Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan confirms AEW draws bigger UK TV audience than WWE after ITV success a

WWE's flagship show, WrestleMania, is this weekend but rivals AEW are primed to steal their thunder thanks to support from across the pond.

AEW, backed by Fulham's billionaire owner Shahid Khan, now officially holds the title of being the most watched wrestling show in the UK.

The promotion was founded by Khan's son, Tony, in 2019 and has grown into WWE's most significant alternative for wrestling fans since WCW closed its door over two decades ago.

Their rise has been enough to turn the heads of former WWE stars Saraya (Paige), Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose), and CM Punk.

But they've also faced barbs from WWE CEO Nick Khan and ex-WWE chairman Vince McMahon that they are not considered a threat.

That could be about to change after AEW president Tony Khan confirmed his company are no.1 in the UK during an interview with talkSPORT.

All Elite Wrestling has aired Dynamite and Rampage on freely available ITV4 whereas WWE's product is owned by BT Sport.

Khan exclusively told talkSPORT’s talkWRESTLING podcast: "The UK is one of the most important markets in all of pro wrestling and the UK is one of my favourite places in the world.


AEW's rise in the UK

AEW is highly effective at driving young male viewers to ITV4. Since the start of 2022, AEW has been the highest ratings driver for Men 16-34 on the channel, generating 11 per cent of all ratings for this young male demographic, but occupying just 2 per cent of the schedule.

On average across all AEW-associated programs AEW has averaged above the ITV4 slot average across 2023 so far for 16-34 Men and ABC1 Men

2022 saw AEW reach 2.8m men across the year, which is 1m more than it reached in 2021. And 2023 has got off to a better start when looking at reach, increasing 45 per cent for Men 16-34, +15 per cent for ABC1 Men and up 3 per cent for Men.

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"England, I love so much, and London is my favourite place in the world, in particular West London and Fulham, Craven Cottage.

"I love the whole city so much, and I have to say, AEW is the number one wrestling company in the UK on television. It is a fact.

"AEW draws much bigger TV ratings in the UK than WWE does. We have a bigger audience week-to-week for our shows.

"I cannot speak to every country in every ratings market but I will say AEW is number one wrestling company in the UK on TV thanks to our great partnership with ITV which we are excited to continue."

Khan is already running a Ring of Honor show during WrestleMania weekend but he will be capitalising on AEW's UK growth to tear more eyes away from WWE as well.

WWE has confirmed Money in the Bank at the 02 Arena will be their first major live event to be held in England since 1992 this summer.

Yet Fulham's vice-chairman has announced London is the location for AEW's first overseas show and details about the company's UK debut are imminent.

Khan added in his chat with talkSPORT: "That announcement about AEW in London, it's coming very very soon. I don't want to say exactly when, but believe me, it'll be very, very soon."

He added: "The fact is we're getting closer and closer on all of the details you mentioned (dates, venues etc).

"There are a lot of details to work out on such a major event as this, but all of the major details are coming into place.

"We're very close to having all of the information ready to announce so it's come together very quickly. People are going to be very excited when they hear about this.

"It's going to be a really special event, I think it can be one of the greatest events in AEW's history, certainly befitting of our debut in London, which is a city that I love so much, it is so close to my heart.

"And for everybody there, all the wrestling fans there. I cannot wait to do it, and it feels like coming home to me, so I'm very excited about it."

One AEW star UK fans will be hoping to see is Adam Cole, who finally made his in-ring return to beat Daniel Garcia this week.

Cole had sparked retirement rumours having not wrestled since he suffered successive concussions at AEW Double or Nothing in May and then another at AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door in June 2022.

Khan said: "The return of Adam Cole after over nine months away from the sport is a really big deal. People are very excited for [his return] match, and also the debut of All Access on Wednesday's following AEW dynamite.

"Some fans saw a sneak preview of it already. We'll take a close look on this show at Adam Cole's path, his comeback, his road to his return to the ring.

"I cannot wait for fans to learn about all the obstacles and all the hard work Adam Cole did - everything he overcame to make this return possible and rehabilitate his brain to get to the point where it was safe for him to wrestle again.

"It's a great story, and I'm so excited that Adam Cole is back in AEW!"

Yet Khan remained tight lipped about the future of CM Punk, who hasn't been around seen since undergoing surgery having torn a muscle in his match at All Out in September.

Regardless of the injury, the UFC star's wrestling future remained up in the air after his explosive comments at the post-All Out media scrum led to a reported real brawl between several key figures including Punk backstage.

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Asked by talkSPORT about Punk's current contract situation, Khan understandably replied: "I cannot comment on that."

Accepting that it was a topic that needed to be discussed, Khan jovially conceded: "Well better to ask once than seven times in a row after I 'no comment', who would do that?"

Showdown Saturday on talkSPORT

On Saturday 1 April, it's all kicking off on talkSPORT.

12:30pm: Starting the day, Man City host Liverpool in a key Premier League game.

3pm: Crystal Palace vs Leicester sees the return of Roy Hodgson to the Selhurst Park dugout.

7pm: Build-up begins for the heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin as AJ starts his route back to the top.

What. A. Day.

You can tune in to talkSPORT via our free online streaming service at talkSPORT.com, DAB digital radio, download the talkSPORT app, or ask your smart speaker to play talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2. talkSPORT is also widely available across the UK on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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