Tony Khan Rejects Idea Of Booking A Bad AEW Pay-Per-View Just To Make Others Look Better

Tony Khan has made it clear that intentionally putting on a weak pay-per-view is not something he’s ever considered, even as AEW continues building a reputation for consistently strong shows.

While appearing on The Ringer Wrestling podcast, Khan spoke about AEW’s momentum and the company’s growing list of awards tied to its major events. During the discussion, host Dave Shoemaker joked about whether AEW should purposely run a bad pay-per-view just to make the great ones stand out even more. Shoemaker posed the idea directly while referencing the praise AEW’s shows have received.

“Do you ever think about just that you—you went through all the awards that all of your pay-per-views got earlier in the show—do you ever think about just having a real shitty pay-per-view just so the other one stand out in relief?”

Tony Khan didn’t hesitate to shut that down. Instead of entertaining the idea, he leaned into AEW’s reputation for delivering strong pay-per-view cards and made it clear that every event matters to him.

“So I've never—I don't think I've ever—No, I've never wanted to do that [laughter] and um I think we have a really good track record on pay-per-view and I'm very very proud of it and every time we step up to the plate, I want to do a good job. So I—No, I don't want to do that. Thank you for asking, Dave.”

Khan’s comments come at a time when AEW is continuing to push its pay-per-view identity as one of the company’s strongest selling points. With major events regularly receiving strong fan reactions and critical praise, the idea of intentionally lowering the bar clearly isn’t part of the long-term strategy.

Khan’s response reinforces a mindset that AEW events should feel important every time they happen, especially as the company continues stacking cards and building toward major shows. Even when the question was asked in a joking tone, his answer left little room for doubt about how seriously he takes the company’s track record.

Do you agree with his approach, or do you think wrestling companies sometimes benefit from spacing out big moments? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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