AEW Filing In Kevin Kelly Lawsuit Identifies Florida LLC As Parent Company

While it remains to be seen how serious a legal issue it turns into, AEW has itself a date with court, after former AEW announcer Kevin Kelly and former Ring of Honor talents The Tate Twins filed a lawsuit against the promotion in September. As said lawsuit trucks on, several filings have shed some light on AEW's business, and a recent filing has given fans a better idea of the parent company behind the promotion.

In a corporate disclosure statement, filed earlier today and obtained by Wrestlenomics, AEW confirms that their parent company is Beatnik Investments LLC. AEW owner Tony Khan and his sister, Shanna, are listed as the two "authorized members" of the company, while a man named Thomas Clarkson was also listed as an "authorized representative," though his exact role with Beatnik is unknown.

The statement, a requirement of the federal court, also reveals that "no publicly held corporation owns ten percent or more" of AEW's stock. The latter part of the disclosure is significant as it relates to questions surrounding AEW and its broadcasting partner, Warner Brothers Discovery, and whether the corporation has any sort of financial stake in the promotion. 

WBD has long been rumored to own AEW shares, something that seemed to get confirmed last week when Sports Business Journal reported WBD did own an undisclosed amount of shares in the wrestling promotion. If that reporting is accurate, this filing would suggest that WBD owns less than 10%. Khan had previously been asked about WBD owning a share of AEW in September 2023, but didn't answer the question, instead saying he owned 100% of AEW's voting rights.