The first week of the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite war is in the books.
Wednesday’s edition of WWE NXT averaged 891,000 viewers, which is down from the 1.006 million viewers that the show drew last week on the USA Network, according to ShowbuzzDaily.
AEW Dynamite that aired during the same time slot on TNT pulled in 1.409 million for the premiere episode. Thus, AEW won the night.
To compare, this week’s RAW drew 2.570 million viewers (from last week’s 2.210 million viewers), which was the season premiere of the show. The overnight ratings from Nielsen had AEW at a 0.7 and NXT at 0.5.
In case you missed the WWE NXT show, you can check out the 6 takeaways from it here.
WWE and AEW will attempt to increase viewership with next week’s episodes, which should be interesting to see what number it pulls in.
The shows had to go up against that Basketball Wives did 1,233 million viewers, Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3,580, and Anderson Cooper 1,482. The biggest competition was an MLB Wild Card Game on ESPN that drew 3,969 million.
Matches that took place on the NXT show included NXT Champion Adam Cole def. Matt Riddle and NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed ERA (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) def. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford).
Top matches on AEW included PAC def. Hangman Page and Chris Jericho, Ortiz & Santana def. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega.
Following the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite, WWE issued a congratulatory statement regarding the debut of the weekly television show.
The statement reads like, “Congratulations to AEW on a successful premiere. The real winners of last night’s head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a one-night sprint.”
WWE made big changes to their business once the launch of AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and the news that the rival promotion had reached a television deal with TNT.
Wednesday marked the first night of the Wednesday Night Wars between NXT and AEW Dynamite.
AEW had a sold-out crowd over 14,000 fans in Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena on TNT. On the flip side, WWE aired NXT from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University on the USA Network,
NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle and NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed ERA (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) were the top two matches for the NXT broadcast. The show also featured the returns of Finn Balor and Tommaso Ciampa.
For AEW, PAC vs. Hangman Page and Chris Jericho, Ortiz & Santana vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega were billed as the top matches. Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) made his debut at the end of the show.
A new Jay and Silent Bob movie is scheduled to be released and Chris Jericho plays a major role in the film. Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) and Jason Mewes (Jay) were on-hand last night for AEW Dynamite. During the show, Mewes and Smith got into a verbal spat with Jack Evans & Angelico. Before the show, they were seen wearing the brand new AEW World Tag Team titles, however
AEW released the following photo of Jay and Silent Bob with the titles:
Jay and Silent Bob will have to give up those titles following the completion of the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament. The finals of tournament is scheduled for the October 30th edition of Dynamite.
1st Round:
The Young Bucks vs Private Party
Lucha Bros vs Jurassic Express
Best Friends vs SCU
The Dark Order receive a bye
“Look at the pure joy on my face! I had a true blast at #AEWDynamite tonight! Big thanks to our #JayAndSilentBobReboot co-star @IAmJericho for having us at the @AEWrestling television premiere! Hope you’re all celebrating by cracking open bottles of the Bubbly!” Kevin Smith Tweeted about last night.
Christopher Daniels is a big Kevin Smith fan and noted he was happy he got to speak with him last night.
I was happy that I got the chance to tell @ThatKevinSmith how much I appreciated his work, how much fun being on COMIC BOOK MEN a few years back was, and hopefully he ends up being a fan of #SCU when it’s all said & done! https://t.co/PsM7SYebEu
A lot of things happened last night on the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite. Perhaps not the most important of those is that someone tossed a hot dog wiener into the ring during the closing moments of the show. The incident led Chris Jericho to address the crowd and also to crush the wiener in his hand.
Chris Jericho picked up the win for his team in last night’s main event on Dynamite. In the show’s closing moments, it appeared Jericho aligned himself with several heels on the AEW roster. Sammy Guevara, Santana & Ortiz, Jericho, and the debuting Jake Hager took out the Elite and stood tall as a unit to end the show.
The first episode of AEW Dynamite featured some interesting
matches including the 6 man tag main event which ended in a big brawl and the
AEW debut of the former WWE World Champion Jack Swagger.
In the post-show media scrum, the company president Tony
Khan talked about the various aspects of their debut show and also revealed
that Jack Swagger has been signed to them for a while.
Khan revealed that Swagger, who also uses the name Jake Hagger has been signed to them for a while now and both the parties had successfully kept it secret till now:
“You know what’s pretty cool about secret keeping is
that Jake’s been signed for like a really long time, Jake’s been signed to us
for like a really long time now. Jake can clearly keep a secret and so can we.
For quite awhile now Jake was signed.”
