Tony Khan Not Sure How WWE ID Program Will Work, Says It’s ‘Something To Keep An Eye On’

Tony Khan weighed in on the new WWE ID program after last night’s Full Gear, noting that he believes it will have an impact on the independent scene. WWE announced the creation of the program late last month, and Khan was asked about how it might impact AEW during the post-show media scrum. You can see some highlights below:

On how the WWE ID program may impact AEW: “It’s interesting, I don’t really know how it’s going to work. I understand there is some kind of first right or refusal aspect of it. We haven’t come up where it’s been a conflict yet. I do think it’s going to affect the independent scene in some ways. We’ve had a really great experience here over the years bringing in young wrestlers. And you know, through the pandemic, the best place for independent wrestlers to get work was at AEW and on AEW Dark and Elevation.

“And you know, it’s sitting here with somebody who’s now the TNT Champion — sitting with [Daniel] Garcia, somebody who came into Daily’s Place and was working on Dark, and working on Elevation and started teaming with 2point0 at the time, and built this friendship with Daddy Magic that’s lasted. To see now Daniel Garcia is the TNT Champion, somebody who was a top independent wrestler, came in, wrestled on Dark and has now worked his way into the top and is going to be competing in the Continental Classic. And somebody who’s had this incredible 2024 and is now the TNT Champion, it’s a really really exciting thing.”

On if it will affect their plans: “The women and men in AEW, we’ve seen so many great wrestlers work their way up from the independents, we’ve signed big free agents, and we have a lot of homegrown day-one people. It’s a great mix. I expect we’ll keep signing great talent off the independents. I do think it’s a different mechanism. It’s something to keep an eye on. It hasn’t created major conflicts or anything yet, but I imagine it will definitely influence the independent wrestling scene. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit AEW with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.