Last week, AEW CEO Tony Khan made an appearance on "Busted Open Radio," addressing his approach to storytelling in the company, among other topics. Following up on that conversation days later on "Busted Open After Dark," WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray explained how Khan's recent words have changed his perception of AEW's booking.
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"I think [Khan's] overall feeling is that any type of long-term story is not where it's at ... for AEW," Bully said. "He thinks his fans want week-to-week television. That excites the fanbase. ... I'm almost happy to hear these words come out of Tony's mouth, because it helps me to understand his thought process when booking this stuff."
Bully went on to explain that he believes Khan is booking with a "grip it and rip it" mentality, prioritizing short-term stories. Though the WWE Hall of Famer doesn't necessarily agree with Khan's approach, the explanation has helped him understand the motivation behind many of the company's decisions.
The context around the conversation was focused on Bryan Danielson's recent match against Nigel McGuinness, which took place last week on the special Grand Slam edition of "AEW Dynamite." Danielson was off television for the entirety of the build, never confirming that he would even accept McGuinness' challenge. The storyline built on years of history but was contained to just a few weeks on TV, and Bully believes it's a result of Khan pushing back on the idea of "long-term storytelling" in wrestling.
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Despite the short build, Bully enjoyed the match, complimenting McGuinness' performance in particular. However, the former ECW star felt as though the in-ring aspect of the match failed to live up to the expectations set ahead of AEW Grand Slam last week.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open After Dark" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
