Tony Khan had ‘reservations’ about Cody Rhodes’ AEW World title stipulation
Tony Khan recently addressed his “reservations” regarding Cody Rhodes’ AEW World title stipulation.
This week on Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite, Kenny Omega is scheduled to face MJF in a World title match. According to the match’s stipulation, if Omega loses, he won’t be able to challenge for the World title ever again.
Similar to Omega, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page also placed himself in an identical position against MJF and lost earlier this year. With Page already a victim of the stipulation, former AEW EVP Cody Rhodes also found himself in a similar situation and lost against Chris Jericho in 2019.
Recently speaking to Case Lowe on Q101, Khan opened up and addressed Rhodes’ stipulation and how he had his reservations regarding it.
“In the case of Cody [Rhodes], it was Cody’s idea to do that. I did have some reservations about it at that time. He felt pretty strongly about it, and that’s how it came to be,” Khan claimed.
“I went along because I can see why he wanted to have that, and it would certainly build unpredictability around the event. It did add intrigue, and that was a great show and a great match. The aftermath did create challenges.
“Not long after that, the pandemic hit, and I had the idea for the TNT Championship, and I think Cody was great as the TNT champion, to be the first champion and defending the title on TV. I did have reservations about [him not getting a world title shot], but it was something he felt pretty strongly about, so I went along with it,” Khan finished.
Tony Khan talks about recent surge in AEW World title matches on free TV
In the same interview, Khan opened up about his decision to have more AEW World Championship matches on free television.
“I think we’re delivering at the highest level and it’s great having these championship fights,” Khan replied. “And when AEW’s at our very best, I think you can tune in and expect to see the top stars fighting each other in huge matches and big rivalries.”
“I do think that having all these great championship fights on Dynamite, on Collision, on the major events, and having the very best pay-per-views, our fans are having their cake and eating it, too,” he added.
Despite the increase in title matches on free television, Khan claimed that the best events of All Elite Wrestling are still reserved for the PPV events.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
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