Since its inception, Tony Khan has had the final say in all things All Elite Wrestling. From creative to hiring and even production decisions, the AEW President has openly spoken in the past about how he makes all the major decisions for the promotion. So, the thought of Khan not being around, for one reason or another, is an interesting hypothetical.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Khan addressed who he would trust to run AEW if he was not able to do it himself.
“He hasn’t been around as much lately because he’s been recovering from an injury,” he began. “But if I got hit by a bus, or if I was ever incapacitated for some reason, the person I told my father that he should turn to is Bryan Danielson.”
Danielson signed with AEW in September 2021 after more than a decade as a top performer in WWE and made his official debut at that year’s All Out in Chicago. His debut with the promotion came moments after Adam Cole made his, resulting in one of the loudest and longest pops I have ever experienced in person. In the two years since, Danielson has expanded his influence in the promotion, informally serving as a locker room leader alongside Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho while also formally working as an agent for AEW Collision.
Khan very well may have been blowing up Danielson’s phone this week as he has had to nimbly navigate several last-minute issues heading into AEW All In this weekend, the company’s biggest show ever. While the match between FTR and The Young Bucks is still on, Khan is keeping an eye on the situation around Cash Wheeler’s arrest, and there was speculation the match would be pulled. Elsewhere on the show, Rey Fenix had to be pulled from the Stadium Stampede match due to what was described to Haus of Wrestling as an inability to travel outside the United States while he awaits his residency.
There was also a change to the tag team Coffin Match, pitting Sting and Darby Allin against Swerve Strickland and AR Fox. Fox was “fired” by Mogul Embassy this past Wednesday night on Dynamite and will be replaced in the bout by TNT Champion Christian Cage. Cage’s last-minute inclusion on the card comes as questions swirl about his best friend Adam Copeland, aka Edge, and his pro wrestling future. Following his win over Sheamus on Smackdown last week, may seem to be under the impression Copeland could be AEW bound, possibly sooner than later.