Tony Khan’s recent meetings with Paramount Skydance may have left him feeling pretty damn good, but a new report suggests AEW shouldn’t start celebrating just yet. One former Warner Bros. Discovery executive apparently believes AEW could be in for a rude awakening when its option year comes up.
According to Blake Avignon, a former WBD executive told him they don’t expect Skydance’s new leadership to pick up AEW’s option year if the company keeps offering nothing beyond traditional wrestling programming. And apparently, the wrestling itself isn’t the issue here. The concern is that AEW hasn’t done enough to expand what it brings to the table beyond its regular shows.
“A former @WBD executive told me they don’t expect the new @Skydance leadership to pick up @AEW’s option year if the company continues offering nothing beyond wrestling programming.”
That would obviously be a pretty big deal for AEW, especially with Tony Khan recently sounding extremely optimistic about the company’s relationship with Skydance. But according to Avignon’s source, simply continuing with the same kind of content might not be enough to keep the relationship going.
“Their concern is that AEW hasn’t diversified its content offering. If Tony Khan expects a renewal by simply delivering more of the same, he might be in for a rude awakening.”
That’s a much different picture from what was being painted only days ago. Dave Meltzer reported on October 25 that Khan had flown from Florida to Los Angeles for another round of meetings with Skydance before heading to North Carolina for Collision. Meltzer didn’t know exactly what was discussed, but said Khan came out of those meetings happier than he had been at any point during the relationship.
“He came out of the meetings extremely happy, much happier than he has been about this. He’s always been happy about this relationship. He’s always been beaming about it from day one. But he definitely came out of these meetings the happiest he’s been.”
Khan himself has also been pretty upbeat about everything. During the October 17 WrestleDream post-show press conference, he confirmed he had already spoken with David Ellison several times about AEW’s future and said Ellison was excited about working with the company.
“Yes, I’ve had a conversation with David Ellison about the future of AEW. I’ve had a few great conversations with David Ellison about AEW. He is very excited to be partnering with AEW.”
There’s also no word yet on exactly what “diversified” content Skydance would potentially want from AEW, or whether this former executive has direct knowledge of the current leadership’s plans. Nothing has been announced regarding AEW’s option year either, so right now this is one former WBD executive’s expectation rather than a confirmed decision from Skydance.
Still, it gives Khan’s recent Los Angeles meetings a whole lot more intrigue. If AEW really is being pushed to offer more than its usual wrestling programming, whatever had Khan leaving those meetings so happy could eventually tell us whether he already has something else cooking.
What kind of additional content do you think AEW could offer beyond its regular wrestling shows if Skydance really wants something different? Let us know what you think in the comments.
