Rumors recently surfaced that WBD owned a stake in AEW, following the announcement of a new media rights deal between the two parties. The rumors were soon shot down by later reports but when asked about it on the pre-WrestleDream media call, Tony Khan's answer left a little wiggle room for the possibility.
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"I will not get into our ownership structure but I will say that I have 100% of the voting stock in this company and have since the beginning, and hold the vast majority of shares...As the sole voting owner and the vast majority shareholder of the company, I think that speaks volumes and I'm the controlling owner with 100% voting control of the business," Khan said, which means that whether WBD owns any part of the minority of shares that Tony Khan doesn't own, they, or whoever owns the unspoken for shares, would have no say in the operation of the company. The confirmation of Khan's voting shares is not a flat denial of WBD's possible stake in the company.
WBD and AEW will continue to do business for the foreseeable future, ownership stake or not, as WBD agreed to a new media rights deal which is estimated to be for over $170 million. AEW is also free of the exclusivity that came with the initial WBD deal, meaning the yet-to-be-revealed fate of "Rampage" or AEW's Friday night programming in general, could fall in the hands of another network, such as the rumored possibility of Fox gaining an AEW program.
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