The AEW President then went on to confirmed that Swagger’s signing with the promotion will not affect his MMA schedule and he has adjusted his schedule to be able to do both.
Apart from this Tony Khan also talked about Jack Swagger joining Chris Jericho, Santana & Ortiz and Sammy Guevara calling this group a stable.
When asked if he is confirming their status as a stable, Tony Khan claimed that the way they acted seemed like a stable to him. They seemed like guys with a plan but we will have to wait and see.
AEW made their TV debut with an explosive episode of Dynamite, which featured some great matches such as Pac vs. Adam Cole and the 6 man tag match in the main event as well as the debut of the former WWE World Champion Jack Hagger.
Though this wasn’t all the action that took place during the night. Cody Rhodes had promised dark matches to the crowd attending the show and the company delivered on their promise with not one, but 4 dark matches both before and after the event.
The first dark match which took place after the 6 men tag main event concluded, saw the Lucha Brothers teaming up with Jack Evans, and Angelico.
These four faced and defeated the team of Private Party and
The Best Friends. Orange Cassidy was also seen wandering in the ringside for
this bout.
The second match was a women’s division match after the crowning of the first-ever AEW Women’s Champion and it saw Britt Baker and Allie teaming up to defeat Penelope Ford and Bea Priestley.
The fans got to see SCU in action as well and the trio faced
the team of Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt, and Jungle Boy in another 6 man tag match
and they defeated Jungle Boy and his friends.
Though this wasn’t all the live-action fans saw as Darby Allin also competed during the night and he defeated CIMA in a singles match before the show went on air.
The debut episode of AEW Dynamite aired live from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:
Chris Jericho Attacked Cody After His Victory Over Sammy Guevara
Cody battled Sammy Guevara in the first match of the night. The bout had a 20-minute time limit. Cody got an incredible reaction from the crowd before the match.
A visible “Vince fears ratings” sign was held up in the crowd as Cody and Sammy locked up. The crowd chanted “Sammy sucks!” as Guevara shoved Cody to the outside.
Sammy laid down in the ring and posed as Cody got back inside. Guevara connected with a Dropkick and followed it up with a Moonsault for a one count. Sammy slapped Cody in the face and Cody got pissed off.
Cody planted Sammy with a Powerslam and went for the cover but Sammy kicked out at one. Cody locked in the Figure Four in the middle of the ring but Guevara was able to reach the ropes to break the hold.
Cody and Sammy traded chops before Cody lifted Guevara up in the air for several seconds. Cody slammed Guevara to the canvas and went for the cover but Sammy kicked out at two. Cody did some push-ups in the middle of the ring and then flexed as the crowd cheered him on.
Sammy connected with a boot to the face but Cody shrugged it off and hit a Springboard Cutter for a near fall. Guevara battled back with a Springboard Cutter of his own for another near fall.
Guevara connected with an Enziguri and took some time to pose and Cody capitalized with a kick that sent Sammy out of the ring. Cody went for a Suicide Dive but Sammy got out of the way and shoved Brandi into the line of fire. Cody landed on Brandi and Guevara capitalized by throwing Cody into the post as the crowd chanted “asshole!”.
Sammy climbed to the top rope and went for a Moonsault but Cody got out of the way. Guevara landed on his feet and quickly connected with a Shooting Star Press for a near fall. Cody distracted the referee and Brandi hit Sammy in the face. Cody then hit the Disaster Kick for a two count as Justin Roberts announced that there were ten minutes remaining in the match.
Cody perched Sammy on the top rope and hit planted him with a Reverse Superplex for a two count. Cody made his way back up to the top rope but Guevara leaped onto the turnbuckle and hit a beautiful Spanish Fly for a two count. Sammy climbed back up to the top rope and went for a Shooting Star Press but Cody got his knees up. Cody then rolled up Sammy Guevara for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Cody was interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Guevara interrupted and shook Cody’s hand. AEW Champion Chris Jericho rushed the ring and attacked Cody from behind. Jericho leveled Cody with a Clothesline and hit the Codebreaker as AEW went to a commercial break. Jericho continued his attack through the break and set up a couple of chairs and Powerbombed Cody on top of them.
This match started off rough but wound up being a great opening match for AEW Dynamite. The energy from the crowd was unbelievable and hopefully, that continues throughout the night.
Brandon Cutler squared off against MJF in the second match of the night. MJF demanded that his music be cut and referred to himself as the youngest and fastest rising star in the history of professional wrestling. MJF added that all of you losers get that the honor of watching him become a star tonight.
