by The following is the full transcript of the AEW Revolution 2026 media call with Tony Khan, held on Thursday, March 12, 2026. Revolution takes place Sunday, March 16 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Jon Alba: myAEW and Pay-Per-View Distribution
Jon Alba: AEW has made very clear that pay-per-view revenue has been a big part of your model over the past six-plus years. With the announcement of myAEW and the international expansion there, is there any possibility that the platform could become a domestic distributor for pay-per-view, especially as some of the uncertainty with the status of the Paramount merger with Warner Brothers Discovery looms in the future?
Tony Khan: I can take those separately because I don’t necessarily agree with the last part, but I am very excited about myAEW, which is right now an international platform. The lifeblood of AEW is our relationship with Warner Brothers Discovery. Absolutely, pay-per-view is a huge part of our business plan, TV and pay-per-view. Through doing TV 52 weeks a year, and we’ve been on a tremendous run of TV and pay-per-views, the bulk of the revenue that allows us to run AEW, build the best wrestling roster in the world, and put on great events like Revolution this Sunday is the TV and pay-per-view contract with Warner Brothers Discovery. It is a fantastic relationship and I am very excited about what’s happening there and have great relationships all around with everybody involved. I am very excited about the future landscape of media and the future of Warner Brothers. I also have a great relationship with Paramount through the National Football League. Both sides have said and feel that there is a fantastic relationship between Paramount and the NFL and have been for many years. I think the world of David Ellison, and I feel I have a very good relationship with him as well. I admire him very much and I am very excited about what is to be the future of Warner Brothers.
With myAEW, we are looking at international. We have AEW in 150 countries, and so far we’ve had a great response to myAEW abroad. This has nothing to do with the incredible relationship with AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery, TBS, TNT, HBO Max, and a growing future landscape for Warner Brothers. myAEW is really about international, trying to reach as many fans overseas as possible. We have fans all over the world outside of the US where the bulk of the revenue is captured, but we are also looking at fans in over 150 other countries where AEW runs. myAEW services lots of those places with a fantastic product that is getting a great response for the launch this week. The team have done a really great job on it. We have great digital minds and the people that have worked on this are doing a great job. So far the fans who love AEW have responded really positively to it. It encompasses lots of different aspects of AEW in terms of the library, live TV, and pay-per-views overseas.
Right now that is an overseas play, and it is only intended to complement overseas what we’re doing domestically with AEW every Wednesday night on TBS and HBO Max, every Saturday night on TNT and HBO Max, and this Sunday with the pay-per-view. We work with a number of pay-per-view distributors domestically and internationally. We absolutely have great reasons for why we feel strongly about how great HBO Max is as a pay-per-view platform, using Dynamite on TBS and Collision on TNT, as well as the simulcast on HBO Max of those shows live on Wednesdays and Saturdays to drive a lot of pay-per-view viewership to HBO Max. That is the domestic strategy. We certainly have great relationships with other distributors domestically and overseas, and myAEW is intended to be something to supplement all the great ways that you can already watch an AEW pay-per-view internationally. In the pay-per-view business, that is a great point. We do work with a lot of domestic pay-per-view providers including Amazon, conventional cable and satellite providers, and ppv.com. That does make sense potentially to look at at some point on the pay-per-view side, but there is great value with HBO Max. In addition to being able to get the shows and getting a great price point on the pay-per-views, it is also the best content overall, so it is a great deal. As far as what you asked about myAEW, we’ve had great feedback on the launch and we are really excited about it.
Kevin Kellam: MJF vs Hangman Page Texas Death Match
Kevin Kellam: Your main event is a ferocious world title match. MJF, a despised villain, and Adam Hangman Page, a beloved hero. It has all the core elements of professional wrestling, but what is it about this match that feels different than any time we’ve seen it before? A lot of people think there is some type of curveball or surprise coming. How do you balance giving what is sold, the big match that people expect, with a surprise element, which is something general wrestling fans expect on these major pay-per-view cards? How is this main event going to deliver and maybe give fans something they’re not seeing coming?
