A filing in the ongoing lawsuit involving Kevin Kelly and the Tate Twins disclosed on Tuesday a noteworthy detail of AEW’s corporate structure.

A corporate disclosure statement filed by AEW confirms that the parent company of All Elite Wrestling LLC is Beatnik Investments LLC, and no publicly held corporation owns ten percent or more of its stock. The disclosure is a requirement under the rules of federal court, where AEW is trying to get the defamation and misclassification lawsuit moved.

This suggests that if Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), a publicly traded company, holds any stake in AEW at all, WBD would have to own less than ten percent.

The detail is notable in light of a recent report by Sports Business Journal following news of AEW’s media deal renewal, which implied that WBD has a stake in AEW, a notion Wrestlenomics has also frequently raised as a possibility.

This isn’t the first time AEW revealed Beatnik is its parent entity. A similar filing about Beatnik was submitted just over a year ago during the Luchasaurus mask copyright lawsuit, initially stating that All Elite Wrestling LLC had no parent company. That filing was later corrected to identify Beatnik Investments LLC as AEW’s parent company. The August 2023 filing reiterated that, at that time as well, no public company owned ten percent or more of either Beatnik or AEW.

This naturally doesn’t rule out that WBD owns less than ten percent of AEW’s stock.

In September 2023, Tony Khan was asked if its major TV partner WBD owned a part of AEW. Khan didn’t provide a direct answer. He indicated that he would be open to WBD “having a piece or a bigger piece potentially” in a new deal.

Florida public records confirm that Beatnik Investments is an active limited liability company in Florida, established in 2017. The authorized members are Tony Khan and his sister, Shanna Khan, while Thomas Clarkson is listed as an authorized representative. More information about Clarkson is unknown. He could be a financial manager.

All Elite Wrestling LLC is also incorporated in Delaware and recognizes Beatnik Investments LLC as its parent company. According to Florida records, AEW’s authorized representative is Chris Peck, the company’s General Counsel.

A Jacksonville local media report from 2022 indicated that Beatnik Investments was used by Shad Khan, the billionaire owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and father of Tony and Shanna, to invest over $76 million in the Black News Channel. Beatnik owned a majority of the channel until it was sold to media businessman Byron Allen following Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

PHOTO: Sports Business Journal

This article has been updated in the second paragraph to include a note that appears on the filing, replacing attribution to a source familiar with the filing.

A new filing shows WWE President and TKO board member Nick Khan has sold 22,693 TKO shares, which have a market value of $2,394,846.54. But the transaction is probably less intriguing than it seems.

The filing states that the “[s]ale includes an amount necessary to cover a tax obligation resulting from the settlement of a vested equity award distribution”.

“In-kind” transactions that cover tax payments have been filed for WWE executives in July in previous years, including for Khan last year, when he disposed of 25,231 shares on July 21, 2023.

I believe this is part of an arrangement specific to WWE executives before the company’s September 2023 merger into TKO. Following the merger, because WWE is now part of a larger company in TKO, Khan may be the only WWE executive who is required to make this type of disclosure this year. Therefore, I don’t expect more filings to be published soon for other WWE executives who may be making similar transactions.

After the sale recorded today, Khan has 211,731 TKO shares remaining, a market value of about $22.4 million.

Khan registered all of his TKO shares for sale as part of an offering filed in April. Former CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon and current TKO board member Steve Koonin also registered shares for sale as part of that offering. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see Khan make more stock transactions sometime in the future.

The filing from April stated: “Nick Khan and Steven R. Koonin, who are directors of TKO, and Vincent K. McMahon will be selling stockholders and may from time to time offer and sell any or all of their respective shares of Class A common stock set forth below pursuant to this prospectus.”

Outside of sales to cover taxes like the transaction recorded today, Khan has yet to sell WWE or TKO shares.

Last year, in addition to tax-related filings being published for Khan, there were also in-kind stock transactions filed for Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, as well as executives who have since left the company: Kevin Dunn, Frank Riddick, and Karen Mullane. Checking WWE’s archive of SEC filings, similar ownership transactions were disclosed for WWE executives each year in July going back to 2003.

AEW Double or Nothing drew $582,204 in ticket sales from 9,099 ticket-buyers at MGM Grand Arena on May 26 in Las Vegas, according to new data from Pollstar.

Collision the night before in the same venue drew an additional $112,298 from 3,944 ticket sales.

AEW budgeted its costs for both the PPV and Collision combined at $3,868,200, according to documents AEW submitted ahead of the events to the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, to apply for a $373,388 tax credit.

Whether the weekend in Las Vegas was profitable for AEW would depend on pay-per-view sales, which we don’t have details on, and to a lesser extent on how much media revenue should be recognized toward a single Collision broadcast.