Cutler slapped MJF in the face and then rolled him up for a two count. Maxwell Jacob Friedman raked Cutler across the eyes and sent him into the ring post. MJF connected with a Body Slam but Cutler battled back and sent MJF to the outside. Cutler hit a Suicide Dive but apparently tweaked his knee and proceeded to awkwardly fall off the turnbuckle once they got back into the ring. MJF elbowed Cutler in the face and applied an Armbar for the submission victory.
I’m not sure what the hell happened at the end of this match but it was a bad finish. I hope Cutler didn’t actually injure himself but this wasn’t the best way to introduce MJF to a national audience. Friedman is insanely talented and eventually will get himself over with new fans regardless but this match wasn’t good at all.
Hangman Adam Page faced PAC tonight on Dynamite. PAC and Hangman started off the match by trading punches in the middle of the ring. Page turned PAC inside out with a massive Clothesline and then threw him to the corner.
Page hit PAC with a chop to the chest and PAC rolled out of the ring to try and regroup. Hangman chased him out and there and launched PAC into the barricade. Page then connected with a Suicide Dive and PAC once again slammed into the barricade.
Back in the ring, Hangman connected with a Fallaway Slam for a near fall. PAC battled back but Hangman took control again and hit another Fallaway Slam off the second rope. Page connected with a Cutter and went for the cover but PAC kicked out at two.
PAC bounced Page’s face off the top turnbuckle and sent Hangman into the ring post as AEW went to a commercial break. During the break, PAC continued to control the action and beat Hangman down in the corner.
When Dynamite returned, Hangman battled back with a flurry of right hands and a massive Spinebuster. PAC retreated out of the ring but Hangman connected with a Moonsault off the top rope.
Back in the ring, PAC hit Page with a low blow as Earl Hebner was distracted. PAC climbed to the top rope and hit the Black Arrow. PAC locked in the Bruetalizer and referee Earl Hebner called for the bell.
Nyla Rose squared off against Riho to crown the first AEW Women’s Champion. Britt Baker joined commentary for the match.
Riho hit a couple of Dropkicks and went for another one but Nyla took her down with a shoulder tackle. Rose hit a Splash and went for the cover but Riho kicked out at two. Riho went for a Double Stomp but it had no effect on Rose.
Nyla locked in a Crossface in the middle of the ring. Riho reached the ropes and hit Rose with a knee to the face that knocked Nyla to the outside. Riho climbed to the top rope and went for Crossbody but Rose caught her. Rose connected with a Backbreaker and then grabbed a chair from under the ring.
Rose placed Riho on top of a stack on the chairs and hopped up on the ring apron. Nyla went for a Senton but Riho got out of the way and Rose landed on the chairs. Riho hit a Double Stomp off the apron and then rolled Rose back into the ring. Riho hit another Double Stomp and went for the cover but Rose kicked out at two.
Riho tried to counter a Powerbomb with a Back Body Drop but collapsed under her weight. Riho countered another Powerbomb but Rose kicked out at the last moment. Rose then hit a Death Valley Driver for another near fall.
Rose and Riho battled on the top turnbuckle and Riho somehow hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count as the crowd went nuts. Riho went for a running knee but Rose got out of the way. Riho stayed with it and hit Double Knees to the face for the pinfall victory. Riho is the first AEW Women’s Champion.
After the match, Michael Nakazawa tried to interview Riho but Nyla attacked him from behind. Rose almost dropped Nakazawa on his head but was able to lift him back up for a Powerbomb. Rose tried to attack Riho but Kenny Omega rushed the ring and separated them.
Riho and Nyla Rose had a great match tonight, despite some sloppy moments. I just assumed that Nyla was going to win this match and the ending completely caught me by surprise. The crowd once again was electric and really added to this match.
Moxley Attacked Omega & Jake Hager Made His AEW Debut
Chris Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz battled Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) in the main event of the show. Omega started off the match in control and hit Santana with a Dropkick. Jericho got in the ring and locked in the Walls of Jericho on Omega but the Young Bucks broke it up with dueling Superkicks.
Matt and Nick took out Santana and Ortiz outside the ring as Kenny posed in the ring. Jon Moxley hopped in the ring behind Kenny and attacked him. Moxley threw Kenny out of the ring and then sent him over the barricade.
Moxley and Omega battled through the crowd as the action continued in the ring. Jon bit Omega’s face and then slammed him into a concrete wall. Omega grabbed a mop and hit bashed Moxley over the back with it.
Moxley slammed Omega into a door in the VIP area and then planted him with the Paradigm Shift (formerly Dirty Deeds) through a glass coffee table as the crowd chanted “holy shit!”.
