Tony Khan Reveals Why AEW Is Only Signing Select Free Agents in 2025

AEW is currently on a hot streak right now, and this year they’ve signed only a handful of talent but all of them have integrated well into the company. With that in mind, Tony Khan has now revealed AEW’s current strategy when it comes to free agents.

While speaking on the Battleground podcast, Tony Khan was asked about comments from Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay, who said they want to bring in free agents who really want to be part of AEW and see it as the best place to wrestle. He was also asked if he agrees with that mindset and if he’s looking at free agents differently now, especially since more of them are talking about AEW.

Khan said that AEW has a very strong perception in 2025 and that this might be the best year the company has ever had. He mentioned a big change at the start of the year when AEW began simulcasting its shows, Dynamite on Wednesdays and Collision on Saturdays on both TV and the MAX streaming service. This helped them reach a larger audience, including people who didn’t have access to TBS or TNT before.

Tony Khan stated the shows have been great and very consistent this year, both on TV and pay-per-view and this year AEW raised the bar. He praised the wrestlers, staff, and fans for their hard work and support, which has helped AEW grow its audience. The live shows have been exciting, and more people are watching thanks to the simulcast.

“Well, there’s a very good perception about AEW in 2025. This company’s doing great shows. Honestly, this feels like the best year ever in AEW.

There was a major change at the start of the year that definitely created a fresh, exciting environment — with the simulcast, every Wednesday we do wrestling on TBS, every Saturday night on TNT. And now we’ve got those shows streaming live on Max at the same time. It’s opened up a whole new audience for us.

We’re reaching people who didn’t have access to TBS or TNT, and the shows have just been fantastic. Maybe the most consistent run we’ve ever had — both TV and pay-per-views. That’s saying something. AEW’s always had a strong track record, but this year has raised the bar.

And with that high bar, the fact that we’ve cleared it — I think it speaks volumes about our wrestlers, our staff, and certainly our fans. The live shows are electric. Our TV audience has grown steadily, especially with the simulcast helping us reach even more fans.”

Khan said it’s a great time to work in AEW since it’s a fun place to be and that it’s the top spot for the best wrestlers in the world. He made it clear that joining the AEW roster isn’t easy because the standards are high, and they plan to keep it that way.

“It’s a great time to work here. AEW is a fun place to be. It’s a great place to ply your trade as a wrestler. And we’re looking for the very best. This is where the best wrestle. AEW has the best wrestlers in the world — and we intend to keep it that way. So absolutely, it’s a very high bar to make it onto this roster, and we want to maintain that quality moving forward.”

This comes after Will Ospreay made it clear that AEW isn’t a safety net for released WWE Superstars since they actually have to prove themselves first joining AEW. On the other hand, Swerve Strickland compared signing with AEW to joining the Los Angeles Lakers, since they have to maintain a certain standard.

Tony Khan has made it clear that AEW is focused on signing fewer free agents but making sure each one is high quality in 2025. The company is running strong and expects the best performance from its wrestlers, so we’ll have to see if they will sign more talent by the end of this year.

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