It’s time for Tony Khan to put his money where his mouth is

I’m sorry, but it has to be said: Tony Khan has lost all interest and is truly just going through the motions now. That’s sad because AEW really needs him right now, with the company probably at another crossroads. With WWE and the rumored Paramount buyout of WBD, AEW truly needs a focused leader who actually cares and wants to fight for his company instead of just staying the course.

Let’s go back to 2019. When AEW started, Tony was energetic and ready to go to war with WWE. In his opening speech, he really got his fanbase behind him and made them believe they could take on WWE. It worked—they were selling out arenas across the country, beating NXT in the ratings, and coming close to beating RAW in the key demo. Everything was going well, and that was mostly because of how passionate Tony was about the company.

Fast forward to 2022. WWE booked Clash at the Castle on the same weekend as All Out and even booked an NXT PLE the following day. Tony was furious and basically said that if WWE thought they could do to AEW what they did to Jim Crockett Promotions, they had another thing coming. He said he wasn’t Jim Crockett and had more than enough money to take WWE on and outlast them. Even if some thought he was out of his mind at the time, we had to applaud the fire he showed and the guts it took to stand up for his company. WWE eventually backed off, letting AEW do its own thing while they did theirs.

Now fast forward to 2025. AEW is a shell of what it once was. Ticket sales for Dynamite and Collision are down so much that they went from selling out 15,000-seat arenas to running residencies in smaller venues like the ECW Arena and GalaxyCon. They’re happy selling out 3,000-seat arenas now. While PPV ticket sales are still good, they’re not at the level they once were.

Which brings us to right now. AEW is at its lowest point, and WWE smelled blood in the water. WWE counterprogrammed All In back in July as a test to see how Tony would respond. Instead of going head-to-head, Tony moved his show and ran it longer, which played right into WWE’s hands. WWE saw this and then counterprogrammed All Out, testing him again. As predicted, Tony folded, giving WWE exactly what they wanted.

For a guy who once said he was ready to take it to WWE, it sure looks like Tony doesn’t have confidence in his own product. That makes AEW look minor league and validates critics who see AEW as second-rate.

The worst part is that even hardcore AEW fans are starting to notice the flaws and are skipping shows because of it. I’ve heard from people in the Toronto area and some of my own friends who would normally make the trip to All Out. This year, they just don’t care. They know the wrestling will be great, but the build hasn’t sold them enough to buy a ticket or make the trip. That’s the problem—it’s not the in-ring work, it’s the lack of excitement in the product. And that’s something Tony could fix if he weren’t so stubborn and unwilling to make necessary changes.

If I were in Tony’s position, I wouldn’t have moved All Out. I would’ve gone head-to-head with WWE. Sure, I might have lost some PPV buys, but at least I’d show WWE that I wasn’t going to just lie down and be bullied, the way Tony is doing now.

This is the time to pull out all the stops and make the product interesting again—no more excuses. AEW may have a strong partnership with WBD for now, but if the company is sold to Paramount, that might not last. Yes, they’re protected for three more years under contract, but that doesn’t guarantee the new owners will keep them on HBO Max or TNT/TBS. If the product remains stagnant, it’ll be a tough sell to move to another network or streaming service—especially at the price AEW got with their last deal.

AEW is at another crossroads. The question is whether they’ll stay the course or make the necessary changes to bring the product back to where it was three years ago.

At the end of the day, the wrestling business needs AEW. It gives wrestlers another place to make good money. If it closes or loses so much relevance that it doesn’t matter anymore, that would be sad for everyone. But if Tony doesn’t bring back his fighting spirit and put his money where his mouth is, AEW risks becoming just another company that failed to compete with WWE. Yes, AEW still does well on PPV, but everything else is declining. With the Paramount buyout looming and WWE now attacking directly, this could be the beginning of the end if AEW doesn’t adapt quickly.