Tony Khan is addressing one of the biggest ongoing questions around All Elite Wrestling—why certain high-profile names haven’t been showing up on TV.
The topic came up during The Coach and Bro Show, when Jonathan Coachman directly called out the absence of Britt Baker and Ricky Starks, asking why talents that fans clearly want to see aren’t being utilized.
Khan started by acknowledging the specific names mentioned and making it clear that neither talent is being ignored or forgotten internally, while also drawing a distinction between their current situations.
“Well, I think, again, each wrestler is a case-by-case basis, but the people you named—I really liked having them in AEW, and in Britt’s case, she is a part of AEW. In Ricky’s case, he’s someone that wrestled here in the past.”
He then shifted the conversation toward the bigger issue that affects everyone on the roster—how much time AEW actually has to work with on a weekly basis, and how that impacts who gets featured.
“One thing you guys know very well—there’s a limited amount of hours. And one thing that’s been really good, that I think there’s been a real focus on, that the fans have noticed in AEW in the last year—there have been people that have come and gone—but I think the shows have had a really great flow.”
Khan didn’t just frame it as a limitation—he also defended the current structure of AEW programming, pointing to strong performance metrics and broader distribution as validation for their approach.
“There are tremendous names you mentioned, but also the reception for our TV has been really strong, and viewership on TBS and TNT has been the highest in years. A couple of years ago, when we were doing these numbers, we didn’t have any viewers on HBO Max. I think we’re in a good position right now.”
From there, he explained how creative decisions are actually made behind the scenes, stressing that booking isn’t static and often changes week-to-week depending on multiple factors.
“Each wrestler you asked about is on a case-by-case basis, but I try to make a plan going into the next pay-per-view and the next several weeks of television. And with the high-impact, high-velocity aspects of pro wrestling, there are constantly injuries—reasons why we might change these things.”
He then connected that unpredictability directly to why some wrestlers disappear from TV and take time to return, stating that injuries and shifting priorities can delay plans.
“I think for us, it’s one of the reasons why you see wrestlers come or leave a lot of times—due to an injury—and it may take some time to work someone back in, because you’ve got different things going on with different wrestlers.”
Khan also made it clear that AEW is intentionally choosing not to overload its shows, even if that means leaving some popular names off television in the short term.
“But I think it’s been good for us with our two hours every Wednesday night and two hours on Saturday nights—not trying to jam 36 matches into two hours, and trying to keep focus on what we’ve got. And our fans really like the show that we’re doing right now.”
Finally, he pointed to recent roster movement as proof that talent rotation is part of the system, not an exception—showing how quickly plans can shift due to unforeseen circumstances. He reinforced that point with a current example, showing how even returning acts can immediately be affected by setbacks.
“But absolutely, I’ve been bringing back some aces and really consistently have people that have been coming and going. There’s an injury—you bring someone back—it happens all the time. Just in recent weeks—you mentioned Chris Jericho, Hikaru Shida, Private Party. Private Party had some great matches on their return, but Marq Quen had an injury this past week, and now Isiah will be on his own.”
This makes one thing clear—according to Khan, the absence of AEW stars isn’t about being sidelined permanently, but about timing, structure, and constantly shifting circumstances behind the scenes.
Do you think AEW’s approach of rotating talent and keeping shows focused is the right call, or should they find a way to feature more stars consistently? Share your thoughts and feedback below.
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