Tony Khan: I think this is going to be a fantastic match and it is very different than past encounters. They’ve had great wrestling matches. Last year in the same arena they began the pay-per-view with a fantastic wrestling match and have had a number of great matches over the years, building a fantastic rivalry. Going back to the first year of AEW, we planted the seeds for it on the very first AEW event, Double or Nothing in 2019. They wrestled on AEW Dynamite going back to the first year and the rivalry really reached new heights last year. Now it is hitting a new high with the Texas Death Match, bringing a level of violence that is unparalleled in any of the other fantastic wrestling matches that have happened over the years between MJF and Hangman Page. The World Championship is at stake and these are two of AEW’s greatest World Champions. From the very first segment where the AEW World Championship belt was unveiled at the original Double or Nothing when the belt came out of the bag, those were the two guys standing there with one of the all-time greatest professional wrestlers, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, who revealed the championship belt. It set the tone for what has been a fantastic run of almost seven years of AEW events. This is now the seventh AEW Revolution and I can’t wait.
It is going to be an incredible event. Looking through it, we’ve had so many great events over the years and it is an amazing thing. Hangman Page and MJF are people that go back to the very beginning of AEW. They have had incredible rivalries. At the very first Revolution they were both a huge part of the event and they both after that became World Champions in this company. As we approach nearly seven years of AEW shows, looking back these are two of our greatest stars and it is very fitting that in the most brutal main event match of them all, the Texas Death Match, that these two would meet. They have a great history with each other. They have a great history with the World Championship belt, both as champions, as rivals against each other, and wrestling some of the top names in the sport. Hangman Page has a very twisted history with this Texas Death Match and has been involved in some of the greatest Texas Death Matches I’ve ever seen. I’m very excited about MJF versus Hangman Page this Sunday at AEW Revolution.
Samantha Shipman: Brody King and Mainstream Media
Samantha Shipman: Looking forward to this Sunday, one of the matches coming up is Swerve Strickland versus Brody King. Brody King has recently broken into mainstream media and outside of the wrestling bubble. How do you view that in terms of AEW’s reach getting outside of the wrestling bubble, and also how fans want to express themselves at shows?
Tony Khan: Brody King is one of our top stars. I’m very excited for the Brody King versus Swerve Strickland match at AEW Revolution this Sunday. Brody King has built a great reputation in the world of professional wrestling as a top star. He has won championships here in AEW, been a multiple-time World Champion here, competed in other promotions, and been associated with other media. I saw Brody King appear on Tim Robinson’s show many years ago, before Brody ever worked in AEW. He is a fantastic wrestler and has strong personal views. The views that Brody expresses come from him, from the heart. One of the things about AEW is you will hear people express their really authentic selves, and it comes across in the wrestling. It is where the best wrestle, and Brody absolutely has gotten a lot of attention. He is also a great wrestler. We have always put the focus on the sport because it is a wrestling league. The individual views of the wrestlers are good for people to be able to express, but it is also great that Brody has great support from the fans all over the world everywhere we’ve traveled. Whether it is the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Australia, so many places we’ve taken AEW, there is great support for Brody everywhere we’ve been, and I am sure there will continue to be because he is a fantastic wrestler.
Cam Hawkins: The “Last Chance” Stipulation
Cam Hawkins: I was curious about your thoughts creatively on the main event. We’ve seen situations where a wrestler will challenge for the title and it be a ‘last time to challenge’ match, or they can’t compete for the title anymore, to varying levels of success. What is it about a stipulation like that creatively that excites you and interests you in having that be a centerpiece of your main event?
Tony Khan: It is something that has come up in AEW before big matches, where potentially somebody would put that at risk. There have been cases where somebody wouldn’t challenge a certain person for the championship again while they held the championship. That makes sense to me, especially if somebody is getting a rematch or if there is a reason for somebody to want to put that at stake, and it makes sense for the champion and the challenger. It is a very unique case with what is happening here with MJF and Hangman Page. In both cases you have wrestlers that feel really strongly and want to put it up, whether it was Cody Rhodes in AEW many years ago or Hangman Page, which are two prime examples of somebody wanting to put that at stake. In Hangman Page’s case, he has the chance to write history this Sunday. Obviously we saw somebody put this at stake before in AEW and it didn’t go their way. That person has taken a different turn and flourished in their wrestling career, and in this case, it will be interesting to see how this turns out.
