Tony Khan: 'Northeast Is Real Crown Jewel Of Wrestling Markets, Not Some BS In Saudi Arabia'

When Tony Khan wants to take his AEW show on the road, he prefers to set his GPS on the Northeast.

In an interview with News 12, the AEW owner acknowledged there were a surplus amount of AEW events taking place in the Northeastern states in general and the New York City metro area in particular.

"We're running a lot of great shows around the Northeast — it's so many great wrestling markets in one geographic region," he said, adding an unsubtle dig at WWE. "I'll say it, the crown jewel of wrestling markets — the real crown jewel of wrestling markets, not some BS overseas in Saudi Arabia.

"New York City is where you want to be. And I love, love, love New York. And as a wrestling fan, I've had a special connection to the city. Some of my first memories of watching sporting sports in New York are watching the Bulls and the Knicks and watching the Bears and the Giants. ... But, really, for me, wrestling has been my first love, so as a sports fan you can't be a wrestling fan without loving New York City [and] without having this great connection to the fans up here."

Khan pegged the Northeast as having "so many great fans up here, and it's a great opportunity for us this year to grow our live event business. So, we're doing more events up here than ever before."

He cited "record ratings" for recent AEW shows in Albany and Buffalo and highlighted Wednesday night's event at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens and next week's show in Philadelphia.

"As a wrestling promoter, you want to run a lot of shows around New York because it's a great market," he said.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit News 12 with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.