Tag: Tony Khan

Tony Khan responds to William Regal’s injury warnings: ‘The wrestlers want to do their very best’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Shortly after concluding AEW Worlds End last month, fans saw wrestling legend William Regal open up in public and address wrestlers performing dangerous and high-risk spots in wrestling as a fallout from the All Elite Wrestling PPV. Now, almost a week later, AEW President Tony Khan responded to Regal’s comments positively.

During his appearance on the Mark Hoke Show Pro Wrestling Radio Show / Podcast, the host brought up William Regal’s warning on social media before asking Khan about his thoughts on wrestlers performing high-risk spots.

“Pro wrestlers are always taking hard-hitting and high-risk chances. That’s one of the things that makes pro wrestling so exciting. In AEW, we’ve been able to have all of these great events, and we’ve never had a career-ending injury like that from our wrestling,” Khan added.

“I don’t think that AEW is any different than any other wrestling promotion in the world. The wrestlers want to do their very best, and sometimes a promotion will step in. AEW and I have at times stepped in and said, ‘I can’t do that. I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ I don’t want to do that every day or every match, but there are times where it comes up, and that’s okay.“

“Everything you talk about, these are things you constantly balance in sports. Not just AEW, but all sports. Taking care of your athletes and doing things to protect the health and safety of the athletes to make the sport work,” Khan concluded.

A spot from AEW Worlds End saw Kyle Fletcher land abruptly on his neck, which brought up concerns regarding the safety measures in pro-wrestling. Mark Hoke also noted on his show that it could have been the moment that led to Regal’s comments.

Tony Khan shares his thoughts on Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher from AEW Worlds End

In the same podcast, while addressing the injury concerns and risky moments in the sport, Khan also made sure to reveal his thoughts on the Moxley vs. Fletcher match.

“I thought Worlds End was great, and I thought everything about it was wonderful. And if anybody was talking about Kyle Fletcher vs Jon Moxley, that’s my one of my favorite matches of all time. And, it’s all subjective. Best match is always in the eye of the beholder. And I do think it’s something to be really proud of AEW to hang our hats on. How fantastic a year that was. All our wrestlers are doing well, and what AEW accomplished in 2025, going into 2026.“

WOR: Tanahashi’s last match, WWE shareholder lawsuit

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about the big news from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Here were some of the things we discussed:

  • Business stories we’ll be watching in 2026
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last match
  • WWE shareholder lawsuit
  • Triller woes
  • Tony Khan on the difference between booking AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision
  • Michael Chandler versus Conor McGregor?

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube

Tony Khan credits Samoa Joe for saving the day at AEW All In 2023

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After things almost went off the rails at AEW All In 2023, Samoa Joe helped get the show back on track and give fans the product they paid to see.

The 2023 event was a big night for AEW with the promotion running Wembley Stadium in London for the first time. But Tony Khan told Q101 Radio that it was also AEW’s most stressful pay-per-view “by far” due to the backstage incident that took place between CM Punk and Jack Perry. Khan credited Joe — who faced Punk at the PPV — for de-escalating the situation and making sure that their scheduled match could still happen.

“The most stressful pay-per-view was the first Wembley — by far. Samoa Joe saved the day there,” Khan said.

“I think it was very good that Samoa Joe de-escalated the situation. And also that Samoa Joe made sure that the fans got the match that they thought they had paid to see. And he went out there and everything was great, and he was such a professional. That exemplifies Samoa Joe in the ring and out of the ring. The most professional man. He was so great that day and so many other times. He’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. What a leader Samoa Joe is — in the ring and out of the ring. A captain, a true captain of a team. I’m very blessed that he’s in AEW.”

Punk defeated Joe at the PPV, but it ended up being the last match that Punk ever had in AEW. He was terminated from his contract over the incident and returned to WWE soon after, where he is the current World Heavyweight Champion.

Joe is a multi-time World Champion for AEW, recently dropping the belt to MJF in a four-way match at Worlds End.

Tony Khan on AEW Grand Slam Mexico return, potential dual contracts

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Tony Khan is excited for AEW to head back to Arena Mexico in 2026.

In a new interview with Q101 Radio, Khan confirmed that AEW plans to hold another Grand Slam Mexico in the coming year. The first edition of the TV special took place in June and was one of Dynamite’s best-received episodes of 2025. It also drew a strong number in the ratings.

