It’s mid-March, and it’s already been a pivotal year for AEW. Between the official arrival of Will Ospreay, Sting’s magnificent retirement match, and Kazuchika Okada’s surprising debut, the promotion is at a turning point.
On AEW Dynamite in Boston, Founder and CEO Tony Khan is expected to debut someone who has the chance to completely redefine the promotion’s women’s division in Mercedes Moné. He wouldn’t confirm the signing, but alluded to Wednesday night being one of the biggest nights in AEW history following months of speculation and reports.
“We’re very excited about Big Business tonight on TBS. It’s one of the most anticipated AEW events,” Khan tells Uproxx Sports. “We’ve got a huge crowd coming to the TD Garden in Boston and everyone’s looking forward to seeing the great night of AEW. I do have something very special planned for the fans at Big Business and everyone’s going to have to tune into TBS tonight to see what it’s all about.”
Big Business could be another step forward for AEW in building what Khan says is the “strongest our women’s roster has ever been.” Former champions Thunder Rosa and Kris Statlander have returned from injury. Toni Storm is blossoming as champion in a really engaging storyline next to Mariah May and Deonna Purrazzo. And while Athena has been crushing it in Ring of Honor, she could very well be added to the mix.
“I’m very excited about what Athena offers as a model world champion for Ring of Honor and the standard she’s set for the roster in ROH. I would say I think Athena is absolutely capable of wrestling the best stars in AEW as well,” Khan continues. “With Athena, the Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion, along with a tournament right now to establish a Ring of Honor Women’s World Television Champion, and ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm, the AEW Women’s World Champion, and Julia Hart, the TBS Champion, it feels like a very strong group of champions we have in AEW and ROH right now.”
While the women’s division will likely take the spotlight on Wednesday night, Khan has reloaded the men’s division as well in recent months after giving Sting a proper sendoff at AEW Revolution.
“Sting is one of the best ever,” Khan continues. “His previous sendoff was not commensurate with his iconic reputation and legendary stature. I felt that we could bring Sting back to AEW and for as long as he was interested in wrestling, we would push him to the forefront, showcase Sting, highlight what makes Sting great, and present him in the strongest light. I wanted to give Sting a great retirement, and then as I got to know him, it became even more important to me because Steve the man is every bit as wonderful as Sting.”
To fill the massive void left by the Icon, AEW has reloaded with the likes of Okada and Ospreay. Just a week into his AEW tenure and Okada has been a perfect fit alongside the Young Bucks as AEW’s top villains. And Ospreay, just two matches into his full-time AEW tenure, is showing why he was someone Khan has admired for years.
“(Ospreay) is one of the most talented athletes I’ve ever seen in a wrestling ring. He’s a perfect fit for any locker room and a perfect headliner for any wrestling company,” Khan says.
“I first met Will Ospreay over five years ago in London. He was wrestling PAC and PAC was about to sign with AEW at the time. As AEW launched, he had stepped into a top role in New Japan Pro Wrestling and he thrived there. He had become a lead star of New Japan’s promotion and we’re very, very happy that Will Ospreay joined AEW. I think Will Ospreay is exactly the kind of great star wrestler that any wrestling promoter would want to sign up for their company.”
For Khan, the first few months of 2024 have been all about riding the momentum the promotion developed at the end of last year and continuing to build stronger. The next phase in that process feels like it begins Wednesday night in Boston.
“I was very excited to launch the Continental Classic, and I thought that it would be the perfect event at the perfect time for the AEW fans across the world. I felt like it delivered one of the strongest runs of television in the history of the company and gave us a lot of great momentum going into 2024 as we ended the year,” Khan says.
“Now, I think we’ve done very well following up on that and creating a lot of excitement to start the year. It’s been a team effort from the great wrestlers in AEW and our awesome staff and the new big names that are joining the company. We’ve seen Ospreay and Okada arrive already in 2024. It’s going to be a great year and we’ll continue pushing for the very best of AEW tonight on Dynamite on TBS for AEW Big Business.”