AEW President and CEO Tony Khan made his first-ever appearance on The Coach and Bro Show this week, sitting down with Jonathan Coachman and Vince Russo for an hour plus conversation. Khan was more direct than usual on Chris Jericho’s free agency status, his bid to buy WWE, his airport meeting with Shane McMahon, and the CM Punk scrum that he now openly describes as a “welcome to wrestling” moment. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of everything Khan said.
On The Original Goals Of AEW Versus Where The Company Sits Today
Russo opened by asking how Khan’s goals for AEW have evolved from the company’s launch to where it sits now in 2026.
“I wanted to launch a wrestling promotion for all the fans who wanted to see wrestling at that time, brought back to TNT and TBS. You know all too well, Vince, wrestling on TNT and TBS is an American staple, and I also believe there was a huge international audience. I’ve spent a lot of my time living and working in England, living in London and spending time around England, traveling for football, and I know there’s a great wrestling audience there. So at the very beginning, when we launched, we had these great media partners, TBS, TNT and ITV, and all of them have a great history of wrestling, and from the beginning working with these companies, my goal is to keep the company running strong and producing shows that the fans like. And that’s why I’m really happy that we’ve been able to have AEW grow, expand, add more TV and more media partners all over the world.”
On Putting The Boys In Executive Positions
Coachman asked Khan about his early decision to install Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks as Executive Vice Presidents, and whether his thinking on having active wrestlers in front office roles has changed.
“Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks have been executive vice presidents here since day one. We were really excited to announce their launch, and without the Chris Jericho versus Kenny Omega match in the Tokyo Dome in 2018, I’m not sure I would have believed that the economy and the possibilities were there. But when I saw how much Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega were able to grow the international business with, in some ways, I thought one hand tied behind their back, and had so much interest in audio for what they were doing in 2018 in New Japan Pro Wrestling, a company that you guys are very familiar with. For me, I love working with different sports, but for me, wrestling has always been my favorite thing. So having those guys involved, you mentioned Kenny Omega, Young Bucks as EVPs, Chris Jericho here from the very beginning, they’re all instrumental in the creation of AEW. I wouldn’t be here without those guys, and they’re important to us today.”
When Coachman pressed for specifics on what the EVPs actually do beyond their on-screen work, Khan elaborated.
“It’s different in those cases. In Kenny and the Young Bucks case, they had those titles from the very beginning, and they’ve been very involved in different aspects of the company, creating some of our pay per view events. From the very beginning, we worked together to really put the elite in All Elite Wrestling. And a lot of the ideas we had from the very beginning to launch this company came off the back of the work that the guys had done before AEW started. They built a huge fan base all over the world. Ring of Honor is a company where they had worked. New Japan Pro Wrestling, they built a legacy, and I knew there would be a huge audience for pro wrestling if I brought these stars in. So they’re very involved today in the company in different aspects. Kenny Omega has been involved in different digital projects for us, but also very involved on the wrestling side. And the Young Bucks, to this day, are a huge part of the wrestling show.”
Russo pushed back, suggesting that putting active talent in management positions inevitably creates locker room friction because of old baggage and the every-man-for-himself nature of the independent wrestling scene. Khan defended the structure.
“In every walk of executive life, there’s going to be different people and different backgrounds, and always, in business, there’s issues every day. And that’s what’s great about pro wrestling. It’s the only sport that goes year round. Vince, you know the workload better than anybody of what it takes to do this 52 weeks a year, to put on new shows every week, and multiple shows. And for me, I like leaning on a lot of wrestling experience, but I also am really comfortable now, after all these years, in my own ideas. I like working with people. But I found a good rule of thumb is doing the ideas I believe in, and I’ve always found the more involved I am, the more connected I am with every aspect of the show, the better I feel about it. And right now, we’re on a very good run of shows that have been really well received by our fans, and I think that’s important.”
On His Creative Process
Coachman asked whether Khan has a writers’ room or a group of people he relies on, given that being pulled in multiple directions across the Jaguars and AEW makes one-person creative work very difficult.
“I have a number of people that work with me in different aspects, whether it’s helping put together the announcing, the on camera segments, putting together backstage segments. But for me, I try to put together an outline of what I want every week for this specific show, segment by segment, and I think it’s good. When I’m more involved in it, I definitely see a correlation, after seven years, where the fans can tell and want me to be very engaged. And also a lot of it is making sure it’s quality control. The more I like to call it in the weeds, as the fans have come to describe it, the more I do that, the better the show seems to be received. So I try to stay involved. And that might mean talking to different wrestlers about the interviews going into the matches, about what’s going to happen in the match. That’s all aspects of a wrestling show. And to me, every aspect of the wrestling show under the sun, the showrunner being involved in it, is good.”
