Summary

AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery have pushed back on claims that the wrestling promotion was privately warned in advance about a possible sale of WBD.

The disputed claim came from a report by John McCullen, who cited agent Nick LoPiccolo while stating that AEW had been given a heads-up about a potential WBD sale so the company could prepare a contingency plan in case new ownership changed course on programming decisions.

According to the follow-up report, both AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery denied that version of events.

What AEW and WBD denied

The denial centered on the idea that Tony Khan and AEW were informed during the summer of 2025 that WBD was expected to be sold and that other parties would eventually be making programming decisions.

The report also said claims that WBD CEO David Zaslav personally told Khan a sale was coming were strongly denied, with the explanation that showrunners, including Khan, were not given that kind of advance notice.

What this means for AEW's WBD deal

AEW's current business relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery remains the key point here, because the promotion still has a media rights agreement in place through the end of 2027 with an option for 2028. Based on this denial, there is no new confirmed sign that AEW was operating with inside knowledge about a sale or bracing for an immediate change in how its television future would be handled.

That does not answer every long-term question around WBD's corporate future, but it does shut down this specific claim about AEW being tipped off ahead of time.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.