AEW is in the midst of its annual year-end tournament, the Continental Classic. Beyond the fact that the event is a fan favorite to close out the calendar, it sets the stage nicely in showcasing the very best of AEW on TBS and TNT in preparation for launching what Khan calls the “most important transformation in AEW’s history.”
Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, AEW’s two weekly shows, Dynamite and Collison, will be broadcast on cable and streaming simultaneously. Unsurprisingly, Khan told Uproxx Sports he’s “incredibly excited” about the next step in the evolution of the promotion, as he sees an opportunity to “tap into a potential new audience” via a platform as large as Max.
“I think it’s a huge opportunity for AEW, and it starts on Jan. 1, but then it applies every Wednesday and every Saturday for the future. AEW has accomplished something we always dreamed of: For many years, I have watched Warner Brothers Discovery build the best streaming platform in the world on Max,” Khan says. “It’s the best collection of television shows and movies and now live sports is really building up on Max and I’m so excited that we’re gonna be a part of this with AEW coming to Max and I think it’ll be a great opportunity for us to introduce our wrestlers and our biggest rivalries to a new collection of fans across America … I think the timing for us is incredible, that we can go into 2025 with a chance to change the profile of our business and our viewership completely.”
The AEW catalog is expected to be available on Max eventually, but questions remain on where the future of Ring of Honor and its video library lands. Khan, who acquired the promotion in 2022, acknowledges the “great history” of Ring of Honor, which goes well beyond the talent that it has produced over the years.
“There’s also this incredibly rich video library that has so many of the biggest stars in wrestling all over it, and I believe that as AEW is entering this thrilling era of streaming and developing the partnership with streaming on Max, I think that ROH video library can be very valuable to us,” Khan says. “We’ve utilized it in many ways already and I think that It’s only the tip of the iceberg for what we can potentially do to utilize the ROH video library going forward.”
When asked if there’s a potential space for ROH TV on the Max platform, Khan spoke to the potential for ROH “in a number of places,” as he thinks the promotion could be an excellent complement to AEW. He, of course, would want to cut a deal “that makes sense for everyone involved.”
Heading into next year, it feels like Khan is going to do whatever he can to find opportunities to make waves. After AEW tapped into viral sensation Big Boom AJ at Full Gear, Matt Cardona made a surprising appearance on ROH to challenge for the promotion’s World Championship at Final Battle from the Hammerstein Ballroom — it made sense to Khan, as Cardona is both “a proud New Yorker” and “one of the top independent wrestlers in the world,” both of which led to the sort of buzz that he wants to generate.
As AEW continues to grow, there should opportunities to try out new talent, tweak concepts, and tour new cities and venues. In 2025, that won’t be restricted to weekly episodic shows, as All In moves from its home the last two years at Wembley Stadium to Globe Life Field in Arlington — tickets for the event went on sale today.
After setting the record for pro wrestling ticket sales with 81,035 tickets sold at Wembley in 2024, the promotion’s biggest show of the year will become the first AEW pay-per-view in Texas and could become a test case for the future of All In’s destination.
“Wembley’s been a great home for the past two years, and I think Wembley will be a great home for us again in the future. But I think this is a great opportunity for AEW and for the fans around Texas and in that area to go to Arlington and see what they’ve been asking for years, AEW to bring a pay-per-view to Texas. In this case, we have gone directly to the biggest event we can possibly bring. And we’re really excited about it,” Khan says. “So I think absolutely have every desire and plan to go back to Wembley Stadium, but also I think this creates an opportunity to visit a new market to build a new business history here in Texas, and then really gives us so many great options for the future.”
