Tony Khan says license for 5-time WWE World Champion's old theme song was "as expensive as a wrestler's contract"

Tony Khan has often gone above and beyond fan expectations when it comes to the presentation of his stars and often uses licensed songs for their entrances. According to Khan, securing the 'Final Countdown' for Bryan Danielson resulted in a hefty sum.

During his ROH tenure, The American Dragon utilized the song as his entrance theme, and as such many of his early fans associate it with him. Tony Khan is likely aware of this, and like CM Punk using his ROH theme, 'MiseriaCantare,' when he faced MJF at AEW Revolution 2022, it was massive fan service.

During the recent Forbidden Door Post-Show Media Scrum, Tony Khan explained how far he went to secure the theme.

"It's a very expensive song, 'Final Countdown'. I had been working on it for a while leading into the pay-per-view because I believed it would be a big moment and it would give the match something special. It was as expensive as a wrestler's contract but it was worth it," said Khan. [H/T: Cultaholic]

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!
For the first time ever, Bryan Danielson takes on Kazuchika Okada in your main event on Forbidden Door!

Order #AEWxNJPW #ForbiddenDoor on PPV right now!
🇺🇸: bit.ly/ForbiddenDoorBR
🔗: allelitewrestling.com/watch-forbidde…
@bryandanielson | @rainmakerXokada https://t.co/Kkr8Ozy5tJ

Unfortunately, Bryan Danielson recently confirmed that he suffered an injury at Forbidden Door II and will likely miss out on six to eight weeks to recover, meaning he'll miss out on All In.

Missed out on AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II? Catch up with the results right here.

Tony Khan also made efforts to secure 50 Cent's 'Many Men' in the same vein

The Gunn Club is one of AEW's quickest-rising duos and has already held tag team gold in the promotion. Despite their reign being short, fans often call back to their entrance with 50 Cent's 2003 hit track, 'Many Men.'

During the same media scrum, Tony Khan revealed that, like with 50 Cent's song, he could only secure 'Final Countdown' for one utilization but that it will never be removed from official recordings.

"With 'Many Men,' also I only used it for one time but we have the rights in perpetuity when people go back and watch that great FTR vs. Gunns world tag team championship match from Dynamite. They'll always have 'Many Men' when we do feature that long-term in a streaming library...just like tonight that performance of Final Countdown will be available in perpetuity," revealed Khan. [H/T: Cultaholic]

Gunn Club coming out to Many Men by 50 Cent in New York is one of the best things that has happened in AEW tonight!
#AEWDynamite
https://t.co/p5ORTIT7aE

Tony Khan also noted that he isn't sure if he'll be able to secure 'Many Men' in the future, despite the warm fan reception to the entrance. However, things look slightly more positive for 'Final Countdown,' as he claimed the acquisition was a long-term plan.