Summary

Tony Khan says he wanted a seat at the table when WWE was being sold in 2023, and he still views a reported $6.9 billion bid as a sensible number.

Speaking on Coach & Bro, the AEW president said he was interested in being involved if WWE changed hands. He said he would have regretted sitting out the process if the company had sold for less.

The comments add another layer to Khan's recent reflections on AEW's place in the industry, including his explanation that AEW's growth changed how he talks about WWE.

Quote from Tony Khan

"I was very interested in the process and if there was going to be a sale, I at least wanted to have a chance to be involved. If it had gone for any less than that, I would have really kicked myself."

Khan later went on to say:

"While respecting the confidentiality of that, I would say that I don’t have any complaints about that process from my side that I would want to talk about right now. I do think there was some stuff to that and while respecting the confidentiality of the whole thing, I would also say that, at the time, just reiterating, if it had gone for any less, I would have beat myself up. Why wouldn’t you put in a bid? I thought that was a very reasonable number."

What Tony Khan's WWE comments mean for AEW

Tony Khan tying AEW to a serious run at WWE underscores how aggressively he viewed that moment in the wrestling business. Even though the sale ultimately went elsewhere, his comments show that AEW's owner was willing to think on the biggest possible scale when the industry shifted.

The timing matters too. WWE was ultimately sold for more, and the transaction led to the TKO era. That leaves Khan's comments as a reminder that AEW was not just reacting to the market in 2023, it was at least exploring whether it could reshape the market itself.

WWE sale context

A previous report stated that Base 10 submitted a $6.9 billion bid during the sale process. WWE was ultimately acquired in a deal valued at $8.5 billion, which set up the merger with UFC and the creation of TKO.

Shareholders later filed suit alleging that Vince McMahon steered the deal toward Endeavor so he could preserve his role in the company rather than maximize shareholder value.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.