The Boys Are Back & So Is Tony Khan

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,320 - Battleground! 2 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,400 - Live from the parts unknown studios. 3 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:06,800 - You've entered the Battleground. 4 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:07,640 - Yeah. 5 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:09,640 - Battleground! 6 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:11,640 - The Battleground! 7 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:13,480 - Battleground! 8 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:14,800 - The Battleground! 9 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,080 - Welcome to the Battleground podcast. 10 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:19,440 - Your place for all things for wrestling. 11 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:20,840 - Battleground! 12 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:22,840 - The Battleground! 13 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,760 - Battleground! 14 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:25,960 - The Battleground! 15 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,080 - Now making their way to the microphones. 16 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:30,080 - Let's get 'em for your host. 17 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,080 - Welcome to the Battleground! 18 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,920 - What's up you guys? 19 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,800 Welcome back into I Heart Radio's official wrestling podcast, 20 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,120 The Battleground podcast. 21 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:42,760 It is a big week here on the show. 22 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,880 We have a guest that we like to call. 23 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:46,600 I guess we can say best friends now, 24 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,560 'cause I mean, he's been on the show many times. 25 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,920 He set the records of most appearances on the show. 26 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,280 I'm gonna bring him a tag team partner, Eli, 27 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,120 and without further ado, let's just go ahead and bring him. 28 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,000 And it's the first time we've seen each other on camera. 29 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,280 There he is, the man and the myth, the legend Tony Khan. 30 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:03,280 How are you doing, sir? 31 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:04,320 - I'm doing very well, Tim. 32 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:06,400 Thanks for having me on today. 33 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,840 - Thanks for not saying I'm being biased or anything Tony, 34 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:10,240 but there's my shirt. 35 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:11,520 (laughing) 36 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,360 - Wow, oh the king. 37 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,400 - I mean, just thrown it out there. 38 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:16,760 - I'm just honoured out there, 39 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,040 but let's talk about this honor club, man. 40 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,920 I wanna before we talk about ring of honor for this Friday night. 41 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:24,480 I wanna talk about honor club. 42 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,520 I mean, had a very successful relaunch, 43 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:29,920 both you get my money and Eli's money every month, 44 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,360 because we joined it. 45 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,320 Do you have any numbers to report on that side of things 46 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:36,120 of like the numbers of how many subscribers 47 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:37,600 of them? - Yeah. 48 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,320 - Well, we have more subscribers than ever before 49 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:42,440 for ring of honor for dreaming, which is amazing, 50 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,160 because we just relaunched the service from scratch. 51 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,080 And already, it's set a record 52 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,480 with about 15,000 subscribers to ring of honor right now, 53 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,680 just for the TV, which is amazing. 54 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,240 And also, we're doing great numbers for pay preview. 55 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,680 So it's really amazing how well ring of honor is done 56 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:58,680 since we've re-launched. 57 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,600 In addition to all the exciting things happening in AEW right now, 58 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,520 we have a huge show tonight in St. Louis AEW Dynamite, 59 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,240 and then we're heading to LA for a huge super card of honor. 60 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,400 So very excited, last in wrestling. 61 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,720 - Pretending to the Thursday night show 62 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,960 which has been blowing up last few weeks. 63 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:20,040 - It's casting. 64 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:21,680 - Critical claim. 65 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,480 Was there any pressure to present the new ring of honor 66 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,400 kind of in the old way, or did you have any, 67 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,440 was there any pressure to kind of make it similar to AEW? 68 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:33,240 Or like, what was your thought process 69 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,320 between the presentation of the Thursday night show? 70 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,800 - I feel like it's been very beneficial to AEW 71 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,160 and to me to go do ring of honor, 72 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,120 because there's no pressure at all. 73 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:46,240 I like going there. 74 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:47,560 There was no pressure on me to do anything. 75 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:48,920 I can do whatever I want. 76 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:51,240 There's no network, there's no breaks. 77 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,440 There's no timing, really. 