Tony Khan Articles - Page 5

When news broke that Ric Flair wasn’t just coming to AEW for a few months to celebrate his buddy Sting’s final run as an active professional wrestler but was instead going to be with the company on a two-year deal thanks to an endorsement deal signed with his Woooo! Energy, it turned heads around the […]

Back when he was still in power as the do-it-all CEO/booker/creative lead of the WWE Universe, going up against Tony Khan and AEW weekly for ratings supremacy, Vince McMahon had a bad habit of changing his plans on the fly, with the promotion’s weekly plans being ripped up routinely in favor of on-the-fly ideas that […]

When Tony Schiavone broke the news that none other than Ric Flair was his special gift to Sting following the announcement of his impending retirement at Revolution 2024, it drew incredible reactions from around the professional wrestling world. From fans celebrating the “Nature Boy” being afforded a spot shotgun for his protege’s final half-year in […]

Jim Cornette is not the biggest fan of The Elite, Tony Khan, or AEW as a whole. Sure, there are some acts he enjoys, even if he often suggests that they would be better off presented in another promotion like MJF or Toni Storm, but as a whole, Cornette isn’t the biggest fan of what […]

On paper, there are a multitude of reasons why WWE would pull the trigger on re-signing CM Punk. From his initial impact on the ratings, to the message it would send to AEW and the big-time matches that could be added to future cards against the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, there are […]

After taking a big loss to NXT in the ratings battle, 921,000 to 609,000, fans wondered how Tony Khan would handle the situation. Would the AEW CEO, who talked a lot of smack heading into the show, address the situation with grace, thanking fans for watching and vowing to get ’em next time? Or would […]

When Tony Khan announced that the 10/11 edition of Dynamite would actually be coming to fans on 10/10 in order to celebrate his 40th birthday – plus, you know, sports – it created the rare revival of the “Tuesday Night Wars,” aka an offshoot of the “Wednesday Night Wars,” when AEW and NXT ran head-to-head […]

When new broke that Adam Copeland was going to make his way down to the ring on AEW Dynamite to address his fans new and old regarding his past, present, and hopefully future, it got fans hyped. Finally, after officially jumping ship in a WrestleDream main event segment worth the price of admission alone, fans […]

After spending the better part of three decades as a professional wrestler, it’s safe to say Edge has pretty much done everything a performer could hope to do in the sport, right? Sure, the man born and now wrestling under the name Adam Copeland has exclusively wrestled for WWE during the duration of his mainstream […]

After booking a blistering four-hour Pay-Per-View filled to the gills with technical spectacles, high-flying heroics, and one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the year in the form of WWE Hall of Famer Edge, Tony Khan decided to keep the AEW fun going with a media scrum for the ages, with the exact runtime […]

When Rob Van Dam‘s run in Impact wrestling came to an end following a, shall we say, weird run as part of the “Cancel Culture” stable led by disgraced Pro Wrestling Guerrilla founder Joey Ryan, it seemed like the long-time WWE stalwart’s career was winding down. Sure, he still wrestled from time to time, working […]

Long before Dolph Ziggler was released from WWE, fans heavily expected to see the IRL brother of Ryan Nemeth jump ship to AEW. From running special comedy nights featuring AEW talents to appearing in the Young Bucks’ Being the Elite Youtube show, something that few, if any, WWE Superstars have done in the past, it […]

On a recent edition of the Jim Cornette Drive Thru podcast, a fan wrote into the show to ask Bryan Last and his Camp-y co-host what he thought of a recent statement made by The Undertaker on his WWE’s sponsored 1 deadMAN Show in Glasgow, Scottland, where the “American Bada**” put over the AEW World […]

Folks, it’s officially official: Jade Cargill has left Tony Khan and AEW behind to try her hand at becoming the next great WWE Superstar. In an announcement officially made by ESPN but known far and wide due to reporting by Sean Ross Sapp, Dave Meltzer, and others, “That B**ch” has been leaning towards a deal […]

When Tony Khan publically fired CM Punk with cause via a press release, a public announcement for the fans in Chicago, and a recorded one for everyone else a few moments later, it effectively created an inflection point in AEW’s history. For some, namely those fans and wrestlers who are incredibly loyal to Punker, the […]

In the immediate aftermath of All In and then a week later in the media scrum following All Out, Tony Khan informed reporters that he couldn’t talk about the backstage fight at Wembley Stadium or the subsequent firing of CM Punk that preceded the go-home edition of Collision at the United Center in Chicago. But […]

In professional wrestling, there’s nothing quite like a hometown hero. From Jerry Lawler in Memphis, to the Von Ericks in Texas, to modern-day stars like CM Punk in Chicago, promoters like Tony Khan have made incredible matches out of booking regionally in addition to nationally, and they will continue to do so moving forward because […]

With CM Punk officially out of AEW, Tony Khan has to rally and rally quick to find a way to re-tool Collision basically on the spot. Officially launched on June 17th, 2023, Collision was effectively built around and for the talent of the “Best in the World,” who was working a program with Ricky Starks, […]

When news broke that CM Punk had officially been fired from AEW, fans from around the wrestling world began fantasy booking the “Best in the World” for their favorite promotion. On paper, it made sense, right? Punk is still in his prime and has a massive fanbase that will certainly follow him wherever he goes […]

