Tony Khan wants you to know that Adam Cole and Malakai Black won’t be departing All Elite Wrestling anytime soon.
All Elite Wrestling owner Tony Khan was a guest this morning on Busted Open Radio with Dave LeGreca, Tommy Dreamer, and Mickie James to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about all the changes going on right now in the world of professional wrestling, Khan believes it’s been a very positive time for the industry as a whole and dove into his mindset on how he runs his company.
“It’s an exciting time, and I think it’s been a positive time for all pro wrestling recently,” Tony Khan said. “In America, there are a lot of really positive stories. I think the two biggest wrestling companies in the world have thrived this year. WWE’s having a very good business year. AEW is having a very good business year. For us at AEW, we’ve been the number one show on Wednesday for five straight weeks. We’re hoping that tonight we can do it again. And this will be the sixth straight Wednesday where AEW Dynamite’s been the number one show on cable. Really nice streak for us to get hot again with that. And really, all across the world, there’s been a lot of exciting things happening in pro wrestling.
“I’m taking a very different approach, especially since the pandemic ended to partnerships in pro wrestling. There’s different ways to disseminate and spread the word about your company. And before I was really even old enough to watch wrestling, when I was an infant, a newborn, a little kid, territories were being taken over. There was a lot of consolidation in pro wrestling, and really places all over America, in particular, all over North America, were getting put out of business, and I really tried to operate AEW in a very different way.
“For us, we really care about our television programming and trying to operate and do first-class shows and put the focus on ourselves. But definitely, we don’t pretend there’s no other wrestling out there. And definitely want to acknowledge the other wrestling companies, the history of wrestling, and what’s happening in wrestling today. But also all these other promotions, and that’s why you see AEW work with other companies, some here in North America, but a lot of companies all over the world, including New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and a great example is what we’ve done with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Also, you’ve seen PAC defending the title overseas, you know, Rev Pro, and again this past weekend against RJ Cleary and working with these promotions, I think it’s been good for AEW, and it’s been good for them. And I’m happy to help out and do good things for other wrestling companies rather than go and try and shut them down.”
Later in the interview, Tony Khan took the time to address the rumors and speculation from fans based on a recent report from Fightful that contracted talents might be jumping ship due to the fact that Triple H is now in charge of WWE. Khan revealed that Adam Cole is under contract until 2027 and that Malakai Black has five years left on his current deal.
“I think right now, in the wrestling business, it’s been a good year for the sport,” Tony Khan said. “And really, when I was a kid in 1998, I think all pro wrestling was so hot. And really, it was unfortunate what happened over the next couple of years after that. And if we could have kept it like it was in 98. Where imagine if it was 1998 forever, where all the companies were just red hot all over the world instead of everything just kind of moving in one direction.
“But yeah, there’s a lot of changes in pro wrestling. I think it’s going to be really positive for the fans overall. I am a little amused that changes in the competition people think that it’s just going to magically change the landscape. Like some of these accounts, Twitter can be a very fun place to follow. But some of the narratives I’ve seen every day for the last week are really amusing. I’ve got people signed here for five years. And people think just because the guy that the CEO, the chairman that had a creative those positions changed in the competition. People I have five-year contracts with are just magically gonna switch teams? Good luck with that. You know, Adam Cole is signed into about 2027 now, so I wouldn’t expect to see him going anywhere anytime soon. Malakai Black’s got almost five years left on his deal. I wouldn’t expect to see him going anywhere, anytime soon.
“So just because these guys had some success under a previous administration somewhere else, they’re not magically going to be going anywhere else. Those are two people I really like, just as examples of people that have worked under that previous administration now. I’m very amused by that, and that’s a narrative I see so-called wrestling writers pushing every day. It’s pretty amusing.”
What do you make of Tony Khan’s comments? Are you surprised to hear how long Adam Cole and Malakai Black’s AEW contracts are for? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Busted Open Radio with a link back to this article for the transcription.