78 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:57,720 I can just put on shows of any length, 79 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,000 and any duration and content I would like. 80 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,440 So it's a lot of fun, and I also think it gave me 81 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,720 a fresh perspective, and I think it's been beneficial 82 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:08,000 to AEW as well. 83 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,840 For ring of honor, there is such a loyal fan base, 84 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,080 and I wanted to present a ring of honor 85 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,520 that would really resonate with ring of honor fans 86 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,720 in the past, but I also realized that we're trying to grow 87 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,560 the ring of honor fan base, which we successfully done. 88 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,080 Now, where we have record numbers for subscribers 89 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,840 and had a record number on paper view also. 90 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,920 So now we're looking at also the best attendance we've done 91 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:35,920 since I took over coming in for super card of honor, 92 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:37,960 and we've done most of the best gates 93 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,320 in ring of honor history have just been hit in shows. 94 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:41,840 We've done since I took over, 95 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,240 this is only my fourth ring of honor paper view event, 96 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,720 and so far it's been a great relaunch. 97 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,680 And we have a big paper view coming up this Friday night, 98 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,160 and for hardcore wrestling fans, 99 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,840 I think it's really one of the major talking points 100 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,640 in sport right now is what's coming up this Friday 101 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,560 on Ring of Honor, normally I'm coming in with you 102 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,040 to talk about what's happening on AEW Dynamite. 103 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,440 We have a huge show on TV S tonight, 104 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,040 but also a lot of interest in what's happening 105 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,800 and ring of honor this week. 106 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,720 - Yeah, and it's been insane just watching everything 107 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:13,760 and kind of go back to it. 108 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:15,640 You also don't have to worry about finding people, 109 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,680 if they say dirty words on Ring of Honor, 110 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,160 I'm 30 nights, if they want to slip something up, 111 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,360 no, you don't have to find them there. 112 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:24,520 But of course talking about super card of honor, 113 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,520 which is gonna be available to watch on paper view this week, 114 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:28,840 and also on Bleach Report, 115 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:32,120 which you announced earlier this week. 116 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,480 This year's super card of honor is upon us, 117 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,280 and it's gonna be a little bit of sweet 118 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:39,520 after the untimely passing of Jay Brisco, 119 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:40,520 this past January. 120 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,360 So let's talk about what we are sure will be a highlight 121 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,520 and I'd reach for the Sky ladder match 122 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,320 to determine the new ROH World Tag Team Champions. 123 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:51,960 I mean, how did this tribute come about 124 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,320 and what can we expect out of this match? 125 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,480 - We were talking about ideas to pay tribute 126 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:59,440 to the late great, Jayman Pue, Jay Brisco, 127 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,800 and so many of us love Jay Brisco. 128 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,400 He was beloved in the locker room, 129 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,680 and there's wrestling fans all over for the world 130 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,600 that loved him, and we wanted to pay tribute to him 131 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,160 in Ring of Honor with something special. 132 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,120 And of all the ideas I heard, this was by far, 133 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,360 the best idea came from somebody who liked him a lot, 134 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,200 and wanted to contribute a good idea, 135 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:24,000 and it's really something that Mark Brisco 136 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,760 really thought it was a great idea, 137 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:27,240 and that was important to me too. 138 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:29,560 Of course, Mark Brisco's wrestling on this paper view 139 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,840 for the Ring of Honor World TV title, 140 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:36,840 but Mark Brisco also co-holder of the World Tag Team Championship, 141 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:42,200 and having his opinion, having his buy-in to this plan, 142 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,440 made all the difference in the world, 143 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:46,720 and so we're gonna have the Jay Brisco 144 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,160 reach for the Sky Tag Team Ladder Match 145 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:50,880 to determine new champions. 146 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,680 It will be new belts, we retire the old design, 147 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,600 but we'll always pay tribute to the Brisco brothers, 148 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,920 and I'm very, very excited for this paper view on Friday, 149 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,400 and one of the major reasons is the reach 150 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,200 for the Sky Tag Team Ladder Match, 151 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,120 paying tribute to the late great Jay Brisco. 152 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,520 - Right, where huge bell guys in case you can't see 153 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,480 behind Tim, so we're excited to see the new belts. 154 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,360 - Yep, incredible. 155 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,040 Another title match that's got a lot of people buzzing 156 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,080 would be the pure championship, 157 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,760 Willer Universe's Japanese legend Katso Yuri Shibada. 158 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:25,200 That's all right, it was that close. 159 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,960 The Blackpool Combat Club, 160 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,360 they've shown a lot of aggression as of late, 161 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,560 kind of uncharacteristic, I'd say. 162 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:34,440 How do you think that helps the champ 163 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,640 in a title match of this magnitude? 