While the deal has yet to be closed, AEW head Tony Khan is looking forward to the day when Paramount Skydance officially acquires Warner Bros. Discovery.
While in New York to promote Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view in Queens, New York, Khan appeared on a short segment on Bloomberg TV‘s The Close to talk about AEW business.
During that conversation, he was asked about the changes given Paramount’s business relationships with WWE owners TKO, but Khan remains positive the merger will be a positive for his company.
“I am very excited about Paramount acquiring WB and Paramount and WB coming together. This is going to be great for AEW,” later answering “100%” when asked if he thinks Paramount will stick by AEW post-merger.
During the conversation, he reiterated past statements about his strong relationship with Paramount head David Ellison through their NFL ties.
The current AEW/WBD domestic rights deal runs through 2027 with WBD holding a one year extension option. There is currently no wrestling programming on Paramount Plus or its current networks.
“With the power of HBO Max and Paramount Plus together, it’s more buyers for our PPVs and more people watching the AEW shows. I think it will make TBS and TNT stronger cable channels with Paramount and David Ellison coming in,” Khan said.
The proposed acquisition is making its way through the process now with more hurdles for both sides to overcome.
Khan said Joe is recovering from injuries and is optimistic for his return soon. The star has been out of action since a January 21 Dynamite win over Mike Bailey. A February report had him in concussion protocol with Joe himself saying last week he’ll be back “sooner than later.”
He was also asked about MyAEW and whether it could become a domestic provider of PPV in addition to international given the uncertain future with Paramount & WBD. Khan said he has a great relationship with Paramount from his NFL ties and a great relationship with David Ellison and thinks the world of him. He said MyAEW has nothing to do with the WBD relationship.
Khan said MyAEW and is about reaching as many international fans as possible as it’s available in 150 countries worldwide. He said their domestic strategy is driving fans to HBO Max for PPVs while they do have other providers. He did not mention Triller.
Here are some other topics Khan was asked about:
Asked about ROH’s TV future given the new TV taping structure, Khan says they still have “great revenue” coming from the ROH streaming service. He’s been still looking at opportunities and is excited for those opportunities, especially post-Paramount/WBD sale. He says people are having fun in ROH and is looking forward to next weekend’s set of tapings.
Asked if Big Boom AJ sets the tone for future celebrities in AEW in terms of repeat appearances, Khan put over his wrestling past training in OVW and that people don’t really know that. He said the influence he has bringing fans in is something everyone is very cognizant of, especially when Big Justice and The Rizzler are with him. Everyone enjoys them being there.
Khan was also asked about Brody King, the Hangman Page World title stipulation and more.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site today.
A detailed look at the WBD/Paramount/Netflix situation, what the latest decision of WBD to Paramount entails, the keys to why this is happening, business notes, how this affects AEW and can it get approved.
A look at the UFC and WWE business in 2025 and in the final quarter of this past year. We look at the numbers, what they mean, why WWE was more profitable in 2025 than UFC and the key thing that can change that in 2026, Mark Shapiro talks ESPN value to WWE, lots of news about the business of the White House show, UFC fighters upset over pay, why WWE wrestlers are so underpaid but not publicly upset over, and business initiatives going forward
The violence in Mexico and tons of wrestling shows canceled this past week
We look in depth at the Janel Grant speech from last week, what we learned, what she said, and where everything stands.
Update on the build for WrestleMania, Elimination Chamber, business notes, ticket sales and favorites for the weekend.
An updated look at AEW Revolution and business notes
The retirement of AJ Styles looked at
The most detailed look at the television ratings from the past week, including comparisons with a year ago, competition, demos and much more.
Notes from Arena Mexico
CMLL attempts to break a North American record next week
Cinderalla tournament in Stardom
Fantastica Mania notes
The life and times of former Olympic wrestler Bobby Douglas, his coaching career, his beating Dan Gable, and two notable pro wrestlers he coached
College wrestling sets an attendance mark already this season
Who had the most top ten matches of the year over a career according to Cage match.
