Tony Khan AEW media call: Latest on WBD negotiations, injuries, Sting, ‘insane stat’
Image: AEW
AEW head Tony Khan spoke to the media for an hour Thursday ahead of Saturday’s All Out, giving updates about his impending TV rights renewal with likely partner WBD, injury updates on Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis, and Sting’s status with the company.
He also shared what he considered an “insane stat.”
The full audio from the call can be heard below.
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On the TV rights end, Khan continued to heavily suggest that they will be renewing with WBD and are continuing to have “great conversations” with them. No timetable was given, but he said recent media reports about the deal are accurate without specifically saying which ones.
When the deal happens, Khan said it’s reasonable that AEW will become the second-most profitable wrestling company of all-time during the immediate stretch after the deal kicks in. No financial terms or increase in rights fees were hinted at.
He again said the deal is in the red zone and will be a “huge touchdown” for AEW. It’s just waiting to be pushed in.
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Khan said he’s been learning a lot about AEW fans during the TV rights negotiations, including some information he didn’t even know about his company.
He then talked about how much wrestling fans have changed in terms of knowing the news and the business. He said it’s a golden age now and AEW is a huge part of the wrestling conversation now. Historically, the avidity has never been higher: a word he used several times during this portion of the call.
One stat he made a point to call “insane:” Of all the world’s sports leagues, the league whose fans spend the most per month on streaming video is AEW. He did not cite his source or other details on where that stat came from.
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Khan was asked if Sting remained under any kind of AEW contract given his recent appearance at All In. Khan didn’t answer directly, saying Sting was in the “AEW family” and was also recently backstage in Dallas, Texas, during their residency in Arlington.
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He also gave updates on two injured talents in Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis. He confirmed Hobbs had been backstage recently to visit doctors, and that Davis had surgery on his arm. He didn’t provide any timeline for when either could be back, nor if Davis would be paired up with Aussie Open partner Mark Davis upon his return.
Other notes:
- Asked about a potential women’s Casino gauntlet match perhaps at All Out, Khan said he thinks it would good to build one up and advertise it in the future. He wouldn’t commit to doing one this weekend.
- Asked about their relationship with GCW and Josh Barnett, Khan said he likes and respects Barnett a lot but doesn’t really know the GCW team that well.
Click here to listen (no sub needed)