AEW President Tony Khan believes the promotion is currently experiencing its creative peak, a resurgence he attributes to a personal shift in how he books the show. Speaking in a new interview with Q101 Radio in Chicago ahead of tonight’s Dynamite, Khan shared that he’s returned to a more hands-on, solo approach to storytelling, reminiscent of the company’s early days and its acclaimed 2020 pandemic era.
Khan revealed that late last year he recognized a need to recapture the feeling AEW had in 2019 and 2020. “I had that same realization that I need to do what I did five years ago and just block out everything and just focus on AEW,” he said. “I just decided, okay, I’m going to scrap the meetings. I’m going to get a pencil and paper and I’m just going to get organized by myself.” Khan explained that while he still values the ideas of his creative team, he realized he had to be the final filter. “Instead of trying to take the best ideas from everyone and incorporate them… I basically started writing my own outlines,” he said.
In a moment of humor, Khan compared his approach to an infamous scene from Seinfeld. “It’s like George Costanza said about ‘jerk store’… that was his plan,” Khan joked. “I had to stay focused on the jerk store.”
Khan also opened up about a previously undisclosed backstage incident involving Lucha Libre AAA that led to a breakdown in trust. Recalling a moment in December 2022, Khan explained how he felt blindsided when AAA allowed Dragon Lee to appear on AEW television only for WWE to announce his signing just moments later. “It was really a double cross,” he said. “That would never happen now.”
Khan contrasted that situation with AEW’s current partnership with CMLL, which he described as rooted in trust and mutual respect. “Salvador [Lutteroth] and I are brothers,” he emphasized. “I would never go behind their back and take a wrestler from them.” Khan reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring talent sharing with CMLL is always collaborative.
Reflecting on AEW’s momentum, Khan pointed to the success of All In: Texas as validation for the company’s direction. “It was the best show we’ve ever done for the quality of the wrestling,” he said. Held in front of more than 28,000 fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio, the event marked AEW’s largest North American crowd to date and is on track to become one of the company’s highest-grossing pay-per-views.
Khan also addressed the show’s extended length, comparing the event to a music festival like Lollapalooza. “I wouldn’t run a show that long if it started at night… it was a day show. It was an epic thing,” he said. He added that a longtime friend told him the payoff of the storylines was the best he had seen since WrestleMania III in 1987.
The show’s main event saw “Hangman” Adam Page defeat Jon Moxley to become the new AEW World Champion, a decision Khan said was planned for some time. “Hangman was always the guy,” Khan said when asked when the decision was made. “For me, there’s no question Hangman Page was the man to step up and fight Jon Moxley, who had beaten down AEW’s locker room.” Khan praised Moxley’s dominant reign, calling him “one of the greatest wrestlers in the world,” and emphasized how Moxley’s run served to unite the fanbase and elevate the next hero. “Clearly, Hangman Page was the man to do it,” he concluded.
AEW is currently hosting a three-week residency at Chicago’s historic Aragon Ballroom, where tonight’s episode of Dynamite will continue the fallout from All In: Texas. “Hangman” Adam Page is set to speak live and also team up with Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Briscoe in a high-profile trios match against the Death Riders. The event airs tonight at 8 PM ET on TNT and HBO Max.