For Hangman Page versus MJF, I think these are two of AEW’s greatest stars and they’ve built a great rivalry, had great matches over the years, and they’re going to take the rivalry to a new level of brutality this Sunday with the Texas Death Match. I believe Hangman Page is somebody who is very personally motivated. He has a huge grudge and is heavily motivated to regain his championship, and also to right the wrongs MJF has done to him. To be wronged multiple times by the same person and to see that person flourish, I understand the emotional state Hangman is in. Often when Hangman is in that state, it can mean a very violent night for everyone involved. I think it is going to be a great Texas Death Match.
The rivalry has gotten a lot of attention, and the stipulation of a Texas Death Match brings a promise of brutality, violence, and excitement. Hangman Page asking for this stipulation, a self-imposed promise that he would not want to challenge for the championship again if he is not victorious, puts added pressure on the shoulders of Hangman. Every time we’ve seen Hangman in these Texas Death Matches, it’s always been very exciting. Hangman and MJF last year had a fantastic wrestling match at AEW Revolution. They’ve had a lot of great wrestling matches, and I am really excited to see them now in a Texas Death Match at AEW Revolution with so much at stake and such a personal rivalry.
Brian Zilem: Balancing a Stacked Card
Brian Zilem: AEW pay-per-views often feature very stacked cards. When putting together a show like Revolution, how do you balance giving major matches the time they need while still maintaining the overall pacing of the event?
Tony Khan: I think this is going to be an excellent show. I am very excited to have such a great crowd in one of the best arenas in sports, in a great city for pro wrestling, and one of AEW’s very top markets with Los Angeles and the Crypto.com Arena this Sunday. The fans in person and everybody on pay-per-view are going to be treated to see great wrestling matches starting on the Zero Hour and all through the pay-per-view. We put on fantastic shows every week with AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision. You see these rivalries build, and this is where so many of these rivalries will culminate. Twists will happen, turns will happen, things will happen that will necessitate more matches and exciting new matchups. We will continue rivalries, we will start new rivalries. I love pay-per-views, and I think in AEW, when we have so many great rivalries on television and so many fantastic wrestlers, it has helped us build a reputation on pay-per-view that has been earned by the wrestlers and the fans in the arenas supporting the shows. AEW puts on great pay-per-views with great fans that love the matches. Our fans watch the shows, they come and they are very smart wrestling fans.
I think they are excited to see so many of the top rivalries that have been developing on Dynamite and Collision in what has been a tremendous run since our last pay-per-view. We are coming off a very successful award season with a number of awards, including AEW receiving the selection of the Sports Illustrated pro wrestling promotion of the year. Winning numerous awards from great publications that had votes and have given awards for the best wrestlers, the best events, and the best promotions. Anytime you get recognition like that from the fans, the writers, and the media, I really appreciate that because pro wrestling is very unique. It is the only sport where the fans watch year-round and the media works year-round. To get the recognition from the panels of journalists and the fan votes means a lot. We have great momentum in 2026 and there has been fantastic television happening on Dynamite and Collision every week. Now so many of these rivalries are going to build and erupt this Sunday. Our fans get really excited for that. That is always the goal with the AEW pay-per-views, and I think this one in particular has so many fantastic matches and a lot to look forward to.
Amy Nemmity: Willow Nightingale’s Historic Double Duty
Amy Nemmity (WrestleJoy): I would really love to talk with you about the TBS and Women’s Tag Team Champion Willow Nightingale heading into Revolution. Not only has she made history with Harley Cameron as the inaugural Women’s World Tag Team Champions, but she will be making history again this weekend as the first woman to pull double duty championship defenses on both Zero Hour and pay-per-view, which we haven’t seen since MJF at All In. Can you talk a bit about that historic rise of Willow Nightingale heading into Revolution and especially as that impacts the women’s division as a whole?
