Tony Khan Reveals Why He Carried Out Recent AEW Releases

Reason why Tony Khan carried out AEW releases explained

Jack Atkins side view with black and white filter

Mar 7, 2025

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All Elite Wrestling recently carried out several contract releases, a change in policy from the company having previously primarily allowed talents to leave only upon the expiration of their deals.

The likes of Ricky Starks, Miro, and now Rey Fenix have all had their releases granted, with Fenix and Miro seemingly set for WWE, while Starks has already landed in NXT. The releases marked a change in policy for AEW, and during the pre-Revolution media call, AEW CEO Tony Khan revealed why he chose to release certain talents mid-contract:

"I do think it's a case-by-case basis. I think everything is a case-by-case basis, and so much of life is a case-by-case basis. Philosophically, there is a change in what I've been doing. It felt like the right thing for the company and everyone involved at this point. That's the thinking behind that. It's on a case-by-case basis and they are all different situations. In this case, they did have similar outcomes. It's fair to ask why now and why I wouldn't have done that before. I just decided that's what I thought was the right thing to do at this point," said Khan.

AEW’s previous method of seemingly only allowing talents to walk upon the expiration of their deal was met with mixed reactions, with some praising AEW for giving talent a guaranteed wage without the threat of a sudden loss of income, whilst others suggested that talent affected would not have the opportunity to negotiate new deals elsewhere whilst not being used by AEW, while seeing precious time shaved off what is a relatively short career window by sitting around doing nothing.

H/T: Fightful

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