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Post by Vegas on Jan 15, 2020 20:08:31 GMT -5
AEW to Expand to Two Nights a Week With New Multi-Year TNT Deal
The upstart pro wrestling promotion has signed a new multi-year deal with TNT that will keep it on the air through 2023. In addition, AEW will launch a new weekly show to go alongside its already-launched series “Dynamite,” which airs Wednesdays on the cabler.
“When we launched AEW one year ago, we wanted to start a revolution that would disrupt the wrestling business, but everyone said that it would take a strong weekly television partner to make AEW real in the eyes of everyone – above all, the fans,” said Tony Khan, president and CEO of AEW. “What virtually no one realized at the time was Kevin Reilly and TNT were committed to this very same movement from Day One, and their belief in us made it possible for AEW to think and act big from the start. Here we are, only four months into ‘Wednesday Night Dynamite,’ and now we’ve been extended through 2023! We’re now making the ultimate statement that the team of AEW and TNT is here to stay and to bring fans more of the great wrestling that the fans demand and deserve.”
“Dynamite” launched on TNT in October. The series has proven popular with wrestling fans and is currently averaging 1.2 million viewers per episode with 654,000 in adults 18-49 in the Nielsen Live+7 ratings.
“When Tony Khan first shared with me his idea of starting a new wrestling league, I was impressed by his audacity to go up against a contender that has been the only game in town for twenty years, and ultimately believed that together we could bring his vision for a new, authentic, gritty product to bear,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer, HBO Max and president of TNT, TBS, and truTV. “The fans have spoken and after only three months, we have seen AEW shake up the wrestling world and this will only continue as we build upon this momentum.”
AEW is headlined by Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page. The roster also includes top competitors including Nyla Rose, Awesome Kong, Dustin Rhodes, Jungle Boy, Dr. Britt Baker, MJF, Pac and SCU. In addition to being in-ring talent, Cody, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega also serve as executive vice presidents with Brandi serving as chief brand officer.
WarnerMedia announced in May 2019 that it was working with AEW to build the promotion into a global pro-wrestling franchise. WarnerMedia has also been offering fans exclusive access to AEW’s pay-per-view matches via B/R Live. Their next event, “Revoultion” takes place in Chicago on Feb. 29 and will also stream on the platform.
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Post by LAWraith on Jan 15, 2020 21:03:22 GMT -5
I like AEW but I feel like we/I need to get to know the wrestlers better. I love Cody/MJF, Jericho and Britt Baker but haven’t been blow away my the Bucks or Omega. They made the right choice with the tag titles but they would do really well with a team like the revival. I really wish Rusev and others left the north and tried AEW
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Post by TTX on Jan 15, 2020 21:28:25 GMT -5
so AEW can be as overcrowded as the WWE.
I know not everyone can get pushed in the WWE but the way AEW is adding people, it's quickly going to be the same for them as well.
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Post by aceldamas on Jan 15, 2020 22:46:19 GMT -5
Oh brother. They can’t consistently produce 2 hrs of quality show as it is let alone 3 or 4. The parallels to WCW continue.
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Post by Swarm on Jan 16, 2020 9:53:44 GMT -5
I’m not following super closely but from what I understand, AEW is basically trying to come full circle to when all these guys (Bucks, Omega, Cody) we’re wrestling in ROH/NJPW - the only difference now being these same guys are all now VP’s getting paid mad money by their new buddy Tony. They want to work w NJPW? ROH did that already. Their buddy Marty in ROH has been hired to work out a deal w AEW? All AEW is is a few guys who used to wrestle in ROH/NJPW and Jericho. We already had this. It just wasn’t on TNT.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2020 13:16:08 GMT -5
It's a good deal for them because it apparently pushes them into profitability. Regarding the second show, Tony Magilio from The Wrap tweeted this:
So it looks like Dark is going to be carried over but focused more on getting to know the talent and their stories as well as building upon what's shown on Dynamite, which is a good thing. How well they execute it, obviously, remains to be seen but this isn't a bad thing until it's put in motion and we see how they handle it. Shoutouts to them for being able to land a better deal.
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Post by MHardcore on Jan 16, 2020 16:17:00 GMT -5
Bring on a NJPW partnership. I’ll take a few more years of amazing athletes and the chance to see some of the greatest workers on the planet take on AEWs finest.
Moxley looks like a killer since leaving WWE.
Sammy Guevara has been really good.
Darby Allin is a star in the making if he doesn’t cripple himself. PAC is one of the most underrated wrestlers on the planet. He’s silky smooth w a mean streak & a great gimmick. So much better than Rollins or Balor.
MJF.
Adam Cole finding a personality to go along w all his talents.
Jake Hager has been great and he hasn’t even wrestled yet.
So many potentially awesome tag matches and lightweight matches that could happen.
A bunch of interesting mid card options for solid match ups as well.
And Dream Match possibility of Minoru Suzuki v Orange Cassidy! That alone is worth it.
ROH-AEW may be harder to pull off, as I doubt Tony Khan or TNT would want to join up w ROH (as it would likely lessen the AEW brand). If they were to work w ROH, they may as well work w Impact, NWA, and MLW as well, in an attempt to bring back the territories.
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Post by pikemojo on Jan 16, 2020 17:24:34 GMT -5
Regardless of whether they can improve their quality or not, this is pretty important for them. They are now profitable.
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Post by Swarm on Jan 17, 2020 8:17:13 GMT -5
Regardless of whether they can improve their quality or not, this is pretty important for them. They are now profitable. Does this mean the mid card and lower card talent will get full time deals like the Khan crew? And if they want a deal w AEW, just partner w ROH and have them broker it since they’ve been there and done that already. |
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Post by pikemojo on Jan 17, 2020 13:25:25 GMT -5
Regardless of whether they can improve their quality or not, this is pretty important for them. They are now profitable. Does this mean the mid card and lower card talent will get full time deals like the Khan crew? And if they want a deal w AEW, just partner w ROH and have them broker it since they’ve been there and done that already. I thought the lower and mid-card guys and gals WERE on full time contracts. I had heard that there were very few wrestlers that were allowed to accept other bookings. As for an ROH partnership... I don't see that really benefiting AEW in any real way. They should really focus on building up their own talent through better story-telling and character building, not propping up a company that has fallen on hard times. |
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