Tony Khan issues clarification amid rumors of embarrassing backstage botch in AEW

AEW is moving forward into its seventh year of operations, and due to the company still being young, there are growing pains that can on occasion cause some embarrassing moments. Amid concerning rumors ahead of one of AEW's biggest events, Tony Khan has caused a stir with his latest statement of clarification, which may do more harm than good.

All Elite Wrestling is set to make its debut Down Under on Saturday, February 15 with Grand Slam: Australia. The big event has had several setbacks already, as it was originally announced for Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, but was moved to the much smaller Entertainment Centre due to ticket sales. Grand Slam was expected to be a pay-per-view, but AEW recently announced that the show will air on TNT and Max as a standalone TV special. The 8pm ET start time was nixed as it would conflict with TNT's NBA All-Star Weekend coverage, so now Grand Slam will hit the air as soon as NBA coverage ends, but on a tape delay of around 21 hours.

Khan recently spoke with TV Insider to promote tonight's Dynamite. During the conversation, he claimed that having Grand Slam as a TV event was the plan all along. The AEW President made the claim when asked if he intended for the Australian debut to air on television and not pay-per-view.

"Yes. Having this be a TV event has always been the plan. That’s something that the network wanted. It’s something the network brought to us recently as an opportunity to follow NBA All-Star Saturday. We saw it as a huge opportunity. It was a great vote of confidence for our partners at Warner Brothers Discovery. It will be one of the biggest nights of the year on TNT. It’s a great opportunity given the lead-in," Tony Khan said.

The All Elite debut in Australia will be AEW's fifth annual Grand Slam event. However, this will break the tradition of Grand Slam airing in late September as a two-night TV special from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NYC.

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Updated lineup and rumors for AEW Grand Slam

All Elite Wrestling is less than two weeks from its Australian debut with the fifth annual Grand Slam show, airing on Saturday, February 15 via tape delay from the Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Below is the current lineup:

• Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher
• Women's World Championship: Mariah May (c) vs. Toni Storm

AEW is expected to update the Grand Slam card on tonight's Dynamite. Rumored matches include TBS Champion Mercedes Moné vs. Aussie star Harley Cameron, International Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. local Aussie talent Buddy Matthews, plus World Champion Jon Moxley or Claudio Castagnoli vs. New Zealander Jay White.