When news broke that Edge’s contract was coming to an end in WWE without a new deal officially secured, fans immediately started to wonder if the man born Adam Copeland would join his long-time friend Christian Cage in AEW. On paper, the idea would go a little something like this: after being sent to pasture […]

When news broke that CM Punk had been fired by AEW with cause for his backstage fight with Jack Perry at All In, more than a few fans of professional wrestling turned to their favorite podcasting platform to see what Jim Cornette, arguably the biggest hater of the promotion, had to say. Fortunately, the proud […]

After more than a few fans questioned the thought process of AEW booking two Pay-Per-Views in as many weekends, with All Out following in the footsteps of the biggest paid gate in professional wrestling history, the promotion’s first big show since CM Punk was fired on Sunday delivered to an incredible degree, with some already […]

One week after setting the professional wrestling world on fire with All In, the Wembley Stadium-based show that set the all-time record for the biggest paid attendance number in professional wrestling history, AEW is back with All Out, a show that just became a whole lot more compelling after the surprise firing of CM Punk […]

After announcing on social media that CM Punk, the former AEW World Champion two times over, was released from the promotion in the lead-up to All Out for his actions at All In, Tony Khan took the first few moments of Collision to discuss his decision and why, after everything that has happened over the […]

September 2nd, 2023, will go down in history as the day AEW fired CM Punk for his actions at All In. After a year of ups and downs, highs and lows, Championship matches – real and AXW – and backstage brawls, Tony Khan finally pulled the plug on the Phil Brooks experiment one day before […]

After getting into a very publicized fight with Jack Perry at All In in London, AEW has officially announced that CM Punk has been fired effective immediately following a weeklong internal investigation. In an official statement from AEW CEO, General Manager, and Head of Creative Tony Khan, the noted CM Punk fan thanked him for […]

When news broke that Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman was going to be appearing at Starrcast VI in Chicago before All Out 2023, fans wondered whether or not the NWO member would return to the ring for the first time since 2000 on Dynamite, Collision, or even at the Sunday night Pay-Per-View. Well, […]

When news broke, in the middle of AEW All In, that CM Punk and Jack Perry – and maybe CM Punk and Miro – had gotten into a physical altercation before he took the ring at Wembley against Samoa Joe, it left more than a few fans rolling their eyes. After having to deal with […]

When Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful broke the news that CM Punk and Jack Perry got into a brawl backstage between their respective matches at All In, it put a bit of a damper on the start of the biggest event in professional wrestling history. Why oh why did Punk get into a physical altercation […]

In a move that turned more than a few eyes, Kenny Omega and his Golden Elite buddies “Hangman” Adam Page and Kota Ibushi took the ring against Bullet Club Gold – “Switchblade” Jay White and “Rock Hard” Juice Robinson – and Konosuke Takeshita in the second match of All In, immediately following the match between […]

With AEW All In rapidly approaching, it seems like all 100 of the promotion’s wrestlers – that’s actually a conservative estimation – have been lining up interviews to help promote what is being billed as the biggest show of all time. Some are using this expanded external interest to hype up their matches in London, […]

Ever since news broke that Cash Wheeler, one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR, had been arrested in Orlando, Florida for third-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for a late July road rage incident, fans the world over – literally – have wanted to know what Tony Khan had to say on […]

When Rob Van Dam made his debut appearance and then debut match on AEW Dynamite, it sent more than a few fans of WWE up in arms. Sure, RVD has been wrestling all over the world since his run in Impact Wrestling came to an end, wrestling for Frontline Pro, BCW, OTT, NOAH, 1PW, and […]

Brock Lesnar isn’t just a wrestler; he’s a force. When he shows up in WWE for the few matches he wrestles a year, he rolls through, collects his million-or-so dollars, and runs through the hits – the F5s, the trips to Suplex City, the Kimuras – before doing his job one way or another. Though […]

When American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes officially hit Peacock, fans from around the professional wrestling world, from Tony Khan and The Elite all the way down to egg accounts on Twitter tuned in to see what the former AEW EVP would have to say about his former employer. For the most part, Rhodes was kind […]

If you’ve been keeping up with AEW over the past few months, you may have noticed that there is a steady controversy building around Tony Khan’s booking of the women’s division. To some, the division has fallen off in a major way ever since Jamie Hayter suffered an injury in April that had kept her […]

At Forbidden Door 2, in the year 2023, WCW legend Sting took part in the penultimate match of the Pay-Per-View sandwiched between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay’s masterclass and Bryan Danielson submitting Kazuchika Okada with a broken arm in front of 14,000 ravenous fans in Toronto. That’s…certainly not a statement anyone would have imagined being […]

With Forbidden Door officially passed and AEW’s next Pay-Per-View, All In, roughly two months away, fans can officially turn their attention back to the promotion’s weekly television output, which has blossomed up to three shows – plus Ring of Honor – thanks to the debut of Collision on June 17th. With five hours of weekly […]

When Bryan Danielson took the ring in the main event of Forbidden Door II opposite Kazuchika Okada, the “American Dragon” knew he was in for one heck of an ordeal, but little did he know that, roughly 20 minutes later, he’d find himself with a broken forearm and an uphill climb to prove he’s the […]