“It’s a Celebration of Everything,” Says Tony Khan, Pays Tribute to WCW and Nitro on AEW’s Big Day

AEW Dynamite just made history by airing its 289th episode, which is now the longest-running wrestling show ever on TNT or TBS. This broke the old record held by WCW Monday Nitro, which had 288 episodes. Instead of just celebrating AEW’s win, Tony Khan spoke about how much WCW meant to him growing up and how it helped shape what AEW is today.
Tony Khan has always been open about how much of a wrestling fan he was before becoming a promoter. One of the biggest parts of his childhood was watching WCW and Nitro every week.

During his appearance on The Takedown on SI, Tony Khan shared his love for WCW and the memories he had from watching it as a kid. For him, this milestone was not just about AEW, it was about showing respect for wrestling’s past on these networks.
“I’m a big fan, and I grew up watching the shows, and Nitro was a huge part of my childhood. And long before Nitro, I watched WCW. And I wish I could say I watched it long after, but that was kind of the end of the run. And I certainly learned a lot watching those shows.”

Khan said Nitro introduced a new kind of wrestling that was faster, more exciting, and full of high-flying action. That kind of wrestling made a big impact on him and helped shape the style of AEW today.
“I think it’s where some of the most exciting, high flying, athletic wrestlers of all time broke in, and broke in on TV and became mainstream TV stars across America. And those are some of the biggest wrestlers of all time now.”
He added that Nitro helped bring in a more modern, fast-paced style of wrestling that people still love.
“I think it really helped usher in a faster pace, more exciting style of wrestling. And I do think that, over the years of ‘Nitro,’ some of the most exciting moments and memories of pro wrestling happened on the show.”

Khan also shared about how AEW shares some real links with WCW, especially with certain wrestlers and announcers who are part of the history of both companies. This includes legends like Sting and announcer Tony Schiavone.
“I think there’s a lot of great influence [from] WCW. The most clear one to me is that the icon in WCW and our legend, our undefeated star, certainly the person we revere so much in AEW is Sting. And I think there’s a great shared history there. There’s a great shared history across TBS and TNT. Tony Schiavone being a key voice in both products, a lot of similarities.”
He said he respects how hard it was to keep Nitro on the air for 288 weeks, and that’s why reaching 289 episodes with Dynamite means so much to him.
“I really, really, absolutely had so much respect for everything that it took to put Nitro on the air and keep Nitro on the air for all those years. And that’s why I think this is a really important milestone. It’s amazing what Nitro achieved. And to be on TNT for 288 weeks, I know how hard that is firsthand, it’s really hard.”
For Khan, this is not just a win for AEW, it is a moment to remember all the wrestling that has aired on TNT and TBS over the past few decades.
“It’s a celebration of everything and really all the wrestling. Looking back, over fifty years of wrestling on TBS specifically, and 30 years of pro wrestling on TNT, and now AEW is a huge part of that conversation. And this is a big milestone for TBS and AEW on Wednesday.”

Tony Khan did not just celebrate the record-breaking moment of AEW, he used it to thank WCW and Nitro for leading the way.
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