Bombshell Report Reveals Tony Khan Tried to Buy WWE in 2023

AEW president Tony Khan tried to purchase WWE.

The McMahon family had held majority ownership in WWE up until 2023, when it was sold to Endeavor, which eventually formed the current ownership group of TKO.

Previous public filings stated that Formula One parent company Liberty Media and private equity firm KKR were two of three other bidders for WWE. The fourth bidder, Khan, was unknown until this point, having his name redacted until recent court filings.

Now, it's been revealed, and it's certainly going to have wrestling fans talking.

Khan big on WWE

According to a report from Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling, recent court filings disclose that Base 10, a company that is backed by Khan, also placed a bid for WWE when it went up for sale.

The information is mentioned in an ongoing shareholder lawsuit, filed in November 2023, that alleges the merger process was unfair because Endeavor was believed to be the preselected choice by Vince McMahon due to an agreement with Endeavor executive Ari Emanuel, who guaranteed McMahon a role in the company.

It’s noted that while Khan is not mentioned by name in the complaint, the connection is obvious.

“Base 10 is the owner of All Elite Wrestling, a professional wrestling promotion that plainly would enjoy significant synergies with WWE,” the filing states.

Thank you all who watched #AEWRevolution last night!
AEW Revolution 2026 was one of my personal favorite nights in wrestling, and I’m very grateful to all of you who made it possible!
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) March 16, 2026

SEC filings by WWE used pseudonyms for the four bidders, as KKR was “Financial Sponsor 1,” Liberty was “Strategic Party 1,” and Base 10 was “Strategic Party 2.”

Meanwhile, the SEC filing by WWE noted that “Strategic Party 2,” or Base 10, had “indicated that it would need equity and debt financing partners in order to complete a transaction with WWE.”

The report mentions that Khan declined to provide a statement, and that press inquiries for this report sent to AEW, WWE, and TKO were not returned.

What If Tony Khan Bought WWE?

Had Khan purchased WWE, it would have allowed wrestling fans’ imaginations to run wild.

How would television contracts work for both companies? Would there be numerous dream matches that people have been salivating about for years? And on and on.

The TKO acquisition of WWE has changed some of the company's business strategies, but it would have been interesting to see how Khan would have approached the leadership roles of the two biggest wrestling promotions in the United States.

There’s no question that it would have been an absolute game-changer for the state of wrestling, and a combination of the two rosters would be quite a visual.