AEW President Tony Khan recently stated that the company is doing the “best work we’ve ever done,” a success he attributes to a significant shift in his personal approach to the creative process. In a detailed interview on Q101 Radio in Chicago, Khan explained that he has taken a more direct, hands-on role in booking the shows, similar to his process during the acclaimed 2020 pandemic era. He also revealed a previously undiscussed “double cross” incident involving a former promotional partner.
Khan explained that in late 2024 and early 2025, he felt a change was needed to restore the feeling the company had in its earlier years. “I had that same realization that I need to do what I did five years ago and just block out everything and just focus on AEW and not listen to everybody’s advice, and maybe just make the show what I think it should be,” he said. He compared his current process to what he did in late 2019, stating, “I just decided, okay, I’m going to scrap the meetings. I’m going to get a pencil and paper and I’m just going to get organized by myself.”
“Less Voices” and More Direct Control
When asked if the current product is “more him” than it has been in years, Khan was definitive. “The most in years,” he confirmed. “Most since, like 2020.” He explained that while he values the input of the “great people backstage that contribute ideas,” he realized he needed to be the ultimate filter. “I need to be the filter of those ideas,” he said. “Instead of trying to take the best ideas from everyone and incorporate them, and have it be a mix of everyone’s ideas, I just come in with… I basically started writing my own outlines.”
Khan humorously compared his situation to a classic episode of Seinfeld. “It’s like George Costanza said about ‘jerk store,’ you know, he had like, a plan with jerk store. He came in, ‘jerk store’ was the line,” Khan explained. “People are throwing all these different lines at Costanza and, but he wanted to say ‘jerk store.’ That was his plan. And I think I had to stay focused on the jerk store.”
A “Double Cross” and a New Partnership
Khan also spoke at length about his successful partnership with the Mexican promotion CMLL, and in doing so, revealed a story about a previous relationship with AAA that ended poorly. He detailed an incident from December 2022 where he felt betrayed. “I remember I was with Samoa Joe… and I talked to FTR, and they said, ‘there’s some kind of strange stuff going on here,'” Khan began. “And then right after Dynamite ended, that match went off, and they announced that Dragon Lee was signing with WWE… so it was really a double cross. And that would never happen now.”
Khan contrasted that incident with his current relationship with CMLL, which is built on mutual trust. “That’s one of those things that would never happen now, because of the way that that Salvador [Lutteroth] and I are brothers,” he stated. “I have a very close relationship with them. I don’t believe he would ever betray me like that, and I would never betray him like that.” He clarified that any talent sharing with CMLL would be a collaboration, not poaching. “I would never go behind their back and take a wrestler from them. I think it would have to be collaborative.”
The Success of ‘All In: Texas’
Khan pointed to the recent All In: Texas pay-per-view as proof of the company’s current momentum, calling it the “best show we’ve ever done for the quality of the wrestling.” He noted it was the “biggest crowd we’ve ever had here in North America” with over 28,000 fans in attendance and that it was on track to be “one of the biggest Pay Per View audiences ever for AEW.”
When asked about the show’s long runtime, Khan compared it to a music festival like Lollapalooza. “It was like a wrestling festival,” he said. “I wouldn’t run a show that long if it started at night… it was a day show. It was an epic thing.” He also shared high praise he received from a friend who said “he thought it was the best payoff of all the stories since 1987 WrestleMania III.”
The “Right Choice” for Champion
The main event of All In: Texas saw “Hangman” Adam Page defeat Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, a decision Khan said was planned for a long time. “When did you realize Hangman was gonna be the guy…?” the host asked. “A long time ago,” Khan replied. “Hangman was always the guy… for me, there’s no question Hangman Page was the man to step up and fight Jon Moxley, who had beaten down AEW’s locker room.”
Khan praised Moxley’s nine-month reign as dominant and important for the company. “Jon Moxley is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world,” he stated. “People will now credit Jon Moxley with doing exactly what he said he was going to do in AEW… which was unite AEW’s fan base and force somebody to step up and fight him. And he did, and clearly Hangman Page was the man to do it.”
AEW is currently in the midst of a three-week residency at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, where Khan was conducting the interview. The new AEW World Champion, “Hangman” Adam Page, is scheduled to appear on tonight’s episode of Dynamite, continuing the fallout from his victory over Jon Moxley at All In: Texas.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Q101 Radio Chicago with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