“100 percent, I definitely want to do Grand Slam Mexico again,” Khan said. “We have amazing partners in CMLL, so I would want to work with them, and we’re going to work with them. So, Grand Slam Mexico will be back in 2026. And I’m just pleased that they’ll have us. And I can’t wait to go back.

“We had a great experience in Arena Mexico in Mexico City. There are other great cities in Mexico that we’d like to visit, and that’s something that I hope to be able to do and would do with the great pleasure of partnering with CMLL and them hosting us in their territory in their venues. It’s an honor. I love working with Salvador [Lutteroth] and everybody at CMLL. They’re having a great year, and it’s been great with AEW and CMLL working together this year.”

Hechicero is among the CMLL stars who have been featured on AEW programming. He’s under a dual contract with the promotions — and Khan confirmed that there will be more attempts to sign CMLL wrestlers to these types of deals.

“Yes, there will be more attempts to do things like that, which are very beneficial to us,” Khan said.

Tony Khan explains different approaches to booking AEW Dynamite and Collision

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When booking AEW television, Tony Khan takes different approaches to laying out Dynamite and Collision.

Khan explained during an interview with Q101 Radio that, with Dynamite, he is obsessed with the minute-by-minute ratings patterns of the show. With Collision, he is less focused on that and is more intent on just delivering a great in-ring wrestling program that wrestling fans will love. His hope is that those dedicated fans will watch Collision and then tell their friends about it and create new viewers.

“Absolutely,” Khan responded when asked if there are different approaches to booking the two shows. “There are things that I do on Collision that I think are excellent wrestling and I’m not as obsessed with the minute-by-minute viewing patterns. I am [obsessed with the minute-by-minute patterns for Dynamite], I’m obsessed with it. And I’m obsessed with Collision being a great wrestling show that the wrestling fans love.

“My goal for Collision is the wrestling fans tell the other wrestling fans — because I don’t want there to ever be a perception, even though I know some fans think that, ‘Oh, I can watch Dynamite and I’ll get everything.’ That’s not the case. A lot of the best stuff is on Collision. I want the wrestling fans to spread the virus like I have. I was a virus-spreading wrestling fan that made other wrestling fans, that would go to school and bring people over and show them tapes of my favorite stuff and get other people into wrestling.”

Khan noted that he believes Dynamite is a great in-ring show like Collision, but there is more of a need to deliver a balanced offering given that it’s weeknight prime time TV. Dynamite is broadcast on Wednesdays every week, while Collision is a weekend show on Saturdays.

Dynamite has been AEW’s flagship show since it launched in 2019. Collision, originally meant to be a series centered around CM Punk, was later added in 2023. It supplanted and eventually replaced Rampage as AEW’s secondary TV program.

Tony Khan: Cody Rhodes has been ‘very positive’ in our interactions since AEW departure

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Tony Khan only has good things to say about Cody Rhodes and the contributions he made while with AEW.

Back in July of this year, Rhodes appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast and discussed his departure from AEW, noting that being disrespected in AEW felt different than it would have in WWE because AEW was a promotion that he helped build. Still, Rhodes said that, despite there clearly being “bad blood,” there was still love and respect between himself and AEW.

Khan was asked about Rhodes’ comments during a new interview with Q101 in Chicago. Khan noted that Rhodes is usually pretty gracious with the things he says about AEW, so he would give him the benefit of the doubt regarding these remarks. Khan added that things have always been positive between him and Rhodes in their interactions since Rhodes left AEW.

“You know, he does a lot of interviews. And I think when you have to say so many words so often, because he works so hard. He works such a big schedule. And to his credit, I’d bet he does hundreds of interviews a year,” Khan said. “And I’m not sure I agree with that, but I also would give him the benefit of the doubt that, you know, I’ve heard him say a lot of positive things too. And for somebody that doesn’t work here and that’s involved in the competitive promotion, he’s usually pretty gracious with the things he says. And I’ve seen him since he’s been gone. And it’s always been very positive and good. I have only good things to say about him and his contributions here.”

Rhodes and Khan, both founding fathers of AEW, are two of the most important people in the history of the promotion. A “personal issue” caused Rhodes to leave, though he’s never fully explained what that issue was. Still, Rhodes has said he’s rooting for AEW to succeed and believes its existence is important to the health of the wrestling industry.

