Tony Khan Explains Why AEW Rampage Is on Hiatus for 2025

Tony Khan recently addressed the future of AEW Rampage during the AEW World's End media call, providing insight into its absence from AEW's plans for 2025. Speaking with WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard, Khan elaborated on the company’s new media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, which has reshaped AEW's programming priorities.

“I think it’s a great situation for AEW. We’re getting a new media rights agreement that is huge for us for many reasons,” Khan explained. “It is a massive opportunity for AEW to be able to simulcast our shows and reach new viewers through the streaming service, Max. By streaming on Max simulcast, along with every Wednesday on TBS and every Saturday on TNT, to complement that with also simulcasting, it’s a huge opportunity for us. The deal was very favorable for AEW. We were able to get rights fees that are many times larger than what we had in our first five years. It completely changes the financial picture of AEW, and it is a big target that we have aspired to for many years.”

Khan emphasized that this deal aligns with AEW’s strategic vision and solidifies its financial footing. He added that the introduction of AEW Collision in 2023 was a pivotal step toward meeting these goals. “This opportunity, this deal, is why I felt like it was very important for us to launch AEW Collision, to have a two-hour primetime home on TNT. We’re coming off one of the best results in the history of AEW Collision and our biggest viewership in a year and a half. We’re really, really proud of that result.”

With the focus shifting to AEW Dynamite and Collision, Khan acknowledged Rampage’s contributions while explaining the rationale behind reallocating resources. “Rampage has been a great, great show for us, and for the foreseeable future, we’re gonna focus our resources on Dynamite and Collision because Dynamite and Collision, the rights fees around those shows have skyrocketed,” Khan noted. “That is the way we built it up, and that was why this deal made so much sense for us and why it’s such a great opportunity to focus on Wednesdays and Saturdays.”

Khan concluded by underscoring the significance of this restructured calendar. He expressed optimism that this strategic pivot would enable AEW to grow further and continue its trajectory toward profitability.

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