Tony Khan is already promising his next surprises

Last night (Mar. 7) at Revolution, AEW introduced Ethan Page and Christian Cage as their latest signees.

The hype for those reveals - particularly former WWE and NWA World Heavyweight champion Christian - dominated the pro wrestling conversation heading into the company’s latest PPV. So it stands to reason that President Tony Khan would close his post-show media scrum by promising more surprises in the months ahead.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t leave the scrum without promising everyone this - which is that in this year, 2021, I promise you, I guarantee you I am going to have some aces up my sleeve this year. You are going to see some cool stuff. You are going to see some stuff you didn’t expect to see. This is is the beginning... I promise it’s going to be a great year for AEW.”

Khan spoke frequently about the company’s expanding programming slate, and the importance of both having established names like Cage to hook viewers, and rising stars like Page to fill the shows.

Dark: Elevation starts next Monday (Mar. 15) on YouTube with another ex-WWE star in Paul “Big Show” Wight on commentary. AEW also continues to promote the premiere of a long-promised second television show for TNT for later this year.

2020 also saw the start of AEW partnering with Impact, after they’d already been working with the NWA and AAA. Opening the “Forbidden Door” to New Japan also adds exciting potential crossovers, especially as COVID travel restrictions ease.

Khan’s talent acquisition, roster management, and partnership strategies make sense. But do claims like this “aces” one run the risk of over-promising? Some online eye rolls aside, It doesn’t seem to have backfired yet.

Stay tuned.