164 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,400 - Oh, I think the Blackpool Combat Club 165 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,600 and their recent success really bowed well 166 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:44,560 for the champ in this match, and I think 167 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,520 we've seen the Blackpool Combat Club come in 168 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,920 and more intense and more determined than ever, 169 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,600 certainly a darker side of the Blackpool Combat Club 170 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:54,800 than what we're used to. 171 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,760 But for Willer Uta, in particular, 172 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,440 seeing that new edge that aggressiveness to him, 173 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,840 it's something he showed on the independent scene, 174 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:05,880 I think, and you know, he had this in him, 175 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:08,320 and now in AEW we're seeing that darker side 176 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:09,640 of Willer Uta too. 177 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,280 Shibada is one of the greatest wrestlers of our generation. 178 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,480 It's also one of the most inspiring stories 179 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,120 in pro wrestling in many years, 180 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,960 but those you don't know, I think a lot of people saw Shibada 181 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,960 came into AEW, and that's how a lot of fans 182 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,360 here learned this story, and then there's a lot of hardcore fans 183 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:26,560 that know the story very well. 184 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,080 Also, that Shibada was retired from wrestling 185 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,760 and he had life threatening injuries 186 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:34,360 to say they were career threatening 187 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:35,480 would be an understatement. 188 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:37,600 Nobody ever thought Shibada could 189 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:39,480 or should ever wrestle again, 190 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,640 but he worked so hard to get cleared and get to the point 191 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,240 where he was absolutely by every doctor. 192 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,440 We spoken to him, he is allowed, he's cleared, he's good to do this, 193 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,680 and he had his big return bout against Orange Cassidy in AEW, 194 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,040 and the appetite, the interest around it, it. 195 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,200 Left people wanting so much more, 196 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:03,000 and he's continued to work hard in this comeback, 197 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,920 and now for Shibada, somebody who is such a great star 198 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,880 in this sport to have him wrestling wheeler-yuda 199 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,400 for the Ring of Honor Pure Championship at Supercarb this Friday, 200 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,640 it's a huge, huge deal, and we're really excited 201 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,200 about the paperview. 202 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,200 - Sure, and the one thing I'm excited about is 203 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:21,760 because when you see these paperviews, 204 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,320 you're usually a late night show, 205 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:26,360 but the fact that in Nashville time, 206 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:30,360 it starts at six o'clock this Friday night live on paperview. 207 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,200 Is it good for you to have these early night paperview shows 208 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,360 start earlier than waiting to eight or nine o'clock Eastern time? 209 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:40,000 So seven o'clock hard time. 210 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:45,000 - Well, I think the zero hour starts then at six o'clock, 211 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,040 but to be fair, I think it's gonna start 212 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,840 in a pretty usual start time that you get for a paperview, 213 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,800 because I think it'll be 5 PM Eastern for, 214 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,680 so I do think to your point, sorry, 5 PM Pacific, 215 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:03,280 so to your point, now we're just using people to. 216 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:04,760 - What's that on that, all you should do? 217 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:06,360 - We just need our one specific time. 218 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,240 - It's the normal start time. 219 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:10,680 - Okay, it's not a name or we start. 220 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:13,640 - Yeah, well, when I was looking at it earlier, 221 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:15,920 I saw that it said it starts at seven PM Eastern, 222 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:17,840 so I was like, okay, cool, it's gonna be an early night 223 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,320 for me, the zero hour. 224 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,840 - Yeah, okay, and we've had the conversation, 225 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,040 we get so excited about all these wrestling shows, 226 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,120 and now that he can watch that and still be able 227 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:29,600 to get into bad at a decent hour, 228 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:30,920 you know, it's a Friday night. 229 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,080 - Well, if they end a little earlier, 230 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,680 'cause the Honor Paperviews, we typically do 231 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:38,280 three hour paperviews, whereas for AEW, 232 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,680 there are three hours and 55 minutes, typically. 233 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:43,960 So, right, it's somewhere in that range. 234 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,240 This is gonna be a great fail. 235 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,120 It's gonna be a really good value for your money. 236 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,840 It's gonna be one of the best wrestling shows in the year. 237 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:51,840 - Super excited, and of course now let's talk 238 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,040 about the big main event, which could not have been 239 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:55,040 scripted better. 240 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,160 I mean, you could tell who Eli's cheering for in this match. 