142
00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,320
Speaker 3: friend of mine, and I saw him again at the

143
00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,240
Speaker 3: time he was the president of TBS and TNT and

144
00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,360
Speaker 3: this would be twenty eighteen, and I said to him,

145
00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:43,160
Speaker 3: you know, I think it'd be really interesting to launch

146
00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,080
Speaker 3: a wrestling promotion. I asked him if he was going

147
00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,600
Speaker 3: to be bidding on the upcoming wrestling TV rights that

148
00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,560
Speaker 3: would be going up in twenty nineteen for auction and

149
00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,560
Speaker 3: he said, yes, he was looking into that, but it

150
00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,720
Speaker 3: seemed like he wasn't really he was prepared to spend

151
00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,880
Speaker 3: like I think it was going to go for two

152
00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,120
Speaker 3: hundred and five the pack that he was looking at,

153
00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,600
Speaker 3: which was SmackDown, and I think he at the time

154
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,480
Speaker 3: was willing to spend maybe one fifty to one seventy five.

155
00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 3: And my thought is, you know, Kevin, for a lot

156
00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,600
Speaker 3: less than that, we could launch something here that could

157
00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,040
Speaker 3: run every week and be a great show on TBS

158
00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,720
Speaker 3: and or TNT and bring wrestling back. You know, when

159
00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:25,480
Speaker 3: I said this to Kevin, Kevin was not a wrestling fan.

160
00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:30,440
Speaker 3: I mentioned, did you know that the wrestling company that

161
00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,920
Speaker 3: was owned by Turner twenty years ago today? And when

162
00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,199
Speaker 3: I say this, this was in twenty eighteen, So the

163
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:38,880
Speaker 3: key is this was true when I was saying it

164
00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,680
Speaker 3: at the time. I said to Kevin, you know, twenty

165
00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:46,240
Speaker 3: years ago today Turner TBS owned the number one wrestling

166
00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,400
Speaker 3: company in the world. And he said really, and I said, yeah,

167
00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:51,360
Speaker 3: it was long before you were there. They owned a

168
00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,440
Speaker 3: wrestling company and it did really well. And you know,

169
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,199
Speaker 3: I think there'd be something too if we started a

170
00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,400
Speaker 3: wrestling company and put it on TB S and T

171
00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,520
Speaker 3: and T, and then that set off a process that

172
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,120
Speaker 3: a series of meetings, and I had meeting after meeting,

173
00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:11,400
Speaker 3: and it felt like I was making progress and there

174
00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,080
Speaker 3: was getting these guys interested in this idea, but I

175
00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:19,440
Speaker 3: still didn't have any offer, And it actually got to

176
00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:23,000
Speaker 3: the point where around the holidays, like Christmas twenty eighteen,

177
00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:25,680
Speaker 3: I didn't have an offer to do the show, but

178
00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,679
Speaker 3: I was still getting meetings about the show and they

179
00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,800
Speaker 3: were still interested, it seemed like, but it was the

180
00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,079
Speaker 3: time where I was going to have to make the

181
00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:37,800
Speaker 3: big commitment and it was kind of a leap of faith.

182
00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,240
Speaker 3: So we ended up signing all the wrestlers at the

183
00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,520
Speaker 3: very start of twenty nineteen, like January twenty nineteen, with

184
00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,280
Speaker 3: no TV commitment, knowing that it was a huge gamble,

185
00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,679
Speaker 3: and it really worked. Now we're the longest running primetime

186
00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,520
Speaker 3: pro wrestling show in the history of TVs and TNT,

187
00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,680
Speaker 3: And you're a student of wrestling and a historian of wrestling, Fred,

188
00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,840
Speaker 3: so you know that there's been a lot of great

189
00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,320
Speaker 3: wrestling promotions over the years that have run events on

190
00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,480
Speaker 3: TBS and T and T, so that's a very cool

191
00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:07,560
Speaker 3: milestone to hold.

192
00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,840
Speaker 1: You know a lot of the wrestlers sing your praise

193
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,520
Speaker 1: when I've met them, and they do it in podcasts

194
00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:19,360
Speaker 1: and everything. They talk a lot about creative freedom. How

195
00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,600
Speaker 1: do you sort of balance their creative freedom versus your

196
00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,280
Speaker 1: creative vision and sort of make everyone happy? Or can

197
00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,000
Speaker 1: you not make everyone happy all the time?

