Backstage Update on Tony Khan’s Reaction to Paramount’s Acquisition Deal for WBD & Speculation of Deal Possibly Leading to End of AEW

As noted before, Paramount recently announced their official acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery following the company becoming the winner of the bidding process over Netflix. WBD is the current media broadcast partner of AEW.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW officials had a strong indication in the days leading up to the announcement that Paramount would ultimately outbid Netflix for WBD. Those spoken to reported stated that it was not considered a complete surprise internally due to there had already been signs pointing in that direction prior to the official announcement.

In regards to AEW CEO Tony’s Khan’s reaction to Paramount becoming the winning bidder, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that those close to Khan stated that he was thrilled when the news came out. Khan reportedly felt that this was the best possible scenario for him and AEW.

Others spoken to reportedly claimed that it is the death knell for AEW due to their expectation that Paramount will either have to cut back on costs caused by the acquisition or due to pressure from TKO Group due to their current deals with UFC and Zuffa Boxing. Meltzer speculated that TKO would want to get rid of their only real significant competition in the pro wrestling industry.

In regards to the benefits of AEW being with Paramount, Meltzer reported that once Paramount merges HBO MAX with their Paramount+ to create a new streaming service, this would result in around 200 million worldwide subscribers. Meltzer reported that this would put AEW in around 87.2 million homes in the United States just counting those two streaming services combined and an estimated 116 million total homes when counting streaming and cable television homes. This reportedly would be nearly double the homes AEW were in during 2024 for comparisons.

Meltzer also reported that there is currently uncertainty in regards to AEW’s Collision series future on Saturdays due to Paramount CEO David Ellison being open to the idea of having UFC shows airing on television and on Saturday nights on TNT, which is Collision’s current network home. Meltzer reported that this would entirely depend on the time slot and if TNT would carry the undercard but not the biggest bouts which airs from 7-9PM due to the PPV main cards airs from 9PM to 12:30AM. Meltzer speculated that Paramount could have both AEW Collision and UFC air on the same night with either Collision being the lead-in for UFC’s main card or have AEW take the 9-11PM time slot and have UFC as a regular lead-in. The latter would result in AEW going head-to-head against UFC’s main card for shows. Meltzer also speculated that AEW’s Collision could also end up being moved to Thursdays instead as a potential option.