What did WWE CEO Nick Khan say about Tony Khan's AEW being a threat?

Tony Khan's AEW has become one of WWE's closest competitors in recent years. However, it looks like Nick Khan has something else in mind for the Stamford-based promotion's potential rival.

Nick served as the president and chief revenue officer when he joined the Stamford-based promotion in 2020. After Vince McMahon's retirement in July 2022, Khan was promoted to Co-CEO alongside Stephanie McMahon, who was appointed Chairwoman.

When the 77-year-old promoter returned this year as a board member, Stephanie stepped down from her position, making Khan the sole CEO of WWE. Another Khan that's been making rounds in the wrestling industry recently is Tony Khan. He owns All Elite Wrestling, Jacksonville Jaguars, Fulham F.C., and other business ventures.

Since AEW's establishment in 2019, they have won over a bunch of their own fans. Some of the biggest names in WWE have jumped ship to Tony Khan's company, and the promotion defeated NXT during the Wednesday Night Wars. All Elite Wrestling may have posed a serious threat, but Nick Khan is seemingly not bothered.

In an interview with Bill Simmons, the WWE CEO was asked if he felt threatened about the Jacksonville-based promotion. Nick Khan revealed that he doesn't feel threatened by Tony Khan's AEW and only focuses on his own product.

"I don’t feel threatened by anyone on anything," Nick Khan said. "It’s just not how I do business. I don’t care what anyone else is doing. I care what we’re doing. And as long as we can have the best product on with the best talent and the best writers, I think we’re going to be in good shape."

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WWE CEO Nick Khan shares his honest thoughts on Tony Khan

Despite being a rival company, AEW's Tony Khan has shared his interest in buying WWE amid talks about a possible sale. If Tony buys his competitor, a possible interaction with Nick Khan will be interesting.

In the same interview, Nick Khan stated that he had never met Tony Khan but claimed he seemed like a good kid. However, the former did meet the latter's father, Shahid Khan, and had nothing but admiration.

“I’ve never met the kid, Tony Khan seems like a nice kid to me, I don’t know him. I have met his dad [Shahid Khan] who randomly I sat next to at some sports business luncheon that Stephanie [McMahon] and I went to a year and a half or so ago. I thought the dad was as impressive as could be, I think there was a piece on him in the New York Times a year or so prior to that. A self-made billionaire.”

It will undoubtedly be a while before AEW reaches the mainstream popularity WWE has achieved after decades of operation. However, the young company's future looks bright.