City builds a bust memorializing top 80s star
WrestleMania week schedule
Former MMA fighter and pro wrestler running for Governor
Robbery of the ring truck for an indie group
Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows over the next two months.
How many subscribers does Paramount need to make up for UFC expenses
More talk on Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
Stand & Deliver moves and why
When Roman Reigns and Brock Ldesnar are booked for TV in the Mania build
Pro wrestler who is active in Japan competes this weekend for the U.S.national team in anther sport
— Bryan and I will be back tonight to talk about the latest from the Paramount investors call and how this may affect both UFC and AEW, as well as talk about Raw, Demolition, the Johnny Consejo vs. Angel de Oro hair match and more.
— At today’s Paramount call regarding the WBD purchase, AEW was never addressed at all. I wouldn’t have expected it to be given it’s not a sports property and even with sports properties they only addressed the high dollar ones, such as UFC but not many of the others. David Ellison talked about merging Paramount + with HBO MAX, which would mean both UFC and AEW would be available in more homes as both have actually a very small number of crossover homes. So that would be good news for both, and for AEW would also mean more homes would have access to the PPVs shows at a discounted price. The only thing negative for AEW is something notable for UFC. Ellison outright brought up the idea of UFC’s airing on TNT on Saturday nights. I guess that would depend on what and when. If it takes the place of Collision and they move Collision to Thursday, that would be beneficial to AEW. If it moves AEW after UFC, it could help AEW at least early in the show getting the far bigger lead-in than it gets now, but would hurt it later in the show if part of the show is moved out of prime time. And if it leads to Collision disappearing, obviously that would be bad news. Collision is under contract through the end of 2027.
— There has been a lot of talk today about how aside from the NFL, all sports properties are going to have stagnant or even declining media rights deals when their contracts come due. Keep in mind we’ve heard that since the 70s and it’s ever come to pass, but with fewer buyers the leverage goes down, and with television numbers for everyone but the NFL falling that means less value and ad revenue.
— Raw tonight is from Indianapolis with Gunther vs. Dragon Lee, Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta for the IC title, plus CM Punk, AJ Lee, Danhausen and Roman Reigns all appear on the show that starts the hard build to WrestleMania. At this point they had 9,000 tickets out for the show, so far from a sellout but it’s still a good crowd.
— We’re looking for notes from Indianapolis for anything off television such as Main Event or dark matches to [email protected]
— We’re doing our weekend poll on both WWE Elimination Chamber and NJPW New Beginning from Trenton, NJ, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— Announced for Friday’s Arena Mexico show which is an all-women’s card, is Mercedes Mone vs Persepone for the CMLL women’s title, Mina Shirakawa vs. Zeuxis, Megan Bayne vs. Olympia plus Mei Seira and Starlight Kid from Stardom will be on the card.
— WWE leaves ABEMA in Japan for Netflix on 4/1. WWE PLE events in Germany and Austria start exclusively on Netflix on 4/1 as well.
— Announced for the 4/17 Stardom show at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas today are Maika, Hauzki, Hanako, Starlight Kid, AZM< Mei Seirae, Natsupoi, Ahya Sakrua,Suzu Suzuki, Rina Yamashita, Saya Iida, Yuria Hime, Rina, Maki Itoh and Fuwa-chan.
— I saw the Johnny Consejo vs. Angel de Oro hair match from Friday. It had the most heat of any match I’ve seen this year so far. When it was over, people were jumping up and down like they just saw a world title change. They really had one hell of a match.
— The Jeff Jarrett documentary “The Jeff Jarrett Story: Heart of a Promoter” debuts tomorrow night on YouTube and will also air on the CW affiliate in Nashville, likely right after NXT.
