‘Confirmation’ of Tony Khan’s new deal with WBD spotted by fans with huge update

There has been a lot of talk in recent months about the new TV deals for professional wrestling shows. As we know, Raw is moving to Netflix starting in January 2025, SmackDown will air on USA Network starting in October, and NXT will also be on The CW starting in October. AEW is also struggling with the renewal of its TV rights with Warner Bros. Discovery. In recent months, Tony Khan has been in direct negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery to renew the streaming rights to Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision.

Despite receiving a significant offer from Warner, AEW decided not to accept it in search of a better deal. It was recently reported that despite Tony Khan showing a very positive attitude on multiple occasions, the negotiations were not going as well as he claims. The chances of failure increased when All Elite Wrestling started trending online for all the wrong reasons in June. When the ratings for an episode of AEW Dynamite were released, specialized media such as Programming Insider and WrestleNomics reported that the show averaged 502,000 viewers.

This was the lowest rating in AEW history for its usual Wednesday night slot. The news sent alarm bells ringing among the fan community. They certainly weren’t expecting such low ratings. Especially considering the show wasn’t competing with the NBA or NHL. Many expected this drop in ratings to surely kill the deal, but it looks like Khan has done the impossible! If you check out the international version of WBD’s MAX app, you can already find All Elite Wrestling content.

AEW Finally Reaches MAX

The sign that the deal has finally come to fruition. A Twitter user by the name of @DrainBamager shared a screenshot of the international version of the app on his social media. The photo undoubtedly shows that AEW is now indeed part of MAX’s streaming services. It is not yet available on the US version of the app, however. But it won’t be long before it finally makes its long-awaited debut on the platform.

During his recent interview with SportsGrid, Tony Khan was once again asked about the state of negotiations with WBD. Khan, in his usual style, revealed that he was very positive and reiterated that the relationship with Warner was very beneficial. “We’re having great conversations at Warner Brothers Discovery; absolutely that it’s a great home for professional wrestling. We’re very excited about AEW being on TBS every Wednesday and TNT every weekend. I think it’s great and we’re having great conversations with Warner Brothers Discovery. Mr. (David) Zaslav (WBD CEO and President) himself is really great (and) very involved. We’re trying to figure this out. It’s a very complicated thing.” It seems he was telling the truth after all. But what about his declining ratings? Will Warner Bros. Disney be okay with the decline?

AEW is working hard to recover from the decline in viewership

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio show, Dave Meltzer spoke about the current state of negotiations between AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery. Meltzer noted that AEW will try to improve the quality of Dynamite in the coming weeks with the intention of proving to Warner that they deserve a better offer. The cards for the upcoming shows are expected to be much more exciting and feature high-caliber fights and segments to capture the audience’s attention.

“The reason these shows are so loaded is because the negotiations are not yet finalized and they’re really looking to… To get the best foot forward. Until the contract is signed, if it’s signed, which I assume it will be, but these ratings are important in terms of final pay numbers and time slots and all the other things that go into the negotiations and all the aspects of it. If the product looks good in the ratings, it’s going to help them; that’s why next week’s show is so loaded; that’s why this week’s show is the way it was.”

This is purely visible to everyone as we get matches like MJF vs. Rush and MJF vs. Will Ospreay on weekly programming instead of PPV or PLEs. Tony Khan recently emphasized that AEW’s upcoming TV deal will ensure a sustainable future for the company and that it will be extremely important. So maybe this deal will truly usher in a new era for the Jacksonville-based promotion. What do you think about AEW going to MAX? Let us know in the comments.