How AEW Collision Will SOLVE Wrestling's Biggest Problem

4. Tony Khan Admirably Honouring Contracts

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AEW

Whereas WWE has long been criticised for its propensity for releasing (see: firing) a scary amount of talents from their contracts year after year, Tony Khan has taken a vastly different approach to AEW and those under his employ.

For a WWE wrestler, they could sign a lucrative five-year contract but find themselves axed by the market leader after, say, two years of that deal. Regardless of the proposed length of a contract, many a WWE name has found themselves being wished well in their future endeavours way, way before the conclusion of said contract.

In the case of Tony Khan, a five-year contract means a five-year contract. During AEW's lifespan, Khan has been admirable in how he doesn't release talent. Across the four years of AEW so far, there hasn't even been a literal handful of wrestlers who AEW has either fired or agreed to let out of their deals. Instead, if it becomes apparent that a certain talent isn't particularly needed on the roster, the AEW President will opt to let their existing contract expire and not renew it.

In the case of a wrestler who's not being used at all, this at least means a guaranteed paycheck for the remainder of your contract, plus AEW also allows such talents to work dates for other promotions. Likewise, during the grim days of the COVID-19 pandemic - grim days where WWE fired a terrifying amount of staff - Tony Khan refused to release any talent, despite the obvious financial benefit such releases would have for AEW.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.