Tony Khan: That is a great point. Willow Nightingale is one of the best wrestlers in AEW. She has been with us for years and has risen to be a top champion in singles and tag teams. She is the face of TBS as the TBS Champion, and a World Tag Team Champion teaming with Harley Cameron as the Babes of Wrath. Willow certainly has an exciting night ahead of her. She will have a really tough test and it should be an exciting match, Willow versus Lena Kross. Lena Kross has attacked Willow and left Willow laying three times now. Willow certainly holds a grudge. We’ve also seen a very exciting tag team forming of Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. It looked like we were about to get some great action from a new trio of Megan Bayne, Penelope Ford, and Lena Kross, and I still expect that we will, but that has been put on hold. It was against their opponents Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford were taking on Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron, and Penelope Ford got put out injured. Now we’ve seen Lena Kross step in. First of all, step in that night into the match and cause a disqualification, but also step in and form a very effective tag team with Megan Bayne. They picked up the win versus Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa last week on Collision. The Timeless Lovebombs, one of the top teams in AEW, two of the top stars and another great team that would be in contention for championships anytime.
With a great win like that, it makes sense for Megan Bayne and Lena Kross coming in challenging for the Tag Team Championship. Lena Kross is also somebody Willow has a personal grudge against and put out the challenge, and wants the one-on-one match. It is a defense for Willow, and Willow having been put down three times and also somebody that has shown she will defend the TBS Championship any place, any time against top competition, whether it was Persephone, one of the most impressive people we’ve seen come up to AEW, somebody who is a great signing for both AEW and CMLL and has a very bright future. That was a fantastic match last night, and I hope to see them compete again with Willow Nightingale and Persephone. Willow Nightingale is somebody who would love to step up to the challenge and she is very eager to defend both championships. It is a unique situation, but you have a fan favorite who loves wrestling in front of the fans and holds two championships, and in this case isn’t going to hide behind that to withhold a defense of either championship. I would completely respect it if Willow said she only wanted to defend the one championship that night. I think that would be a very normal perspective for a wrestler to have, but in this case she was adamant. That speaks to what a fighting champion Willow Nightingale is and the Babes of Wrath are as a team. I am really excited about AEW Revolution and it should be a great night. Willow Nightingale will be making history, competing twice at the event as a TBS Champion and as a World Tag Team Champion.
Andrew Baydalla: Repeat Business at the Crypto.com Arena
Andrew Baydalla: Last year’s AEW Revolution at the Crypto.com Arena saw a match with MJF and Hangman Page, and now fast forward a year we have a main event with Hangman Page and MJF for the World Championship. Repeat business is tough not only in professional wrestling but ticket sales and everything else, and you guys have done very well for this event. Was this something you envisioned a year ago, or is this just happenstance?
Tony Khan: I absolutely believe we could be seeing Hangman Page and MJF fighting at the top and that it was potentially the type of match that could headline any of the top AEW pay-per-views, including AEW Revolution, one of the biggest events in pro wrestling every year. It is absolutely very fitting that MJF versus Hangman Page is the Texas Death Match for the World Championship, and to see the turn and the exciting stakes put on this match for Revolution this Sunday. Hangman Page versus MJF is a rivalry I felt could be showcased at the top of AEW for many years, which is why I wanted them to be involved in the segment with the World Championship being revealed for the very first time at AEW Double or Nothing, the very first AEW show. From the very first event, they were both in the position of being in the spotlight as future World Championship challengers and potentially future AEW World Champions, and both of them have lived up to all the expectations and become top stars in AEW. Now to see them fight in this incredible type of match that has always delivered fantastic results when it comes to excitement and brutality, I can’t wait for MJF versus Hangman Page at AEW Revolution this Sunday. I believe that a match of this magnitude has been in the cards for a very long time.
Bill Pritchard: Ring of Honor Television
Bill Pritchard: Last week at the Ring of Honor tapings down in Jacksonville, you made the comment that this is going to be potentially the new home of Ring of Honor. A lot of Ring of Honor fans want to know, is this foreshadowing of maybe an announcement that Ring of Honor has found a TV home outside of Honor Club, and will we be seeing this on TV in the near future?
