Tag: Tony Khan

AEW CEO Tony Khan Blasts WWE Raw Angle In Heated Social Media Posts, Talent Respond

AEW President Tony Khan has often said that he is a wrestling fan first and foremost, and that he approaches wrestling from a fan’s perspective. Khan’s focus on win-loss records apparently isn’t limited to All Elite Wrestling, as Khan has been keeping tabs on the wins and losses of WWE stars as well — including that of former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, who will wrestle Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship on next week’s “WWE Raw.”

“A double standard,” an impassioned Khan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “[Hook] 28-1 career record, on winning streak calls out the champ, a logical challenge sparks online outrage. Jinder has literally lost every single match he’s in for the past year, immediately gets title shot, where is the rage?”

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1744835296007483750

Not satisfied with just one outburst, Khan then took his war against Mahal to USA Network directly.

“A moral victory for USA is one win more than their World Title challenger Jinder Mahal has in the past 364 days… because it’s been literally a full year since he won a match,” Khan wrote, quote-tweeting a post from the night before in which the USA Network’s official account made a joke about Cagematch, Khan’s oft-cited source for the quality of his programming. “You really put AEW in our place getting Jinder Mahal in a big match on your tv show. Do it more often.”

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1744835475901227380

Khan’s tweets didn’t go unnoticed. WWE broadcaster Corey Graves was quick to tweet in support of Jinder, much to the delight of WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray. Former AEW World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood seemingly fired back to Graves’s tweet by sending a similar message, but in support of Hook. Meanwhile, Mahal himself took to Twitter to ask simply, “Who tf is Hook?”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

UPDATE:

AEW President adding Eric Bischoff to the list of his victims.

The Khan/Bischoff feud started when “Eazy E” took to his Twitter account to call Tony Khan a “clown” for his tweet comparing HOOK and Mahal’s recent attempts to get their respective companies’ World Title shots. Khan wound up posting a GIF that reads, “Get out of my sight, you miserable has-been!”

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1744843056711413829
https://twitter.com/EBischoff/status/1744864616231170299
https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1744866676347126034

AEW Boss Tony Khan Addresses WWE/WBD Rumors

Rumors have circulated about the possibility of WWE moving “WWE Raw” from The USA Network to a Warner Bros Discovery channel, possibly TBS or TNT, which would put them in conflict with WBD’s current wrestling product, All Elite Wrestling. As a major year for media rights negotiations, in wrestling and beyond, AEW President Tony Khan is seemingly unfazed by the rumors.

“It’s part of sports. Everybody discusses contracts and free agency and things of that nature,” Khan told “Going Ringside” on News4JAX. “I think everybody’s aware that everybody’s gonna be talking to everybody in the media this coming year. So they’ll certainly be a lot of opportunities. We have a great history with Warner Bros. Discovery and continue to produce great ratings so we should be in a very good position next year.”

WBD’s negotiations with both WWE and AEW are likely hamstrung by the media conglomerate’s current negotiations with the National Basketball Association, as NBA programming has been the central pillar of the Turner Networks programming and the amount of money offered to either promotion would likely be affected by whether or not WBD retains the Basketball league. AEW has been with WBD since the beginning of the wrestling promotion, which premiered “AEW Dynamite” on WBD networks in 2019, soon adding “AEW Collision,” “AEW Rampage,” and quarterly “Battle of the Belts” specials.

WWE has already signed a deal with The CW to bring “WWE NXT” there in 2025 when its current deal with USA is up, and USA has already landed the rights to “WWE SmackDown,” which is set to move from Fox.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Comments On MJF’s AEW Future Following His Removal From The AEW Roster Page

MJF hasn’t been seen on AEW television since last weekend’s Worlds End pay-per-view. At the time, it was reported that his contract was set to expire on January 1, leading to speculation that he could leave the promotion. MJF’s profile has since been removed from the AEW roster page, and Tony Khan is choosing to remain tight-lipped about the star’s current status.

“I can say that MJF certainly has been a great part of AEW for the first five years, Khan told Going Ringside. “And through those five years, certainly, he’s been one of our great homegrown stars, and he’s somebody we really value, and I would love to have MJF in AEW in the future, should the contractual situation allow.”

While Khan’s comments suggest that MJF has yet to sign a new deal with AEW, he might have already. It was recently reported that he extended his AEW stay before January 1, and the ambiguities surrounding his future are being played up for storyline purposes. The latest episode of “AEW Dynamite” saw Adam Cole and the Undisputed Kingdom discuss their desire to rid AEW of MJF once and for all, so there is a built-in storyline for him to return to, should his future be with Tony Khan’s promotion.

Regardless of his future destination in wrestling, it remains to be seen when the former AEW World Champion will return to action. MJF is currently injured after suffering a torn labrum, which could require surgery and put him on the shelf for six months. That said, it’s unknown if MJF will go that route or seek alternative treatment options that will allow him to return to screens before then.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Addresses Reported AEW Departures, Teases ‘Exciting Things’ To Announce

A number of AEW executives and producers are departing or have already departed the company, but in the latest AEW media scrum, Tony Khan said that he’s actually excited for what the backstage turnover means for AEW’s future.