Since returning in 2022, Rhodes has been one of the top stars in WWE. He currently holds the WWE Championship heading into a title defense against Drew McIntyre on the January 9 episode of SmackDown.

Tony Khan on AEW star Jon Moxley: ‘The man’s a marvel’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

2025 was a year that had Tony Khan marveling at how good Jon Moxley is.

While speaking with Sports Illustrated, Khan credited Moxley for being a throwback to the days when champions still worked 200-plus matches each year. The pro wrestling schedule is no longer quite as grueling, but Moxley is the only person besides Khan who was present for every Dynamite and Collision this year.

Khan said Moxley was even banged up at the start of 2025 but was able to work himself back to health without taking any time off.

“Jon was pretty hurt at the start of the year,” Khan told Sports Illustrated. “He was banged up, and he worked his way back in without ever taking time off. He’s been here all year, and he actually got healthier wrestling every week. The man’s a marvel.”

Moxley held the AEW World Championship going into 2025 but dropped it over the summer. He still ended the year with gold, though, winning the Continental Classic at Worlds End to become the new Continental Champion. Moxley, who legitimately split his tooth in two during the pay-per-view, defeated Kyle Fletcher in the tournament semifinals at Worlds End before going on to defeat Kazuchika Okada in the finals.

Khan told Sports Illustrated that AEW owes Moxley so much, and he’s so grateful to have Moxley in the promotion.

“John’s wrestling was awesome all year,” Khan noted. “He put out his very best all year.”

Tony Khan, Dustin Rhodes, more comment on AEW signing Hyan & Maya World

Posted on by Ian Carey

Tony Khan and several other names associated with AEW have commented on the company’s recent signings of Hyan & Maya World.

Khan announced Hyan & World’s signing following their loss to the Sisters of Sin, Julia Hart and Skye Blue, on the AEW Worlds End Zero Hour show. He addressed their signing again at the post-event press conference.

Khan said:

“I think they’ve been doing a fantastic job.”

“Hyan and Maya World came in, they’ve delivered time after time. They’ve been putting on great matches. They’ve been getting more and more competitive.”

“Everybody in the locker room really respects them. They bring something great to the roster. We’ve been having great women’s tag team matches and having more and more strong wrestlers on the roster for singles and tag teams, because they are both great individual wrestlers too.”

“Every experience I’ve had with both of them individually and as a team has been positive. They had another great match on the Zero Hour.”

Dustin Rhodes also posted about their signing, writing:

“Super proud of Hyan and Maya!!! Welcome to the team!!! LFG!!!!! #AEW”

Several wrestlers also commented on AEW’s Instagram post announcing World and Hyan’s signing.

Mercedes Mone wrote, “😍🔥”

Leila Grey wrote, “Congrats ladies!! 👏👏👏👏”

Anna Jay: “👏”

Red Velvet wrote, “Well deserved 👏👏 congrats ladies!”

The two have gone 0-4 in tag matches for the promotion, dating back to their loss to Anna Jay and Tay Melo on the November 8 Collision taping. Individually, they’ve each wrestled a handful of times for AEW in the past, with Hyan having once challenged for the ROH Women’s World title against Mercedes Martinez on an episode of Dark: Elevation. Maya World was beaten by Megan Bayne on an episode of Dynamite in February and also lost to Thunder Rosa on Collision in July 2024.

AEW Worlds End media scrum notes: Tony Khan on Adam Cole status, Jon Moxley win

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Khan and other AEW stars spoke to the media following Worlds End.

Khan, Kris Statlander, and members of the Conglomeration spoke to press following Saturday’s pay-per-view in Chicago. Here are the highlights:

Kris Statlander

  • She was asked about spitting in Hayter’s face. Statlander said her sob story is over, she isn’t an underdog. Her moment is now, she is the champion. 
  • When asked about new fans tuning into AEW, she said she would like new fans to know that wrestling wasn’t a passion her whole life, but now it has become her passion. It’s taken over her life in a good way. Never too late to follow your dreams and be the best version of yourself.

The Conglomeration

  • When Orange Cassidy was asked about teaming up with Toni Storm again, he said “God willing.”
  • The Babes of Wrath came in. Harley Cameron performed a song called “The Babes of Wrath.”
  • Cameron says she knows her background is in entertainment but her heart is in wrestling, she’s passionate and motivated. Wrestling is where she wants to grow and thanked Tony Khan for giving her the opportunity. 
  • Regarding her match with Mercedes, Willow says last time she came up short, but now they’ll both show up well studied and will have fire in their bellies on Wednesday.