— At yesterday’s Alto Voltage show in Monterrey in the main event, Xelhua & Star Black & Explosivo beat Hechicero & Los Calaveras Jr. I & II when Xelhua pinned Hechicero clean in fall three. This leads to Hechicero defending his High Voltage title against Xehuah on 3/15 in Monterrey. A key is that would indicate no Hechicero on the AEW PPV show that night. (thanks to Paul Sosnowski)
— The Ultimate Fighter starts a new season weekly on Paramount + on 3/27. The season has men’s bantamweights and women’s strawweights.
— Kind of sad to see Jake Hager signing for six fights with PowerSlap. They’re probably paying him a lot more than the usual indie guys who make little for doing that, but it’s still sad to see someone past 40 go on that show. He debuts on 4/17.
— Floyd Mayweather Jr. was announced as facing Mike Zambidis, who was a star in the K-1 MAX heyday in Japan as a kickboxer when Masato was a top star, in a June exhibition boxing match in Greece. Zambidis is 45 and retired from kickboxing in 2015. He fought in K-1 as a star from 2001 to 2010.
— Manami Toyota, arguably the greatest woman wrestler who ever lived, turns 55 today. Lola Gonzalez, the top woman star in Mexico for a long period of time, turns 67 today. Debra Marshall, better known in the 90s as Debra McMcihael, the ex-wife of Steve McMichael and later ex-wife of Steve Austin, turned 66 today. Lorraine Johnson, the mother of Baby Doll and one of the best female wrestlers of her era, was born 96 years ago today. Charlie Cook, a former NFL football player who became a pro wrestler, was born on this day in 1941. Mike Von Erich would have turned 62 today. Lance Cade, who wrestled in WWE, would have turned 45 today. In a little-known fact, Lance Cade’s father-in-law was Black Gordman, who is still alive and one of the oldest still living wrestlers. Doug Furnas, the former 27 time world record holder in powerlifting and a good friend of mine, passed away on this day 14 years ago at the age of 52.
— Green Mountain Wrestling presents Shamrocks &N Headlocks on 3/15 at 2 plm. in Barre, VT at 2 p.m. at Elks Lodge #1535.
— Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will have a press conference on 3/10 at Noon at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including WWE Elimination Chamber, Jake Hager doing Slap Fight, Mark Nash, the RAW line-up for tonight, Paramount and WBD and how AEW might be affected, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
While the world is still months away from Paramount Skydance officially being cleared to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, an intriguing part of that potential future was revealed on Monday.
Paramount Skydance head David Ellison revealed during a conference call that both the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services would combine post-sale. No details about a potential name, cost or timeframe were revealed other than noting the HBO brand would remain intact and will likely remain as a sub-brand according to reporting from CNBC’s Alex Sherman.
The combined power of TNT Sports and CBS Sports was also mentioned on the call.
HBO Max has 131 million subscribers while Paramount+ has 79 million with a very light overlap according to Antenna data relayed by Sherman.
For wrestling fans, all of this potentially matters because of the AEW relationship and investment that WBD has in the company (less than 10% or it would need to be reported). It’s unclear if that investment divests if the sale goes through or if Paramount Skydance would retain the investment.
AEW currently simulcasts on both TBS/TNT and HBO Max with the streaming service also acting as a gateway for U.S. fans to buy AEW pay-per-views (along with Prime Video, YouTube and PPV.com). The current TV rights contract runs through 2027 with WBD holding an option to extend through 2028.
Paramount Skydance doesn’t have any other wrestling properties, but has a relationship to TKO through both their UFC and Zuffa Boxing deals.
TKO head Mark Shapiro had previously speculated about UFC events airing on TNT if a deal was to go through, mentioning both TNT and HBO’s association with sports at an event Monday. AEW Collision currently airs on Saturdays on TNT which would make things interesting if such a move was of interest to Paramount leadership.
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave looks at the breaking news that Paramount is now set to acquire all of WBD as Netflix has bowed out of the bidding and what that could mean for AEW.
