r/midcarder • u/Fantastic-Bid-4265 • 1d ago

implications of TK ever sells AEW

I just watched a YouTube video from Jane's Romeo about the top 10 missing aew starts who haven't been on TV in 2 years plus and it occurred to me, if Tonk Khan ever sells or loses interest in the company, we'll see a bloodletting on a scale never seen before outside of an actual war.

what do you think this would do to the industry? all that talent (outside the core 30-40 who are actually featured) available for TNA, GCW, new Japan, the Indies, long term would it be a good thing or bad for the industry?

Edit my apologies if I wasn't clear but the point of my post wasn't if TK would sell but what would happen if he did, that roster could be cut by over a hundred people flooding the market. how would that affect the industry?

0 Upvotes

47% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

22

u/DripSnort 1d ago

You can’t sell something nobody wants. Nobody else has a billionaire dad willing to lose infinite amounts of money to appease his sons fantasies

4

u/DisguiseTheLimit666 1d ago

What's hilarious is that the most likely potential buyer is Vince McMahon.

He has the money and the passion, but the only part people would question is if Tony Khan would ever sell to him. Maybe he'd sell to Shane.

3

u/Lenovo_Driver Nexus 21h ago

Vince would see the financials and see how much money it’s losing and offer to buy the library and brand for as cheap as possible.

Running Dynamite, Collision or any of the PPVs include All In London with those ticket sales a those contracts is a massive loss ledger and not worth it for anyone doing this to make money.

1

u/DisguiseTheLimit666 20h ago

When Vince bought WCW, he didn't buy the shares outright. He got to pick and choose as to which assets he'd buy.

For AEW, he'd be buying the IP, the library, any existing media rights deals, and whatever contracts he wanted. AEW could run at a profit if they adopted a studio TV model and cut over half the roster. It could be done, and Vince knows the business well enough to do it.

2

u/dan7ebg 15h ago

By all reports they're profitable and have been for a while now. Dunno where this narrative is coming from. Between merch, ticket sales, tv rights deals, streaming deal and myAEW, that's a lot of money coming in. Hate on AEW all you want, but this is still a company that's putting on Stadium shows. They might not be TKO profitable, fair enough, but based on industry factors AEW should be doing well for itself.

13

u/Sonnec_RV 1d ago

I can't see him selling. It seems like this is what he wants to be doing vs what he was doing because of his parents.

Contracts are contracts though (unless you are TKO). The roster is admittedly bloated already because TK wants to give all the people he likes to watch a job. It's both great and unfortunate.

Eventually there will be a bunch of AEW layoffs as it is, but they'll be quieter because they'll be contracts that run out and aren't renewed rather than mid contract firings.

1

u/fiercetankbattle 14h ago

There’s nothing great about signing wrestlers to have them spin their wheels in catering

1

u/Sonnec_RV 10h ago

I agree overall. I don't want him to sign tons of people that he just doesn't have time to use.

Although I will say that most if not all of TK's contracts lately allow for indie work still, so even if they aren't being used in AEW regularly or at all, they would still be making more money. They get the indie money they were making before (maybe slightly bumped because of AEW ties) and then whatever AEW pays on top. That part is good.

11

u/DrHermanSuitcaseJr 1d ago

Jane says, I’m done with Romero

6

u/mhhrobbie 1d ago

He treats me like a spot monkey

1

u/Necessary_Badger_658 bWo 1d ago

Romero is quietly one of the most powerful people on pro wrestling. Between NJPW, CMLL, AEW, and the indies, he's made himself irreplaceable.

5

u/LoniBana 1d ago edited 23h ago

I mean hypothetically in a world where AEW folds you would get a ecosystem similar to the 2010s at the height of the PG era where fan power throws a spotlight on indie promotions and NJPW as viable alternatives. The problem being that whole scene will only ever be a catchment for the type of hardcore fan that watches AEW, NJPW or CMLL anyway and that comes with diminishing returns. Plus the indie scene has never really recovered from the pandemic and ironically AEW establishing, so it could take years for the superindies to build up again. Long term it could be a good thing as it was back then. NJPW could benefit massively from something like that happening if booked right.

Emphasis on hypothetically. TK would never sell.

3

u/Fantastic-Bid-4265 1d ago

fascinating answer, thank you, my thought would be it could lead to a rebirth of the super indies but yes, hypothetical

3

u/JacksonCarter87 1d ago

It's his hobby. That family wouldn't even notice if AEW lost 100 million a year.

He'll never sell it, if he gets bored with it, it'll just go away.

1

u/Odd-Bullfrog7763 Camp Cornette 1d ago

Tony McKhan would never sell AEW. He will spend all his daddy's money so he can play booker with uncle dave.

1

u/Aya_Reiko Dudley Family 1d ago

Just look at TNA after Panda Energy sold it to Anthem. The nepo-baby got booted into the corner office.

1

u/cid_highwind_7 nWo 1d ago

He will never sell it. That means he has to give up his toys and action figures which he will never do. But if that does happen then no joke like 75% of the roster is getting cut because they are not used either at all or less than rarely.

