Fresh Claims Emerge Suggesting Warner Bros Discovery Holds Stake In AEW

Since its inception back in 2019, AEW has been synonymous with Tony Khan and the billionaire Khan family. But that hasn't stopped speculation around its ownership.

After launching that January, AEW signed a broadcast deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, and two further deals have followed. The latest was inked in October 2024 and will run through 2027 with one additional option year. That agreement is believed to be worth around $170 million per year.

This close relationship between AEW and WBD has regularly led to speculation that the agreements extend beyond a wrestling company and its broadcast partner. The central claim is that WBD holds an ownership stake in the promotion, although this has never been publicly acknowledged. But crucially, the claims have never fully been denied either.

Tony Khan has only regularly stated that he has 100% decision-making responsibility and 100% of the voting stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery holds an interest in AEW

A new article from Michael Ballaban for CNN has now appeared to confirm that WBD does hold a minority stake in AEW. Ballaban made the claims while discussing professional wrestling's relationship with politics and how that differs between AEW and WWE.

"The embrace of contemporary issues is part of a larger, politically shaded rivalry playing out in the industry, between the 7-year-old AEW and the industry’s ruling juggernaut for generations, WWE (Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent corporation, owns a minority stake in AEW)."

Although the article from CNN makes no mention of the size of the stake, a report from the Hollywood Reporter in January suggested that any ownership interest would be less than 10%. This would also mean that there's no legal requirement on either side to publicly disclose it.

The comments come after the relationship between AEW and WBD was again under the spotlight after claims that Brody King was blocked from appearing on the February 11 edition of Dynamite. His absence came after the crowd erupted into 'F--- ICE' chants a week earlier as King prepared to face MJF.

Video of the pre-match reaction went viral on social media and garnered national media attention. However, WBD sources later denied that the company had played any role in King's AEW schedule.

King is set to meet MJF for a second time at Grand Slam Australia, but this time, the AEW World Championship will be on the line. In the aforementioned eliminator match, King destroyed the champion in a little over a minute.

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