Tony Khan discusses AEW's TV deal talks with Skydance leaders

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There is a lot of uncertainty about AEW’s future in the aftermath of Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. Skydance CEO David Ellison is the man in charge who can decide AEW’s fate on TBS and TNT, and Tony Khan has not hesitated to kiss his corporate ass. During a call with the media today to promote AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view on Saturday night, Khan was asked about the timing of his negotiations for a new TV deal with Skydance. Tony said it’s too early for that to happen right now. He isn’t chasing anyone down for money, and is instead focused on doing the work that has made AEW a big success in pro wrestling. That’s because he isn’t doing this for money, he’s doing it for the love of pro wrestling. “Absolutely, we’ll be looking towards 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 want to put my head down and deliver, and do a very good job. 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. I am a big wrestling fan, and I do believe it was very much appreciated, and we were rewarded with a great media rights contract with several hundred million dollars over several years. And it’s very, very imperative to AEW we continue doing this great job that we’re doing. Week in, week out, the wrestlers deliver, the fans watch the shows. We got a great thing going in AEW. And right now there is a platform and an opportunity for us to take it and make it bigger and stronger than ever, and I’m really, really looking forward to that. Khan went on to state that David Ellison knows just how valuable AEW is to Warner Bros. “I haven’t been chasing down dollars in these conversations. I’m really trying to talk about what AEW’s done. What’s very cool is that David Ellison is very well aware of the strong performance of AEW, the growth, that it is a top show on cable, and that it’s one of the top shows in Warner Bros. stable. Believe me, that is very, very, very exciting for us…” Some wrestling fans think there is an overreaction about AEW’s future being doomed if Skydance doesn’t renew their deal. After all, Tony Khan owns AEW and can just go find another TV deal on another platform. But check out this part where Tony goes into his ultimate corporate soldier mode while running off a list of all his new bosses who is he very excited to work for and report to with Skydance taking over WBD. “As I look forward, I’ve got a fantastic relationship with David Ellison. I knew him before he took over Paramount, and long before he took over Warner Bros. I really, really like him. I think he’s a great executive, and he’s exactly the person I want to work for. I’m also happy reporting to anybody that David has in mind. I’m very happy to report, in this case, to George Cheeks. Happy to report to David Berson, and a number of the key executives that are joining the team. I’ve also been very happy, and will continue to be very happy to report to Channing Dungey, who I’ve worked for [years] at Warner Bros. She’s a great boss, and I love working for Channing Dungey…I’m a person who, I’ll work for whoever my boss tells me to work for, and these are great people to work with. I’ve never gotten hung up on that. And then when it comes time to figure out the compensation, I also know that I can go to the boss and talk to them. So it’s very, very imperative for AEW to build these relationships, and keep a very, very strong place in the Warner Bros. family as the Warner Bros. team changes…There’s gonna be some new faces coming in that I’ll be very excited to work for, like George Cheeks and David Berson. And all of us I think are very excited to be working for David Ellison now. Those are very smart changes, and I’m excited about that. Thank you for asking.” What’s your reaction to Tony Khan’s answer about not chasing money, and his clear subservience to all the Skydance executives? Let me know in the comments below, Cagesiders.