Tony Khan

  • Khan thought Christmas Collision was maybe “the best Collision ever.”
  • Renee asked Tony at one point if he knows any good dentists, referencing Jon Moxley splitting his tooth in half during the Continental Classic semifinal match.
  • Khan continued to push AEW’s achievements in this year’s Sports Illustrated awards, spending a lot of time going over each award AEW won.
  • Khan thought Moxley/Fletcher may have been the best Continental Classic match.
  • When asked about Adam Cole’s status and his hope to be in AEW more next year, Tony Khan says there was no pressure for him to return, he’s just happy to hear Adam Cole and for fans to see him. He wants Adam Cole in AEW, but has no health update. 
  • Khan was asked if he had plans set for the future, primarily in 2027 when the company would need to peak before their next television deal. Tony Khan generally talked about events upcoming up, particularly their final show of 2025, before saying they have plans for years to come.
  • Based on early numbers, Worlds End is trending “incredibly well.”
  • He was asked about his reaction to Jon Moxley being cheered for his AEW Continental Clasic win after being a heel for most of the year. Khan said he wasn’t surprised, as he’s one of the greatest wrestlers ever. People have always liked Jon Moxley even if he did terrible things. When you eliminate some of the outside interference and other elements that drove fans against the Death Riders and eliminate the shortcuts, Moxley is still a great wrestler. He expected the crowd to react that way as he’s a popular star. 
  • Regarding Maya World and Hyan signing with AEW, Khan said they’ve been doing a fantastic job. They’ve delivered time and time again, they’ve been getting more competitive, they bring something great to the roster. 

Tony Khan confirms two new AEW signings

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

All Elite Wrestling has now officially signed two promising pro-wrestlers, Hyan and Maya World.

Earlier tonight, during the December 27th edition of Worlds End Zero Hour, Hyan & Maya World faced off against Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue) in a brief match. Despite falling short against the two veteran AEW stars, All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan later announced the two as the promotion’s latest signings.

“They wrestled another fantastic match at the #AEWWorldsEnd Zero Hour tonight, and now it’s official: @_thehyan + @MayaWorldd are All Elite! Thank you all watching AEW Worlds End right now!”

The duo stepped up on short notice against TayJay (Anna Jay & Tay Melo) on the November 8th episode of AEW Collision, as they replaced Miranda Alize & Nixon Newell after they walked out. Their decision to replace the two wrestlers on AEW Collision became a key part of them signing up with the Jacksonville-based promotion.

Since then, Hyan & Maya World have wrestled multiple times on AEW television but have yet to pick up a victory.

Tony Khan announces AEW Worlds End will be a ‘clean sellout’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Tony Khan says AEW Worlds End is a “clean sellout.”

Tonight’s pay-per-view is set for the NOW Arena just outside of Chicago. On the afternoon of the show, Khan posted to social media that the event is now sold out.

Khan wrote:

“TONIGHT’s #AEWWorldsEnd PPV will be a clean sellout, with the @NOW_Arena packed with awesome wrestling fans!
AEW is having a fantastic year, and the final @AEW PPV of 2025 is TONIGHT!
Join the wrestling world that will be watching AEW Worlds End TONIGHT!”

As of press time for the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, just over 8,200 tickets had been distributed to the show. WrestleTix reported on Saturday afternoon that the number had risen to 8,836. The last pay-per-view AEW held in the building was All Out 2024, which drew 8,660.

Dave Meltzer wrote of the event in this week’s newsletter:

“A true sellout would be 9,412 but staging could lower that to a little less. It will be very close to a sellout and look full for television, but it’s not a sure thing it will actually sell out.”

“The last AEW PPV show in Chicago at the building was All Out 2024, the traditional show, which did 8,660, so this should beat that number. But to me Chicago should sell out the NOW Arena for a PPV show and this will come very close to doing so”

He noted that the get-in price on the secondary market was $54.

Amanda Huber shares heartfelt comments on Cody Rhodes, Tony Khan, others

Posted on by Ian Carey

AEW’s Amanda Huber recently posted heartfelt comments regarding Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes, Eric Rowan, Tay Melo and Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

December 26 was the five-year anniversary of Amanda’s husband, Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee/Luke Harper’s passing. Amanda Huber noted on social media that she had never seen the tribute show AEW put on after Brodie Lee’s passing, but decided to do so on Friday.

