Tony Khan says AEW will get even stronger once the Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery merger is finalised

[Batman]

AEW president Tony Khan has laid out his outlook for the promotion's future now that a settlement with California and other states has cleared the way for Paramount to complete its merger with Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company behind AEW's current broadcast partners TBS and TNT. Khan described himself bluntly as the ultimate corporate soldier, pointing to AEW's track record of successfully navigating multiple prior corporate leadership transitions as evidence the promotion remains a genuinely valuable asset regardless of whatever restructuring happens above it.

Khan highlighted AEW's current position as a particular strength heading into the merger, noting the promotion's television deal already combines simultaneous streaming on HBO Max with live weekly broadcasts on TBS and TNT, a setup he says has produced excellent viewership metrics since the streaming side of that arrangement launched back in 2025, with Dynamite's ratings on TBS singled out specifically as a strong point within that wider picture.

On the incoming leadership itself, Khan expressed genuine enthusiasm about working with incoming Paramount chief executive David Ellison, someone he already knows personally through prior NFL related business dealings connected to Skydance, describing Ellison as a wrestling fan and a big sports fan well positioned to be a great leader for the combined company. Khan argued the merger should ultimately strengthen AEW's own position rather than threaten it, stating plainly that together, the companies will be stronger to compete, while pointing out that AEW consistently ranks as the number one cable show in the crucial 25 to 54 demographic, a track record he believes makes the promotion a genuinely attractive property for whichever combined entity eventually emerges from the merger.

Tony Khan details next steps for AEW after Paramount/WBD merger is finalized, calls himself the "ultimate corporate solider"www.pwtorch.com

[Blade60]

Khan surviving multiple previous corporate transitions already does suggest AEW has some genuine institutional resilience built in at this point, though a full merger of this scale is still a different level of corporate upheaval to weather compared to smaller previous changes.

[Ben55]

The HBO Max and TBS combined viewership strategy has clearly worked out well for AEW so far, curious whether a newly merged Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery entity keeps that same dual platform approach going forward or eventually consolidates it.

[Red Piston]

Ultimate corporate soldier is such a specific way for Khan to frame himself given how much creative control he is otherwise known for wanting to keep over AEW's actual on screen product, that phrase reads almost like a deliberate reassurance aimed at the incoming ownership.

[Matticus]

Calling Ellison a wrestling fan and a big sports fan feels like Khan doing some fairly obvious early relationship management ahead of formal merger discussions, smart move regardless of how genuine that specific framing actually turns out to be

[Wizard72]

Having a personal relationship with David Ellison already through the NFL and Skydance connections could genuinely matter a lot here, corporate mergers tend to go a lot smoother for whichever asset already has a friendly relationship with incoming leadership