Speaking at the Forbidden Door post-show media scrum, Tony Khan delivered a witty response when asked about WWE scheduling NXT Heatwave and an AAA event on the same day as AEW All In London. He declared it “double the compliment Jimmy Crockett got.” While others might have lashed out at the rivalry tactic, Khan remained light-hearted and unfazed, framing the clash as validation of AEW’s rising status. What could have been a scheduling headache became an opportunity for him to deliver a clever history lesson.
“It’s good. It’s double the compliment Jimmy Crockett got. That’s good, twice as nice as they were to Jimmy. That’s great. I’ll be sure to take it that way. I think we’re going to have a great AEW All In and really looking forward to going back to Wembley Stadium. It’s going to be the biggest night in AEW wrestling. I can’t speak to what the other promotions are doing, but I did see that announcement.” – Tony Khan
By comparing himself to legendary promoter Jim Crockett, Khan reminded fans of the fierce 1980s wrestling wars, when WWF aggressively counter-programmed major NWA events. “Twice as nice as they were to Jimmy,” he joked, implying that WWE only deploys such tactics against promotions they genuinely fear. The most infamous example occurred on Thanksgiving Night 1987, when Vince McMahon launched Survivor Series directly against Starrcade and threatened cable providers with the loss of future WWF PPVs. Subsequqntly Starrcade was a financial disaster, which dealt a significant blow to Jim Crockett Promotions.