When Dynamite returned, Matt connected with a Spear to Ortiz. Santana and Ortiz hit Matt with a flurry of Splashes and Sentons for a two count. Jericho tagged in and went for the Lionsault but Matt got his knees up. Ortiz tagged in and prevented Matt from tagging out of the match.
Matt connected with a Cutter but Ortiz was able to tag Santana in. Santana knocked Nick off the apron but turned around into a Northern Lights Suplex from Matt. Jackson then planted Santana and Ortiz with another Northern Lights Suplex and followed it up with a Bulldog/Lariat combination.
Nick hit a Moonsault and tagged Matt back in. Jericho took out Nick with a Codebreaker and Santana hit Matt with a Cannonball in the corner. Jericho then connected with the Judas Effect for the pinfall victory. After the match, Cody rushed the ring and started punching everyone in sight.
Sammy Guevara hit Cody with a low blow and then Dustin Rhodes rushed the ring. Jake Hager then rushed the ring and leveled Dustin. Hager connected with a Splash on Cody as the crowd chanted “we the people!”. Hager then slammed Dustin on top of a podium and Jericho hit Cody with the Judas Effect to close the show.
JR shouted “holy shit!” during Hager’s debut and I was right there with him. This was an epic way to close out the first episode of Dynamite and already has me looking forward to next week’s show.
There were certainly some dull points during tonight’s show but for the most part, I was very entertained. My only real complaint during AEW’s first few PPVs was the camera work. There were countless occasions where the cameras completely missed spots during the matches but AEW has rectified that in their TV debut.
Dynamite was shot very well and the energy from the crowd added a ton to this show. As long as AEW keeps putting on shows like this, I don’t see any episodes of Dynamite suffering from a dead crowd as we have routinely seen on RAW and SmackDown.
Former WWE Superstar Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) made a surprise appearance on the debut episode of AEW Dynamite.
As seen on Wednesday’s show from Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena on TNT, Hager came out to the ring after the main event that saw Chirs Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz beat The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in a six-man tag team match.
After the match, the heels jumped The Young Bucks that led to a brawl involving Cody Rhodes, Sammy Guevara, Dustin Rhodes, and eventually Hager, who attacked the babyfaces.
It will be interesting to see Hager’s role with AEW going forward as he’s still competing in the world of MMA. In fact, he has his next fight booked under the banner of the Bellator MMA promotion.
He is set to fight at the Bellator 231 event. He’ll take on Anthony Garrett in a heavyweight showdown that will air as part of the main card.
The inaugural AEW (All Elite Wrestling) Women’s Champion has been crowned.
As seen on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena on the TNT Network, Riho beat Nyla Rose to become the first-ever champion under the AEW banner.
These two stars earned this opportunity to compete for the title back in August at the All Out event at the Sears Centre in Chicago, IL that aired on pay-per-view.
Rose won the Women’s Casino Battle Royale that took place on the pre-show. Competitors in the Women’s Casino Battle Royale included the following names:
On the flip side, Riho beat Hikaru Shida in a singles match that took place on the main card.
The promotion has already confirmed that the Women’s World Championship will be on the line on this show in Philadelphia on October 16 at the Liacouras Center.
What are your thoughts on Riho winning the AEW Women’s Title? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Viewership numbers are in for the “Road To AEW Dynamite ” preview special.
The show aired on October 1 on TNT and drew 631,000 viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily. The one-hour special ranked #26 on the Cable Top 150 18-49 demographic, and #36 for the night in viewership.
This is another good number for AEW (All Elite Wrestling). This was AEW’s latest piece of programming on TNT, which aired for one-hour.
The special previewed all of the top matches that were set to take place on the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite that airs on Wednesday from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.
For comparison, the AEW “Countdown to All Out” preview special drew 390,000 viewers and ranked #29 in the Cable Top 150 18-49 demographic last in August.
The Dynamite premiere viewership, which will be released on Thursday, should be interesting to see as they will go head-to-head with NXT on the USA Network.
Dave Meltzer noted on the July 22nd edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that industry insiders are estimating that the debut episode will average 400,000 – 500,000 viewers. Obviously, the number for Dynamite will be higher than that.
You can watch the “Road To AEW Dynamite ” preview special below as the full broadcast was posted on the official All Elite Wrestling YouTube channel.
Joey Janela says he might be the one to mess with WWE on AEW television. Janela was recently a guest on the WINCLY podcast and spoke about the Wednesday Night Wars and referred to NXT’s product as “stale.”
Janela said on the show he watched NXT’s debut on USA a few weeks ago and wasn’t that impressed.
