AEW President Tony Khan recently appeared on WFAN, where he was asked how long it would take AEW to dethrone WWE or reach WWE’s level.
“It’s just being competitive, right? I mean, like the Big Ten in the SEC, like it’s you’re going to compete and they’re going to slug it out, and that’s where you want to be. I mean, I think there’s room for both to exist. I think there’s room for both to compete, and then there’s the ACC and the Pack 12 and all kinds of great leagues too, just to compare.”
When asked if he was obsessed with beating WWE, Khan said the following:
“Yeah. I want to be ahead, but it’s a constant fight—it’s 52 weeks a year. You’d appreciate that in this industry; it’s a 52-week-a-year business. Wrestling is the only sport with no off-season, and I’m in the other sports, working in the Premier League in the NFL and growing up as a huge fan of college football, basketball, and NBA, and I love sports… Fighting is an obsession. I think it is really a driving obsession competition, especially in wrestling and in sports.”
Tony Khan was asked if the obsession with competition could hurt his company.
“I think I like it. It’s a good question, but I think that it’s like, similar to sports, you have to focus on trying to do your best, and that’s how you win in sports too: going out and doing your best whatever you’re trying to do.”