Tony Khan Says The ‘Biggest Hurdle’ When Launching AEW Was Securing TV Deal

Published: 5 seconds ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 5 seconds ago by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

AEW

The ‘biggest hurdle’ when launching AEW in 2019 was securing the first TV deal, according to Tony Khan, revealing nearly a year of work.

Having sought to trademark a number of related terms in late 2018, the name All Elite Wrestling would be revealed in early January of the following year, and a TV deal with WarnerMedia would be secured that May.

That deal was quite the process, according to Tony Khan, who revealed that it was the “biggest hurdle” during an interview with nine.com.au, saying:

“The biggest hurdle was to make the TV deal – I reached a point in early-2019 where I had signed the wrestlers, but didn’t have a deal.

“I had been working on the TV portion of it for nearly a year, but I had got into April and still didn’t have a deal.

“Reaching a point where it became a reality was very challenging. It’s hard to launch … but things have grown so quickly.”

AEW still maintains a strong business relationship with their broadcast partner, now known as Warner Bros. Discovery, with AEW Dynamite airing on TBS and Collision airing on TNT. Both shows also appear on HBO Max.

Tony Khan Could Have Owned WWE?

In 2023, plans were afoot for the sale of WWE, with the services of JP Morgan being retained to explore possibilities.

September 2023 would see the formation of TKO Group Holdings, bringing together WWE and UFC under a single umbrella, with that company owned by WME Group, LLC (Endeavor).

There was, however, the possibility that Tony Khan could have taken ownership of WWE, with details emerging earlier this year. A report notes that three other offers to purchase WWE were submitted, alongside Endeavor, the company that would win the bid.

One of the bidders for WWE was Base 10, with the report noting that entity is “the owner of All Elite Wrestling”.

It’s difficult to say how WWE would have fared under the ownership of Khan, although he has long professed to being a professional wrestling fan, so there’s every possibility it would have thrived as a separate entity to AEW.

That said, fans may remember what became of WCW after WWE acquired the company in 2001, or ECW around two years later.

There are no doubt fans and critics who would have raised an eyebrow or applauded had Tony Khan appeared on an episode of WWE Raw in 2023 to announce, “I’ve bought my competition”.

As it currently stands, AEW and WWE are, arguably, in healthy competition to serve an enthusiastic fanbase around the world.