All Elite Wrestling (AEW) owner and president Tony Khan intimated during a Thursday media call that no collaboration between AEW and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was forthcoming.
Khan, who also serves as Head of Creative for the company, has been credited with drawing some of the most popular wrestlers in the industry into the AEW fold. With the leadership at WWE changing in the wake of Vince McMahon’s retirement, some fans have wondered if a crossover event between the two wrestling powerhouses could occur. Khan tersely shot that idea down.
“I was pretty optimistic at the beginning,” Khan said, “but I am less optimistic given how they’ve treated me.”
According to multiple sources, WWE reached out to at least one AEW talent in the hopes of having that worker leave AEW and return to WWE. That person related the incident to AEW higher-ups, noting that they had no intention of leaving AEW. In response to the alleged case of contract tampering, AEW’s Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh sent an email to WWE co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan, telling them to to refrain from tampering with AEW’s contracted wrestlers.
Tony Khan referenced a talent meeting during which he spoke about “some issues that talent had come to us about.” Although he did not mention the alleged contract tampering or WWE by name during the call, Tony Khan added that “based on what the talent was saying to us, we felt it was time to address that issue.”
AEW has forged working relationships with other wrestling companies, including IMPACT Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Tony Khan announced his purchase of the Ring of Honor (ROH) wrestling promotion in March 2022. Forbidden Door, a successful cross-promotion event between AEW and NJPW took place in June 2022 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will take on Chicago legend CM Punk in a battle for the AEW Championship title. Since Thunder Rosa was forced to relinquish the title due to an injury, the Women’s World Championship will be decided in a four-way dance. Rosa’s former tag team partner Toni Storm will face off against Jamie Hayter and former champions Hikaru Shida and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD.
Biff Bam Pop!‘s resident panel of wrestling nerds will provide their predictions for who will win at All Out 2022 in an upcoming article.
Zero Hour, All Out‘s kick-off show, will be available for free on YouTube at 7 p.m. ET. All Out will stream live in the U.S. from the NOW Arena in Chicago on Sunday, September 4, at 8 p.m. ET on the Bleacher Report app, website and connected devices for $49.99. All Out will also be available on demand through cable and satellite TV providers along with select movie theatres in North America and Latin America. International fans can access the event through PPV.com and FITE.
