AEW CEO Tony Khan held a media scrum today to promote this Saturday’s AEW Full Gear 2026 event at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Some of the notable highlights included:
- On the topic of the goals for AEW for 2027, Khan stated that the most important focus on the business side is putting on great wrestling television. Khan also stated that while there is a focus on international growth, the primary revenue for AEW comes from the domestic media rights with WBD. Khan also stated that he met with David Ellison four times, and in each meeting, he’s had great conversations about AEW. Khan also stated that Ellison “has a high opinion of AEW.”
- On the topic of talks for a new media rights deal, Khan stated “I think Warner Bros. and Paramount can be a great team. They’ve talked about a bundle with HBO Max and Paramount+. I think that creates great opportunities for AEW to grow our viewership. Absolutely, we’ll be looking to a contract renewal; we’re not really in the process of doing that as a negotiation right now because we still have a lot of time left. Right now, I’m excited to be working with this new group under the deal we have, and I’m not the person that’s gonna chase people around and ask about contracts. I really just wanna put my head down and deliver and do a very good job, and that’s also what I had stressed to David Zaslav when he was running Warner Bros., that, ‘I want to do a good job for you. I really care about this. We do this 52 weeks a year. I’ll never take a day off from it. You’ll always get my very best, and I’m not chasing you for money. I’m not doing this for the money.’ We do need the money to make this a strong company and to grow the business but it’s because I love wrestling…”
- On the topic of AEW’s current partnership with NJPW, Khan stated that he is thrilled to help with Wrestle Kingdom. Khan also stated that AEW didn’t have the best partnership with NJPW from 2019 to 2020 and described it as being a “cold war.” Khan also stated that the COVID pandemic changed a lot of relationships and dynamics in pro wrestling and how he got close with Rocky Romero and Gedo which led to Forbidden Door in 2022 and the current relationship with NJPW.
- On the topic of Claudio Castagnoli, Khan praised Castagnoli and his accomplishments in both AEW and Ring of Honor.
- On the topic of the length of Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite and Collision show in West Valley, Utah and travel-related issues that impacted the show, Khan stated “You’ve got numerous flight issues and you’re trying to put a great wrestling show together, imagine how I feel at the end of the night when I think it was a great show and everything came together great. It was a huge sense of relief and excitement going into Full Gear. I had announced some great things for the show and then there were some people that had some issues getting out, which can happen and that’s why it’s good to have contingency plans and I love doing that. In this case, the network was great about pushing some things back. In the case of the main event, Hyan arrived at the arena as the show was starting. So by putting that match in the main event, first of all, it’s a great championship match in the main event. Hyan has been doing great in both AEW and ROH, I wanted to give her the opportunity. There were numerous other people that participated on the show, particularly in the Collision part, that arrived later as we were starting the live event. I love being able to pivot and make plans, when the show comes together well, that’s the energy of the pandemic that I really loved. So I’m used to making changes and in this case, I thought the show came out great and we were able to get everybody on. There were people that were stuck in the airport that came and did a great job, they were still able to wrestle on the show or do interviews on the show. Nick Wayne, I really wanted to get Nick Wayne on the show. Nick’s another person that because of the Jericho cruise, had gotten there later in the night but I really wanted to feature Nick and do what we did. In the case of some of those young wrestlers and stars that came in, I’m happy to make those changes and I’m just proud the show came together well.”
- On the topic of former WWE ID talent Marcus Mathers recently joining AEW and ROH, Khan stated “His showing on Saturday came because he did such a great job on ROH, which I think is a good lesson to the people who come to the ROH shows and it’s also a part of why I’m so involved in ROH. He did an absolutely fantastic job at the taping on Monday. His match aired on ROH. It streamed on Thursday night, and he absolutely crushed it. The reception was fantastic. He came to the Jericho Cruise looking for work, and he found himself in the right place because I thought he had done a fantastic job, and he had a great match versus Nick Wayne on Collision after he had a fantastic match against Mark Davis on ROH. So it was a great week for Marcus Mathers. I was very impressed by him. Christopher Daniels recommended him to me. I had seen him a bit before, and I didn’t realize that his WWE I.D. deal was not being renewed, and C.D. reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, would it be okay if I bring Marcus Mathers to ROH? And I think you’ll really like him,’ and so, I had him on the roster, and I wanted to give him a good opportunity. I’d seen a bit of him on video. I didn’t really know him well, so I gave him the best opportunity I could. Coming off of that, I was blown away. I thought Marcus Mathers did a great, great job on ROH and I certainly feel like I put him in there with the right guy, and then once he survived the incredibly tough test that is Mark Davis, I was officially impressed to give him this opportunity to wrestle Nick Wayne and again, he did a great job. I think there’s a great young wrestler there. So I would expect to see Marcus Mathers in AEW and ROH. Potentially both.”
- On the topic of Christian Cage’s current abscense from AEW due to a broken ribs and punctured lung injuries, Khan stated that he was “optimistic” to see Cage back but couldn’t give a definitive date for a potential return from injury. Khan praised Cage for his importance to AEW and how he is one of his favorite people outside of the ring.
- On the topic of the reason for Jay White’s new group being quickly renamed from The Last Outfit to The Cut, Khan stated “Well, reference them being The Last Outfit, it’s a fair question. I think it was something new, something we’re trying that clearly there’s been some big changes with the Death Riders specifically, recently, and I was trying something new and building a new… stable that I believe could threaten anybody, including the most established heroes of AEW, including The Conglomeration and in this case, the Death Riders, who at times have been untouchable in AEW,” he said. “They talked about how they wanted to establish themselves and talked about that they’re a new group that represents a lot of tradition, and they’re the last of their kind. They were The Last Outfit of an operation, and it’s a good expression and I got what they were saying and the fans really resonated when they saw Jay White and Juice Robinson and The Gunns and Ace Austin coming together with (David) Finlay and Clark Connors… It really felt like the fans loved the angle, and there was a missing piece, and I saw that missing piece with The Cut, and Jay White completely agreed with me and he embraced it. So, you saw that same day; he identified what they are and what they would be and I think he’s doing a great job. I really believe in Jay White and I believe in that group…“
- On the topic of Marina Shafir and her upcoming match against Mercedes Mone for the AEW Women’s World Championship at Full Gear 2026, Khan stated that Jon Moxley has been one of Shafir’s strongest supporters and has been proud of her growth. Khan also stated that he also has been proud of Shafir’s growth in AEW as well.
AEW Full Gear 2026 media scrum full audio: Fightful.com
Source: PostWrestling.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, & 4
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