Tony Khan comments on AEW being the first promotion to compete head-to-head with WWE in 20 years
Forbes recently did a video feature on AEW President Tony Khan. During the interview, Khan spoke about All Elite Wrestling's rise from its inception in 2019 to becoming a challenger to WWE's spot as the top promotion in pro wrestling.
AEW has gone from strength to strength since the promotion's inception and 2021 has been an especially good year for them. Apart from record pay-per-view buys for All Out and a record gate for Grand Slam, Dynamite has also been #1 on cable multiple times this year.
Khan touched upon AEW's journey, including all of their recent success:
"When we started AEW Dynamite, just over two years ago, in October 2019, it was a tough fight for a couple of years. We'd never been #1 on cable until April 14, 2021 and since April 14 we've had several number one finishes and a really hot run of them recently," admitted Khan.
He went on to explain how AEW is at the center of a seismic shift in the landscape of the professional wrestling industry:
"With the launch of AEW Rampage, we had to get bigger and better and make this the best time in the history of AEW, which I think, it really has been. In terms of every major business metric - television ratings, pay-per-view, viewership, live events, merchandising - we're at all time highs in all these metrics. It's definitely the most exciting time in the history of our business. Really hasn't been anything like what we're doing in terms of competing head to head with WWE, week to week, in the cable ratings in two decades," said Tony Khan.
AEW has made some major moves this year, including the signings of Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole. Former WWE NXT star Bobby Fish also recently signed with the promotion.
Cody Rhodes also praised Tony Khan for his behind the scenes role in AEW
Congratulations @TonyKhan - Booker/Promoter of the year in the 41st annual @WONF4W Awards! Beating out both legendary promoters Dana White and Vince McMahon. Amazing. https://t.co/tT6aaoCUsQ
Cody Rhodes also made a brief appearance on Forbes' video feature. The American Nightmare praised Tony as someone who had a keen understanding of the ins and outs of the industry, despite not being a wrestler himself:
"Tony is a prime example that you don't have to be a wrestler to know our business. He was a lifelong fan, he studied it, he studied the business of it and the creative of it and every idea he has ever presented to me has been great," revealed Rhodes.
Tony Khan also discussed how Hulk Hogan helped forge his love for professional wrestling. You can check that out here.
If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and credit Forbes.