AEW's Tony Khan On Performers Expressing Political Views: 'These Are Real People'

For the most part, the focus on AEW in 2026 has been on their onscreen product. But that changed briefly in February, when anti-ICE chants sprouted up during matches involving AEW star and anti-ICE activist Brody King, leading to some mainstream attention towards the promotion. Even a month later, the chants have continued sporadically on AEW shows, while higher ups within the company have remained silent on the matter overall.

That changed during the post-Revolution media scrum, when AEW owner Tony Khan was asked about wrestlers expressing their political views and whether he feared that could alienate fans of AEW. Khan didn't seem worried about it at all, and though he made clear that AEW itself was an apolitical entity, he had no issue with his wrestlers expressing themselves politically in any way they saw fit.

"I have said that the wrestlers, when they come out and express their opinions and their personal viewpoints, that's the wrestlers," Khan said. "That's who they are, and AEW has people that express their authentic selves, and that's what's great about the wrestling show. These are real people. And when you have 'Hangman' Page or Brody King expressing their views, that's their individual views. The wrestling company is a sport. I don't have any views other than the sport itself. 

"So that's where it's great for the wrestlers to be able to express their own individual viewpoints, and then the league just puts out the best wrestlers, puts out the best wrestling product. And a wrestling organization is not a political league. So I do think that it's been awesome to be able to see how many fans have gotten behind AEW and all the momentum we have as a wrestling league, but also, the individual wrestlers have their own individual fans. And I think it's one of the really great things about AEW is the wrestlers have the ability to express themselves."