AEW President Tony Khan recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about a wide range of topics, including Khan's thoughts on rising superstar Hook, and how he wanted to sign Kyle O'Reilly as soon as he became a free agent. Highlights from the interview are below.
On Hook:
Hook could be rookie of the year in any year. He has the marketing machine fully behind him. He’s had great coaching from his father, Taz, who is his mentor, and he’s learned from a lot of very intelligent pro wrestlers. It bodes really well for him, and he is going to be special every time you see him on screen. There is so much to look forward to in 2022, and Hook is a big reason for that.
Discusses Kyle O'Reilly joining AEW:
Kyle O’Reilly is a huge addition for AEW. He’s a great, great wrestler. And not only did we get Kyle O’Reilly, we also got Bobby Fish and Adam Cole. These are huge signings individually, but even more massive together. Adam Cole’s debut at the end of All Out, that’s one of the most important moments ever in AEW, and now he’s surrounded by his former partners. To have Kyle O’Reilly debut and help Adam Cole get the win over Orange Cassidy in a great wrestling match last week on Dynamite, that builds more interest in AEW. Kyle makes his debut in the ring this week, and it’s symbolic that it is happening on the final Dynamite on TNT. So much of our run on TNT was spent battling these guys—Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. When we were head to head, it was threatening to us every time they were on camera. Now we’ve added them to our team in AEW, which is such an advantage. Having them here is tremendous. I wanted Kyle to sign with AEW as soon as he was a free agent. This week on Dynamite will be special. We’ll see Adam Cole make his first appearance at Daily’s Place, and so will CM Punk. Sting will be there. And at the forefront of it all will be Cole and Bobby Fish teaming with Kyle O’Reilly, making his in-ring debut.