198
00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,480
Speaker 3: It depends on the situation and the person. I like

199
00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,360
Speaker 3: to go out and talk to the wrestlers and if

200
00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,400
Speaker 3: there's something we can do that fits what I'd like

201
00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:41,400
Speaker 3: to do. I want them to be able to say

202
00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,040
Speaker 3: this in their own words. So I could walk out

203
00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:48,600
Speaker 3: and talk to a wrestler and say, hey, you know, tonight,

204
00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,839
Speaker 3: I think it would be great if you said ABC

205
00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,800
Speaker 3: and D and say these points in your own words.

206
00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:58,679
Speaker 3: You know, here's what here's a couple of ideas. What

207
00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,960
Speaker 3: do you think of that? And they might say, oh,

208
00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:03,920
Speaker 3: that's great, I love that. That's a great idea. What

209
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,240
Speaker 3: if I said it in this order? What if I

210
00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,280
Speaker 3: said ACDB and you still get everything, but it's a

211
00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:12,720
Speaker 3: little bit of a different order. And I could say

212
00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:14,680
Speaker 3: instead of saying this word, I could say this word

213
00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,040
Speaker 3: and if that makes sense to me, then I would

214
00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:19,720
Speaker 3: say yes. Or maybe I would say Okay, well what

215
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:25,000
Speaker 3: about flipping C and D and try this? And I

216
00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:30,080
Speaker 3: really enjoy using logic and the love of wrestling that

217
00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,200
Speaker 3: we all have to try to put ideas together and

218
00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:35,679
Speaker 3: put shows together. And I think we've been able to

219
00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:37,080
Speaker 3: put a lot of great shows on.

220
00:11:37,280 --> 00:12:03,520
Speaker 1: Yes you have, let me ask you this then, because

221
00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:07,040
Speaker 1: to me, and this is on the Michael touron Network,

222
00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,240
Speaker 1: a lot of Latino listeners follow this. You know how

223
00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,360
Speaker 1: many Latinos love their wrestling and their lucha libre. The

224
00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,760
Speaker 1: best Hangman Adam Page promo that he ever cut was

225
00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,320
Speaker 1: in Mexico and he cut it in Spanish, and I

226
00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:21,120
Speaker 1: was sitting there and I thought it was just going

227
00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,120
Speaker 1: to be a sentence, just a sentence, right, and he

228
00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,760
Speaker 1: literally gave them everything. He gave them the whole the

229
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,400
Speaker 1: whole promo, the whole segment in Spanish, and showed so

230
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,960
Speaker 1: much respect and humility and he was it was.

231
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:36,880
Speaker 2: I literally sat there.

232
00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:38,840
Speaker 1: I was like, I don't know if I've ever seen

233
00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,000
Speaker 1: a white dude pull this off, Like I've never seen it.

234
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,880
Speaker 2: So how does that promo come to fruition? Is that

235
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:47,360
Speaker 2: his idea? Do you know?

236
00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,480
Speaker 1: He speaks Spanish and it's like, hey, you want to

237
00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,240
Speaker 1: try to cut a Spanish promo in Spanish?

238
00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:52,040
Speaker 2: How does that go down?

239
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:54,920
Speaker 3: That's a great example. That was his idea. We knew

240
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,600
Speaker 3: where we were going, and this was after double or

241
00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,599
Speaker 3: nothing before all in Texas. So man is going to

242
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:02,840
Speaker 3: be facing John Moxley at that point for the World

243
00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:07,280
Speaker 3: Championship at all in Texas. And when we talked about

244
00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,360
Speaker 3: Grand Slam in Mexico, that was an idea he mentioned

245
00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:11,560
Speaker 3: to me. He said he could speak some Spanish and

246
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,480
Speaker 3: he thought it would be great if he went out

247
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,040
Speaker 3: and did this promo. And it seemed like a great

248
00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:18,600
Speaker 3: idea to me. I thought that would be a great

249
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,680
Speaker 3: way to start the first Grand Slam in Mexico and

250
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,960
Speaker 3: it worked incredibly well. But that was his idea, and

251
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,400
Speaker 3: he asked me if he could do it, and I

252
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:30,200
Speaker 3: said yes, it sounded like a great idea. So I

253
00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,360
Speaker 3: you know, I love taking all the ideas that we

254
00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,600
Speaker 3: get and trying to sort out and pick the ones

255
00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,679
Speaker 3: that work the best and then find a good flow

256
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:39,280
Speaker 3: between those.

257
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:41,360
Speaker 2: I think that's awesome man.

