By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW President Tony Khan spoke with the pro wresting media on March 6, 2025 to promote Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view. Refresh the page for the latest updates.
-Tony Khan delivered brief opening comments and then opened things up for questions. Jon Alba asked about the strongest intangibles that Adam Copeland brings to AEW as a wrestler and as a person. Khan raved about Copeland being great in the locker room and said he’s one of the greatest wrestling stars. Khan recalled the Australian fans singing Copeland’s theme song after it stopped playing. Khan said he’s a great man and a great family man. He said he’s happy to have Copeland’s wife and daughters whenever they come to a show.
-I asked Khan if Max is still the future home of AEW pay-per-views or if things changed due to the Amazon deal. Khan said Max is still the future home for AEW pay-per-view events. He spoke highly of the Amazon Prime Video deal. He also talked about collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery. He said the Disney and Max bundle is the most successful streaming bundle, and added that Max is also available on Amazon Prime.
-Courtney Rice asked about a women’s match headlining an AEW pay-per-view in 2025. Khan said it’s certainly possible and pointed to the Grand Slam Australia show being main evented by Mariah May vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s Championship. Khan said he’s excited about their Hollywood Ending match on Sunday. Khan spoke about influences from the story being from old Hollywood.
-A write-in question noted Khan mentioning improvements in the television product during his opening comments and wondered what caused it. Khan said he made a promise to himself heading into 2020 about making great television every week. He said that if someone gives him a bad idea, he’s just going to say no. He said he started pushing back and he’s been doing that again lately. Khan said most of AEW is about collaboration, but there have been times when he’s been too collaborative and needed to push back. Khan said he felt that 2024 was the company’s best year on pay-per-view. He also talked about how much he loved the Continental Classic and he felt it was better or every bit as great as the original. Khan said he’s looking for the right amount of collaboration and said sometimes he just has to tell people no.
-Bill Pritchard asked about the Face of the Revolution ladder match not being on the pay-per-view and whether it could return on television. Khan said it’s about placing matches at the right time and he doesn’t want to have too many ladder matches. He said it’s about putting people in the right situations at the right time. Khan spoke about the TNT Title feud between Daniel Garcia and Adam Cole. He also spoke highly of Shane Taylor Promotions and the heat they generated by interfering in the Garcia vs. Cole match. Khan said he’s excited about Lee Moriarty challenging Garcia on Collision, and he said Cole will be watching closely.
-Samantha Shipman asked if there are any updates on an ROH television deal. Khan said they’ve had great discussions about it domestically and internationally. He said he wants to make the best deal possible and hasn’t been rushing. Khan said they just started simulcasting on Max two months ago and now they announced the Amazon deal. Khan said he thinks ROH has “so much potential.” He said he loves the Final Battle event. He said there are great things happening with the young stars and the veterans.
-Andrew Baydala asked about how the deal to run Crypto.com Arena came together when it’s normally run by WWE. Khan said he’s excited about it and has gone to the venue countless times to watch games. Khan said he’s a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and called Magic Johnson one of the greatest and most popular athletes of all-time. He also recalled working with Shaquille O’Neal. He said it’s an honor and a dream come true to run the venue and it’s a testament to AEW’s growth that they’ve been able to run some of the most prestigious and recognizable venues in the world.
-Joe Schmidt said it seems like there have been more big matches given away on television since the Max deal started and asked how that deal has changed things. Khan said they’ve traditionally done huge matches around Revolution. He said the new media rights deal with the new opportunities and exposure has increased incentive to deliver. Khan said that WBD CEO David Zaslav and his team have been great to them and he wants to deliver for them.
-Amy Nemmity asked Khan to speak about Hangman Page and MJF. Khan said they are the top homegrown hero and the top homegrown villain. He said they worked other places, but AEW was able to give them more exposure. Khan said he feels Page and MJF are two of the greatest pro wrestling stars in thew world and spoke about building around the two of them from the very beginning.
-Dominic DeAngelo asked about production meetings in AEW. Khan said he meets with everyone involved several times per day in a couple of different groups. He said he gets together with the production crew and the announcers. He said there has to be good communication between people and he always wants to do better in that area. Khan said they have a great staff. He said he typically comes in with an outline of what he’s looking for. He said he gets together with coaches, producers, production people, and announcers. Khan said they do a lot of meeting and brainstorming throughout the day.
-Dave Meltzer asked if Khan had a change in philosophy when it came to releasing Miro, Malakai Black, Ricky Starks, and Rey Fenix. He said things are case by case and it is a change in philosophy, but he felt like the moves were best for the company. He said he simply decided that it was the best thing to do at this point.
-Jim Varsallone asked Khan to talk about Ricochet’s evolution in AEW and how his confidence level has grown. Khan said it is a very different Ricochet and he believes the one we are seeing now is the real Ricochet. He said Ricochet is a super villain. Khan spoke about how Ricochet changed throughout the Continental Classic. Khan said Ricochet is fantastic and has become an indispensable part of AEW shows.
-Alex Hunt asked about the UK television situation. Khan spoke highly of their relationship with ITV. He said they set the world record for pro wrestling ticket sales at Wembley Stadium at 81,035. He said he finds it very amusing that people tried to downplay it and said there were only 73,000 in attendance. Khan said they are getting their biggest audience on ITV ever. Khan spoke about how they wouldn’t be where they are without WBD, and he said he’s also very loyal to ITV.
-Joey Hayden closed out the questions by asking if Khan is tempted to take a big swing creatively given what’s happened in another company (presumably the John Cena heel turn). Khan said they are happy with the quality of the shows and he said they do take big swing things and he wants to continue to do that, but he doesn’t want to change everything based on what another company is doing. Khan closed out the call by talking about his excitement for Sunday’s AEW Revolution.
There will be more softballs than in Sid Eudy’s wet dreams.