AEW President Tony Khan admits he’s learned a lot in the past few years since the inception of his company, and a recent appearance on Behind the Turnbuckle Studios’ “The Coach & Bro Show” further proved his growth. On the podcast, Khan talked about his philosophy about not holding grudges, especially after the CM Punk incidents known as “Brawl Out” and “Brawl In” of 2022 and 2023. He said he came out of that wanting AEW to succeed and continue more than anything.

“I wanted, in a perfect world, for everybody to be able to work together and get together,” Khan said. “I don’t think that was possible, but I also think that we’ve been able, in the past few years, to really be able to keep AEW strong… I learned a number of things. I probably would do things differently. Say things differently. But, it wasn’t something I was expecting… That was a very much, ‘welcome to wrestling’ in some aspects of it, because for me, I had been in wrestling for almost four years at that point, but that was certainly a first for me. As with all firsts, you’re going to learn from them, and hope not to ever have a repeat.”

Khan said he’s changed his approach to a lot of things, and at the beginning of AEW, there was a collective “rebel spirit,” but now, the company is established. He said his efforts to grow the fanbase may be different than what he would have done at the start.

“I think the AEW fans would also agree that I’ve refined my own media strategy,” he said. “I think people have seen me trying to take the high road.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Coach and Bro SHow” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

After appearing on some early episodes of “TNA Impact” when the show moved to the AMC Network earlier this year, Steph De Lander and her husband Mance Warner abruptly departed the company last month. According to reports, the two asked for and were given their release, and De Lander recently spoke about their departure while speaking to Scott’s Scoop.

“I loved my time at TNA, and I loved being able to write my own stuff and come up with my own ideas and just let my creativity fly,” De Lander said. “Being able to do that alongside my husband, and watching him get these awesome opportunities and have banger matches and getting his first kind of real opportunity on television was awesome to see, and I feel lucky to be a part of that. I had a great time until I didn’t, until it ended.”

According to reports, De Lander asked for her release because TNA officials would not clear her to wrestle, but that doesn’t diminish some of the fond memories she made there. That includes being able to participate in a classic pro wrestling trope: an onscreen wedding. The segment took place in 2024, with De Lander marrying PCO, and Matt Cardona making his return to interrupt the proceedings.

“It was really, really cool,” De Lander recalled. “I was very excited that it was with PCO, because it was so ridiculous, down to the outfit and the hair and everything. … I wrote my own vows and we had a lot of free reign of how we wanted the segment to go.”

The wrestler stated that the performers involved received instant positive feedback from the company, which was a big boost to De Lander’s confidence as she played such a big role in bringing it to life.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Scott’s Scoop and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

In 2021, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page had the opportunity to fight Sting and Darby Allin in a tag team match at AEW Double Or Nothing in what was one of the more memorable bouts from the pay-per-view. As Sky and Page would eventually turn their attention to capturing singles gold, neither competitor would ever wrestle Sting again, but during a recent episode of the “Creating Character Podcast,” Sky opened up about how fighting “The Icon” is different than facing any other performer he’s been in the ring with.

“It was one of my favorite matches ever because the magic is there. I’ve wrestled some really talented people fortunately in my career, but there’s nothing like being in the ring with Sting. Like I can’t compare it to anyone else because there’s just this magic that’s there. He does his stuff, the people still react to it like it’s the same way they did 10 years ago, the same way they did 20 years ago, the same way they did 30 years ago. I mean, it’s there and you feel it and the fans feel it and it’s indescribable.”

Today, Sky has often struggled to get booked on “AEW Dynamite,” but has been regularly featured on “AEW Collision” where he’s been focused on achieving trios success in the faction SkyFlight alongside Dante and Darius Martin. As for Sting, he officially entered retirement following AEW Revolution 2024 when he and Allin defended tag team gold against The Young Bucks in what is still considered one of the best matches in company history.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Creating Character Podcast” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.