Tony Khan Claims He Took Full Control of AEW Creative in 2025 and Says It Changed Everything

During an interview on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez, Khan openly admitted that he made a personal resolution to stop relying on collaborative booking and start running AEWs weekly direction solo.

Khan said he had already been heavily involved, but realized things needed to change fast. He believes that shift kicked in right away.

But not everyone agrees. AEWs viewership has declined across the board. Ratings for Dynamite and Collision have slipped compared to the previous year, and despite AEW winning a handful of media awards, theres growing criticism that the company is chasing shock value instead of storytelling.

Exhibit A? Jon Moxley being stabbed the back with a spike on live TV a moment that left fans stunned. Then came the WrestleDream spot where Moxley appeared to drown Darby Allin in a fish tank, prompting widespread backlash and concern from former AEW staff and viewers alike.

Former WWE writer Vince Russo tore into the company on his podcast Ready with Russo, calling the segment reckless and branding Tony Khans approach as outright irresponsible.

Russo doubled down by warning that one wrong move could jeopardize AEWs biggest relationships, especially with Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max:

Khan, however, has remained steadfast in his public messaging even doubling down on AEW being a product meant for families.

But when the same product features visual drownings, real glass spots, and spike attacks in the spine, the disconnect becomes hard to ignore. Russo wrapped up his rant with a grim prediction about where this content escalation leads:

So while Tony Khan is out front celebrating AEWs direction in 2025 claiming focus and vision a growing number of fans and critics see something entirely different: a product bleeding viewers, losing identity, and putting its future at risk.

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