She wrote that seeing Rowan on the tribute show was an amazing surprise.

“Seeing @ErickRedBeard at the tribute show was the most amazing surprise and completely unexpected. I didn’t know he was there until I walked into the trailer. Forever thankful that he was a part of the show.”

Huber said that backstage at the tribute show, MJF stayed in character when interacting with her children. MJF then continued to do so on social media after her post.

“As much as a piece of shit  @The_MJF is, I’ll never forget the tribute show.
He was his terrible self to Brodie all day. When everyone else was extra nice, Max stayed horrible.
Why?
Because Max knew how much Brodie loved wrestling. He knew he needed that escape. That ability to enjoy the thing he loved more than anything in the world. 
It also made it extra gratifying when Brodie finally hit him 💜”

MJF responded to Huber with, “Second that kid turns 18 he’s FUCKED.”

Huber also posted about Tay Melo’s connection with Brodie Jr. and that Melo is now a mother herself.

“The tribute show is where our connection with @taymelo started and I’m so thankful for the road our relationship has taken. From her connecting with Brodie to seeing her become the most amazing mom possible.
Beyond thankful for her 💜”

To Cody Rhodes, Huber wrote:

“I’ll never be able to put into words how much I appreciate Cody. He drove 6 hours the day after Christmas to be there when I told Brodie. He was own of the few people who got to see Jon. He took Brodie to fly kites as I said goodbye. He promised to show up for our family and he’s stood by it. He goes out of his way to always be good to my family. His bond with Brodie is so incredibly special. He’s the perfect example for the boys. He’s passionate, hard working, and loyal. He shows up for his people, not just when it’s convenient for him. He’s someone I’m lucky to call our friend. I’m beyond thankful for his friendship and bringing the Hubers into the Rhodes family.”

After finishing the tribute show, Huber sent a message to Tony Khan:

“Thank you @TonyKhan for putting on the most beautiful pro wrestling show I’ve ever watched.
It’s taken me 5 years to watch this but it’s been worth it.
In the 5 years Jon has been gone I’ve been lucky enough to be in the @AEW family. Getting to travel with this amazing company and work for someone like Tony. Someone so passionate about wrestling but also so thoughtful. The care and love he puts into AEW everyday is never lost on me. I can’t say enough good and how incredible it is. It’s been such a wild road the last 5 years. The highs and lows and the twists and turns. I’m thankful for it all. Especially how beautiful it is that I get to work in a business I’ve dreamed of being in my whole life.
Tune in to World’s End tomorrow and support this beautiful crazy world of pro wrestling 💛🖤
Ok. I’m going to finish crying and get to sleep.
Thank you everyone for all the love, kind words, and messages today. 💜🖤”

Huber’s social media posts are below:

Daily Update: John Cena, Tony Khan, MJF

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site covering the follow topics:

  • The story of John Cena’s retirement, the finish, the reaction, what WWE did and didn’t expect and thoughts on why they did what they did and why judging it now makes little sense in the big picture. We look at different aspects of the decision making and the fallacy of the “time-honored tradition phrasing here. We look at where Cena viably stands among the greats, the show itself, and Cena’s legacy.
  • We look at the post-match and post-show reaction, Paul Levesque and also look at the history of retirement matches with the biggest names in the history of the business. This is a real history lesson about what really is the tradition.
  • We have a story on Wrestle Kingdom’s card, why it turned out this way, as well as the finals of the New Japan tag team tournament.
  • We update the WBD sale story with the latest on Netflix and Paramount, just how strongly WBD publicly viewed the Paramount offer in a negative way and more
  • We run down the 2025 Tokyo Sports pro wrestling awards, with the winners, why they won, how the voting went, the nature of the voting and more in a year Saya Kamitani became the first woman wrestler to win MVP
  • A look at the retirement show and the career of El Hijo del Santo, the Santo gimmick, the cultural significance of the Santo name, Santo Jr, and notes on Santo’s career and most famous matches
  • We update the Continental Classic and Worlds Collide with business updates as well.
  • We look at the odds for upcoming matches
  • We look at the careers of Solomon Grundy, Miss Janeth and Ricky Romero Jr/Ricky Youngblood
  • We have the most detailed look at the television ratings of all the wrestling shows this past week as well as placings, comparisons and more, as well as an explanation of what the annual drops actually mean.
  • We look at another week of sellouts in CMLL, including the big Friday show and the Mistico vs Soberano feud
  • We look at Guerra de Titanes from AAA
  • We look at the financials from Cyberfight and what wrestler in specific they credited a better economic year to
  • Yota Tsuji talks the future of New Japan
  • What pro wrestling events in Japan were the most streamed in 2025
  • Update on Andrade
  • Former WWE tag champ going into Bare Knuckle boxing
  • Major AEW overseas ratings growth
  • Ticket sales to upcoming WWE and AEW shows
  • Chris Jericho update
  • Injury updates
  • Ilia Topuria marriage issues slows down career
  • An appeal by TKO on judge’s ruling about current fighter contracts
  • Notes on Paul vs. Joshua
  • Mick Foley breaks ties with WWE over Trump
  • TKO stock skyrockets
  • NXT Awards

