AEW has officially announced the newest signing to their backstage team.
As announced via press release on March 26th, former WWE regional Director of Live Events Kosha Irby has joined the team as Chief Operating Officer. Irby will oversee live events and marketing as part of the new role along with many other responsibilities as Tony Khan looks to expand his promotion in the near future:
AEW Names Kosha Irby Chief Operating Officer
— Irby to Oversee Key Infrastructure Enhancements Across Multiple Lines of AEW’s Business —
March 26, 2024 – AEW CEO Tony Khan today announced that Kosha Irby has officially joined All Elite Wrestling as Chief Operating Officer.
Irby will oversee all strategic planning and execution of Live Events, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Licensing, Consumer Products and other major lines of business for the company. He joins AEW from Clemson University, where he served as Chief Marketing Officer within the athletic department and has previously held positions with the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football as Chief Marketing Officer, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) as President and WWE as Regional Director of Live Events.
“Kosha brings decades of experience within the sports, entertainment and wrestling industries alongside an incredible work ethic and passion for our brand,” said Khan. “As Chief Operating Officer, he will be a phenomenal asset to AEW as we enter the next phase of the company’s ongoing business development and expansion.”
Irby’s hiring was first announced back in January 2024 in a report from Fightful Select. Irby’s hiring was announced in the midst of multiple stars exiting the company including Shawn Spears, Andrade El Idolo and QT Marshall. While Spears and El Idolo made their returns to WWE, QT Marshall eventually returned to his previous role in February.
Irby was hired to fill the positions left by departing higher-ups including former vice president and chief marketing officer Rafael Morffi and former chief marketing and merchandising officer Dana Massie. Irby worked with WWE from 2011 to 2017.
AEW Announces Newest Signing To Jump From WWE
Despite being signed to the company in January, All Elite Wrestling has been quiet about Irby’s signing until more than 2 months after the Fightful report was published. Along with the signing of Irby, former WWE senior writer Jennifer Pepperman also recently signed with the promotion, and was officially announced as All Elite shortly after her WWE exit. Pepperman had previously worked closely with Mercedes Mone, who became All Elite on March 13th.