>>19857823>The match was so good that Dave rated another match of theirs higher a few months later lolLow-stakes conspiracy time...
Stuff like AEW don't just spring out of the blue but often involve a bit of planning ahead of time before they hit the pavement.
A big part of me suspects that Tony was talking to people this far back (it was only two years before AEW started) and possibly even had Dave on his payroll.
It makes sense. Overly hype the same guys working in Japan that you plan to hire after things are a bit more concrete. Get Chris Jericho to travel to Japan to get the Western spotlight on guys like Kenny.
NJPW obviously wasn't aware, but what if it was Tony driving the supposed "NJPW expansion" in the first place with the intention of stealing it.