Tony Khan Talks AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door, Taking a Piledriver and the Aftermath, More

All Elite Wrestling is entering its busiest season of the year as it prepares for the third annual Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 30 followed by All In and All Out in August and September.

The main partnership behind this upcoming event has been between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but now Stardom and CMLL have been added to the mix to make the supershow bigger than ever.

The man behind all of this is AEW owner and CEO, Tony Khan. During the leadup to the recent Double or Nothing PPV, he took his first on-screen bump in a segment with Jack Perry and The Young Bucks that garnered national media attention after he wore a neck brace during the NFL draft.

We had a chance to speak to Khan about Forbidden Door, taking a piledriver, Sting's retirement, Toni Storm's ongoing storyline and much more.

Working with CMLL, Stardom and NJPW for Forbidden Door

AEW has a well-established reputation for working with other promotions. The partnership with NJPW to produce Forbidden Door has been going on for a few years, but Stardom and CMLL have also come on board to make this year's PPV even bigger.

"I really enjoy working with CMLL and I expect we're going to have a really long, fruitful, positive business relationship," Khan said. "Salvador [Lutteroth III] and the team at CMLL have been great to work with. I've dreamed of working with them for years.

"I'm a really big fan of CMLL. When Salvador and a lot of the lucha libre wrestlers come in, I start talking to them about how, when I was in college, I would watch CMLL every week and I was a big fan of Mistico and so many other great wrestlers like Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Bucanero, Tarzan Boy, they were a great trio, and Blue Panther of course.

"To be able to work with them now and with Mistico, who is an inspiration and one of the greatest stars in wrestling, it's really cool. The people at CMLL have been great to work with."

The addition of other promotions has allowed AEW to create some cross-company feuds that have been going on for several weeks during the lead-up to the PPV, with the most notable AEW/CMLL storyline involving Blackpool Combat Club.

"The folks at Stardom have come in and been a great partnership," Khan said. "I think it's the kind of partnership I've wanted to have with them for a long time. And with the changes in management, we've been able to do that.

"Under president [Hiroshi] Tanahashi at New Japan Pro-Wrestling, that relationship has only gotten stronger and better. And I believe this could be the best Forbidden Door yet, which is really saying something."

Hechicero's Popularity

One CMLL name has stood out above the rest in his recent AEW appearances: Hechicero.

Fans who were unfamiliar with his work have been blown away by his technical mastery, especially during his match against Bryan Danielson.

Khan had a good feeling about the masked star right away, though.

"We were really big believers in him and when the partnership started, he was one of the people I was most excited to work with, along with Mistico," he said.

"Hechicero is a phenomenal talent. It's so great having him in AEW right now and I'm a huge believer in him. I think he's fantastic. I love working with him in particular and all of these great stars we've been able to bring in recently from CMLL."

Khan also spoke about Titán working in AEW and how it has long been a goal of his to work with the luchador.

"Titán is a guy I've had a lot of respect for for a long time," Khan said. "He went into ROH about six years ago and had a fantastic main event with Cody Rhodes, who was the Ring of Honor champion at the time. I've been following Titán for many years. He was a guy I always wanted to get into AEW.

"There are great men and women at CMLL, and we've been able to get a lot of their great stars coming up for Forbidden Door and AEW television. It's been great."

Taking a Bump

During most of AEW's five-year history, Khan has remained largely behind the scenes.

He has occasionally appeared on TV, but he has never been the main focal point until The Elite decided to assert its authority by attacking him with a spike piledriver.

"I don't think anybody in pro wrestling wants to be spike-piledrived ever," Khan said. "It's one of the most dangerous, deadly moves in pro wrestling. It's banned in multiple pro wrestling promotions and it's illegal in several states, and there's a reason.

"I don't recommend it to anybody nor would I ever be eager to take another spike piledriver again. Only the most trained professional wrestlers can sustain that kind of beating, especially multiple times."

One of the unexpected results of this segment was Shahid Khan, Tony's father, appearing on screen and becoming a meme on social media.

"He thought it was fantastic," Khan said. "People were sending it to him. He knew it was going to get attention. He knows AEW is a big deal, and he follows the show and the product. He's not a hardcore wrestling fan, but he watches AEW."

The attack was a big moment on AEW television, but Khan wearing a neck brace while with the Jacksonville Jaguars front office during the NFL draft to sell it made just as many headlines in the following days.

"To have the voice of the NFL and host of the draft, Rich Eisen, every single round, reference the neck brace, talk about AEW, talk about the piledriver and what The Young Bucks had done to me, it got a lot of great attention for AEW," he said.

