Tony Khan Won't Rule Out State-Sponsored AEW Shows Akin To WWE's Saudi Arabia Events

AEW's Tony Khan has discussed AEW's future expansion plans to international markets, and if he would follow the WWE route to have deals with countries to host shows there.

WWE has held shows in many countries, and also has a deal with the Saudi Arabian state, which has received criticism from many. Khan, during a recent conversation with "WFAA," was asked if he would like to have similar state-sponsored shows.

"Well, it depends on the situation, I think, you know, it's all about the details. So it would have to be a deal that made sense for that territory and especially for us here at AEW," Khan said.

The AEW CEO further divulged plans he had for AEW's international shows, expressing how he would like to have more shows in Australia and Mexico, while Canada and the UK would also see major events. 

"We've expanded absolutely, and this year we've seen new events, as you said, in Australia and Mexico, and now we're going back to countries where we've had a lot of success. Of course, the biggest events of the year here in the US, but also huge events coming up in the UK and in Canada, those have been very successful for us," the AEW CEO said. "We want to keep going back to all these markets because we've had great debuts now in Mexico and Australia. Canada and the UK have been such great markets for us year in, year out. So focusing on those, yes, absolutely, I would like to do some international expansion, but we made really ambitious moves just this year in recent years, so continuing to develop those right now is definitely the big strategy."

AEW has so far hosted Grand Slam events in Australia and Mexico, as well as co-hosted Wrestle Dynasty in Japan. England has hosted All In, which is set to return to London next year, while Canada will host All Out later this year.