AEW President and CEO Tony Khan sat down for a media call Thursday ahead of Full Gear this Saturday.
Here are notes from the call.
- On goals for 2027, Khan said that the most important focus on the business side is putting on great wrestling TV, and while there is a focus on international growth, the primary revenue comes from the domestic media rights with WBD. He noted that he met with David Ellison four times, and in each meeting, he’s had great conversations about AEW, saying Ellison “has a high opinion of AEW.” However, there have not been formal negotiations.
- More on Skydance, Tony said he’s happy to report to anyone. He said he’s had strong relationships with the great executives at TBS and HBO Max. He commented on his fantastic relationship with Ellison and how he knew him before his current position at Skydance. He highlighted co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance TV George Cheeks, president of CBS Sports David Berson, chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. TV Channing Dungey and CEO and chief business officer of Skydance TV and Skydance DTC JB Perrette as people who he will be working with. On the DC side, he highlighted new president and CEO of DC Studios Jeremy Latcham.
- On the relationship with NJPW, Khan said he’s thrilled to help with Wrestle Kingdom. He noted that AEW didn’t have the best partnership with NJPW from 2019-2020, calling it a “cold war.” He added that the pandemic changed a lot of relationships and dynamics in pro wrestling. He noted that he got close with Rocky Romero and Gedo, which led to Forbidden Door in 2022 and the current relationship with NJPW.
- Khan also talked about Will Ospreay’s story with Kyle Fletcher leading into Full Gear.
- Tony praised Claudio Castagnoli and highlighted his accomplishments in AEW and ROH.
- Khan implied that there wouldn’t be a Wrestle Dynasty event, noting that Wrestle Kingdom 21 looks like the past Wrestle Dynasty event based on the amount of AEW talent on the card.
- On the discussion of how he negotiates media rights, Khan called back to 2024. He said it was very important to keep AEW with TBS and TNT, and the solution to get the most out of it was to put AEW on HBO Max. He cited a stat where AEW viewers pay the most for streaming per month than any other sports league, including the NFL, NHL, PGA, and WWE. He said that was an opportunity to bring more revenue for WBD, which would bring more money for AEW across the board. He said that his goal is to make the best deal possible, “playing for my home team,” rather than chase the highest-dollar deal.
- Khan said he was happy with the length of the Dynamite/Collision show. He noted that he had just arrived when the show started, and he also noted that there was worry about travel from the Jericho Cruise in Miami to Utah, but he was happy with how things played out. He also thought it was great to air the Jericho Cruise live as opposed to taping it in January 2020. He talked about the ratings that show did and how, like Dynamite, Collision’s ratings are up year over year.
- Tony admitted that Marcus Mathers’ ROH match against Mark Davis helped him get booked for Collision, telling others how important ROH bookings are and why he’s involved so much in ROH. He revealed that Christopher Daniels recommended Mathers to him after Daniels informed him that Mathers’ WWE ID deal wasn’t being renewed. “I would expect to see more of Marcus Mathers in AEW and ROH.”
- Khan said he was “optimistic” to see Christian Cage back but couldn’t give a definitive date. He talked about how important Christian is to AEW and how he’s one of his favorite people outside of the ring.
- Tony admitted he was trying something new when coming up with “The Last Outfit.” He praised Jay White and the other members of The Cut and said how excited they are about this opportunity. They said they represented a “new tradition” and that they were “the last of their kind.” Tony said he liked the idea and saw how excited fans were to see the White and Finlay’s groups team up. Tony thought there was a “missing piece,” which was The Cut, and White agreed and cut his promo that released the same day.
- On Marina Shafir, Khan noted that Jon Moxley has been one of her strongest supporters and has been proud of her growth. Khan added that he has been, too, and previewed her Full Gear match against Mercedes Mone.
