Tony Khan

The pay-per-view business and the tickets and the merchandising, these have always been big parts of wrestling, but something changed in the last decade, which is the rights fees for the wrestling shows went up and they became similar to what you'd see for some of the top sports leagues for their game packages. But when you think about it, the wrestling show, it's on 52 weeks a year.

The pay-per-view business and the tickets and the merchandising, these have always been big parts of wrestling, but something changed in the last decade, which is the rights fees for the wrestling shows went up and they became similar to what you'd see for some of the top sports leagues for their game packages. But when you think about it, the wrestling show, it's on 52 weeks a year.

It's on every week. It's very reliable and draws a great rating. That can be a great thing for a network. And it was really only one company that was producing that product at the time, and that was WWE. In 2018, the rights bees had gone up dramatically. So when I talked to Kevin, I had the light bulb go off. And it occurred to me that somebody could launch a new wrestling promotion.

It's on every week. It's very reliable and draws a great rating. That can be a great thing for a network. And it was really only one company that was producing that product at the time, and that was WWE. In 2018, the rights bees had gone up dramatically. So when I talked to Kevin, I had the light bulb go off. And it occurred to me that somebody could launch a new wrestling promotion.

And if you could get even a fraction of what the competition would be getting for their rights fees, you could build a promotion based on that. Because really, that was the game-changing thing, was that now there was the potential if you could build a roster of stars and have a great lineup of wrestlers,

And if you could get even a fraction of what the competition would be getting for their rights fees, you could build a promotion based on that. Because really, that was the game-changing thing, was that now there was the potential if you could build a roster of stars and have a great lineup of wrestlers,

which I also believed I would be able to assemble in the next year based on the market conditions and who I knew was going to be available in wrestling at that time, just as a fan following wrestling. It all came together very quickly. Kevin showed interest. He did not shoot my idea down.

which I also believed I would be able to assemble in the next year based on the market conditions and who I knew was going to be available in wrestling at that time, just as a fan following wrestling. It all came together very quickly. Kevin showed interest. He did not shoot my idea down.

I suddenly thought I had something that we could really build and something that we could take to the market and build take all over the world, build an audience with it. TV markets all over the planet, which we have, because now AEW in 2025, we're on over 150 countries now. It's amazing how we've grown the business, but that's really where it started was a conversation

I suddenly thought I had something that we could really build and something that we could take to the market and build take all over the world, build an audience with it. TV markets all over the planet, which we have, because now AEW in 2025, we're on over 150 countries now. It's amazing how we've grown the business, but that's really where it started was a conversation

It was one of those ideas, you know, when you have an idea that's really good and you think, this is such a good idea. And another thing that was the timing was in 2018... The McMahon family announced they were going to relaunch the XFL. That probably also had an effect on my thinking because that sounded like a terrible idea to me.

It was one of those ideas, you know, when you have an idea that's really good and you think, this is such a good idea. And another thing that was the timing was in 2018... The McMahon family announced they were going to relaunch the XFL. That probably also had an effect on my thinking because that sounded like a terrible idea to me.

And the amount of money they were going to put into it when the NFL is such a dominant competitor and the NFL is so strong. And I think I was proven right because the league, the XFL, did go bankrupt. And I thought that's not going to work. You know what would work is a second wrestling league. There's way more wrestlers out there to start a second wrestling league.

And the amount of money they were going to put into it when the NFL is such a dominant competitor and the NFL is so strong. And I think I was proven right because the league, the XFL, did go bankrupt. And I thought that's not going to work. You know what would work is a second wrestling league. There's way more wrestlers out there to start a second wrestling league.

If I built a challenger wrestling league, the roster of that league would be so much better comparatively than the roster of the XFL. It wouldn't even be close. And as a viewer of the sports, as somebody who loves football and wrestling, wrestling needs a second league a lot more than football does. And I think we were proven true of that.

If I built a challenger wrestling league, the roster of that league would be so much better comparatively than the roster of the XFL. It wouldn't even be close. And as a viewer of the sports, as somebody who loves football and wrestling, wrestling needs a second league a lot more than football does. And I think we were proven true of that.

The market conditions were right. First of all, it wouldn't apply to every person in every situation. This is a very specific thing. It involved a huge war chest. And that meant big startup costs to start this. And thankfully, I was able to go to an investor, which is my father. And now he, in this case, was a very discerning investor. And it was really a big fight to get a launch.

The market conditions were right. First of all, it wouldn't apply to every person in every situation. This is a very specific thing. It involved a huge war chest. And that meant big startup costs to start this. And thankfully, I was able to go to an investor, which is my father. And now he, in this case, was a very discerning investor. And it was really a big fight to get a launch.

He didn't think this was going to work like it has.

He didn't think this was going to work like it has.