He previews this weekend’s WWE Elimination Chamber — the final big stop on the road to WrestleMania 42.
Dave also looks at AJ Styles making it official that he has retired from the ring, an announcement made on a podcast after this past week’s tribute in Atlanta and the surprise news he is going into the WWE Hall of Fame.
He also looks at this past week’s TKO financial call that revealed WWE and UFC’s numbers for the year.
Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania updates. Update on ticket sales to both shows as well as AEW Revolution and explanations of why and current interest level in tickets.
Notes on the giant gates WWE drew for WrestleMania last year and John Cena’s retirement.
How much Mania tickets have increased in recent years
Odds on this week shows
Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey and a history of how women’s MMA overcame so many obstacles due to those two. We look at what each did, their background, the story behind the 2014 fight that never happened and why this fight is happening, as well as addressing very serious questions regarding the fight.
A look at nostalgia fights and different ways to do them and how they work or don’t work
A look at the life and career of the Great Mephisto, one of the most creative minds in wrestling as a wrestler and booker of the 60s and 70s, including his heyday in San Francisco and Australia and stories about his confrontations with Roy Shire, copying from and teaming with The Sheik, Booking WCW in Australia, and a life that start as a street hustler in the depression to facing Hulk Hogan in his first match ever in Northern California.
The most detailed look at the television ratings over the past week, with comparisons, Nielsen and Netflix flaws, Olympics and more.
Major change in CMLL rules and thoughts about it
This past week in CMLL including a hot Friday night sold out show with Mistico vs. Templario
Mistico talks Observer awards
Saya Kamitani update
FantasticaMania first night
Cain Velasquez update
Notes on the death of Brett Wolverton and Kerwin Silfies
Mick Foley television series
Longest lasting pro wrestling ring announcer
Eve sets UK record
Tag team holds titles in Europe & Japan at the same time
Frankie Kazarian reflected on being at Raw: Nights like this go beyond any accolade one can achieve. Being there for my brother @AJStylesOrg on an incredibly special night, and reuniting with @ThisIsTNA brethren is something I will take with me forever. And never let it go. Thanks you to the @WWE for making this happen.”
A WWE 2K26 video game special will air this coming Friday on ESPN 2.
Kelly Kelly on social media: “Welp… another year not in the @WWEgames…Should we start a petition or what?”
PWInsider is reporting that WWE and 2K have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by Nathaniel Tatha-Nanandji, a promoter who alleges that WWE used his intellectual material for Bloodline content on WWE programming.
Tyra Mae Steele on The Wrestling Syndicate podcast shared audio of Vince McMahon congratulating her on winning the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Toyko.
Asuka in a backstage segment was happy with Kairi Sane’s performance on Raw for one reason: IYO SKY didn’t advance to the Chamber.
Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed in a press release that they have received a revised proposal from Paramount Skydance. Later on Tuesday, the WBD board said that Paramount’s new offer ‘could’ be better than the current Netflix offer but hasn’t made that determination yet.
Christopher Daniels on social media reflected on the recent anniversary of ROH’s first show, where he headlined with Bryan Danielson and Low Ki in the main event: “Happy birthday @ringofhonor. Very proud of the match we put on that night, and proud to have shared the ring as often as I did with @bryandanielson & @OneWorldWarrior!”
Mercedes Mone will be part of the upcoming new season of Bar Rescue on Paramount Network.
Jeff Hardy will be performing at the Louder than Life festival this September.
*Winners, top place winners, comments and every winner of every award dating back to 1980, from Wrestler of the Year, MMA MVP, Most Outstanding, Most Outstanding MMA Fighter, Tag Team of the Year, Best on Interviews, Promotion of the Year, Best Weekly TV show, Match of the Year, MMA Fight of the year, U.S./Canada MPV, Japanese MVP, Mexico MVP, Europe MVP, Best non-heavyweight, Women’s MVP, Women’s MMA MVP, Feud of the Year, Best Box Office Draw, Most Improved, Most Charismatic, Best Technical, Best Brawler, Best Flying Wrestler, Most Overrated, Most Underrated, Rookie of the Year, Best Non-WRestler, Best Television Announcer, Worst Television Announcer, Most major show, Worst major show, Best maneuver, Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic, Worst TV show, Worst match, Worst feud, Worst promotion, Best Booker of the Year, Promoter of the Year, Best Gimmick, Worst Gimmick, Best Book and Best Documentary.
