Tony Khan Explains Why He Made a Bid to Buy WWE

Tony Khan is finally addressing his role in one of the wildest “what if” moments in wrestling history—his attempt to buy WWE.

After court filings revealed that Khan’s company was one of the bidders during WWE’s 2023 sale process, the AEW boss has now spoken publicly about why he got involved—and how he views it looking back.

Speaking on The Coach and Bro Show on April 7, 2026, Khan made it clear that his interest in WWE wasn’t just casual curiosity. If the company was going up for sale, he felt he had no choice but to at least try to be part of it.

“I was very interested in the process and if there was going to be a sale, I at least wanted to have a chance to be involved. If it had gone for any less than that, I would have really kicked myself.”

That comment lines up with what’s already been revealed—Khan’s group did submit a bid, but ultimately didn’t win out as WWE moved forward with the deal that led to the formation of TKO. Khan didn’t go into specific details about the bidding process itself, and he made it clear there are limits to what he’s willing to say publicly.

“While respecting the confidentiality of that, I would say that I don’t have any complaints about that process from my side that I would want to talk about right now.”

Even so, he hinted that there may have been more going on behind the scenes—without directly challenging how the sale played out. Khan then doubled down on the reasoning behind his decision, framing it as a logical move given the opportunity at the time.

“I do think there was some stuff to that and while respecting the confidentiality of the whole thing, I would also say that, at the time, just reiterating, if it had gone for any less, I would have beat myself up. Why wouldn’t you put in a bid? I thought that was a very reasonable number. That's what's been written but again that's not for me but not based on the information given to me, I've gone out and been respectful. That was several years ago.”

What was previously just a shocking revelation from court filings is now confirmed directly by Khan himself—he wasn’t just loosely connected to the process, he actively wanted in and made sure to take his shot.

In the end, WWE didn’t land in his hands—but the fact that AEW’s president even tried still stands as one of the most unexpected moments in modern wrestling business history.

Do you think WWE would have looked completely different if Tony Khan had pulled off that deal, or was it always destined to end up with Endeavor? Share your thoughts and feedback below.