AEW Chief Ready To Trump WWE Live Shows, Dean Ambrose Contract Update

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) founder and creator Tony Khan has given an in-depth interview recently to discuss the direction and objectives of the newly formed promotion. He also voiced his admiration for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chairman and CEO Vince McMahon but suggested that AEW’s shows will be better than WWE’s televised shows Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live.

AEW is yet to have their first show, which will take place on May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, but they have already begun making waves in the pro-wrestling world with their ambitious moves to sign the top athletes from around the globe.

Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks are already part of their roster and they are looking to make further additions in the coming months before their opening show "Double or Nothing" in Vegas. They are targeting free agent pro-wrestlers and reportedly also a few from the WWE, who are entering the final months of their contract with the world’s most popular promotion.

McMahon is not keen to lose talent to the new promotion and has intimated the WWE management to tie down all their key superstars to new deals with reports claiming that lucrative and long-term contracts are on offer at the moment. Khan, who is the son of Pakistani American billionaire and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars Shahid Khan, said their aim is to improve the entire wrestling industry rather than be a direct competition to WWE.

He admits that to achieve the level of production value the WWE has at the moment, they will have to ensure they have top-level athletes as part of their promotion. The 36-year-old also expressed his admiration for WWE CEO McMahon but made it clear he was not trying to be the McMahon of AEW or to go to war with the hugely popular pro-wrestling promotion.

"Am I saying our goal is to have all of those revenue streams in place where it's a true, legitimate competition? No! I think what I'm saying is that when you're trying to produce the best possible show you can, when you're trying to get a production team together, when you're trying to get top networks interested in your product, yeah, having stars like Chris Jericho and having the top up-and-coming stars like The Elite, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Cody, it gets people really, really excited,” Khan said, as quoted on Wrestling Inc.

"Vince McMahon is one of my all-time idols in terms of building a brand and sustaining a great company," he added. “So yeah, I'm a lifelong fan of their product, so it's crazy to think that [Khan is the Vince McMahon of AEW]. I don't think that is the case [that AEW and WWE are at war]."

However, Khan’s next comment is likely to anger McMahon with the AEW chief claiming that the product they will offer will be the “best wrestling television show ever”. He also said their weekly shows will likely be better than what WWE is now offering – Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live.

“Yeah, there are a couple of wrestling shows out there with very, very good production values in RAW and SmackDown, but I think we're going to offer something completely different from what they offer, a very, very different kind of product that visually is going to look as good or better in a lot of ways," Khan said. “But for the kind of wrestling fan that we're trying to attract, the kind of person that cares about the competition, the quality of the work, and the winner and the loser, then yeah, I believe this will be the best wrestling television show ever."

Meanwhile, on the contract front, according to Cageside Seats, the WWE is said to have picked up an option on the Hardy Boys’ contracts extending them for another year after it was initially reported that they will become free agents in April.

And they are also said to have roped in Roman Reigns to try and convince Dean Ambrose to re-sign with the WWE despite confirming that the former Shield member will leave the promotion when his contract expires in April.