Tony Khan Has A Dig At WWE Over Post-Merger Mass Layoffs

Tony Khan's thoughts on WWE once again bubbled to the surface this week as the AEW CEO took a shot at his rival over the company's mass layoffs following the merger with UFC.

After being asked if AEW programming could head to FOX in the coming years during the pre-WrestleDream media call, Khan said: "There's not a lot of loyalty at times and there should be and this is a family business. We're not a public company. Even if I get punched in the face with circumstances, it doesn't mean I'm gonna take it out on the staff by cutting 100 staff or laying off 30 wrestlers, and I really care about the people here. I would do anything I can to protect the jobs and the livelihood of the people that work here, and that's a family business, and that's the difference between a family business and a public company in a lot of ways. And not every family business has those principles, but we do, and that's just how I was raised."

Instead of a possible jump to FOX, Khan is hoping AEW remains on Warner Bros. Discovery networks beyond their current TV deal which expires at the end of 2024. 

"We'll be up at the end of 2024 and I'd love to stay at WBD forever. I think it's great for the fans to have wrestling on TBS and TNT. I do think there will be a lot of potential bidders. I also don't think it's right for me to speculate right now because I'm at WBD. I love it here. We're gonna be here for a while and hopefully for a really long time and they've given us these great opportunities," Khan added.

WWE fired over 100 office employees and released over 20 wrestlers following the completion of the merger with UFC into TKO Group Holdings on September 12. The major cuts to the talent roster came in the hours after TKO's stock price began to plummet following the announcement that SmackDown would be moving back to the USA Network in October 2024 as part of a $1.4 billion deal over five years. The expectation had been that WWE would secure a deal worth $307.5 million per year, higher than the $280 million per year deal WWE agreed with NBCUniversal. 

H/T to Inside The Ropes