Dave Meltzer Comments on WBD’s Minority Stake in AEW

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has been in the news lately in the wake of anti-ICE chants on its programming. The chants first surfaced ahead of the AEW World Title Eliminator match between current champion MJF and Brody King two weeks ago on Dynamite. They resurfaced at this past weekend’s Grand Slam event in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Amid this, CNN recently reported that AEW’s broadcast partners, Warner Bros. Discovery, own a minority stake in the company. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer commented on the same, claiming that he “pretty much” knew this when the company launched in 2019.

Melzter added that WBD’s minority stake has no bearing on AEW’s product and that Tony Khan remains in control of the decision-making power. However, he did add that due to their stake in the company, WBD is more invested in AEW’s success than it would have been had it just been a broadcasting partner.

“The stuff about the ownership, I mean, I pretty much knew this in 2019, but not for sure. And Tony would never admit to it, but he would never deny it. But it’s, I mean, we know from filing papers that over 90% of the company is owned by Tony, Shad Khan, and Shanna Khan, who’s Tony’s sister. But Tony has 100% of the voting power [and] decision-making power. But they are a minority owner, which is probably a smart thing. I think it’s helped them in…there is a reason the company has, besides just television ratings, they have a reason to want them to be successful in their company,” Meltzer said. [H/T: Wrestling INC.]

“Fuck ice” chants at AEW Sydney 🙂 pic.twitter.com/FqxWNy9ZMe

— 🙂 (@nickwray) February 14, 2026