258
00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:46,480
Speaker 1: Okay, so what are the next major milestones in your

259
00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:49,360
Speaker 1: mind or innovations? I saw you guys launch you guys

260
00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,679
Speaker 1: are launching a podcast network. I know you guys are

261
00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:53,680
Speaker 1: launching the uh I don't know, I don't remember what

262
00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:55,600
Speaker 1: it's called, but you can like watch the matches in

263
00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,640
Speaker 1: a condensed format on the new site that you guys

264
00:13:57,679 --> 00:13:58,240
Speaker 1: are launching.

265
00:13:58,440 --> 00:13:59,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, we have that.

266
00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:01,080
Speaker 2: Yeah.

267
00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,360
Speaker 1: So what do you see as the next major milestones

268
00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,400
Speaker 1: or innovations that you guys are aiming for in the

269
00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:05,920
Speaker 1: next year.

270
00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,280
Speaker 3: Well, there that is an aspect of it. Also free

271
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,360
Speaker 3: ad supported streaming, so they'll be like a channel with

272
00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,920
Speaker 3: just playing matches all the time on a fast channel.

273
00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:21,000
Speaker 3: I think the biggest innovations for US still are related

274
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:24,200
Speaker 3: to the relationship that is the lifeblood of AW, which

275
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,360
Speaker 3: is AW and Warner Brothers. And we're very, very blessed

276
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,320
Speaker 3: for AW now again to be approaching seven years on

277
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:37,000
Speaker 3: TBS and TNT and having a great experience now with

278
00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,920
Speaker 3: AW on HBO Max. And it's a very exciting time

279
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,480
Speaker 3: in Los Angeles. It's a very exciting time in film

280
00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:49,240
Speaker 3: and TV, really really interesting. Obviously, the eyes of Hollywood

281
00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,720
Speaker 3: and really the eyes of everybody who works around entertainment

282
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,920
Speaker 3: have been on what's happening around Warner Brothers, and it's

283
00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,840
Speaker 3: a very exciting time for us. I think this is

284
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,160
Speaker 3: going to be a great opportunity for us, and I

285
00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,000
Speaker 3: think continuing to put on strong TV on Wednesdays and

286
00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:10,240
Speaker 3: Saturdays and taking advantage of the opportunities as they come,

287
00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,040
Speaker 3: this is going to be really important for us. We

288
00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,000
Speaker 3: made some big changes in the past few years, as

289
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,040
Speaker 3: I was saying earlier. You know, in twenty twenty three

290
00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,680
Speaker 3: we added aw Collision, in twenty twenty five, we started

291
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,240
Speaker 3: simulcasting on HBO Max, and now in twenty twenty six,

292
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,880
Speaker 3: we're going to continue doing those things, trying to do

293
00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,400
Speaker 3: them very well and to be ready when the next

294
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,000
Speaker 3: big opportunity comes up. You know, those opportunities came very

295
00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:38,120
Speaker 3: quickly and we had to be ready when they came

296
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,160
Speaker 3: up to pounce on them. And I think that's important

297
00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:40,760
Speaker 3: in wrestling.

298
00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,280
Speaker 1: Colin Cowherd gets the commissioner of the NBA and the

299
00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,560
Speaker 1: NFL once a year, and I would love to have

300
00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,520
Speaker 1: a tradition where we get you once a year before

301
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,240
Speaker 1: one of these pay per views, so we can always

302
00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:53,120
Speaker 1: have these chats with you.

303
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:53,320
Speaker 2: Man.

304
00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,240
Speaker 1: I thank you for pushing the conversation forward. Thanks for

305
00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,720
Speaker 1: being so open about the business side of things and

306
00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:00,960
Speaker 1: how this stuff works.

307
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,600
Speaker 2: A lot of our listeners are interested in that.

308
00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:04,600
Speaker 1: I talk about the history of that stuff a lot too,

309
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:06,360
Speaker 1: so thank you for sharing that stuff.

310
00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:07,760
Speaker 2: And I will leave you with this.

311
00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,000
Speaker 1: There is no way in hell that Adam Hangman Page

312
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,680
Speaker 1: is losing Texas Death. There is no way with what

313
00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,280
Speaker 1: he sacrifices in that match, that he is losing. We

314
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,600
Speaker 1: make picks every week or every pay per view when

315
00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,040
Speaker 1: we do this show, and I'm telling everybody right now,

316
00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:24,560
Speaker 1: I'm picking Hangman Page.

317
00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:25,280
Speaker 2: There's no way.

318
00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,200
Speaker 1: I love Max to death. I know I'm not supposed

319
00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:28,800
Speaker 1: to love Max, but I love Max to death. I

320
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,880
Speaker 1: just think he's great for wrestling. People love to hate

321
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,160
Speaker 1: him or they love him. Either way it works. But

322
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,480
Speaker 1: there's no way Hangman Page is when I'm not asking

323
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:37,920
Speaker 1: you for picture, not allowed to do that.