*Tons of news related to the build to WrestleMania, why the card may be changing, a major concern regarding ticket sales, predictabiity vs. surprises, How Bron Brakker’s injury changes things, Brock Lesnar situation, Becky Lynch situation, situation in Las Vegas, concerns in Las Vegas, why ticket sales are down, plus build to Elimination Chamber
*Tadao Yasuda, a unique life of a former sumo star, IWGP champion, one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, the birth of the New Year’s Eve fighting tradition, gambling issues and more
*Coverage of the New Beginning in Osaka, talent leaving, talent staying, what is the difrection for New Japan the next few months and a worst and best match of the year candidate one right after the other
*Betting odds for this week’s wrestling
*Most detailed look at the TV ratings, a look at the red flags, streaming numbers and more.
*Notes on the honoring and retirement of El Satanico and career highlights
*Mistico sellout updates
*The last Friday for a month at Arena Mexico with the biggest names
*AAA TV tapings with WWE talent
*Starddom PPV notes
*Epstein files wrestling references
*Biggest UK women’s show coming
*Show coming up attempting to be the largest attendance for an all-women’s show in three decades
*Pareamount again trying to get WBD
*How politics affects pro wrestling
*Grand Slam Australia notes
*MJF talks Punk
*TV reviews
*YouTube notes
*CBS airing UFC on 3/7
*Zuffa boxing defies Ali Act with world title announcement
*WWE injury updates
*Bad Bunny Super Bowl controversy
*WWE Hall of Famer threatens to quit if another person isn’t removed
Vaquer later took to social media to apologize regarding one aspect of her promo where she said there was no wrestling in Chile. She clarified by saying wrestling in Chile wasn’t established when she chose to emigrate from her country.
2K has a WWE 2K26 Ringside Report focusing on changes to Universe Mode and the game’s Creation Suite.
‘Bodies’ by Offset, JID, Drowning Pool, and BYNX is the official theme song of Elimination Chamber.
CM Punk explains how to watch WWE PLEs on the ESPN app.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix have announced a ‘special meeting’ for March 20 where they will formally approve the WBD-Netflix transaction. This comes as news broke on Tuesday that WBD was restarting talks with Paramount regarding a potential new offer.
*Winners, top place winners, comments and every winner of every award dating back to 1980, from Wrestler of the Year, MMA MVP, Most Outstanding, Most Outstanding MMA Fighter, Tag Team of the Year, Best on Interviews, Promotion of the Year, Best Weekly TV show, Match of the Year, MMA Fight of the year, U.S./Canada MPV, Japanese MVP, Mexico MVP, Europe MVP, Best non-heavyweight, Women’s MVP, Women’s MMA MVP, Feud of the Year, Best Box Office Draw, Most Improved, Most Charismatic, Best Technical, Best Brawler, Best Flying Wrestler, Most Overrated, Most Underrated, Rookie of the Year, Best Non-WRestler, Best Television Announcer, Worst Television Announcer, Most major show, Worst major show, Best maneuver, Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic, Worst TV show, Worst match, Worst feud, Worst promotion, Best Booker of the Year, Promoter of the Year, Best Gimmick, Worst Gimmick, Best Book and Best Documentary.