On Wrestling Media Scrums Letting Fans In The Door
Russo launched into one of his biggest pet peeves, telling Khan that AEW’s media scrums have blurred the line between fans with social media followings and actual credentialed reporters, and that he believes this has hurt the wrestling business by letting fans feel like they are part of the industry. He compared it to NFL post-game press conferences, which are populated by professionals with resumes rather than fan bloggers.
Khan defended the open-door approach.
“It’s a very interesting point you bring up, Vince, but I think that first of all, there’s a difference between working in one job in wrestling versus another job in wrestling. There’s a difference between being a wrestling fan versus working in the wrestling industry year round. But I do think that the lines get blurred, absolutely, and the lines have been blurred more than ever. And absolutely, you mentioned people with big followings and medium sized followings or small followings and people from all different backgrounds.”
Coachman jumped in to clarify Russo’s point, arguing that fans in the room ask softball questions instead of holding Khan accountable. Khan responded that he tries to take all comers.
“I generally have said I’ll answer every question. I’ll stay until everybody’s gotten to ask something, and I want to hear everyone’s questions. And I’m always open to hear what everyone thinks, and I hear what you’re saying that obviously fans of wrestling are going to receive wrestling positively, but those are also a lot of the people who’ve chosen to cover wrestling. So I think it’s good, and I want to encourage people to cover wrestling and share their thoughts, whatever they may be.”
When Russo pushed further by asking if a Jaguars fan with 100,000 followers on a fan site would be allowed into a Jacksonville post-game press conference, Khan argued the line is changing across all sports.
“I do think, Vince, the line to cover the team between some of the fan blogs and some of the reporting, that line in all sports is changing. You see huge followings for some of these fan sites and fan blogs, so I don’t think that’s exclusive to wrestling. You see some of these big fan blogs where they do get more and more access to the team.”
On Chris Jericho Being A Free Agent And Choosing AEW
Coachman moved to Chris Jericho, who had been off AEW television since April 9, 2025 and returned last week in his hometown of Winnipeg. Khan was direct about Jericho’s situation in a way he had not been before.
“I’ve always wanted Chris to be a part of AEW from the very beginning, and I’m really glad that Chris is a part of AEW going forward. He always will be. And I can’t say with any certainty. I do know Chris had a choice, and he wanted to be in AEW, and he would be the best person to ask. But I know that I’ve been in communication with Chris, and he definitely told me he wanted to be at AEW, and very specifically, in Winnipeg on that day. We’ve had that circle for a long time, going back to last year, and it was a choice that Chris made that he’d rather be in AEW than wrestling anywhere else. And I think that’s awesome. So I can’t say for sure, Coach, exactly what his mind was and where he was thinking, but I know that he definitely always has been consistent, that he loves AEW and that he wants to be here, and I’m glad that he chose to be in AEW, because that’s a choice he made, because he was a free agent.”
Coachman immediately flagged it as the first time Khan had said on the record that Jericho was a free agent who chose AEW.
On Britt Baker, Ricky Saints And Talent Sitting At Home
Coachman asked about wrestlers fans want to see who appear to be sitting on the shelf, name-checking Ricky Saints and Britt Baker, who Coachman noted recently appeared on a red carpet and said it was not her choice to be off TV.
“I think again, each wrestler is a case by case basis, but the people you named, I really like having in AEW. And in Britt’s case, she is a part of AEW. In Ricky’s case, he’s somebody that wrestled here in the past. There’s a limited amount of hours, and one thing that’s been really good, I think, is there’s been a real focus that the fans have noticed in AEW in the last year, and there’s been people that have come, people that have gone, but I think the shows have had a really great flow. The wrestler, each wrestler you’re asking me about, it is on a case by case basis, but I try to make a plan going into the next pay per view, the next several weeks of television. And frankly, with the high impact, high velocity aspects of pro wrestling, there are constantly injuries, reasons why you might change these things. And I think for us, it’s one of the reasons why you see wrestlers come or leave a lot of times is due to an injury, and then it may take some time to work somebody back in.”
Khan pointed to the recent return of Hikaru Shida and Private Party, as well as the recent injury to Marq Quen, as an example of how the roster constantly shifts.
