Tony Khan touched on several notable AEW names during a new interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, offering careful updates while stressing he hopes to reunite with multiple top stars.
Khan addressed the status of Andrade El Idolo, reminding Helwani that Andrade originally left AEW on the “best of terms.” He said he was happy to see Andrade return last October and added that “whenever he is free,” he’d like to work with him again. Khan declined to comment on whether Andrade misrepresented his post-WWE status amid reports of a one-year non-compete.
Andrade resurfaced in AEW to attack Kenny Omega but quickly vanished from TV afterward.
Khan shared similar sentiments about Chris Jericho, calling him welcome anytime but noting he can’t speak to when Jericho will be back. He explained that Jericho’s absence partly comes down to scheduling and said that with big stars, “you have to negotiate a certain number of dates.” Jericho hasn’t appeared on AEW programming since April, and while Jericho himself has said his deal ends this year, Khan didn’t confirm the contract timeline.
Khan also reiterated his optimism about Britt Baker’s eventual return, saying “I’m still looking for the right time with Britt,” and adding, “I would love to have her back in AEW. Britt is going to be back, I really believe, in AEW and I hope soon.” He emphasized wanting her to be “100%,” calling that a priority. Baker last wrestled for AEW in November 2024.
Also during the interview, Tony Khan admitted that seeing the photo of Ricky Saints, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Jade Cargill together all behind-the-scenes as active champions (see photo above and below) when all came from AEW made him smile.
“I saw that and I think AEW is having a great year and is in a fantastic place,” he said. “The roster right now is delivering great shows and I’m proud of what the roster is doing right now. It did make me smile because it reminded me of Double or Nothing 2020, the first pandemic pay-per-view. Cody won the TNT Title, Mox retained the AEW World Title against the late, great Mr. Brodie Lee. After the show, Cody and Mox took a photo. I thought it was interesting and it shows how far in the mirror…..I remember the photo Cody and Mox took, I think I took it.”
Khan continued, “I have relationships with all four of them and they’re very different. I could talk for two hours about each of the four of them and why I like them and why I thought they were great in AEW, their matches, or how much I like them all as people. They’re all not wrestling in AEW anymore. It just reminded me of the photo in Jacksonville, taking that photo, and how it’s crazy how five and a half years have flown by.”
(H/T to Fightful.com and F4WOnline.com for transcribing the above quotes.)
