Fightful was in attendance at the AEW All In ticketing on sale eventBryan Danielson and Sting were kept as surprises, but were walking around the media area prior.Sting and Mercedes Mone did not do interviews.Fightful spoke with Tony Khan, Bobby Lashley, Thunder Rosa, Swerve Strickland, Big Boom AJ, Big Justice and others.Contrary to posts elsewhere, there were not "media invites." Fightful reached out to attend.Sting, Bobby Lashley and Thunder Rosa all live in Texas, which made the trip in easy for them.There were a few hundred people in attendance.Thunder Rosa was also filming for her vlog at the event.We're told Starrcast's announcement came together very late, with travel being finalized this weekend.AEW opted to not to comment on the Rey Fenix situation. Sources there stated they couldn't comment on medical-related claims.Tony KhanFightful talked to AEW Founder and President Tony Khan at the AEW All In Texas: Countdown To On Sale event at Global Life Park in Arlington, Texas.Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp begins the interview by asking Tony how he felt about the Countdown event. Tony said, “It was a fun time; the fans were great, and the energy was great from the Texas Wrestling fans.”Tony added, “This is a great venue. It’s going to be a great venue for pro wrestling. I love the wrestling business so much and one of the great things about wrestling is all the different places pro wrestling is permeated.”Tony talked more about the wrestling fans from the Lone Star state. He said the Dallas Metroplex and Arlington fans are great wrestling fans with a great pro wrestling history.Tony tells Sean that he is looking forward to AEW becoming a bigger and bigger part of the community. He mentions they were there for their AEW Collision residency and had a great experience. Tony said choosing Globe Life Field feels like the right call. He added that it is a great venue and knows the fans will bring the energy to All In 2025.Tony tells Sean, “I promise in the months to come, as things crystallize and become more clear about what’s happening in AEW and what the future is for 2025, I promise that AEW is going all in on All In Texas.”Sean asked how they prepared for the simulcast with Max. Tony told Sean,”It’s weeks away and we’re very excited for the first-ever pro wrestling simulcast. From TBS and TNT, AEW every week doesn’t really change the way the fans watch the show, but it’s going to open things up and create possibility for new fans.”He mentions the people do not have any cable and that Max will be a great way to reach them. He added that the fans who have been watching on TBS and TNT for years can still do that for years to come.Tony says it signifies the future of pro wrestling and that wrestling is always on the forefront of entertainment, whether it’s broadcast TV, cable TV, satellite, closed-circuit, pay-per-view, or pay-per-view.Tony believes streaming is the future of all entertainment and says AEW must have a foothold.Sean mentions AEW’s new strategy of hitting new markets and changing its live event strategy. Tony says, “It’s really exciting; we’ve had a great history in AEW of running all over North America and the US in these great venues. Across America, we’ve found a lot of great places for AEW. One of my favorite places for AEW is pretty close to here, Austin, Texas. We’ve had great experiences there in Cedar Park.” Tony added that some of his favorite shows were in the company's first year. After the pandemic, Tony said they went back there again and had a great night. Every time we go there, the fans bring energy to it, and it’s a great venue.He mentioned that they had an excellent crowd for Collision at GalaxyCon. Tony said the GalaxyCon executives were at the show, and they loved it.Sean mentioned that Forbidden Door was going across the pond to London. Tony said he was very excited about it. Tony said they had great experiences with the show in Toronto, Chicago, and New York. Tony added that Wembley Stadium has been a great home to them.In closing, Tony talked about his discussions and negotiating with Warner-Bros. Discovery. He said it was interesting for him as a sports executive because it was different for him in this case.Tony mentions that he’s been in many negotiations in football and pro wrestling, but knowing what it was like being in the player’s seat was great.Tony told Sean he has a great relationship and rapport with them and believes it helped AEW. Tony added that David Zaslav (CEO of Warner-Bros. Discovery) told him he believes in AEW. Tony says having the boss of Warner Brothers Discovery in AEW’s corner and the wrestling fans' corner is good. Tony said he was at the Olympics with Zaslav in Paris, and they were talking about AEW, which is on the biggest stage in international sports with top executives.See the full interview at 2 PM ET: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMhLzp8JrBM
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