This Week’s Back Issue

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Thursday Update

WWE

  • The Kowloon restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts – a frequent stop for pro wrestlers in the area – thanked John Cena for gifting them an autographed title belt:
    • THANK YOU VERY MUCH, John Cena for this Autographed and inscribed ‘Farewell Tour Boston’ 2025 WWE Championship Spinner Belt!! Now framed and on display here at Kowloon.
    • Thank you for entertaining millions of fans and granting over 700 + Wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, by far the most of all time!
    • Enjoy your well deserved retirement from the ring. Looking forward to seeing what’s next on your Movies and TV!
  • Seth Rollins was one of the pre-game panelists for Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL coverage, appearing before the Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings game. 
  • WWE Vault uploaded the complete World Class Championship Wrestling Christmas Star Wars 1982 event featuring Ric Flair defending the NWA World Championship against Kerry Von Erich inside of a steel cage.
  • Rusev is celebrating his 40th birthday today.

Other Wrestling

  • Tony Khan hyped that tonight’s Christmas Collision is one of his favorite AEW TV shows ever:
    • Merry Christmas! We saved the best Collision of 2025 for last! CHRISTMAS NIGHT #AEWCollision 9pm ET/8pm CT, on TNT + HBO Max
    • It’s only my personal opinion: I think that Christmas Collision TONIGHT is one of the best @AEWonTV shows in AEW’s 6+ year history. Don’t miss it TONIGHT!
  • MJF tweeted ahead of challenging for the AEW World Championship at Worlds End this weekend:
    • They don’t hand out greatness, they document it. After Worlds End, I join a list of only 9 men to be world champion twice before 30:
    • Lou Thesz. 
    • Rikidōzan. 
    • Shinsuke Nakamura. 
    • Kazuchika Okada. 
    • Yokozuna. 
    • The Rock. 
    • Brock Lesnar. 
    • Randy Orton. 
    • John Cena.
    • MJF.
  • AEW wrestlers and personnel named their favorite Christmas movies:
    • Tony Schiavone: Christmas Vacation
    • Kevin Knight: Home Alone 2
    • Renee Paquette: The Family Stone
    • “Speedball” Mike Bailey: Shrek the Halls
    • Brody King: Christmas Vacation
    • Toa Liona: Christmas Vacation
    • Bishop Kaun: A Charlie Brown Christmas
    • Ricochet: Jingle All The Way
  • Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega wished everyone a Merry Christmas in a new video on the Being the Elite YouTube channel.
  • AEW music producer Mikey Rukus shared a video that Toni Storm made for his neighbors’ children:
    • Merry Christmas everyone. I have to share this. Toni Storm is an incredible human being. She found out my neighbors kids are huge fans of hers and she recorded this video for them. She’s unhinged and she’s THE BEST!
  • Brodie Lee Jr. paid homage to John Cena by dressing up as him and doing some of Cena’s moves during a recent training session at The Dungeon.
  • NJPW opened up voting for the 2025 edition of its annual Concurso bodybuilding contest.
  • TNA posted the following preview for tonight’s Christmas edition of Impact, which includes a surprise 10-person tag team match where the competitors are not announced in advance:
    • TNA looks back on a remarkable year as the 2025 Year End Awards take center stage. From breakout stars to unforgettable moments, championships to rivalries that defined the year, we will honor the best of the best from a LOADED 2025! Who will take home the final bragging rights before the calendar flips to 2026? Find out this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV in the U.S., Sportsnet 360 in Canada, and TNA+ worldwide.
    • The action doesn’t stop there. A SURPRISE 10-Person Tag Team Match has been announced for the Christmas Special and the competitors won’t be revealed until bell time. With pride, momentum, and bragging rights on the line, anything can happen when ten stars collide in the iMPACT! Zone. Expect chaos. Expect unpredictability. Expect a holiday showdown only TNA can deliver this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV in the U.S., Sportsnet 360 in Canada, and TNA+ worldwide.
  • FanX Salt Lake City 2025 uploaded video of Mick Foley’s Q&A from their convention.
  • The Toronto Suns’ No Holds Barred podcast interviewed Rob Van Dam.

