Tony Khan: AEW has closed the gap on WWE in a ‘very meaningful way’
Tony Khan believes 2025 is a year where AEW has gotten closer to closing the gap on pro wrestling’s industry leader.
With 2025 winding down, Khan made an appearance on the Battleground podcast to promote the December 3 episode of Dynamite from Indiana. He praised the year AEW has had and looked ahead to what’s to come in the future. Khan feels, as the challenger brand in pro wrestling, AEW has “really closed the gap” on WWE in a number of unspecified key business metrics.
“I think AEW is where the best wrestle. I think that we have the best roster of wrestlers in the world today. And we’re putting on consistently awesome shows,” Khan said. “This has been an awesome year for AEW. We’re the challenger brand in pro wrestling, and I think we’ve really closed the gap in a very meaningful way in 2025 in a number of key metrics.”
Khan said he’s so grateful for all of the support AEW has received from its fans. When asked what he believes success would look like five years into the future, Khan said he hopes AEW’s television programs and pay-per-views are still going strong.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I can tell you my passion for this isn’t going anywhere. It’s been something I’ve been loving and dreaming to do for over 30 years. And now we’ve been doing it for six years in the real world — and I don’t ever want to stop with AEW,” Khan said.
“I can’t imagine a better year. And if we can keep doing the things we’re doing right now: having great pay-per-view shows, putting on great Dynamites on TBS, great Collisions on TNT, and keep this partnership with HBO Max going. Maybe hopefully go to some new countries, visit some new territories, expand. AEW’s on now in over 150 countries. And we’ve built this AEW wrestling league into something where they watch it all over the world, and I’m really proud of that. I think we continue visiting some of those places, breaking open new territories.
“And here in America, I just want to keep doing what we’re doing, because it’s amazing. To have a wrestling promotion that is a challenger company doing the things that we’re doing, some of them are unprecedented and some of them are things that have not been done in over 25 years.”
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.