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Tony Khan loved professional wrestling so much growing up, he sketched scripts and wrote scripts for his own make-believe business. He had wrestlers as friends and friends who worked in wrestling. Oh, and he also had money, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurship.
Son of a billionaire, Khan decided that being a fan of the square circle wasn’t enough – he wanted to shake up the culture and combine his modern twist with an old-fashioned flavor and in 2019, All Elite Wrestling. was born.
“If you’ve seen other struggles and said, ‘This isn’t for me,’ give AEW a chance,” said Khan, 38. “It’s much less likely to insult your intelligence than other shows out there.”
Yes, this is a direct blow to WWE, the longtime industry leader who has essentially stood alone for nearly two decades as the preeminent force in American wrestling.
Not anymore.
Like the challenger chasing the champion, AEW has gone from a courageous upstart to the talk of the pro wrestling world. Khan said AEW’s “All Out” pay-per-view earlier this month saw more than 200,000 purchases, his weekly “Dynamite “A television program on TNT regularly exceeds one million viewers – and defeated WWE flagship “Raw” in the 18-49 demographic coveted by advertisers – and Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Sting and a list of stars to set AEW attendance record as more than 20,000 fans are expected Wednesday night to pack Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York for its “Grand Slam” card.
AEW thrills fans – who’s the next surprise superstar to debut!? –And warn WWE that it is a major player for talent, bragging rights, ratings, and revenue that countless other promotions have failed to capture. Khan is running everything behind the scenes, adding AEW to his other job titles with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, England football team Fulham FC and his companies. He writes and structures the AEW programming – which includes four weekly shows and four pay-per-views each year – and those childhood dreams of booking for a business have come true.
“I found the business was getting stronger the more I took it,” Khan said. “And I think the fans would be okay with that. Really hardcore fans would really be okay with that. People who know, know that the more practice I have on everything, the business has become a lot stronger. .
WWE is not going anywhere – not with billion dollar TV deals and a global reach that includes a around $ 50 million in earnings for a show in Saudi Arabia – but some of its biggest stars are leaving for AEW and the promise of big paychecks, a lighter work schedule, and five-star games without the “entertainment.” “Aspects of performance.
Khan funds AEW video game and Mike Tyson, Snoop Dogg, Rosario Dawson and Shaquille O’Neal are among the A-listers who have appeared or struggled on television.
And, says Khan, AEW has already made a profit.
“Our TNT agreement is very fair. I think we have performed at such a high level that we will justify a big increase in our next contract, ”he said. “We are very fortunate to have their support. The timing for this deal was great, getting this in January 2020 is a huge source of income for us. “
Khan spoke by phone with The Associated Press about AEW’s future as the hottest wrestling promotion in the business. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
AP: Do you have the attention of WWE? Do you think he could finally see AEW as a real competition??
Khan: I’m a huge wrestling fan and I would say, objectively, that AEW is the hottest wrestling company right now. So many people watching wrestling know that AEW is gaining ground, AEW is reaching all-time highs. It helps us create new fans, it helps people want to take the plunge and watch the shows. I’m sure other wrestling companies are paying attention. We have a great relationship with a lot of wrestling companies who know what’s going on with AEW. I think if you work in the wrestling world you follow what we are doing and how successful we are. We get a lot of looks outside of the wrestling world and the mainstream attention, so you better believe the wrestling world, people pay very close attention to it.
AP: How did AEW come out of the pandemic as a healthy company?
Khan: We gained a lot of market share at that time and really narrowed the gap between us and our competition. When we went back to crowded arenas and came back to full capacity, and really now for the last few months we’ve hit the pace we wanted to hit, we’re stronger than ever. Now all of a sudden we’re the ones who are the # 1 wrestling show on cable. We went through almost two years of “Dynamite”, we did 100 episodes, and Episode 101 was the one where we finally beat Raw. It was an important step for us. An equally important milestone was the number we hit, which was so strong, and just as important to us was being # 1 on cable for the third week in a row.
AP: How can you keep such a busy list happy in the future?
Khan: I think that’s a good problem for any organization to have when you have a deep bench. We have a very deep bench right now. I try to spin who wrestles on TV and give time on TV to different wrestlers so that we have a lot of people with momentum and we can change the matches and keep things fresh. I think that also serves you in sports, when you can turn and rest people and give experience to young talent and develop people and also rest your veterans so that they don’t have to go out and do it every week.
AP: Were you surprised by the star talent made available to AEW?
Khan: I had a lot of wrestlers who were very popular with die-hard fans. But in terms of very mainstream audience, not that many recognizable names, and I knew I really had to build that recognition. I never expected someone with so much recognition and experience in wrestling on television as Jon Moxley to become available so quickly. It has been such a great blessing for this business. He was a great champion during the pandemic. He is still one of our most important stars today. I didn’t expect it at the time. Since then, absolutely. By making this place a great home for wrestling and a place where wrestlers want to work, we’ve had so many people wanting to come here, and defected. This is more than I could ever have dreamed of.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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