324
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,800
Speaker 2: But I love what the story that you guys have told.

325
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:41,960
Speaker 2: I love where you guys.

326
00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,000
Speaker 1: Are going with this, and I wish you so much

327
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,040
Speaker 1: damn success man. Just keep doing what you're doing and

328
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,240
Speaker 1: stay on your path, and yeah, just keep making great

329
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:50,960
Speaker 1: wrestling for us.

330
00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:51,280
Speaker 2: Tony.

331
00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,880
Speaker 3: Hey, God bless you, Freddie. I really appreciate that, man.

332
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,200
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me on. I would gladly come

333
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,240
Speaker 3: back on your show anytime. I really enjoyed it. It's

334
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,160
Speaker 3: nice to be back here, and anytime you want me on,

335
00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:04,840
Speaker 3: I'm going to be here. And you're also always welcome

336
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:08,560
Speaker 3: to come see us. I really love to talk to you,

337
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,159
Speaker 3: whether it's here on your show or you're always welcome

338
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,159
Speaker 3: to come to our shows. And it's really I love too.

339
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:16,800
Speaker 3: Thank you man. We'd love to have you. And you

340
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:18,840
Speaker 3: talk about being great for wrestling. I mean, it's so

341
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,800
Speaker 3: great to have you doing this show. I think you're

342
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,520
Speaker 3: one of the biggest stars and somebody that has had huge,

343
00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,960
Speaker 3: huge mainstream success. And to have somebody that's a household

344
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:32,920
Speaker 3: name that loves wrestling enough to do a wrestling show

345
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,800
Speaker 3: and be an expert on the sport, it's amazing. And

346
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,199
Speaker 3: when I told people I was coming here again, people

347
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,760
Speaker 3: are amazed because I think everybody in America knows who

348
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,560
Speaker 3: you are, but I think that ninety nine percent of

349
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,640
Speaker 3: them probably still don't know how much you love wrestling.

350
00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,440
Speaker 2: Maybe yeah, that's cool. Yeah, man.

351
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,679
Speaker 1: It's always been a dream of mine since my grandma

352
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,680
Speaker 1: and Puerto Rico introduced me to it, and I've loved

353
00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,199
Speaker 1: it ever since. I just I fell in love with

354
00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,080
Speaker 1: those characters I'm fifty years old as of yesterday, and

355
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,959
Speaker 1: I still love all these characters today. So thank you

356
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,679
Speaker 1: for pushing it forward and keeping wrestling out there for

357
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,240
Speaker 1: everybody and giving everyone more wrestling, which is what we need.

358
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,359
Speaker 1: I think we have wrestling seven days, six days a

359
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,840
Speaker 1: week now, so it's just it's awesome, man, It's awesome.

360
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is really cool. It is great ivan wrestling

361
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,560
Speaker 3: on TV basically every day. It's a really great time,

362
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,440
Speaker 3: you know. And when we started AW there was there

363
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,080
Speaker 3: were a lot of wrestling promotions, but there was not

364
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,520
Speaker 3: as strong of a challenger brand in pro wrestling as

365
00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,399
Speaker 3: AW is. And we're having a great time to AW

366
00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,160
Speaker 3: right now. And you know, we were voted to Wrestling

367
00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,600
Speaker 3: Promotion of the Year by Sports Illustrated. We won the

368
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,879
Speaker 3: award for the best Wrestling Event of the Year from

369
00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,520
Speaker 3: Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Yahoo, The New York Post, and so

370
00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,600
Speaker 3: many of the top wrestling publications like The Observer, Fight

371
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,560
Speaker 3: Full self made all picking aw for a lot of

372
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:57,840
Speaker 3: the major awards. So it's been a great time for us.

373
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,040
Speaker 3: But you know, having read wrestling on TV basically, like

374
00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:03,920
Speaker 3: you said, almost every day, of being able to watch

375
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,840
Speaker 3: it now and having so many great wrestlers in prominent positions.

376
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,560
Speaker 3: It's awesome and I think that's been one of the

377
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,080
Speaker 3: great benefits of aw coming into prominence.

378
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,680
Speaker 2: Yeah. Man, you guys put in eight years of hard work.

379
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,800
Speaker 2: You deserve some awards. Man, I appreciate that.

380
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,720
Speaker 3: I appreciate you coming on the show, Tony, thank you,

381
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:20,760
Speaker 3: thank you. Brett