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AEW President Tony Khan has addressed Mercedes Monéâ€s decision to appear in several independent promotions.

Apart from being the reigning AEW TBS Champion, Mercedes Moné currently holds 11 other championships, including titles from several independent promotions. She also makes appearances for those promotions whenever necessary, and Tony Khan stated that Monéâ€s independent bookings outside AEW show her love for wrestling.

Speaking to Josh Martinez of Z100 New York, Tony Khan revealed that Mercedes Moné was not “really making money†from her appearances on the independent promotions, and that she loves building up companies and meeting new stars.

“With all the commitments Mercedes has taken on, I think itâ€s really impressive. Iâ€ve said it before and Iâ€ll say it again, that shows itâ€s not about pure greed and money for Mercedes because a lot of these places sheâ€s wrestling, Winnipeg, Canada, Denmark, theyâ€re not the highest paying places. Sheâ€s not really making money from these. She loves wrestling. She loves building up companies, she loves meeting new young stars and she really cares about the craft and the sport of wrestling.†[H/T: F4WOnline]

Tony Khan also addressed Chris Jerichoâ€s status with AEW and stated that the inaugural AEW World Champion is always welcome to return.

Speaking on the same interview, Tony Khan said that heâ€d welcome back Chris Jericho whenever the latter is ready.

“Chris Jericho, talk about one of the founding figures in AEW, the very first AEW Champion. Weâ€re so grateful to Chris Jericho. And Chris Jericho is also somebody also that I would love to see back in AEW, any time. The door is always open to get Chris Jericho back in here,†Tony Khan said. “Heâ€s been busy, heâ€s been doing a lot of things, speaking of somebody whoâ€s really busy with projects, including filming and music, and somebody we have a ton of respect for. Chris Jericho is somebody weâ€d love to see any time in AEW.â€

READ MORE: Tony Khan Reacts To Rumor Adam Copeland Is Doing One More Match With John Cena In WWE

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Rory McIlroy’s priorities have shifted. At this week’s DP World India Championship, the impact of those changes is materializing.

When LIV Golf arrived on the scene three years ago, McIlroy took up the mantle of PGA Tour spokesperson. He was front and center defending the PGA Tour in its moment of need. He worked to try to reshape the PGA Tour with Signature Events and mandatory appearances. But when the Framework Agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV was announced, McIlroy shifted his focus. He resigned his board seat, skipped Signature Events and even ditched a FedEx Cup Playoff stop to focus on playing a more global schedule.

McIlroy hoped pro golf would come together and form a more global tour that would send the sport’s stars around the world, and not just from Florida to California with the occasional stop in the U.K. But he clearly understands that the fractured world of pro golf isn’t going to magically reunify any time soon, so he’s taking it upon himself to go to all corners of the globe. He’s focusing on national opens, from Canada to Ireland and Australia, and playing where he wants, when he wants.

That brings us to this week’s inaugural DP World India Championship, where McIlroy touched down in India for the first time in his career. Now, McIlroy isn’t doing this for free. He understands his value and is getting an appearance fee, as are Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Ben Griffin and Luke Donald. But it would be unfair to assume he’s doing it just for the money. McIlroy has pledged to start playing a more global schedule and is starting to back that up. He recently cited tennis superstar Roger Federer as an inspiration to start taking his talents to places that don’t normally see him tee it up.

“I think India has a wonderful culture,” McIlroy said Wednesday about his first time in India. “I think the people are unbelievably welcoming and hospitable and gentle. … Golf has become quite a big sport in this country, but hopefully I can help it become even bigger.

“I’d love more people to watch golf. That would be amazing,” McIlroy said later about his long-term hope for golf’s growth worldwide. “But I would be more interested in getting more people to play the game, and I think when people play the game, then they learn and they can acknowledge what golf is, what it represents, and the sort of etiquette and the values that you need to adhere to when you play the game.”

Regardless of appearance fees, the special thing about what’s taking place in India this week is that this event has never happened before. The event was created out of thin air to give a golf-loving country a groundbreaking new event. The sponsorship for this event from DP World included a $4 million prize fund and a relationship that was integral to getting McIlroy and others to show up in a country starved for golf. The downstream impact of people watching Rory McIlroy hit a golf ball, Roger Federer swing a tennis racket or Steph Curry shoot a basketball is unquantifiable.

On Thursday, during the first round of the DP World India Championship, the crowds around McIlroy and Viktor Hovland showed the impact an event like this can have.

There were similar scenes at DLF Golf and Country Club when Bryson DeChambeau competed in the International Series India in January.

“Educate, entertain, inspire are my main three principles of why I play the game of golf,” DeChambeau said in January of his decision to play in India. “I think this is an amazing opportunity for all of golf to come together and see what India can truly produce for the world. And it’s a growing economy, it’s a growing population that need golf. There’s a lot more to come, so that’s why I’m here.”

Raj Khosla, president of Delhi Golf Club, has said that the McIlroy-headlined tournament is a “landmark moment” for Indian golf. The hope is that this event will continue to attract global stars and elevate golf in the world’s most populous country.

The scenes on Thursday and at DLF in January show the impact the world’s best can have when they break new ground. Rope lines packed to the gills as fans try to get a glimpse of the golf stars that have parachuted in. Thousands of eyeballs transfixed on players many probably never thought would peg it in their country. The impact isn’t felt just by those outside the ropes.

“It’s something I have dreamt a lot of times, watching Rory, Tommy on TV and thinking one day that I want to be playing next to them,” home favorite Dhruv Sheoran, who shot four under in Round 1 to beat McIlroy by a shot, said. “It’s a dream come true in a way. I couldn’t sleep at night thinking that I’m going to be playing alongside them, so it’s really surreal to be playing here.”

For McIlroy, competing in places that don’t normally see him, or have never seen him in person, is something he plans to cement in his schedule. He’s still the PGA Tour’s needle, but his priorities are making a global shift as he focuses on a grander goal to bring golf to countries with untapped potential to become golfing hotbeds.

“I would say as time goes on, my schedule will get hopefully more international,” McIlroy said. “Because that’s what I’ve enjoyed doing. I’ve always said that. But I think over the last few years, I’ve enjoyed it even more. I’ve enjoyed the travel. I’ve enjoyed getting to play in front of people that I’ve never played in front of before.”

On Thursday, the scene spoke for itself.

John Daly high-fived Steve Buscemi. He then shouted that he wanted to go to Hooters.Daly also hit Buscemi on the…