Tony Khan shows interest in bringing 6ft 6in legend to AEW
Tony Khan has expressed interest in bringing a 6 ft 6 in basketball legend to AEW. The latter is none other than Charles Barkley.
Barkley is a former basketball player and is often held to be one of the greatest power forwards in the history of the NBA. He currently serves as a television analyst and is perhaps best-known for his work on Inside the NBA, alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and host Ernie Johnson. The program airs on TNT, which also currently broadcasts AEW Rampage and Collision, generally on Fridays and Saturdays respectively.
Interestingly, during a recent conversation on the Dan Le Batard Show, Tony Khan disclosed that Charles Barkley is a massive pro-wrestling fan, and then alluded to All Elite Wrestling gifting custom championship belts to the crew of Inside the NBA earlier this year. Tony also referenced having worked with the legendary Shaquille O'Neal, who has made appearances on All Elite Wrestling programming in 2020 and 2021, and heaped praise on the latter as a person and as an individual he has worked with.
Khan went on to compliment Barkley for being an iconic sports host and an entertaining television personality who brings a lot to the table, and indicated that he would be open to and supportive of having the 61-year-old figure appear in AEW.
“Charles Barkley is a wrestling fan. Yeah, huge. We presented the Inside the NBA team with AEW championship belts, and he was great and very gracious. We’ve worked with Shaq, and Shaq is one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met or worked with in my entire life. I know that Barkley has been great to AEW. I don’t know exactly what the future of the NBA holds, but, you know, Charles Barkley, as far as being one of the top hosts in all of sports, as far as being one of the most entertaining people on all of television, I think he adds to any sport he’s involved in. So if he wanted to come to AEW, we would love that, and absolutely, I would encourage that and support that.” [H/T - Ringside News]
AEW's Mariah May joined the company after conversation with Tony Khan
Mariah May - winner of the 2024 Women's Owen Hart Cup - is set to challenge Toni Storm for the All Elite Wrestling Women's World Title at All In 2024 in the culmination of one of the promotion's most acclaimed and heated rivalries. During a recent interview with Busted Open Radio, The Glamour revealed that she was motivated to sign with the Jacksonville-based company because Tony Khan had approached her with a compelling storyline in the form of her current program with The Timeless One.
May expressed appreciation towards Khan for having a legitimate creative plan for her and for not simply cashing in on her momentum and prior success.
It remains to be seen if Mariah May will dethrone her former mentor Toni Storm for the latter's World Championship at Wembley Stadium.