Tony Khan Claims AEW Is Closing the Gap on WWE SmackDown

Tony Khan is feeling confident—and he wants everyone to know AEW isn’t just holding steady, it’s gaining serious ground on WWE.

While speaking to Ariel Helwani, the AEW President claimed that the company is experiencing one of its strongest runs ever when compared directly to WWE programming, especially SmackDown. Khan claimed the viewership ratio between AEW Dynamite and WWE SmackDown has reached one of its closest points in the company’s history, largely due to momentum on both traditional cable and streaming via HBO Max.

“We’ve really closed the gap. It’s kind of like in the pandemic. If you look at where AEW is as a percentage of the WWE shows, this is really one of our strongest runs.”

He mentioned that Dynamite’s audience, when viewed as a share of WWE’s numbers, has improved significantly—arguing that it’s comparable to AEW’s peak moments.

“If you look at where WWE is—say the audience of Dynamite compared to SmackDown, for example, or RAW—this is a great time for us.”

Khan credits part of the growth to AEW’s streaming audience on HBO Max, even though he admitted he doesn’t have access to exact numbers.

“The AEW audience as a percentage of the competition is about as good as it’s ever been and with the streaming audience.”

Though Khan didn’t provide concrete streaming data, he argued that AEW’s recent numbers on cable, especially for Blood & Guts 2025 and Collision, prove the company is resonating more than ever. Whether you agree with Tony Khan’s numbers game or not, he’s making it clear—AEW isn’t just surviving, it’s going after WWE’s top brands with intent.