Why Tony Khan Changed Philosophy On AEW Releases

Tony Khan has explained his approach to releasing talent.

On March 3, it was reported that Rey Fenix had finally left AEW and is now a free agent. The star had made no secret of his desire to leave the company and hadn’t been featured on television since July 2024. Despite this, Tony Khan showed reluctance to let Fenix move on until his recent U-turn.

Fenix is expected to join his brother Penta in WWE, with some claiming he could even have a match at WrestleMania.

The move comes after Malakai Black, Miro, and Ricky Starks, now known as Ricky Saints, were also released from their contracts. Again, the trio had been removed from AEW plans for a long time and had been unable to move elsewhere.

Tony Khan Explains Philosophical Shift

During a media call ahead of AEW Revolution, Tony Khan was asked about his apparent shift in philosophy when it comes to releases. The AEW boss emphasised that he’ll continue to approach things on a case-by-case basis, but on these occasions, it felt like the right thing to do.

“I do think it’s a case-by-case basis. I think everything is a case-by-case basis, and so much of life is a case-by-case basis. Philosophically, there is a change in what I’ve been doing. It felt like the right thing for the company and everyone involved at this point. That’s the thinking behind that.

It’s on a case by case basis and they are all different situations. In this case, they did have similar outcomes. It’s fair to ask why now and why I wouldn’t have done that before. I just decided that’s what I thought was the right thing to do at this point,”

While Ricky Starks has already signed with WWE, it’s been widely reported that both Miro and Malakai Black will return to the company in the near future.

H/t to Fightful