*Tons of news related to the build to WrestleMania, why the card may be changing, a major concern regarding ticket sales, predictabiity vs. surprises, How Bron Brakker’s injury changes things, Brock Lesnar situation, Becky Lynch situation, situation in Las Vegas, concerns in Las Vegas, why ticket sales are down, plus build to Elimination Chamber
*Tadao Yasuda, a unique life of a former sumo star, IWGP champion, one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, the birth of the New Year’s Eve fighting tradition, gambling issues and more
*Coverage of the New Beginning in Osaka, talent leaving, talent staying, what is the difrection for New Japan the next few months and a worst and best match of the year candidate one right after the other
*Betting odds for this week’s wrestling
*Most detailed look at the TV ratings, a look at the red flags, streaming numbers and more.
*Notes on the honoring and retirement of El Satanico and career highlights
*Mistico sellout updates
*The last Friday for a month at Arena Mexico with the biggest names
*AAA TV tapings with WWE talent
*Starddom PPV notes
*Epstein files wrestling references
*Biggest UK women’s show coming
*Show coming up attempting to be the largest attendance for an all-women’s show in three decades
*Pareamount again trying to get WBD
*How politics affects pro wrestling
*Grand Slam Australia notes
*MJF talks Punk
*TV reviews
*YouTube notes
*CBS airing UFC on 3/7
*Zuffa boxing defies Ali Act with world title announcement
*WWE injury updates
*Bad Bunny Super Bowl controversy
*WWE Hall of Famer threatens to quit if another person isn’t removed
— With Bryan away on vacation, I’ll be doing a show with Garrett Gonzales tonight covering Raw and the latest news. You can also send questions to me for tonight’s show to [email protected] but concentrate on current events, such as stuff from the latest issue, as they will have precedence.
— Raw tonight is from Memphis. There are two Elimination Chamber qualifiers, with Bayley vs. Nattie vs. Asuka and Gunther vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dominik Mysterio, plus AJ Lee and Becky Lynch continue their angle. CM Punk is there as well as Liv Morgan. JD McDonagh is there for the first time since a November injury so Judgment Day is back to full strength. Royce Keys is also there, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be on TV. There were 8,650 tickets out the last time we checked. So they will have a good crowd but far from a sellout. We’re looking for live reports from the show as far as Main Event or dark matches to [email protected]
— The John Oliver “Last Week Tonight” show last night on HBO mentioned Brody King, MJF and the F*** Ice chants in Las Vegas. It was a very brief clip where he said, “Excellent. Well done to everyone involved there,” praising the crowd in particular. It is notable that AEW is absolutely not leaning into this publicity. They announced that King would be back on the 2/25 Dynamite show in Denver and thus won’t be in Sacramento on Wednesday.
— A Mike Tyson vs. Floyd Mayweather exhibition boxing match was reported by Mike Coppingers as taking place on 4/25 in The Congo.
— For Sacramento, the only stuff pushed is Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland in a singles match and an MJF-Adam Page face-to-face segment. The Brawling Birds (Jamie Hayter & Alex Windsor) also debut inside the ring as a team.
— Cord Cutters News reported industry analysts talking of a merger between Comcast and Paramount Global because of the heavy money losses of Paramount + and Peacock. Paramount + is profitable right now, although Peacock is heavily losing money. But Paramount itself is currently a money loser.
— The 3/8 Pro Wrestling Eve show at Indigo at the O2 Arena in London is sold out and has set the U.K., record for largest attendance for an all-women’s pro wrestling show. The prior record was 1,000 for a show at York Hall in 2018. At this point the show is at just under 1,200. The show will be streamed to Channel Members on the Eve Champions Tier. A lot of TNA talent including Jamie Hayter, Harley Cameron, Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander are on the show.
— Eve also runs 3/6 at The Big Penny in Walthamstow in Londo with Jamie Hayter vs Miyu Yamashita, AZM & Alex Windosr vs. Safire Reed & Syuri, Dash Chisako vs. Anita Vaughan, Dani Mo & Melissa Fierce vs. French Art plus Eve tag champs Lallie defend against Johnnie Robbie & Miko Alana.