To hear Tony speak more about his father, appearing on Eisen's podcast and donating $100,000 to his charity, listen to his full response in the video above.

Booking Around Injuries

One thing that is an issue for any wrestling promotion is the possibility of an injury.

You can have a story planned out months in advance, but a torn MCL or broken bone can cause everything to change in an instant, and that means new plans need to be made.

"It's happened so much and we've had to change so many things," Khan said. "The Young Bucks referenced this body count, and they're not altogether wrong. Since they started this reign of terror, I'm not the only person they've put out and injured.

"FTR have injuries going back to their Anarchy in the Arena and their ladder match with The Young Bucks. We saw them attack Eddie Kingston in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and he's been out injured. Of course, Darby Allin has been beat up bad. What they did to him in that Anarchy in the Arena match is insane, and they left Darby hanging, beaten, bloodied, and I don't think broken.

"And Adam Copeland, also that night at Double or Nothing, not necessarily related to The Elite, but a lot of injuries have happened in AEW with top stars. A lot of the top babyfaces, a lot of the top fan favorites, and it's been great having such a deep roster and so many awesome stars. We still have so many super-popular stars on this roster who've stepped up.

"I think that's why I'm so proud of the wrestlers in AEW. I believe AEW is where the best wrestle. When we have a great wrestler like Dax or Cash, Darby or Eddie or Adam, all of these top stars are irreplaceable and we miss these guys, but the show has been able to continue because we have so many great women and men stepping up."

Toni Storm, Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa

AEW has a lot of great in-ring performers working in every style imaginable, but few have been able to capture the attention of fans with their character work like Toni Storm.

The multi-time world champion has embraced her Hollywood starlet gimmick and turned it into one of the most consistently entertaining things in the entire industry.

Khan has worked closely with Storm, Luther and RJ City during the storyline, and the inclusion of Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa has turned what used to be a mentor-protégé situation into more of a love triangle.

"It's a storyline that I had worked on and put together based on things Toni Storm has done since she became Timeless and the integration of Mariah May," Khan said. "It's a fascinating dynamic between Toni and Mariah, and I think that it's some of the most captivating stuff on AEW television week in and week out.

"It's been fascinating to watch Mariah progress since she came in. She has a great background in Japan, she's been a top star for Stardom, but we introduced her in a new character as somebody who idolizes Toni Storm and wants to be like her as a wrestler in and out of the ring.

"I've talked about how I drew inspiration from All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, and then Toni has run with it. Mina Shirakawa has a longstanding history with Mariah May going back to Stardom and their time in Club Venus. Now that we're working with Stardom, it came along as this opportunity to bring Mina into AEW and she has run with it.

"Mina has become a major part of AEW in recent weeks, and I think she's somebody who could be here on a regular basis. Somebody who can represent us as AEW women's world champion.

"All three of them, Toni, Mariah and Mina, are fantastic wrestlers. It's going to pay off at Forbidden Door in a fantastic match when Toni Storm fights Mina Shirakawa for the AEW Women's World Championship and also possibly for the respect and affection of Mariah May."

Sting's Retirement

In the five years since AEW launched, one of the most notable events to happen in the company was the retirement of Sting.

The Icon had his last match at Revolution in March alongside Darby Allin against The Young Bucks in a ladder match for the AEW tag team titles.

Not only did Sting get to retire as a champion, but he also got to enjoy the moment with his sons, Garrett and Steven Jr.

B/R spoke with the legend before his final match, but Khan shared his thoughts on how everything ended.

"The greatest thing we've ever done in AEW, in my opinion, is the retirement of Sting and the way we handled Sting's final years as a pro wrestler," he said. "He had one of the greatest careers ever in wrestling and when he arrived in AEW, he did not feel that his prior run had been what he was looking for.

"When he had previously competed in WWE, I don't think he had a great experience with WWE. He was looking to do something very different. When I first talked to Sting, he was interested in having a comeback, but I don't think Steve [Borden] ever imagined it would lead to a three-year run in wrestling that would become legendary.

"It is an immortal series of matches. Sting was undefeated in his arrival, teaming with Darby Allin in every match. The two of them came together to be the most successful team in the history of AEW. They had some of our best matches ever, some of our biggest moments, and it built to them becoming the AEW world tag team champions.

"Sting's final match, Sting and Darby vs. The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution, was, in my opinion, the greatest sendoff ever in pro wrestling.

"And Sting deserves that because he's one of the greatest wrestlers ever, and we were very lucky to have him in AEW."

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Some quotes were edited for clarity and conciseness. You can listen to Tony Khan's full responses to each question in the included videos.