Tony Khan is ending the year on an optimistic note, expressing confidence that 2025 has been a turning point for AEW as it works to narrow the distance between itself and WWE. During an appearance on the Battleground podcast promoting the December 3 edition of Dynamite in Indiana, Khan reflected on AEW’s progress this year and the momentum he believes the company is building.

Khan praised the roster and the consistency of AEW’s output, describing 2025 as one of the strongest years in the company’s six-year history. In his view, AEW’s position as a challenger brand has not stopped it from making meaningful strides.

“I think AEW is where the best wrestle. I think that we have the best roster of wrestlers in the world today. And we’re putting on consistently awesome shows,” Khan said. “This has been an awesome year for AEW. We’re the challenger brand in pro wrestling, and I think we’ve really closed the gap in a very meaningful way in 2025 in a number of key metrics.”

Khan also spoke with gratitude toward the fans who have supported AEW since its launch. Looking ahead five years, he said the goal is simple: keep producing strong television and pay-per-view events and continue expanding AEW’s global footprint.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I can tell you my passion for this isn’t going anywhere. It’s been something I’ve been loving and dreaming to do for over 30 years. And now we’ve been doing it for six years in the real world and I don’t ever want to stop with AEW,” Khan said.

He went on to highlight the current partnerships and international growth, noting that AEW programming is now available in more than 150 countries.

“I can’t imagine a better year. And if we can keep doing the things we’re doing right now having great pay-per-view shows, putting on great Dynamites on TBS, great Collisions on TNT, and keep this partnership with HBO Max going. Maybe hopefully go to some new countries, visit some new territories, expand. AEW’s on now in over 150 countries. And we’ve built this AEW wrestling league into something where they watch it all over the world and I’m really proud of that. I think we continue visiting some of those places, breaking open new territories.

And here in America, I just want to keep doing what we’re doing, because it’s amazing. To have a wrestling promotion that is a challenger company doing the things that we’re doing, some of them are unprecedented and some of them are things that have not been done in over 25 years.”

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