— Arena Mexico on 3/6 has a Mercedes Mone CMLL women’s title defense. The goal is to top 10,900 in attendance which would make it the largest crowd for an all-women’s pro wrestling show anywhere in the world since the 90s.
— For TNA, there will be no ratings out today due to the holiday. Everything will be delayed a day so I don’t think we’ll get SmackDown on Syfy numbers until Wednesday.
— We’re looking for reports from these events: *Anything from the AEW show in Sydney not on televisoin *WWE house show Saturday night in Lubbock, TX *NXT house show Saturday night in Kent, WA *AEW house show Sunday night in Brisbane, Australia We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
— A Logan Paul Pikachu Illustrator card was auctioned off at $16,492,000, making it the most expensive trading card sale price of all-time.
— El Clon and Daniel Garcia debuted last night at Arena Mexico in the main event where Clon won a four-way over Neon, Esfinge and Garcia. CMLL shows will be way down in star power the next few weeks due to FantasticaMania in Japan.
— Gisele Shaw will defend her Maple Leaf Wrestling women’s title against Sanely tomorrow night at Arena Mexico, which is headlined by Blue Panther & Esfinge & Neon vs.; Barboza & Dufinto & Furia Roja.
— There is a Portland Wrestling Expo and Hall of Fame ceremony this coming Saturday night at the Holiday Inn at the Portland Airport. The inductees into the Portland Wrestling Hall of Fame are Buddy Rose, one of the biggest stars ever in that territory, Dutch Savage, another of the biggest stars ever, announcer Don Coss and The Grappler, the hero of Chael Sonnen. Among those attending include Charles “Godfather” Wright, Paul Ellering, Minoru Suzuki, Ken Patera, Tom Prichard, Grappler, Jules Strongbow, Rip Rogers, Teal Piper, The Equalizer, Joey Jackson and The Bollywood Boyz.
— Chris Jericho is currently on tour with Fozzy in the U.K.
— Bill Goldberg was announced as Partner and CEO of Patriot Tactical, focusing on strength, preparedness and purpose. Patriot Tactical produces tactical knives, EDC gear, protective equipment and training driven products.
— Advertised for the 3/30 Raw in Madison Square Garden are CM Punk, Stephanie Vaquer, Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley and The Vision.
— Combate Global on 2/26 in Burbank, CA with Jawy Mendez (1-1) vs. John Padron (2-1). The fight will air on Fighttips, the YouTube Channel of Shane Fazen, and in Mexico on Samsung TV Plus. It wasn’t that many years ago a Combate Global show on Univision was the 13th highest rated prime time television show during the entire week (due to a big soccer lead-in, but still).
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Mick Foley divesting himself from WWE, the WBD/Netflix/Paramount story, Tokyo Sports Awards, ratings, Arena Mexico and AAA this weekend, AEW and NXT TV reports plus spoilers for the next several shows. A packed show as always so check it out~!
The Warner Bros. Discovery Board has declined to accepted a $108 billion all-encompassing bid from Paramount/Skydance and will be moving forward with Netflix’s initial offer for part of the company instead.
Announced via a press release Wednesday morning, WBD felt the deal offered by Paramount “is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders and does not meet the criteria of a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix announced on December 5, 2025. The Warner Bros. Discovery Board unanimously reiterates its recommendation in support of the Netflix combination and recommends that WBD shareholders reject PSKY’s offer.”
Paramount stated later that they will go no higher than their offer.
In their lengthy letter to shareholders requesting they do not tender their shares to Paramount/Skydance and an SEC filing explaining why they were turning it down, WBD added “none of these reasons will be a surprise to PSKY given our clear, and oft-repeated, feedback on their six prior proposals. The terms of the Netflix merger are superior. The PSKY offer provides inadequate value and imposes numerous, significant risks and costs on WBD.”