“I have a pretty big thing to announce going forward,” Khan teased. “Obviously it’s a lot of people I really value … I could write a book on each of these people.” Khan says that it’s challenging to have such long-time stalwarts depart the company, but he is excited about what the future holds for AEW. The AEW chief executive also pointed out that the end of the year usually sees some contracts expire and people move on.

“This Saturday night, Worlds End, it’s going to be a new group and there’ll be some new things happening and I’m really excited about it,” Khan gushed, once again reiterating that he’s grateful for the contributions of people like Dana Massie, QT Marshall, and other backstage workers that are moving on in 2024. Massie, wife of The Young Bucks’ Nick Jackson, was the head of AEW’s merchandising division until recently when she chose to leave the company after feeling that Khan and the rest of AEW didn’t stand up for her husband in the wake of his backstage altercation with CM Punk in September 2022. While Jackson was willing to re-sign with the company, Dana opted not to.

QT Marshall, on the other hand, is leaving due to what he feels is a change in the creative direction of the company, as well as to pursue work elsewhere as a wrestler.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Teases ‘Big Revelations’ In Devil Storyline At AEW Worlds End 2023

AEW Worlds End is set to take place this Saturday, and it sounds as though one major story is set to reach its zenith. Speaking on today’s media call ahead of the pay-per-view, AEW’s Tony Khan teased what’s to come with the Devil storyline ahead of MJF’s AEW World Championship defense against Samoa Joe.

“Well, it feels like we’re getting close to that point, and I do expect some big revelations and big moments at Worlds End,” Khan said about revealing the masked man’s identity. “It does feel like the secrets will be revealed at Worlds End, and I’m looking forward to it.”

While he continued to hype up the match and storyline, the media call saw Khan speaking at length about the success of the ongoing Continental Classic tournament, which features a more sports-oriented feel. Khan discussed viewing the contrast between the tournament and some of AEW’s other programming as an experiment of sorts, with the sports-influenced style of the tournament acting as the “experiment group” while the previous style of storytelling would be the “control group.” According to Khan, the experiment has been a success, and he intends to shift the company back toward that style of storytelling rather than continuing the exaggerated drama that has enveloped the world title picture as of late.

This week’s “AEW Dynamite” wrapped up with the latest development in the Devil storyline. MJF was scheduled to defend the ROH World Tag Team Championship against two of the Devil’s minions, with Samoa Joe as his partner. However, a video showed Joe recovering from an injury backstage, with MJF insisting to wrestle the match alone. With the help of a third masked goon, MJF lost the ROH tag titles to the minions. After the match, Joe appeared, soon revealing that he had faked the injury and made a deal with the Devil. He laid out the champion ahead of their match this weekend, which takes place in MJF’s backyard — Long Island, New York.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Spoiler: Tony Khan Introduces Brand-New Championship At Recent ROH Taping

This past Saturday, after filming the latest “AEW Collision,” Tony Khan appeared during the standard Ring of Honor taping with an announcement. Khan unveiled a new championship for the promotion: the ROH Women’s Television Championship. It is the first new title introduced since Khan purchased ROH in early 2022, and now becomes the second women’s championship in the promotion. As of now, it’s not clear how the first champion will be decided. More information on the title will likely be revealed this coming Thursday on the next episode of “ROH on HonorClub.”

The announcement of the new title came just one day after the promotion’s latest major event, ROH Final Battle 2023. That show featured Athena defending the ROH Women’s World Championship against Billie Starkz in the main event, with Starkz re-joining Athena after failing to capture the title. Final Battle also saw the crowning of a new ROH Television Championship when Kyle Fletcher won the six-way Survival of the Fittest match on Friday. That title was previously vacated by Samoa Joe after a 574-day reign, with Joe now preparing to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship.

In addition to Athena and Starkz, ROH’s women’s division currently includes Rachael Ellering, Leyla Hirsch, Taya Valkyrie, Trish Adora, and more. Having just lost her chance at the ROH Women’s World Title in a match many expected her to win, Starkz could very well set her sights on the new championship, but she’ll undoubtedly have many competitors standing in her way if she makes that decision.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan On ROH’s TV Rights – ‘We’ve Had A Lot Of Interested Parties’

On Tuesday, Tony Khan took part in a media call to promote Friday night’s Final Battle 2023 pay-per-view event.

During the call, the AEW/ROH President commented on AEW and ROH’s TV rights and whether Ring of Honor could eventually come to Warner Bros. Discovery.

