Tony Khan has promised something special when All Elite Wrestling returns to Wembley Stadium this weekend. The billionaire sports mogul, who is chief football strategy officer for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and director of football at Fulham, helped launch WWE's main wrestling rivals in 2019, and they'll be back in London for a massive show on Sunday.
Speaking exclusively to Metro days before the AEW event, Tony said: 'I'm very much looking forward to the show, and it's going to be one of the biggest wrestling spectacles, and it's surely one of the best sporting events. I really am tremendously excited.'
Pyro concerns and Edge comments
There have been some reports of AEW having to scale down its pyro display after government advice over the risk of fires due to the recent heatwave, but Tony didn't seem concerned. 'That's the first I've heard of any of that, so I can't speculate,' he added.
One topic Tony did offer some more concrete thoughts on was recent comments by Adam 'Edge' Copeland, who made headlines with his belief the AEW boss would have allowed him to return to WWE for a one-off match for John Cena's farewell tour, if he'd been asked before his December 2025 retirement.
The businessman was surprisingly open to the idea when we put the question to him. 'I was never asked, and as far as I know, Adam was never asked, so it's hard to say. But when there have been opportunities to collaborate, I have been collaborative in the past,' he pointed out. 'I never got asked, but if I had been presented a plan and the dates and the information of what was going on, yeah, I would have supported it.'
Tony insisted he would 'not have undermined' any arrangement if both sides had 'been able to talk and work something out'. However, he stressed: 'But nobody ever asked us or me.'
Surprises and speculation at All In
It's a partnership fans would never expect to see, although AEW's Chris Jericho was interviewed by Stone Cold Steve Austin on the WWE Network back in 2021. The competition between the two makes further agreements unlikely, but over the years plenty of stars have been seen jumping ship between the two brands.
All In, which took place at Wembley back in 2023 and 2024, could also be a night of surprises, with AEW's signature Casino Gauntlet match featuring a host of unnamed wrestlers only revealed when their music plays. There have been rumours of Ilja Dragunov debuting days after it was revealed his WWE contract had expired, but Tony wasn't going to be drawn into any definitive statements.
'While I don't know the contractual status of every wrestler out there, I'm very familiar with his wrestling,' he admitted. 'He's a tremendous competitor, and somebody I really admire.'
There has also been speculation around The New Day duo Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, while Tony faces a constant balancing act of finding fresh stars to add to an already stacked roster. 'There are so many great wrestlers around the world, and so many of the very best professional wrestlers compete in All Elite Wrestling,' he beamed. 'I always say AEW is where the best wrestle, and I really believe that. I think that the very best wrestlers in the world are competing in AEW right now.'
Main event and expansion plans
Tony admitted, 'It's exciting that so many of the best wrestlers outside of the company are trying to get into AEW', while he pointed to the company's collaborations with the likes of CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling, which allow talent to 'compete in multiple promotions'.
The businessman is in good spirits heading into this weekend, with a blockbuster main event set as Londoner Will Ospreay is set to challenge Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship. 'I think Will's one of the greatest British wrestlers I've ever seen, and I think Will's one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen,' he raved. 'But Will has never been the AEW World Champion, and something that is incredible is, no Englishman has ever won a world title in England.'
Around an hour before our conversation, the company announced AEW Grand Slam: France at the Adidas Arena in Paris on October 6 (which he described as 'tremendously exciting'), while Tony is keen to grow the company's audience in the UK, praising its partnership with ITV and the launch of the MyAEW app.
'I really believe that the English wrestling fans have been instrumental in growing the worldwide popularity of AEW, and London may be the very best city for AEW,' he said, smiling. 'So I absolutely will continue bringing AEW here to London, and also I look forward to visiting other cities in England. We debuted in Manchester last year. I think there are more opportunities to visit all the great cities around the UK, because there are so many great wrestling fans here in the United Kingdom.'
AEW All In London returns to Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 30. Tickets are available now at livenation.co.uk.
