Tony Khan Reveals His “Succession Moment” Convincing His Dad to Fund AEW

AEW wouldn’t exist without one very real-life family power move—and Tony Khan just pulled back the curtain on exactly how it all went down.

During his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, the AEW President shared the behind-the-scenes story of convincing his dad to fund the launch of All Elite Wrestling, describing the moment as straight out of Succession.

When asked if there was ever a “how do you like me now” moment with his father after AEW’s success, Khan said there was never that kind of friction—but getting his dad to back the project wasn’t easy.

“No, not not a single moment like that. Honestly, he’s been so great supporting this idea. Twisted his arm a little bit. Yes, absolutely. And honestly, big time.”

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Khan explained that the pitch happened during a tense Christmas 2018 conversation, where he asked for millions to fund the project—without even having a TV deal locked down.

“I did famously twist his arm to your point. And uh Christmas 2018 was like a scene out of Succession where I was saying we need uh to make a big 8-figure investment and invest millions of dollars in this. And I have no guarantees. I didn’t even have the TV deal. We didn’t secure that until months later, officially May of 2019. But I had been working on it.”

Thankfully, the gamble paid off. AEW landed its TV deal in 2019, debuted Dynamite, and has since grown into WWE’s biggest competition in decades. Khan said his dad later admitted that trusting his son’s vision, even without guarantees, was the right call.

“He later said, ‘This is a great example of why parents should sometimes trust their kids even when they don’t necessarily believe in the idea. You just got to have faith.’”

With AEW continuing to expand globally—including a return to Wembley Stadium in 2026—Khan’s risky Christmas pitch now looks like one of the smartest bets his family ever made.