You can check out some highlights from the media call below:

On the possibility of ROH coming to Warner Bros. Discovery: “We’ve had really good talks with Warner Brothers Discovery, had a great visit with them today and we have a really exciting relationship that has grown a lot over the years and has expanded for AEW. Ring of Honor is still a third party in the relationship and is a company putting on really exciting wrestling and is peripheral to the conversation right now. It offers a lot of value to AEW and to a media company. There is a lot of interest in ROH and some of the most exciting wrestling and stories and some of the best events in ROH history are happening now. It’s really awesome that ROH has healthy options and very complimentary for myself, my family, and our business interests, the ROH media rights and the massive library and IP are there and accessible to us as we pursue new media rights for AEW in 2024 and we also have the additional value of the ROH library with the AEW library that has conitnued to grow. Almost 200 episdes of Dynamite, well over 100 episodes of Rampage, and an exciting half-year of Collision.”

On the value of ROH’s library and TV rights: “It is a value for us that we have this big library and additional media rights in addition to the five hours of weekly television and the great shows with Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. Having that with our pay-per-view shows, our library, and complimenting that with ROH with new events, which have been some of the best events ROH has ever had in the time we’ve own the company, and the ability to go back and look at some of the greatest wrestlers in the world, a lot of them are in AEW now, and some of them wrestle in other companies all over the world. It’s great to look back at that library of events. I definitely think it’s a value add for AEW and ROH to be aligned with media rights that are coming up for AEW in 2024. It’s going to be a very exciting time for AEW and it’s great to have ROH there as far as strategic value.”

On holding onto the ROH TV rights thus far: “As far as the TV rights, we’ve had a lot of interested parties. It’s definitely something I’ve been holding onto and haven’t had a lot of detailed conversations. I think CW is a great network and we did have a visit. Dennis visited us as the Forum last year and was great. I have a lot of respect for Dennis Miller and the CW folks. The timing for us wasn’t necessarily right, but there is a lot of great, interested, people in the market place in both AEW and ROH. For 2024, it will be really exciting time for pro wrestling and ROH added good value going forward.”

Source: eWn

Tony Khan Says He Can’t Legally Talk About CM Punk’s Return To WWE

After his departure from AEW due to a backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In 2023, CM Punk made a shocking return to WWE following the main event of Saturday’s Survivor Series 2023 pay-per-view event.

Tony Khan recently did an interview with BBC West Midlands, where he was asked about Punk’s WWE return. The AEW President said,

“Can’t talk about that, nor do I think it’s the time or the place. But I appreciate you asking, and I’m very excited about AEW All In Wembley Stadium. Not to dodge or duck your question, it’s just not something I can legally talk about.“

Source: eWn

Tony Khan Reveals How Ronda Rousey ROH Appearance Came About, Clarifies Her AEW Status

Ronda Rousey is officially living the life of an independent wrestler, including making a stop in Ring of Honor, where Rousey made her promotional debut at this week’s ROH taping, teaming with Marina Shafir to take on Billie Starkz and ROH Women’s World Champion Athena. According to AEW President and ROH Owner Tony Khan, the appearance was a one-off for now.

“She’s not signed but we had a great conversation,” Khan said at the post-AEW Full Gear press conference. Rousey had wrestled against Starkz earlier in the week at a local show in Los Angeles, and Khan wanted to keep the animosity going and felt the feud would be a good addition to that week’s Ring of Honor. This corroborates a previous report that said Rousey was booked to help increase HonorClub subscriptions.

“Ronda was happy to come here and she was great and the crowd was really excited to see her,” Khan gushed. “We’d love to have her back sometime.” Rousey is also a Los Angeles-area local, making the recent tapings in Inglewood easy for the former WWE Raw Women’s Champion to attend.

The former UFC Champion wrestled for WWE from 2018, racking up numerous accolades as well as a Royal Rumble win, until this past summer when she and WWE parted ways. She re-emerged in October, wrestling alongside Shafir at Lucha VaVoom, wrestling Taya Valkyrie and Brian Kendrick. Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa said Rousey could be a great addition to the AEW locker room, should she someday sign.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Confirms New AEW Title For Continental Classic, Along With Rules & Start Date

AEW President Tony Khan has confirmed that the first AEW Continental Classic tournament will culminate in the crowning of the first AEW Continental Champion.

Khan wrote on social media Saturday night, “The Continental Classic starts this week, Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve on #AEWDynamite! 12 fighters, no interference, nobody at ringside. The winner becomes AEW Continental Champion + ROH World Champion + NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, a new Triple Crown Champion at Worlds End!”

As noted, Eddie Kingston announced at AEW Full Gear that he will defend his ROH World and NJPW STRONG Openweight titles in every match he competes in of the round-robin-style tournament. Six competitors will be split into two groups for those round-robin bouts, which will begin this Wednesday, November 22, on “Dynamite.” The matches will continue for six weeks across “Dynamite” and “Collision” until the finals take place at the new AEW Worlds End pay-per-view on Saturday, December 30, in Long Island.

The first Continental Classic will have 12 competitors but only four have been confirmed thus far: Kingston, Bryan Danielson, Andrade El Idolo, and Mark Briscoe. Wrestling Inc. will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

Source: Wrestling Inc.