JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With WrestleMania 40 sure to have the attention of wrestling fans everywhere, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan is set to counter-program the showcase of the immortals by booking a random match between indie darlings on AEW Collision.
Khan announced the match in a special video posted on Twitter (now X).
“This Saturday pro-wrestling fans have something special to look forward to because on AEW Collision on TNT they will be treated to a dream match. AEW’s very own Jay Lethal will go one-on-one with Turbo Ned Tyson! This is an exciting dream match that you can only see in AEW and will no doubt be the best professional wrestling match you’ll see all weekend! This makes Collision the most must-see wrestling event of the weekend for real fans. They’re going to tear the house down for the dozens in attendance!”
Wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer rambled just barely coherently about the match announcement on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.
“You know it’s Mania weekend and um Tony knows that like, it’s obviously, um, gonna take a huge chunk of the Collision rating. A huge chunk. Um, and obviously, like, you know the ratings are not that great right now as is. You know. So he thinks this match will get some of the more hardcore audience to tune in right. But um, like. It’s not gonna work right, unless he programs it during, like, the Bobby Lashley and Street Profits versus whatever Karrion Kross’ group is called you know. But it’s a dream match, could be good. But, like, you know. It’s what it is.”
Khan has hit back against critics who say booking such a match just for the sake of it is wasting a dream match.
“This is a match that pro-wrestling fans have been clamoring for. It doesn’t matter that there isn’t a story to build up to it. It will be better than whatever The Rock does in that ring. Just wait and see the Cagematch ratings afterward. It’s going to be the highest-rated match of the weekend in terms of star ratings. The views and arena attendance don’t matter as much as that. Also, make sure to watch Dynamite on Wednesday for another great card.”
At press time, Khan was reportedly seen huffing a white powdered substance while drafting up various promotional tweets for the match to be sent out during WrestleMania.
