Tony Khan was surprised by WWE’s reaction.
The All Out PPV in Chicago sold out despite WWE booking a Worlds Collide show featuring CM Punk on the same day, only miles from the AEW show. A report from Fightful Select noted that sources within WWE were not expecting the AEW event to sell as well as it did.
When asked about this latest counter-programming during the post-All Out media scrum, Tony Khan referenced this report. The AEW President claimed that he was surprised at WWE doubting their capability to sell out the show while they’re having such a great year:
Did WWE actually go on the record and say they were surprised that we did so well? I was just curious about that. We had our own show to do. I was kind of surprised they would say that because we’ve done very very well. AEW is having an incredible year, why would they be surprised that we would sell out? We’ve sold this arena out many times and AEW is having a fantastic year. I think anybody underestimating AEW would be making a mistake.
AEW Continues To Defy The Odds: Tony Khan
Tony Khan also agreed with Will Ospreay’s remarks earlier in the scrum, where the AEW World Champion warned WWE against future counter-programming. The AEW Executive said he doesn’t know why anyone would underestimate AEW:
AEW continues to defy the odds and succeed. If AEW has ever been on the mat, every single time, we’ve gotten up and fought. I agree with what Will Ospreay said. He went out and had a great main event with Jon Moxley, and from start to finish, All Out was an amazing event.
I was surprised when I read that WWE sources commented that they were surprised themselves that AEW All Out performed very well. The pay-per-view did great and the show sold very well. I don’t know why anybody would underestimate AEW. We had a great year in 2025 and this year has been even better.
