AEW President Tony Khan was on a call with the media today ahead of this Friday’s (May 15) ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view.
Early on, F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer asked Khan if he can clarify AEW’s status with its longtime toy partner Jazwares, following a story going around this week about the entire Jazwares team being laid off.
Khan admittedly didn’t give a good answer to the question, but indicated there’s “probably something” to the story.
“That’s a fair question, Dave. I do think, again, primary
focus being on wrestling, and the wrestling television show, and the live events. In this case for the merchandising, the toys are a huge part of what we’ve done, and AEW has had a great relationship with Jazwares for many years.
I do think it’s possible there could be a change, and it could potentially be a positive change for AEW and the fans. I don’t believe I can comment on it at this time beyond what I’ve already said, but it’s a good question to ask, and I understand why you’re asking it. And I do think that there is probably something to what you’re asking about.
Thanks for bringing it up. Do you have any other questions? Since I didn’t give a great answer for that one given it’s something that is in progress.”
Meltzer took the offer for a second question by asking for an update on Sareee and CMLL World Women’s Champion Persephone’s status for AEW’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Both stars were revealed to be in the official tournament bracket despite recent injury news; Persephone was pulled from the women’s world title match at Supercard of Honor due to injury, while Sareee announced that she will miss a month for “neck maintenance.”
The gist of Khan’s update on them is pretty straightforward. He thinks both wrestlers are on track to return to the ring in June, which should work out fine for the timing of their tournament matches.
Here is Tony’s longer explanation:
Right now, the plan is still for both of them to compete, and to compete where they’ll have their matches a little bit further into the tournament, maybe a few weeks from now. And I still think that works well with the schedule. You want to have the very best wrestlers, and we have a great opportunity to feature some of the top stars.
I think if the schedule holds as planned and both of them heal up, the idea would be that they both compete in June. And whoever makes it to the final, the finals will be at Forbidden Door at the end of June in your hometown, San Jose. So I think it will be an excellent tournament. I’m very excited about the participants.
That’s a great question, and I’m glad that I get to address it, because right now the goal is for Persephone and Sareee to both be back in action in June, and to have their tournament matches, and still have all the matches hit the schedule where the finals will take place at Forbidden Door. Thank you for asking.
What do you make of Tony Khan’s responses about Jazwares and the Owen Hart Tournament? Let me know in the comments below, Cagesiders.
