AEW President Tony Khan says he’s open to trying a two-night pay-per-view format, a setup that’s worked well for WWE. Speaking with Z100 New York, he pointed to both financial and logistical advantages, even as he expressed confidence in AEW’s current event schedule.
Khan noted that running multiple shows in the same location can significantly cut production expenses. Savings on stage setup and teardown could then be funneled back into the promotion, talent, or overall profitability.
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“I mean, it can be done. I think it’s nice having the cadence — we’re doing great this year, so I do like what we’re doing. But there are merits to it too, and the scale. Frankly, when people do those two nights, or a residency like the ones we’ve done in Chicago or the one coming up soon in Philadelphia, it saves a lot of money — hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in setup and teardown costs. You can put that money back into the wrestling promotion, into marketing, into the wrestlers, and hopefully into profitability, which is great.”
The idea comes as AEW enjoys its strongest financial position yet. Khan credited new media rights deals for pushing revenue to record highs each year, giving the company room to consider changes like an expanded event format.
“Now, with AEW having the new media rights, we are really a much healthier, stronger business. Our revenues are higher than ever, and it’s exciting because we’re a young, growing company that continues to increase revenue every year — and we’ve done so well. Certainly, when you do residencies like that, or anything that involves staying in the same place, you save a lot of money. That’s one of the nice things too.”
While AEW hasn’t announced a full two-night pay-per-view, it’s testing similar approaches. On August 13 and 14, the company will run back-to-back Dynamite and Collision tapings in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s the kind of multi-day, single-city experience Khan described—showing AEW is exploring the logistics, even if it’s not rushing to mirror WWE’s format.
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