Tony Khan Discusses "Gray Area" When It Comes To AEW Talent Monetizing Via Third Parties

By Austin Lee

During Tony Khan's portion of the All Out media scrum, Khan was asked about his AEW talent making money from third party entities, such as Twitch, after Vince McMahon issued an edict banning his WWE talent from participating in such activities.

"It's a very topical and good question," Khan said. "I don't want the wrestlers being concerned that I'm going to stop them from trying to monetize their Twitch or appearance money, for that matter. There are gray areas and I think there are different forms of media and platforms. I probably have different answers for the different platforms. I think some sponsorship stuff is a gray area. If one of your big stars or wrestlers was to try and go get a Pepsi sponsorship on their Twitch and not as a wrestler, then it would seem like they are trying to circumvent the company."

"For the most part I think that I support people going out on Twitch and monetizing that platform," Khan added. "I'm okay with people monetizing their YouTube, which I think is very clear here. A lot of people have YouTube shows and famously, Being The Elite, is not on the AEW channel, but we support it and our wrestlers are all over it even thought it's not an AEW show. Our wrestlers have their own blogs, shows and media properties."

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford were shown backstage at All Out plugging their wedding, and it was revealed that it will be part of a storyline with Sabian revealing who his best man will be on Wednesday night's episode of Dynamite. At the end of their segment, Ford held up a sign displaying their Twitch channel and a statement popped up on screen saying, "This message has been approved by All Elite Wrestling", which appears to be a direct shot at WWE's stance on the subject.

"Kip wanted to have some fun and he's big on Twitch," Khan said. "I don't know every platform and I'm not on all of the platforms, but I know that's one that Kip is on and he loves it. I'm not going to stop him from using it. I think it's different depending on what platform you're talking about and how you're addressing. I definitely don't think I'd tell people they can't do something outside the company, though. That seems too unfair and a pretty strong policy. I wouldn't do that."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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