When Did Tony Khan Know Kazuchika Okada Was Appearing On AEW TV?
The Rainmaker finally made his AEW bow on this past week's Dynamite.
During a recent media call ahead of tonight's AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door PPV, Tony Khan has revealed when he knew that Kazuchika Okada would be appearing on AEW programming.
Of course, the Rainmaker made his AEW bow on this past Wednesday's edition of Dynamite, with many fans previously pondering whether or not the legendary NJPW star would have a role to play at Forbidden Door. As we now know, Okada will be looking to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Jay White tonight in a four-way contest that also features 'Hangman' Adam Page and Adam Cole.
In terms of when the AEW President knew that Okada would be appearing on AEW TV, Khan explained that he didn't find out about this until the week prior.
As per Wrestling Inc.:
"Would I have liked to have all the people involved on TV longer? Yes. That was one of the cliffhangers I knew I was going to face going in. [A] while back, I didn't know that. I thought we could get Okada in sooner. I found out he wasn't coming till the week before. I had to deal with it."
Khan had plentiful praise to lavish on the New Japan icon during this call, detailing how he was a fan of Okada's "long before we launched AEW or before I knew I was going to be in the wrestling business" and proclaiming how it was a "huge honor" to have the star appear on AEW Dynamite.
Emanating from Chicago's United Center, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door takes place tonight.
Be sure to head to FITE.tv to purchase AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.