“Just in recent weeks, we’ve seen, you mentioned Chris Jericho, Hikaru Shida, Private Party, and that’s a great example, because Private Party had some great matches upon their return. And then Marq Quen, we announced, had an injury this past week when they were wrestling the Death Riders, and that’s unfortunate. I really like Isiah and Marq, but now Isiah will be on his own without Marq Quuen for several months at least, and that’s a good example right there. Guys who I really like that have been here for a long time, that were away for a long time, came back, and we have an injury that creates an opportunity for somebody else, either somebody to do more on the show that’s already been on the show, or somebody to come back that hasn’t been on, or maybe somebody new altogether.”
Khan noted that he has signed a lot of new wrestlers this year and enjoyed the process. When Russo offered to bring Britt Baker on his own show to help promote AEW, Khan was non-committal but did not shut the door, noting, “I’m not saying there’s too many people at AEW. I really think Britt is. Like I said, every taste is different.”
On Russo’s Pitch To Open AEW Up To The Masses
Russo launched into what he framed as his biggest piece of advice for Khan, arguing that bookers, including Khan, Triple H and previously Jeff Jarrett, fall into the trap of writing shows for what they personally like instead of writing for the masses. He pointed to AEW’s debut episode drawing 1.4 million viewers and dropping by roughly half the next week as proof that there is a much larger casual audience that tried the product and decided it was not for them. Russo asked Khan if he had any plans to open the product up to those casual fans.
“I love wrestling, and I put on a wrestling show that I think the fans of AEW really like. And there might be other wrestling promotions that have existed in history, but like you said, the AEW fans really like what we’re doing. The network is thrilled with the viewership that we put together. From the second month of the show, there’s very similar audience watching right now. So for over six and a half years, it’s gone up at times, it’s gone down. But right now it’s in a strong period.”
When Russo pushed harder, telling Khan that the existing AEW audience is locked in and the goal should be to grow beyond them like the Attitude Era did, Khan held firm.
“We’ve got great fans with AEW and a great fan base, and I appreciate your point. But I do think those fans hold us to a high standard. They want a great show, and I plan to deliver a strong show every Wednesday and every Saturday. And I appreciate your point. We constantly want to grow the viewership. That’s why I wanted to come talk to you. You invited me on the show. You’ve got a lot of fans. A lot of them might not watch AEW, but to your point, Vince, I may have a great audience. I do have a great audience, but it’s grown in recent months, and it’s people coming back, it’s people trying the show out, it’s new fans. I like where we’re at right now. I like where we’re at right now better than a year or even two years ago. And you can’t go backwards. You can’t go back in time. It’s important to look back at history and learn from it, but we all know you can’t go back, and there’s no second chance to do the exact same thing over again. All you can do is learn from it.”
Khan also took the opportunity to compliment Russo’s current work.
“When I watch your show, I think, man, there’s some really cool stuff in here. It’s very different from how an AEW show would be. But that’s good. I like seeing different approaches. I think you do some brilliant things, even some of the transitions from the backstage to the wrestling match vignette. There’s some brilliant things, and you’re still doing it 30 years later from when you started working on writing wrestling shows. I think it’s phenomenal.”
On Hardcore Wrestling And The Needle Spot
Coachman challenged Khan on the violence in the AEW product, specifically referencing a recent pay-per-view spot involving a needle being put through someone’s cheek, asking whether that kind of content is the smartest play when AEW has a chance to bring in new viewers from a WWE product currently dealing with backlash over ticket prices.
“It again is a case by case basis. There are absolutely some hardcore things that I’ve said I don’t think would be a good idea, but it’s usually for the sake of safety. There are times where I’ve run things by the network, but Coach, the example you just gave was a pay per view. So I do think that the violence and the excitement, some of the hardcore stuff on a pay per view, that can be another level of hardcore violence in pro wrestling. And when you watch a pay per view, and certainly to the point you just made Coach, we’ve had great viewership since AEW Revolution. So I think there was a really positive response to the Revolution show. There may be out of 100 different wrestling moves and things that happen on the show, there could be 95 you liked and five you didn’t. And I think people would respond more positively to the 95 they did like.”
On Whether AEW Should Take Shots At A Vulnerable WWE
Russo pitched his philosophy that when you’re number two, you throw the kitchen sink at number one, citing DX invading WCW as a moment that worked. He told Khan that with WWE currently dealing with negative press over ticket prices and creative, this was the window to drive in the screws. Khan made clear he sees things differently and pointed to his Christianity in explaining his approach.
