QT Marshall, while involved in the operational side of AEW, does not compete as a wrestler due to a brief period of stepping away from the company. He took a leave of absence from AEW in November 2023, returning in February to assume a producer role.
On the “Gabby AF” podcast, Marshall touched upon the reasons behind his departure from and subsequent rejoining of AEW. Highlights from the interview can be found below:
Regarding his decision not to get back in the ring for AEW, Marshall clarified, “I don’t wrestle at AEW because Tony [Khan] and I could never reach a consensus on the wrestling aspect.”
Speaking on his relationship with Tony Khan, he voiced his appreciation stating, “I love Tony. Forget about what anyone else has to say about him. Everyone always echoes how nice of a guy he is. So when I got back, it was like ‘Hey, what do you want me to do?’ We worked out an agreement. I just bring a backpack, and I have the freedom to wrestle for any other company, obviously excluding WWE.
“At one point, I considered wrestling for TNA while still working for Tony. Or even before I left, a year ago, Scott D’Amore and I had come to a consensus, and Tony was willing to cover my flight expenses. It was wonderful. But then Scott fell out of touch, and I was left wondering ‘what’s happening?’ Now, I’m excited to work with Maple Leaf Wrestling in a few weeks.”
On his podcast “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy,” TNA veteran Matt Hardy discussed the role Tony Khan played in the Stadium Stampede match in 2020. Highlights from the podcast are outlined below:
Regarding Tony Khan’s involvement in Stadium Stampede, Hardy shared, “He was present. We filmed that over the course of the night, with Tony being actively engaged with every aspect… We were really pressed for time to finish before the sun rose. It was an all-nighter, much like many we’ve pulled for cinematic matches.”
When asked about contributing ideas, Hardy affirmed especially regarding his scenes. He continued, “It was one of the easiest shoots, mainly due to the number of people involved…” He concluded by reminiscing about some memorable moments during the shoot, including his scenes with Ortiz and Santana in the pool and changing characters a few times.