Tony Khan admits he got ‘too collaborative’ with AEW creative

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Tony Khan believes AEW’s storytelling became more focused in 2025 due to a change that was made to the creative process.

Speaking with The Takedown on SI, Khan admitted that he got “too collaborative” with AEW creative in recent years. He was allowing too many voices to contribute when coming up with the outline for the shows. That changed at the end of 2024, with Khan now putting the outlines together himself. Khan compared the change to when he took more control over creative going into 2020.

“Since you asked about the focus and some of the stories and putting the TV shows together, yeah, I definitely felt like I had had a good approach that I’d refined in 2020, and trying to be good, trying to listen and be collaborative. I think I had gotten too collaborative, and it was kind of the same mistake I made at the beginning,” Khan said.

“And it really helped in the end of 2024, going into 2025, I just said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna put the outline for everything together myself. I’m gonna eliminate the meetings between shows, and I will put everything together myself between shows. And then I’ll come in with the outline of what I want, rather than have a lot of collaborative meetings where everybody chimes in what they think we should be doing.'”

Khan stressed that he still believes collaboration is a good thing and likes to hear ideas. He just thinks everything is more focused when only one person is putting together the outline. And when it comes to collaboration, Khan feels it’s best when he and the wrestlers work together directly. There shouldn’t be too many other people getting involved in that.

“I don’t want to describe ever being collaborative is a bad thing, because the whole thing that makes AEW great is collaboration. But the collaboration should probably, at its best, be between me and the wrestlers, and working to find the best path, and not having a lot of people in the middle of that,” he said.

“There are tons of contributions to a wrestling show, within a show, that can be found in terms of character work, or once the outline is passed down, implementing that outline. But assembling the outline for the show, I’ve learned, doesn’t necessarily need a lot of people involved.”

Khan has called 2025 the best year in AEW’s history. The promotion has Worlds End 2025 coming up this weekend and will then close out the year with the December 31 episode of Dynamite.

Tony Khan addresses potential Andrade return, free agents, AEW holiday schedule

Posted on by Josh Nason

Tony Khan’s message to AEW fans curious about the return of Andrade is a simple one: stay tuned.

The AEW head spoke to the media for an hour Monday (available below) ahead of a week that features two holiday-themed TV shows, the end of Continental Classic pool play, and Saturday’s Worlds End.

When asked about Andrade given the news of him working with AEW partner NJPW, Khan he has a lot of respect for Andrade and that fans should “stay tuned to AEW” for what’s next. The former WWE star made his surprise return to AEW earlier this year, but soon disappeared due to a non-compete with WWE being enforced.

Khan was asked about the Continental Classic scheduling and potentially moving it due to the holidays. He said it’s great to have wrestling programming around this time of year and there’s a tradition of wrestling and other sports like the NFL around the holidays. He said associates the holidays with pro wrestling and likes how the Classic adds some must-see value to the shows.

Asked about his approach to free agents and how to attract other big names, Khan said he is happy with who he did sign this year like Thekla, Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight and that he wanted to add more complimentary pieces and didn’t attempt to take “big swings” like he had done in the past.

Khan also addressed his Madison Square Garden comments made this past weekend, noting someone who used to work at the venue was interested in hosting the first-ever Dynamite in 2019. Khan was interested and after having some calls, he was then told it wasn’t going to be viable for MSG. The person now works in another arena/building AEW frequents a lot.

Khan also talked about the return of MJF, the WBD/Paramount/Netflix battle and more.

Click here for the entire call.