Tony Khan Reveals How Many Total Fans Watched AEW In 2021

AEW President Tony Khan sat down with the Vegas Film Critic to talk about AEW Dynamite's move from TNT to TBS and the construction of AEW's roster. Khan specifically pointed to bringing in talent like Sting, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley in order to make the AEW roster the best around, in his opinion.

"Sting is one of the big stars, still, that hooks people in," Khan said. "And it's very fitting now that Sting will be, not just on TNT, but TBS. And Sting represents such an important part of traditional wrestling. Sting on TNT and TBS, his matches being announced by Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone, it fits like a glove. And we've also brought back so many of the free-agent stars in wrestling, whether it's CM Punk and Bryan Danielson or some of the top women's stars in wrestling. And now we have really, I think the best roster anybody's got. It didn't happen overnight, and we started with a roster of great wrestlers who have proven themselves around the world.

"Chris Jericho was a flagship star for us. A big moment was when Jon Moxley was out in Las Vegas. He was a legendary wrestler himself who came over and gave us a lot of credibility. Since then the roster has gotten bigger and better. We have the youngest audience, the best young wrestlers, and over 41 million people around the world watched AEW last year. Now to be able to bring Dynamite to TBS on Wednesdays and bring Rampage every Friday to TNT, it's a dream come true as a fan."

Questions have abounded about how AEW will handle the transition of Dynamite from TNT to TBS, after Dynamite had reaced #1 in the 18-49 demo several times in 2021. While Tony Khan acknowledges it's a different situation, he believes the move will help AEW keep their audience.

"April 14th was the first time AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite ever ranked as the number one show," Khan said. "Ever since then, we have had a number of them, and now moving Wednesday Nights to TBS we keep that great audience. Again, a huge network, but it's a different network with TBS. New fans, but still keeping that presence every Friday on TNT."

You can watch the full interview below.