AEW head Tony Khan gave some updates on both Adam Cole and Michael Oku as well as All In pay-per-view buys.
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Regardless of what happens health-wise, Tony Khan wants to remain in the Adam Cole business.
The AEW & Ring of Honor head did a mini-media blitz with several Chicago-based media outlets ahead of his three-week residency at the city’s Aragon Ballroom, including the
Good Karma Wrestling podcast and
Case Lowe of Q101.
Here’s some of the key points from those talks:
Adam Cole update
Asked by GKW about Cole’s health situation, Khan said he disagreed with Cole saying in his All In promo that he let people down. Khan said if Cole could have been out there, he would have been. Khan said he made the call early Saturday morning after the Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor show wrapped and that is was “a hard conversation” but he was glad Cole was honest with him.
“Even though we are all sad we don’t get to see Adam Cole wrestle for a while, hopefully he will be able to return in some capacity. But definitely, he needs time off after talking to him,” Khan said.
AEW All In PPV buys update
In talking to Lowe, Khan said that for last Saturday’s All In pay-per-view, AEW experienced their “best week ever” on Amazon Prime in part due to the $10 Prime Video credit promotion they ran. At this point, he only has digital buys which he said were “through the roof” and expects both cable & satellite numbers to follow suit.
Of note, the AEW/Amazon relationship with PPV buys
began with March’s Revolution followed by Triller no longer becoming a live PPV purchasing option for U.S. fans starting with May’s Double or Nothing.
On signing CMLL talent
Lowe asked Khan about the CMLL relationship and whether he feels he might need to sign CMLL wrestlers to more exclusive deals like WWE is doing with AAA.
Khan made it a point to say that he “would never go behind CMLL’s back and take a wrestler from them” and that if he did something, it would be in coordination with CMLL and more “collaborative.” He used his arrangement with Konosuke Takeshita as an example where AEW is his primary obligation but where he is able to compete in Japan with both NJPW and DDT.
The next AEW PPV in Chicago
On AEW returning to Chicago with a pay-per-view, Khan told Lowe that “it may be sooner than you think.” AEW has yet to announce locations for WrestleDream, Full Gear or Worlds End as of now.
Michael Oku’s future
The UK standout appeared on last weekend’s Supercard of Honor show against Hechicero with his match taped last week against Jay Lethal set to air soon. That came after he made his ROH promotional debut this past April in a loss to Nick Wayne.
Asked by GKW about Oku’s future with ROH or AEW, Khan said “We will have Michael Oku back very soon” before plugging next month’s Forbidden Door from London, England. AEW will be in Glasgow, Scotland, for the go-home editions of both Dynamite and Collision so Khan’s comment could be a nod toward him being part of the action that week.
Being more of a “play caller”
Khan talked with Lowe about the company’s creative resurgence in 2025, something he has attributed to him being more involved and taking less of a “committee of play callers” approach as he said he had done in 2020 and 2021.
Khan attributed the success to everyone working well together and him being “more hands-on as a play caller.” He said things have been very positive with “the greatest group of wrestlers in the world and the best fans.”
