AEW’s Tony Khan on WWE Counterprogramming: ‘I Definitely Don’t Take It Personally’

It’s AEW Full Gear 2025 PPV week in the Tri-State area, which means a full media blitz by AEW (All Elite Wrestling)to promote the show, streaming live on pay-per-view (PPV). AEW’s founder, president, and CEO Tony Khan stopped by the Ariel Helwani Show to promote the event and discuss other topics on the program.

At the start of the interview, Khan was asked about his role in the company and whether it has changed over the years. Khan stated that he is still the “Head Booker” and that he’s the only staff member who attends every show. He welcomes input from veteran wrestlers like Daniel Bryan, but ultimately, he makes the final decision regarding the wrestling storylines for AEW.

That topic was followed by the elephant in the room: the alleged counterprogramming by WWE on dates when AEW has a PPV. Although nothing has ever been publicly discussed on the subject, it doesn’t take a genius to see that it’s happening. WWE is a giant company but remains as competitive as anyone else. Whether it’s Paul “Triple H” Levesque or WWE President Nick Khan saying they don’t see AEW as competition, they are to a certain extent. Anyone in the same business that you don’t own will always be competition, so Helwani asked Khan about his thoughts on WWE’s clear counterprogramming in recent months.

“It’s very interesting,” said Khan. “I think it’s something that is part of the wrestling business. I definitely don’t take it personally. I think it’s no more personal to me than it was towards Jim Crockett, even less so with Ted Turner or similar amounts with Ted Turner. All of us have seen that counterprogramming and could speak to that. With AEW, I’m very proud that we continue to really run strong and be that great challenger brand in pro wrestling. AEW is where the best wrestle I really believe that and I think we have the best roster in wrestling today.”

The rest of the interview covers everything from Ric Flair’s injury to the Hardy Boyz’s comments on Helwani’s show. AEW Full Gear 2025 streams live on Saturday, November 22, on PPV.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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