Tony Khan Claims He Took Full Control of AEW Creative in 2025 and Says It Changed Everything

Tony Khan says he made a big move behind the scenes in 2025 — he took full control of AEW creative. But while Khan sees it as a turning point, critics and fans are pointing to the product’s freefalling ratings, reckless stunts, and identity crisis as proof that the company is headed in the wrong direction.

During an interview on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez, Khan openly admitted that he made a personal resolution to stop relying on collaborative booking and start running AEW’s weekly direction solo.

“Yes. Uh, it was around the holidays and it was the 5-year anniversary of the last time and it was one of those things where I had told myself, uh, at the end of 2019, uh, just a New Year's resolution: I want to be more focused.”

Khan said he had already been heavily involved, but realized things needed to change — fast. He believes that shift kicked in right away.

“I've been trying really hard, but I know I can do better. And also, like you said, maybe instead of having tons of different people collaborate to put an outline together, I'm just going to do the outline myself — and I'll come in with a direction every single week of what I want to do on the show.”

“And I made some real changes at the start of the year. And in January, uh, I thought we made a real turn and it kept momentum that went throughout the year.”

But not everyone agrees. AEW’s viewership has declined across the board. Ratings for Dynamite and Collision have slipped compared to the previous year, and despite AEW winning a handful of media awards, there’s growing criticism that the company is chasing shock value instead of storytelling.

Exhibit A? Jon Moxley being stabbed the back with a spike on live TV — a moment that left fans stunned. Then came the WrestleDream spot where Moxley appeared to drown Darby Allin in a fish tank, prompting widespread backlash and concern from former AEW staff and viewers alike.

Former WWE writer Vince Russo tore into the company on his podcast Ready with Russo, calling the segment reckless and branding Tony Khan’s approach as outright irresponsible.

“You can't have Moxley matches with cheese graters, ripping ears, drowning people in a fish tank, and spikes in the head… Bro, you can't have this type of programming and then have Tony Khan go out and say, ‘Oh, we're trying to keep our ticket prices family-friendly.’ That right there, Tony, they're going to bury you.”

Russo doubled down by warning that one wrong move could jeopardize AEW’s biggest relationships, especially with Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max:

“All it’s going to take is one parent or one group to point that out — ‘The owner of the company, Tony Khan, a billionaire, son to Shad Khan, made this statement… and look at his show.’ That’s a lack of responsibility.”

“You’re at the mercy of your partners as well. If Max pulls out because of stuff like this, you’re really in a bad position. You can't sit here and pretend you don’t have parameters.”

Khan, however, has remained steadfast in his public messaging — even doubling down on AEW being a product meant for families.

“AEW’s ticket pricing is designed to be very family-friendly and it has been that way since the very beginning. Everybody who’s been involved in AEW from the start will tell you that we always wanted to maintain affordable ticket prices for the fans, and particularly to bring families and young fans to the show, and make it accessible for fans of all backgrounds, of all ages.”

But when the same product features visual drownings, real glass spots, and spike attacks in the spine, the disconnect becomes hard to ignore. Russo wrapped up his rant with a grim prediction about where this content escalation leads:

“This is what we’re seeing. You've turned this into a game of ‘can you top this?’ And this is where we are, bro. Next it’s going to be a saw on flesh.”

So while Tony Khan is out front celebrating AEW’s direction in 2025 — claiming focus and vision — a growing number of fans and critics see something entirely different: a product bleeding viewers, losing identity, and putting its future at risk.

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