Tony Khan: I am glad that you believe it is a low price and like watching it there. I agree with those sentiments and I think we are building a great audience. We have very good revenue that comes in through putting ROH on Honor Club. I have been looking out for media deals that make sense. There are going to be a lot of fantastic opportunities with all the thrilling changes happening in the worldwide media landscape, particularly the one that I’ve discussed at length today that I am very excited about, which is the thrilling future for Warner Brothers. As somebody who is tied to Warner Brothers for a long time to come and is very happy to be working with Warner Brothers for a long time to come, I am really thrilled about this. I think there are going to be more and more exciting opportunities. I have been waiting for the right opportunity and trying to build up ROH while we build AEW, and I think this is working well.
I really believe it. I think AEW television, Dynamite and Collision, are in a fantastic period, and the ROH shows continue to improve and the wrestlers are getting better. We are using more and more of them in AEW, which is the idea. We are also having a fantastic run of ROH events and building consistently strong shows. It is a fun thing we’re doing. Everybody at the last taping backstage seemed to really enjoy it, and there was a lot of agreement that this was a lot of fun, and people were looking forward to coming back next weekend for the next ROH taping. Tonight will be the second of the three episodes we taped last week. It should be a fantastic show again tonight, there are some big matches on tap, and next week some more big matches on tap involving some of the top champions in ROH. I would expect that to be the case again next weekend when we have another stacked lineup of ROH wrestlers coming to Jacksonville for the next set of tapings. I think we have got great revenue coming in on watchroh.com right now for the Ring of Honor television, but as I mentioned, I am really excited about the future of AEW TV. I also believe we hold great cards for the future with the ROH TV continuing to develop and build, and the AEW properties thriving at the same time. It is all working together very well. I am excited about ROH taking this next step in the evolution of the ROH TV show and we are all having a lot of fun doing it.
Dave Meltzer: Big Boom AJ and Celebrity Involvement
Dave Meltzer: Big Boom AJ is going to be wrestling on the card this weekend. I know the match isn’t final yet, but he said he’s wrestling this weekend. You’ve been kind about his involvement in the past few events when he wrestles. Does his tenure in AEW inform your selection process when you’re looking at future celebrity involvement, if he sets the tone for wanting to have a repeat person come in rather than a one-time appearance?
Tony Khan: It is an interesting question. People forget that Big Boom AJ is a trained wrestler. That is what he did as a young man; he was a wrestler and he went to school at Ohio Valley Wrestling and trained with people that work in AEW. He then got away from wrestling and built a family and became a social media influencer and returned to wrestling. It is an interesting thing, and I absolutely do think there can be good celebrity involvement in wrestling. There is a perception of Big Boom AJ that he is somebody who came from the world of social media influencing and didn’t have the wrestling experience. AJ is an experienced wrestler and has great instincts, and I think that has helped him in building his following and helping build a family business.
The attention he brings and the influence that he helps AEW attain is something everybody is very cognizant of here. Big Boom AJ is a very well-known person, and when he brings Big Justice and The Rizzler, they are really well-known personalities and very nice people. Everybody really enjoys them. They have a very good response whenever they’re at the shows. There are a lot of families and people in AEW, and people bring their kids to the shows, and it is not unusual to see a lot of kids running around backstage at AEW. In the case of Big Justice and The Rizzler when they come to the shows, everyone enjoys them being there and they are very well received. Big Boom AJ is somebody that has a wrestling background, so I look at it differently. Everybody has their own unique experiences. In his case, he is a trained wrestler who has been through wrestling school and wrestled against people that work here and know him. I think it is an interesting example, but every case is different and that is why it is good to look at different people on a case-by-case basis.
Sully Khan: Megan Bayne’s Journey
Sully Khan: I wanted to get your thoughts on Megan Bayne. She’s had a lot of instability in her tag team through the tournament, originally with Penelope Ford, then having Marina Shafir come in, and now with Lena Kross. How would you say she’s taken all of this instability, and how is she dealing with it?
