AEW president Tony Khan is feeling optimistic in the aftermath of WarnerMedia’s merger with Discovery.
WarnerMedia had been All Elite Wrestling’s main broadcast partner since the company landed its first TV deal in 2019; AEW Dynamite initially aired on TNT before it moved to its new home, TBS, in January. AEW also expanded its programming lineup with a second TV show, Rampage, in August.
The news of the merger caused some concern about AEW’s future, especially when it was announced that TNT and TBS General Manager Brett Weitz would be leaving.
During an interview with Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media podcast, Khan was asked whether there’s been any indication of how Warner Bros. Discovery and the new regime will view AEW programming. In response, Khan stated that many top executives will be in attendance for the June 1 episode of AEW Dynamite. Plus, they’ll throw AEW a social mixer-like event after the show. Khan also made it clear that he’s honored to be a part of the company moving forward.
“I’m very excited because we’re at The Forum next week and I’m really just honored and it’s a great privilege for us because a lot of the top executives from Warner Brothers/Discovery are gonna be at The Forum,” said Khan. “We’ve got a sold-out show, we’ve got a ton of fans coming. And we’ve opened up more seats, it’s one of our biggest crowds at one of the biggest sports markets in the world and some of the greatest wrestling fans. It means a lot to me personally to be in The Forum to begin with, but I can’t tell you what it means that a lot of the top executives from Warner Brothers Discovery are not only coming to the show, but they’re throwing a great event for us afterwards in The Forum.
And just to have their presence to begin with means so much that they would come to the show. But also a lot of the top executives in the Warner Brothers Discover family are gonna have an event with us, with a lot of the people in AEW, and we’re gonna hang out and that means the world to us, and getting to know each other better. They’ve been so supportive and great coming in, and it means so much to us to be working with the largest producer of content now after this great merger, Warner Brothers Discovery, the biggest in the world. And running an efficient ship, now to be a part of it, putting up numbers and working hard, showing up every week.”
When asked whether he feels confident about the merger, AEW president also stated that it’s “really cool.”
“I think so and I hope so,” said Khan. “I think this is really cool and I’m very appreciative of it.”
The June 1 episode of AEW Dynamite will be the show’s first trip to Los Angeles since the company launched in 2019. First, on May 29, AEW will return to Las Vegas for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
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