Paramount was looking to acquire all of WBD which includes TBS, TNT and HBO Max where AEW currently airs. Netflix’s $82.7 billion offer is for the WB studio, DC, HBO Max, HBO, and the associated IP. The heavily scrutinized deal will come under review from regulatory entities and potentially wouldn’t be completed until after the WBD split in Q3 of 2026 that will see their cable networks and Discovery split into a separate company.
Netflix’s multi-year global partnership with WWE began in January 2025 while AEW’s current media rights deal with WBD that also began this year runs through 2027 with an option year for 2028.
On Monday, things got even more heated as Paramount Skydance (TV rights media partners with TKO for UFC, boxing and PBR events) entered a “hostile bid” to acquire all of WBD (AEW’s media partner) for $108.4 billion — the equivalent of a $30 per share offer — up from Netflix’s offer of $27.75 per share for solely the WB production studios, IP like DC Comics and Harry Potter, HBO and the HBO Max service.
Paramount Skydance head David Ellison said in a company release that their offer has “faster regulatory certainty to close” and their offer is “pro-consumer, pro-creative talent and pro-competition.” Of note, the Ellison family are friendly with U.S. President Donald Trump and part of the group joining the Paramount bid is a firm founded by the President’s son-in-law in addition to wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to the tune of $24 billion.
Their offer is also all cash which Ellison noted he was told “repeatedly” by the WBD Board that they wanted. Any deal would first need to be accepted by the WBD Board and then would be subject to regulatory approval.
WBD would pay Netflix $2.8 billion if it accepted this offer with Netflix paying WBD $5.8 billion if their deal didn’t go through.
How does this affect AEW?
For wrestling fans, this is the biggest question. A Netflix deal seemingly wouldn’t affect AEW in the short term outside their simulcast streaming deal on HBO Max in addition to pay-per-view purchase availability.
The current AEW/WBD deal runs through 2027 with a possible extension year through 2028, covering both TBS, TNT and the HBO Max simulcast.
A Paramount/Skydance deal would bring TBS and TNT under their tent in addition to HBO Max. There is no wrestling on Paramount Plus or within the Paramount TV universe currently while Netflix has a multi-year deal with WWE.
Paramount also doesn’t offer pay-per-view capabilities, but they also didn’t lay out what they would do with two streaming services if their deal goes through.
As was the case Friday, there is a long way to go before this entire situation resolves itself.
The race to acquire AEW media partner Warner Bros. Discovery and further massively change the landscape of both streaming, broadcast and Hollywood heated up even more on Thursday.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that three official bids have come in for WBD from Netflix, NBCUniversal and Paramount/Skydance, noting they vary “for some or all” of WBD. It’s the first official salvo of many expected to come.
No details on the bids were revealed, but the New York Post reported that bids were submitted at noon “with deal insiders predicting a winning offer that will likely fall far short of the $30 a share that CEO David Zaslav said he wanted for the media conglomerate.”
They later added that WBD and David Zaslav are “expected to hold two, maybe three rounds of bidding to push the price up above the $23.50 that Paramount Skydance has already offered for the entire company, according to people close to the matter.”
Why this is relevant for wrestling fans is the broadcast future of AEW.
AEW is in year one of their current WBD TV contract that runs through 2027 with an option for 2028 that sees the weekly Dynamite and Collision shows on TBS/TNT simulcast on HBO Max, and the AEW content archives available on HBO Max. That deal also includes AEW PPVs available at a discount for HBO Max subscribers in addition to the new Tailgate Brawl PPV pre-shows that are also simulcast on TNT.
AEW head Tony Khan was both asked by Ariel Helwani on Tuesday and on a media call Thursday about his concerns and insights. Khan continued to be positive and confident about AEW’s relationship with Zaslav, saying they have continued to both grow and integrate into WBD through their changes and that support has been reciprocal.
Both NBCUniversal and Netflix have existing deals with WWE while Paramount kicks off their seven-year deal with TKO-owned UFC in January.
