By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW President Tony Khan spoke with the pro wrestling media on Monday, December 22, 2025, to promote Saturday’s AEW Worlds End pay-per-view. Refresh the page for the latest updates.
-Tony Khan opened the call by saying it has been a fantastic year for AEW. He noted that AEW Worlds End will close the year.
-Samantha Schipman asked about Andrade’s status with AEW now that he’s shown up in other promotions. Khan said he has great respect for Andrade and “we all” would like to see him back in AEW. He said there is respect on both sides and said everyone should stay tuned to AEW.
-Brian Zilem praised Toni Storm as AEW’s most well-defined character and questioned what can be done to define Kris Statlander’s presentation. Khan praised both wrestlers and spoke about how they have both evolved. Khan said Statlander has always been a great athlete and wrestler, and spoke of her improvement in other areas. Khan also said he’s very excited about their AEW Women’s Championship match at Worlds End.
-Jim Varsallone asked about having MJF back and putting him in a main event. Khan said it’s great to have him back and said he’s an incredible pro wrestler and one of the best talkers. Khan spoke about Samoa Joe vs. MJF vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship at Worlds End.
-I asked if he had given any consideration to moving the Continental Classic to a different time of the year when the company wouldn’t have to tape shows and have the start times of their television shows change. Khan spoke about the benefit of having the tournament serve as a draw at this time of the year. He also spoke about pro wrestling’s history of running holiday shows and how he associates the holidays with pro wrestling. I asked if adding a women’s tournament might help, just in terms of being able to have one tournament during the holiday season and the other at another time of the year, which he seemed open to.
-Rick Ucchino asked what made Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron the right team to become the first AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions. Khan praised them for working hard. He said they have different experience levels and spoke about how they are fun. He said in and out of the ring, they have been fantastic choices to be the first champions, which he said is a spot they have earned.
-Andrew Baydala asked what goals and milestones he’s hoping to achieve in 2026. Unfortunately, nature called for one of my dogs, so I wasn’t able to catch much of Khan’s answer (sorry, pets come first).
-Bill Pritchard asked about speculation regarding where AEW stands with Netflix and Paramount making plays for Warner Bros. Discovery. Khan spoke about his positive relationship with WBD. He also spoke about how he created Dynamite in his mind when he was a kid, and how he wrote layouts for fun when he was in school and even at NFL meetings before it became a reality. Khan said WBD executive David Zaslav came up with the idea of adding another show, which became AEW Collision. Khan said he wants to expand and grow AEW, and said he’s been very fortunate to work with Zaslav and fellow WBD executive Bruce Campbell.
-Mike Johnson asked about his booking philosophy with the Continental Classic and whether he starts from the end and works his way backwards, as well as things like Darby Allin’s injury coming up. Khan said he thinks the tournament is a great way to close out 2025. Khan said he has thoughts on the big matches and rivalries that can unfold during the tournament. He said he starts thinking about the tournament in the summer. He said he also has to think about injuries and potential fill-ins. He said he has ideas heading into Full Gear about the big matches and where they should take place. He said that if there are injuries at Full Gear, it can change plans. Khan said he sat down with Bryan Danielson before the first tournament. Since then, he said he’s sat alone in a room with papers all over the place. He said he thought last year’s tournament was better than the first. He spoke about being fortunate to have only had one injury each year. Khan recalled Juice Robinson having to bow out last year, and Komander taking his place and the role he played. Khan also recalled switching the semifinal format last year. He also spoke about Ricochet’s involvement last year and Darby Allin’s injury this year. He said it was a bigger shift with Allin exiting the tournament than it was when Komander replaced Robinson. He said running the tournament during the holiday stretch gives them a chance to add new fans.
-Sean Ross Sapp asked about Khan’s talks with MSG about playing host to the first Dynamite, which ended up being held in Washington, D.C. Sapp noted that a Carrie Underwood concert was booked for MSG on the night that AEW debuted, and wondered if the MSG talks pertained to Tuesdays, given that Khan trademarked Tuesday Night Dynamite. Khan conceded that it may have been the reason. He said he doesn’t think it was anything nefarious, and he still has good relationships with everyone involved.
-Dominic DeAngelo asked Khan to lay out everything the Continental Classic winner earns. Khan spoke a lot about Kazuchika Okada being the best tournament wrestler.
-Josh Nason asked about free agents and noted that many have simply re-signed rather than testing the open market. Khan spoke about some of the additions they have made. He said he was able to bring in people who complemented what they do in AEW and made things better.
-Kevin Kellam asked about Keith Lee, Danhausen, and Nyla Rose. Khan did not offer any specifics. He opted to talk about the talent they have on Worlds End.
-Khan delivered his final comments. He said he’s proud of AEW winning ten awards in the Sports Illustrated year-end awards. Khan ran through all of the awards they won. Khan said it’s been his favorite year yet working in pro wrestling. He said he loves pro wrestling, and it goes year-round. He said it’s there for the fans on the holidays. Khan wrapped up the call. We hope to have the audio from this call available as a free podcast later today.
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