“I changed my approach, Vince, at the beginning of AEW. There really was a really collective rebel spirit. And now I think AEW is very established, and people know AEW’s got a really quality product and a lot of fans. And I do want to grow that fan base, Vince, but the way I would do something now might be different than how I would have done it six or seven years ago. And I also think it’s possible that Vince Russo and Vince McMahon and DX could succeed by zigging at one point where I might succeed by zagging at another point. There’s different ways to get to success, and I’ve got my ideas in my way, but I can learn from different people, and I might not incorporate every aspect of it, but I do want to hear your thoughts and ideas. I think it’s interesting. I don’t disagree with everything you’re saying, but I think the AEW fans would also agree, I refined my own media strategy and I think people have seen me trying to take the high road.”
Khan brought up his Christianity and Easter directly.
“Like you Vince, I believe in taking the high road when possible. So when Dave Meltzer said, why would you want to go on this show? I said, first of all, I’m not going to hold anything anybody said about AEW against them for the rest of their lives. That’s not what Christianity is. That’s not what Jesus do. We just celebrated Easter this past weekend, and so we have different philosophies. But I feel like by taking the high road that’s rubbed people the right way. There’s some things, Vince, that you, or some people in wrestling, could say that might be perceived different coming from you than if it was me saying it. I don’t know what it is about me, but I think I have a different voice than you have. So for me, this is good, and I’m not saying trying to kill everybody with kindness, but being nice to people has gotten me a long way, and I’ve been trying to do it more in recent years.”
On Dave Meltzer Asking Why He Would Even Come On The Show
Khan revealed that Dave Meltzer had personally questioned why he would even appear on The Coach and Bro Show. When Coachman asked who Khan actively talks to and confides in, Khan acknowledged the conversation took place.
“I appreciate that. And to be fair, the outlets that some of the legitimate journalists in wrestling work for and some of the people who walk the line, that’s one of the interesting things. There’s shades of gray among some of these outlets. I saw Dave Meltzer, and he and I disagree on this. He asked why I would come on the show, because he thinks at times you guys have been critical. I can’t say I know chapter and verse everything you guys have ever said about AEW, but it seemed like a nice invitation to come on the show, and I have respect for both of you and your accomplishments, and I thought it was a nice thing when I saw you invited me to come on. And Dave said, why would you want to come on the show with anybody that’s been critical, and in his opinion, he said some of it wasn’t in good faith.”
On Whether AEW Needs An On-Screen Authority Figure
Coachman asked whether Khan had ever considered using a powerful on-screen authority figure to make matches and provide narrative cohesion. Khan compared his role to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I think that’s a fair point. Now you could argue who would be the right person for that. I do think that the mechanic of matchmaking, for example, in the NFL, when I watch NFL football, and I have a ton of respect for him, he would be the first person to say that’s not the reason people are watching the games, is to see Commissioner Roger Goodell. He’s a huge part of the game. He’s important to the function of the game. He’s instrumental to what we do with the NFL. But it’s not like every time I watch NFL, and NFL is the most watched show in the country. 90 or more out of the top 100 programs are NFL football, and for me, again, the Commissioner is a huge part of the game, but the commissioner of a sport doesn’t necessarily need to be all over the show. So when people talk AEW, I think people generally kind of know that I’m the commissioner of AEW, but I also don’t think that that’s necessarily a role that you want to see on TV.”
Khan added that he only uses his on-screen presence sparingly, for major announcements like the return of AEW All In to Wembley Stadium.
“I haven’t had to deal with it much, other than if there’s a big announcement, like, we’re going to Wembley, and where it’s really worthwhile that I think I want to be a big part of it, or there’s a good reason why I should be in there, like when we announced AEW All In London, which is coming back this year, going back to London, Wembley Stadium, where we set the world record. We sold 81,000 tickets.”
On His Meeting With Shane McMahon At The Airport
Khan went into detail about the airport meeting with Shane McMahon that went viral when a photo surfaced.