241 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,280 - I mean, it sees people on the ring. 242 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:00,120 - It's a bad day, Matt. 243 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,360 I almost thought this was more productive, 244 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,680 so we didn't have them because this is a radio interview, 245 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:06,640 and you guys can go and be stuff on video 246 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:07,880 that nobody can see. 247 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,800 - Well, we also put the video up on the radio station's pages, 248 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:11,960 so they can watch it as well. 249 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:13,360 So it's all over the place. 250 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,600 We give it to everybody. 251 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,280 But I mean, we see longtime rivals Eddie Kingston 252 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:20,360 taking on one of the greatest adversaries. 253 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,400 The current ROH champ, Claudio. 254 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,280 I mean, this match has instant classic written all over it. 255 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:30,120 What would it mean for ROH for Eddie, for ROH, 256 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,880 for Eddie Kingston to do the unthinkable defeat 257 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:34,120 Claudio for the world title, 258 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,800 and essentially becoming the face of ring of honor? 259 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,360 - It would be incredible. 260 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,000 And that's one of the reasons people are so excited 261 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:43,560 about this paper review. 262 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:46,400 Eddie Kingston is one of the most popular wrestlers 263 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:47,400 in the world. 264 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,280 You don't have to look any further than that shirt to see. 265 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,080 There's fans all over that love Eddie. 266 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,520 And if you can't see, if you're not watching the video 267 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,120 version, that's a great looking Eddie Kingston shirt. 268 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,240 And Eddie Kingston is one of the most popular wrestlers. 269 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:03,320 We've had an AEW. 270 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:05,520 He also had wrestled in Ring of Honor, 271 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,760 but his history with Claudio goes back even further. 272 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,120 They've wrestled each other in Chikara, 273 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:15,440 an independent promotions, and they genuinely hate each other. 274 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,680 It is exciting to get one of these big matches 275 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,880 where the guys absolutely despise each other, 276 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:22,880 but they want to get in the ring 277 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:24,760 and prove who the better wrestler is. 278 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:25,720 And that's what we're going to get it. 279 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,400 The ring of honor is super card of honor this weekend. 280 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:32,080 And like I said, it's a little bit different doing it 281 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,960 on a Friday, but it's kind of the standard start time 282 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:37,240 for one of our shows. 283 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,560 But I think you're going to see the amount of action you get 284 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:43,560 in this three-hour paper view plus zero hour. 285 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:46,120 It's going to be about as great a night of wrestling 286 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,040 as we've had in a long time. 287 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,880 I got it say though, AEW and Ring of Honor, 288 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,320 it's very competitive because I think we've got a great card 289 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:53,920 for Ring of Honor. 290 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,880 We also were probably coming off one of the best AEW shows 291 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:58,120 we've ever done. 292 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,240 AEW Revolution might be our best paper view there. 293 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,080 So it's really awesome what's happening. 294 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,760 AEW and Ring of Honor both putting on great shows. 295 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,080 I'm excited for AEW Wednesday night night night night night 296 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,200 tonight live on CBS and very excited about Ring of Honor 297 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,000 super card of honor coming up on Friday. 298 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,200 And hopefully we'll get you guys out to one of the live shows. 299 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,560 I like seeing you on here now. 300 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:25,080 Yeah, but maybe even a person. 301 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:25,920 Yeah, for sure. 302 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,160 I mean, I wouldn't mind taking a trip to Florida now. 303 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,520 I mean, Tennessee weather's kind of awful at the moment. 304 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,000 I was debating trying to get out to double or nothing 305 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,120 because I went a few years back and I just 306 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:37,000 can't make it happen. 307 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,200 But yeah, I got to get back to a paper view. 308 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:41,520 Definitely got to get back to. 309 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,800 And I know we put up a thing the other day. 310 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:46,960 The gift that goes around on Twitter of you 311 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:48,200 and you're like, look at it. 312 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,520 And we put that as a teaser for you being on the show today. 313 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:54,480 And so we asked some listeners if they had any questions. 314 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,480 And I know Eli grabbed one of the listeners questions. 315 00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:58,760 It's a really good one. 316 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,480 Yeah, it's actually from another podcast that we're friends with. 317 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,960 They wanted to know if there's-- and this was for AEW and Ring of Honor. 318 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:12,160 If there is any interest in working with Start-Up and if so, 319 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:16,600 are there any wrestlers from Start-Up that are maybe on your radar at the moment? 