Tony Khan Points To Media Awards As Proof Of AEW’s Success

Tony Khan is celebrating a string of awards he says All Elite Wrestling picked up over the past year — though plenty of people in wrestling circles see those honors as little more than media hype.

Khan brought up the accolades during a recent appearance on TMZ’s Inside the Ring while promoting the upcoming AEW Revolution pay-per-view. The AEW boss pointed to several outlets and wrestling publications that he says named AEW the top promotion and handed out “best event” honors to multiple pay-per-views. Khan framed the awards as proof that AEW is delivering the best product in wrestling right now.

“You know, awards season is out in full, of course, in LA. And speaking of awards season in LA, of course, you guys cover that a lot here at TMZ. It was a great award season for AEW. We took home the pro wrestling promotion of the year from Sports Illustrated for this past year, won awards from numerous publications for the best wrestling event, whether it's Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Yahoo, New York Post, numerous wrestling publications like Fightful, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, of course PWI, The Wrestling Observer, all these great publications in wrestling and all these great publications top to bottom.”

Khan also pointed out that several AEW pay-per-views were recognized individually by those outlets.

“But what was really cool to me was it wasn't just one event that won best show of the year. We had multiple events last year that claimed awards for best wrestling event. AEW Revolution, AEW Double or Nothing, and AEW All-In.”

Still, many in the wrestling industry don’t take these types of awards seriously. Most of the honors Khan referenced come from media outlets, fan voting, or journalist polls rather than any official governing body. Because of that, critics often view them as little more than publicity tools.

Inside wrestling circles, it’s not uncommon to hear people joke about these awards — with some questioning whether they actually reflect industry reality at all. Khan clearly believes the recognition validates AEW’s momentum, but whether those awards mean anything beyond headlines is still up for debate.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.