“I had one really pleasant conversation with Shane. Shane reached out to me and said, I’d love to get together, and where are you going to be? And I was going to be in Dallas. We were doing a bunch of shows around Arlington, Texas, and I had said to Shane, like, yeah, that’s where I’m gonna be. I can meet you here. And we had a nice conversation. We talked for a few hours in the airport. I thought it was really strange that a photo came out from it. I thought it was pretty unusual. It could just be somebody that worked at the airport, but I know I had nothing to do with it. It’s very unusual. I talk to people all the time from all different media places. Now, Shane’s a very recognizable face in sports and especially in the world of wrestling, where almost any wrestling fan is going to recognize him. So that could be what it is, somebody recognized that we were in the room and wanted to take a photo. I’m in a lot of rooms. I’ve only had that happen to me one time, so I thought that was pretty unusual, that the photo, you could see in the photo, I’m very surprised when the person walked into the room. And I noticed he wasn’t as surprised in the photo as I was. So maybe there was something there.”
Khan made clear that whatever Shane was looking for, it did not seem to be an on-screen role.
“I’ve only had the one really nice talk with him. I thought that was interesting, and I also thought it was quite impressive that in one conversation, somehow it got out that I had talked to him, but that was really it. It was a very pleasant chat, and he seemed like a really interesting guy. I don’t think the role of being like an on-screen person in a wrestling show seemed like particularly the thing he was interested in. He had a lot of interesting things and experiences that are totally different than mine, but I don’t particularly think he went into it thinking, I want to be a character on this guy’s show.”
On His $6.9 Billion Bid To Buy WWE
Coachman brought up reports that a Khan-owned company had bid roughly $6.9 billion to acquire WWE during the 2023 sale process, and asked why he had done it.
“I was very interested in the process, and I think that if there was going to be a sale, I would at least want to have a chance to be involved. And if it had gone for any less than that, I would have really kicked myself.”
When pressed on whether he was actually given a real shot, given subsequent reporting that the sale was not a true open bidding process, Khan was careful but suggestive.
“I, while respecting the confidentiality of that, I would say I don’t have any complaints about that process for my side right now that I would want to talk about right now. I do think there was some stuff to that. And while respecting the confidentiality of the whole thing, I also would say that at the time that seemed like to me, just reiterating, if it had gone for any less, I would have really beat myself, like, why wouldn’t you put in a bid if it was, I thought that was a very reasonable number that I put in. Now, based on the information that’s out there, I’ve gone out of my way to be respectful. Going back to taking the high road, that’s not something I’ve really talked about or gone out and tried to act big league or talk big league about. I’ve really tried to focus on the wrestling show, and that was several years ago. And those have been really good years for AEW.”
On The CM Punk Scrum As A “Welcome To Wrestling” Moment
Russo asked Khan to reflect on the infamous post-All Out 2022 media scrum involving CM Punk, which Russo described as the moment Khan was hit with the reality of the wrestling business after going in with what he called a “rainbows and unicorns” mentality. He asked Khan what he learned from sitting at that table.
“I came out of that wanting for AEW to succeed and for AEW to continue, more than anything, and what we were able to do to rebound from that. Obviously, I wanted, in a perfect world, everybody to be able to get together and work together. I don’t think that was possible. But I also think that we’ve been able, in the past few years, to really keep AEW strong. To me, that was the most important thing. I learned a number of things. I probably would do things differently, say things differently, but like you said, it wasn’t something I was expecting. You’re very experienced in wrestling, and you know that was a very much a welcome to wrestling in some aspects of it, because that was for me. I’d been in wrestling for almost four years at that point, but that was certainly a first for me, and as with all firsts, you’re going to learn from them and hope not to ever have a repeat.”
On Whether He Has People Around Him Who Are Honest
Coachman closed by asking whether someone in Khan’s position, a billionaire owner of both an NFL franchise and a wrestling promotion, has anyone around him willing to give honest feedback.
“I hope so, and I believe so. I’m trying my best, and I do think I get good, honest feedback on those things. But I also think I learned from experience. The more I’ve been around it, I pick up things. It’s interesting learning from other people too, other people who’ve worked in wrestling. Vince, I thought you did a fantastic interview. I don’t agree with every wrestling idea that you have, and you don’t agree with every wrestling idea I have, but that’s okay. I think I had a perception of you that was different, and then I heard you on Steve Austin’s podcast, and I thought that was such a fantastic interview. I learned a lot from listening to it, and I learned a lot about you, and it gave me a different perspective on you.”
Khan agreed to come back for a part two and the interview wrapped after roughly an hour and ten minutes.
AEW Dynasty airs this Sunday from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, headlined by Kenny Omega vs. MJF. The Zero Hour pre-show kicks off at 7 PM Eastern with the main card on pay-per-view at 8 PM Eastern.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Coach and Bro Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