320 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,440 I am interested in working with Start-Up. 321 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,480 It's something that I've talked to New Japan about. 322 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,920 And obviously, they have that business relationship there. 323 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,640 And it's definitely something I'd be open to. 324 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:30,960 So we'll have to keep an eye on that. 325 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:35,400 But definitely interesting things happening in the world of Josie. 326 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,880 And we've brought some great Josie wrestlers over the-- 327 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:39,880 Right. 328 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,160 --and some great women's division and exciting things happening there. 329 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,800 So I would be interested to work with Start-Up in the future. 330 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:47,600 Killer. 331 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:48,120 Sweet. 332 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:49,640 Well, we don't want to take up too much your time. 333 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:50,640 I know you're a busy man. 334 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:51,120 I was-- 335 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:52,760 God, this week's got to be insane for me. 336 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:53,640 I was just about in early. 337 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,080 I was like, when does Tony ever sleep? 338 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,720 Does he have like a caught-it-girl position where he's just like-- 339 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:58,080 Yeah. 340 00:13:58,080 --> 00:13:59,480 Lean back if he could try to tell you. 341 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,360 He was like, John just follow you around with coffee and just here. 342 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:03,360 Here, here, here, here. 343 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:04,360 Like-- 344 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:05,880 I drink a lot of coffee. 345 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,160 I think this video evidence of that. 346 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:09,160 Yeah. 347 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:10,160 I'm going to drink a lot. 348 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,800 I'm heading from this NFL owners meeting to St. Louis for what is going to be a great show. 349 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:19,640 Wednesday and I die in my TBS and then have some meetings before I go to LA. 350 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,080 So I've actually got another stop after St. Louis before I head to LA. 351 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:24,200 Oh, I love the grind. 352 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:28,520 And I haven't taken a Wednesday off since 2019, guys. 353 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:29,520 Yeah. 354 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,480 And the new show debuts tonight as well, right? 355 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:34,000 All access. 356 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:34,640 Is that tonight? 357 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:35,320 Absolutely. 358 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,440 A-w-all access from you tonight following the-- 359 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:39,440 I've been at nine of my-- 360 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,520 So it's such a exciting week for us with Wednesday and I-- 361 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,040 Oh, I know I know I know I know access. 362 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,760 Ring of honor, TV, tomorrow and then of course, that's the go home for the big super 363 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:48,760 card of honor, paper view. 364 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:50,440 We're going to have a great time. 365 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,000 And now I'm getting used to this, doing the video interviews. 366 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,920 So now I'm sorry we're ending because I feel like we're just getting this good group. 367 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,560 Normally we're just talking on the phone. 368 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,560 But this is a different vibe doing the video. 369 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:02,560 Yeah. 370 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:06,320 We'll set up another time when there's not crazy busyness for you. 371 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:07,680 And you can have a free moment. 372 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,000 We can do a little bit of a long, form interview. 373 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,200 And again, we don't want to take it about your time. 374 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,880 But it's always an honor and a pleasure to have you on the show any time we can get you on. 375 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,080 I'd great to see you, Tim, and my pleasure to see you, Eli. 376 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,120 And hopefully we'll get you guys to a show. 377 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,320 Sometimes soon, and Eli, that is a great Eddie Kingston shirt. 378 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:28,160 If you're listening on the radio, Eddie Kingston versus Claudio Friday on paper view, 379 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:29,760 it's going to be a big one plus done on the show. 380 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:30,960 I was wrestling tonight. 381 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:36,120 Tonight on TVS, Claudio 2 and a big one, the BCC versus Dalton Castle and the boys. 382 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:37,800 That would be fun. 383 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:38,800 Damn. 384 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:40,120 It'll bad for the boys on that one. 385 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:41,120 I don't know. 386 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,960 Tony, be appreciate you coming on this show today. 387 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,360 And we look forward to talking to you soon and looking forward to all the fun stuff that 388 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:53,000 AW and Ring of Honor have in store for us this week. 389 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,840 Thank you so much for having me on Tim. 390 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:56,840 It was really nice to see you. 391 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:57,840 Nice to see you too. 392 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,400 Eli, hopefully see you guys soon. 393 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,880 We hope you enjoyed today's episode of the Battleground Podcast. 394 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:08,040 Make sure you give it five stars then a nice review to stay up to date with the show. 395 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,640 Follow them at Battleground Podcast on Instagram. 396 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:20,640 [MUSIC] 397 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,220 (upbeat music)