On a recent episode of The Taz Show, Taz talked about waiting to see All Elite Wrestling’s progress. He also discussed whether AJ Styles will jump ship to AEW.
Taz noted that he wanted to wait and see how AEW builds itself before getting too excited about the company. He considered Billy Gunn signing with AEW a good decision and that the company just needs to build on that. He also said how important a TV deal is and who it will be with.
“We can talk AEW all day, but for me, once I hear who’s hired behind-the-scenes, who’s going to run production, we know Billy Gunn is going to be backstage as a producer. That’s a great get, Billy Gunn knows his s—, Billy Gunn is a great guy, a respected pro.
I know Billy, I’ve worked with Billy, I think he’s great. That’s a great move, I’m sure Billy is excited and maybe there’s an opportunity there for Billy’s son, who’s also a wrestler. He’s going to be an excellent producer, so for Cody and The Bucks, that’s a great move, those type of people—I want to know as time goes on, who’s your director? Who’s your producer? Is it just The Bucks and Cody doing the creative, is there anybody else involved? Who’s your TV partner? We don’t know this yet, right? How long is the deal? What’s the penetration like?
“These are things that have to come out before I start saying, ‘Oh, this guy is going to jump to AEW.’ I understand you have a man with a family with a lot of money who can cut checks for anything they want. But there’s a lot more to having a successful wrestling company than having a gigantic bank book and a few men who know what they’re doing. You need other component to make it successful. I don’t want people to think I’m knocking AEW, I’m not, I’m just being honest. I think people—mostly fans—are getting ahead of themselves with this.”
With Chris Jericho’s recent signing with the company, it is clear that AEW has set its sights on big names for the company. It was reported earlier that AJ Styles’ WWE contract will be up in April. Taz discussed whether AJ would jump ship to AEW.
“If AJ were go to AEW—if that were to happen, he’s going to need a lot of money. I would assume that. He’d be right to want a lot of money, he’d be right to get a lot of money because he’s earned that.”
h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.