Tony Khan: Megan Bayne is a fantastic wrestler. I first worked with Megan Bayne years ago and she had an injury that put her out. She is somebody I always thought had tons of potential and had stayed on AEW’s radar through her injury and then her return. I think Megan Bayne is at her very best right now. She is fantastic in singles, tag teams, trios, blood and guts, any kind of wrestling match you put Megan Bayne in, she is going to excel. I think she is one of the very best wrestlers in the world right now, and I love having Megan Bayne in AEW. She has had great success in all competition. There have been some unfortunate injuries with her teammates, and Megan at points in her career has had injuries too, and that is part of sports and life in sports. Being able to work through that and excel even as your teammates are getting injured, and at times you’ve been injured, is a sign of a very tough athlete. Megan Bayne has great physical toughness but clearly also great mental toughness because she has overcome injuries in her wrestling career, but we’ve also seen Megan Bayne overcome injuries to her partners and adapt. She has been a great competitor and it has helped her enjoy success throughout her wrestling career. She has a stellar track record of delivering here in AEW, and I expect that to be the case throughout her career. I think she is a great wrestler. There have been some tough breaks when it comes to the injuries with Megan Bayne’s partners, and Megan herself at times has had injuries. I think that Megan Bayne through these events and through injury, whether it is to herself or her tag team partners, has always persevered and gotten better and better. That is clearly the case because she is at her very best right now.
Bill Bodkin: The Paramount-Warner Brothers Merger
Bill Bodkin: Since the Paramount deal appears to be the favorite, if not the final deal for WBD, it has led to a lot of speculation on whether it’s good or bad for AEW. People have looked at very extreme things on the bad side, and some on the good side, and obviously it’s more exposure. If everything goes right, I think that the key thing is the fear that because UFC/TKO is a big property on Paramount, that somehow that would doom you long-term. What’s your comment on that?
Tony Khan: I am very excited about the future at Warner Brothers. With the announcement of Paramount and Warner Brothers joining together, and the fantastic management and leadership of David Ellison coming in, I think it is a really exciting time for AEW. We have built a great relationship here. There have been a lot of changes since AEW arrived. I have been having conversations with Warner Brothers going back to 2018, and we launched AEW in 2019 in partnership with Warner Brothers. Seven years later, we’ve built a fantastic relationship. The great news is the new leadership are also people we have a fantastic relationship with, going through the NFL and a number of different media agreements, and people I really like personally and respect. I think it will be huge for AEW because we know that we are going to be with TBS and TNT for a significant period of time already, and I expect to be with them for a long time to come. TBS, TNT, and HBO Max now have a very secure future, and there are going to be lots of other exciting platforms coming under the corporate umbrella. We started with AEW, and all the shows were just on TNT. Bringing wrestling back to TNT after 18 years was a huge step. Later, we brought in TBS, and now we have Dynamite every Wednesday on TBS, bringing wrestling back to a network with history dating back to 1971. We then expanded and hit new frontiers, launching on HBO Max and having wrestling associated with the pristine HBO name and reputation.
Getting the benefit of reaching new viewers and people that primarily watch TV and sports through streaming is exciting. Now with Paramount coming in, and being able to bring in even more viewers through streaming and TV with all the great platforms they will bring in, including Paramount+ and their TV channels, I am thrilled. The technological expertise of the Ellison family and the new innovation they are going to bring are things I am very excited about. There are tons of sports that exist on these platforms. I would love to be on the same channel as UFC. I have a great relationship with Dana White and Hunter Campbell, while their sister promotion is in pro wrestling and is of a competitive nature there. On my behalf, I would love to be on the same channel as UFC. I see a lot of positive utility to that. These are all things that have to be worked out in the future with the new leadership, but I would love that. However it works out, I am sure they are going to make great decisions because we have great new leadership coming in. I am very grateful to the current leadership and the people that have built up Warner Brothers Discovery and helped AEW grow. David Zaslav came in and expanded our reach, getting Collision on Saturdays, helping us launch on HBO Max, and deciding to extend the partnership. We negotiated a deal that allows AEW to sign the best wrestlers in the world and put on fantastic shows. With more platforms and opportunities coming, and more changes at Warner Brothers, I think this will bode very well for AEW and our fans. I am very excited for it.