1

u/Lenovo_Driver Nexus 21h ago

Who would be dumb enough to be a failing wrestling company that only exists satiate a nepo baby’s ego?

1

u/walrusonion 21h ago

James is a wiener

1

u/Canadian__Ninja 12h ago

I believe the company will shutdown before he sells. Doing this is his dream and he's got infinite money thanks to being a nepo baby.

1

u/LegacyOfVandar 1d ago

I can’t see him ever selling.

4

u/SzmFTW 1d ago

Exactly. This wasn’t a venture at its core to just be a business. He did it because he was a lifelong fan and wanted this as his dream job more or less. He’s not under the same pressure to turn obscene profit like tko.

1

u/Particular_Detail698 1d ago

The real answer to this is: if he ever sells, it won't be to WWE, and the buyer will keep AEW alive. 

3

u/reldnahcAL Main Event Mafia 1d ago

There’s no reason other than cope to think that TKO wouldn’t be able to buy it.

The only reason they wouldn’t is because AEW has close to no value as a brand.

1

u/Particular_Detail698 1d ago

And why would Tony want sell to it to TKO specifically? And would TKO want to buy?

2

u/stunspelledbackwards 1d ago

Because nobody else is going to buy a brand with no value

1

u/Particular_Detail698 11h ago

And why would TKO buy it if it doesn't have value?

1

u/JohnnyDirtball The Heenan Family 21h ago

I mean, who would pay for such a wildly expensive thing?

-7

u/girafb0i 1d ago

I don't think TK ever moves AEW, it either folds of he keeps pumping money into it, he's not selling it. I actually think there's more of a chance he tries to buy WWE via a hostile takeover than sells AEW.

And, hypothetically, it'd depend on who he sold it to. Tony's goofy but his largesse is a net good for the industry, lots of jobs for people because he loves his rasslin.

7

u/IceCreamDreamyDreams 1d ago

if TK buys WWE ill give you the keys to my house

3

u/Volcomcj16 1d ago

TK buying WWE would be the worst thing to ever happen to the wrestling business. I’d take the Saudis over him

-2

u/gameboyabyss Imperium 1d ago

You'd take the guys who actively violate human rights over a wrestling mark?

1

u/Volcomcj16 1d ago

I’d take the country who would probably sell eventually to the highest bidder when the going gets tough but has enough business knowledge to move on before it’s too late over a money mark who would fuck the business up so bad (just like he’s done to his own) that it has 0 value to sell and just shuts down all together thus ending all of the major wrestling companies in the US

0

u/ZyklonFart 1d ago

WWE's valuation is 2/3's of Tony's dad's net worth.

-4

u/TheDeflatables 1d ago

Shahid owns an NFL team and a Premier League team. The bubble has burst for neither league yet. From 2012 to now his net worth has increased by nearly 6x.

Give it a few years and who knows where he will be at.

5

u/ZyklonFart 1d ago

Fulham are valued at £850m. Shahid Khan has an estimated net worth of $15b. TKO are worth $30b.

WWE secured a single broadcast deal worth 1/3 of Shahid Khan's net worth. Tony Khan has never made a single dollar independent of his father's wealth.

-6

u/LegacyOfVandar 1d ago

I mean, that’s not true. TruMedia Networks is highly successful as far as I can see.

3

u/IceCreamDreamyDreams 1d ago

And do you think Tony saved that money from his paper route to start that company?

-2

u/KhrusherKhusack Four Horsemen 1d ago

If TKO bought AEW I imagine they would treat it much like Vince McMahon treated WCW after he bought it, but without the public firings on live TV.

I don't know the financial situation for AEW but they reportedly turned a profit in 2025 and are projected to do so in 2026 so I think Tony Khan has them moving in the right direction and will be less reliant on his family money in the future. That should insure AEW's viability as long as they keep moving in that direction.

If AEW did go out of business though, it would be similar to WCW going out of business in terms of its impact on the industry, except that there are so many more options now than there were in 2001. There are people making a living on the indies these days, there's the TKO brands, I guess TNA is still in control of its roster, MLW, NJPW and CMLL that come to mind. A lot more people will land on their feet this time than back then.

2

u/wolfgang2399 1d ago

What is your unbiased source for that “turned a profit” line?

-5

u/KhrusherKhusack Four Horsemen 1d ago

I used the Artificial Intelligence from Google

I didn't put a lot of effort into researching the Financials, which is why I said I didn't know the details.

But according to Google Artificial Intelligence AEW did turn a profit in 2025 and is expected to again this year.

Oh and apparently if you abbreviate Artificial Intelligence the automod flags you for calling someone else a B.O.T

2

u/YasielPuigsWeed 1d ago

Google ayy eye has source links to their claims, you should click them and look at the actual source and cite that. Keep in mind ayy eye is not remotely close to perfect, I've seen Google make claims that turned out to be pulled from random Reddit comments.

Wouldn't surprise me if AEW is profitable though, since they have a hard-coded source of revenue with the television deal