The pro wrestling world got thrown a curveball this week when it was announced that WWE NXT had signed a five-year TV deal with The CW. The news surprised many due to Haus of Wrestling’s report that Billy Corgan and the NWA had signed a pair of TV deals with the top twenty network. It appears Corgan still has those deals in place, but due to bad publicity stemming from a segment involving cocaine at a recent NWA PPV, that content will likely be moved to The CW app and not run on its actual television airwaves. As Haus of Wrestling continues to look into The CW’s interest in bringing pro wrestling back to its platform, an exciting name came up: Tony Khan.
Haus of Wrestling has learned that a high-level CW executive approached Khan at the LA Forum in June 2022 about bringing Ring of Honor content to the network. We are unsure if this was before talks between The CW and the NWA or WWE NXT were underway. From what we understand, Khan did not pursue talks with The CW as he refuses to seriously entertain new deals for ROH until AEW TV rights are in play, which will be in 2024. Khan feels that by waiting, he will have more options and leverage in the marketplace.
It was noted to Haus of Wrestling that Khan found the CW executive to be very pleasant and someone he enjoyed visiting with, but it was just not the right time to make a deal.
Haus of Wrestling has heard of at least two other notable pro wrestling promotions that are not the NWA or WWE NXT that The CW was in talks with recently. We are currently working to find out more information on those talks. We have also been told that The CW is open to hosting multiple pro wrestling products on their platform, and WOW will likely continue to air on The CW during the same timeframe WWE NXT does.