The average ticket sale price for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view event was $64. For Collision, the average ticket was $28.

There’s a good chance the Double or Nothing gate was AEW’s second-highest of the year so far. Revolution’s more than $1 million gate in Greensboro is by far the leader. That number, though, has probably already been greatly exceeded by advanced sales for All In, taking place in London on Aug. 25, which has more than 40,000 tickets distributed, according to WrestleTix estimates.

While the Double or Nothing gate is one of AEW’s highest of the year, it’s a contrast to the 2022 version, which drew the company’s first $1 million gate, with the main event of CM Punk vs. Adam Page.

Key matches on the PPV in Las Vegas this year included the “Anarchy in the Arena” match between The Elite and Team AEW, Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage, and Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale.

To show how much higher PPV gates are compared to TV tapings, new Pollstar data also shows Dynamite on June 19 in Fairfax, Virginia drew $183,271 from 3,735 sales. The Double or Nothing gate from this year was more than three times that figure.

We reached out to AEW for this report but didn’t receive a response.

Here’s the history of what we know about AEW PPV event gates going back to 2022. I believe these gate numbers don’t include ticket fees.

• 5/26/2024: Double or Nothing (Las Vegas) – 9,099 paying $582,204 (Pollstar)

• 4/21/2024: Dynasty (St. Louis) – 6,287 paying $401,373 (Pollstar)

• 3/3/2024: Revolution (Greensboro) – 15,837 paying $1,025,830 (public records obtained by Wrestlenomics)

• 12/30/2023: Worlds End (Uniondale, NY) – estimated 10,093 tickets distributed (WrestleTix), unknown gate

• 11/18/2023: Full Gear (Inglewood, CA) – estimated 12,904 tickets distributed (WrestleTix), unknown gate

• 10/1/2023: Wrestle Dream (Seattle) – 7,108 paying $533,717 (Pollstar)

• 9/3/2023: All Out (Chicago) – estimated tickets distributed 9,826 (WrestleTix), unknown gate

• 8/27/2023: All In (London) – 81,131 paying $10 million, according to AEW

• 6/25/2023: Forbidden Door (Toronto) – estimated 13,631 tickets distributed (WrestleTix) paying $1.2 million, according to AEW

• 5/28/2023: Double or Nothing (Las Vegas) – 10,478 paying $964,349 (Pollstar)

• 3/5/2023: Revolution (San Francisco) – 13,807 paying $737,010 (Pollstar)

• 11/19/2022: Full Gear (Newark) – 10,850 paying $1,199,486 (Pollstar)

• 9/4/2022: All Out (Hoffman Estates, IL) – estimated 9,039 tickets distributed (WrestleTix), unknown gate

• 6/26/2022: Forbidden Door (Chicago) – estimated 15,426 tickets distributed (WrestleTix), unknown gate

• 5/29/2022: Double or Nothing (Las Vegas) – 13,148 paying $1,256,272, according to Pollstar but I believe that gate figure also includes Rampage the night before. AEW claimed this was its first $1 million gate.

• 3/6/2022: Revolution (Orlando) – 8,095 paying $474,404 (Pollstar)

brandon@wrestlenomics.com

By John Pollock & Brandon Thurston

WWE made several front-office cuts earlier this week, and we can report an additional release.

POST Wrestling and Wrestlenomics have learned that Beth Fisher, who served as WWE’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, was released this past week after nearly thirteen years with the company.

Fisher began with WWE in August 2011 as an assistant to the office of the Chairman and CEO (Vince McMahon) and became a senior manager in the Marketing and Communications department.

Her final role was Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, a position she was promoted to in November 2019.

From Fisher’s LinkedIn profile:

As the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at WWE, I lead the company’s social impact and community engagement initiatives, including managing strategic partnerships, overseeing signature programs, and executing global events. With over 13 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry, I have developed strong skills in event management, public relations, and communications, as well as a passion for making a positive difference in the world. I am proud to be part of the Emerging Leaders Council of Make-A-Wish® Connecticut, where I support the organization’s mission to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. I am also committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion at WWE, where I collaborate with various internal and external stakeholders to advance the company’s values and goals.

During her tenure with the company, she worked underneath former company presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. Her latest role was working with Matt Altman as part of WWE’s marketing department.

Fisher’s team at WWE recently received the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the Cablefax Faxies Awards.

We’ve also learned of one additional member of Fisher’s team who was let go.

Additionally, Fightful reported Senior Vice President of Entertainment Relations Kristen Prouty was let go after nineteen years at WWE. Tavia Hartley, who worked as Manager of Talent Operations and Appearances was also among the cuts reported by the outlet.