Tony Khan Wants To Condition AEW Fans To See Hook As A Star

AEW finally pulled the trigger and sent Hook this past week, as Team Taz’s crisp loving cult sensation made his in-ring debut on last week’s AEW Rampage, running through Fuego Del Sol with ease.

Ahead of Hook’s in-ring bow, Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio with Mark Henry to talk about his debut, saying the following:

“As we’ve been building up to this Hook match, and Mark can tell you, Taz is such a proud father. And to be able to call his son’s first-ever pro-wrestling match tonight on television, I’m really excited for that. Everybody here has got a family, fathers and sons, and I just think that - and Mark can attest to it, I’m sure - Taz is so proud of his kid. Taz may be a ‘bad guy’ or a heel in the world of wrestling, but he’s a great dad. I’m excited for him.”

Mark Henry responded; “Yeah, he is a proud Papa. You hear him talk about his lacrosse career and put him over so well that led him to his accomplishments to where he is today. Hook is a competitive athlete and has got a lot of pride, he’s had some success and he wants to further that success. I think AEW is the vehicle and the venue for him to shine, and I think Taz is going to be right there. As much as Taz is hated, I think that he’ll get a pass for cheering for his son.”

Hook has become a familiar face in AEW, building up a cult following due to his unenthusiastic mannerisms when appearing in Team Taz segments, and Khan revealed he has taken his time with Hook for a reason: “It’s really important [that] we haven’t rushed him. There’s been plenty of times where I thought Hook, in his training has looked fantastic and he’s got every bit of the skill that it would take to go on Dynamite or Rampage, but the reason that I held off until tonight, Rampage on Long Island, was I felt like to give Hook this chance to debut tonight in his hometown, I think people are going to see the way the crowd reacts to Hook tonight and all the fans watching at home will see how people react to him, and when Dynamite comes to their area, they will react to Hook and be conditioned to react that way and see him as a star. I really wanted to give him a great debut.”

H/T: WrestleZone