“I watched the [NXT] premiere a few weeks ago and it was okay. I don’t watch NXT and haven’t watched it in two years. There were other reasons I wanted to watch it as well *cough cough* Lio Rush who I wanted to see f**k up or not. But he did great. Besides that, it was kinda stale.”
He would admit that NXT’s PPV events are good, however.
“Their PPVs are spectacular; they’re big Saturday shows are great. I think it’s gonna be competitive and I think NXT knows what they’re doing. But AEW knows what they’re doing as well. So we’ll see what happens.”
Janela also teased that he could be the one to mess with the other company similar to what happened a few times during the Monday Night Wars.
“I don’t know. I was a big, big WWE fan in the Attitude Era and I would like to be that prick,” admitted Janela. “There’s a chance I could be that prick, so you’ll have to watch and see.”
The full interview with Joey Janela can be listened to in the player below:
Just days after fans reacted negatively to the ITV schedule for AEW Dynamite, the station has announced a change. The new schedule will alleviate concerns fans had of not being able to see the most recent weekly show before a PPV is scheduled to air that Saturday.
ITV sent out the following update regarding the new schedule for AEW Dynamite:
“ITV has announced new schedule details for its free to air coverage of brand new weekly wrestling show AEW: Dynamite.
In a change to the original schedule, the full two hour show will be available to view on the ITV hub from 7PM on Thursday 3 October, it will then be shown at 11:20PM on ITV4 on Friday evening, before being broadcast at 8:20AM on Sunday 6 October also on IT4.
A one hour highlights programme will also be shown on Monday 7 October at 11:45PM on ITV.
As previously announced, the shows will lead, sequentially, to the 9 November Full Gear PPV event.”
AEW Announces Canadian Broadcast Deal
Similarly, AEW and TSN announced a broadcast deal yesterday which will see AEW: Dynamite air live on Wednesday nights beginning October 2nd.
Tonight All Elite Wrestling presents its first show on TNT. Ahead of the show, AEW President Tony Khan spoke to Wade Keller about the promotion building off of WCW’s lapsed fanbase and more.
Khan talked about how he believes wrestling has plenty of lapsed fans AEW can tap into it.
“The business case before we had created AEW or spent a dime or signed anybody was that we believed there were millions of lapsed fans and there are millions of people that had been regular wrestling watchers and it was certainly a major part of their lives – because you saw big ratings every week for years and then that sort of dropped off.”
Khan would continue to talk about the potential to bring back wrestling fans who left after the death of WCW.
“WCW in its dying days still had a very large audience,” Khan continued. “My belief was that if we went out that there would still be some market share there and if we could get back to where they were at the end and build off it, we’d be great but in terms of PPV and live attendance, we’re actually way ahead of where WCW was in the last year.”
He would continue to say many fans who purchase AEW PPVs are not WWE fans as well.
“If you look at our buys, there are a lot of people buying AEW PPVs and consuming our wrestling that were not consuming WWE.”
“The early evidence supports the business case that I launched the company off of,” Khan concluded.
After months of hype and fans wondering what AEW will present to them on their weekly television show, Dynamite, bell time is just hours away.
All Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has already confirmed that the show will be rated TV-14. Thus, it’s time to look ahead to tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
The show is expected to start with Cody vs. Sammy Guevara in a singles match. Although not confirmed, the belief is that Chris Jericho, Ortiz & Santana vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega in a six-man tag team match will serve as the headliner.
AEW holds this show in Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
Chris Jericho, Ortiz & Santana vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega.
Nyla Rose vs. Riho to crown the first AEW Women’s Champion
Cody vs. Sammy Guevara.
Hangman Page vs PAC
Jon Moxley to appear
AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds.
Fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for Dynamite.
Fans found out after weeks of speculation who are going to be Chris Jericho’s mystery tag team partners.
It turns out that Jericho will team up with Ortiz and Santana to face off with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks in a six-man tag team match. AEW announced the news on Countdown Show that aired on Tuesday night.
The match will take place on the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night from Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena on the TNT Network.
The promotion has already confirmed that The Young Bucks will be in action as they will take on Private Party as part of the first-round in the AEW Tag Team Title Tournament on next week’s show in Boston, Massachusetts at the Agganis Arena
This contest will determine who will advance in not only the tournament but also to get closer to have the chance to become the inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions.
AEW presents Full Gear on Saturday, November 9th from Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena. The show will air on B/R Live, which is Bleacher Report’s streaming service, traditional PPV outlets, and FITE TV in international markets.
It’s already been announced that Jericho will make his next title defense as AEW World Champion against Cody Rhodes in the headliner of this show.
What are your thoughts on these two stars serving as Jericho’s mystery tag team partners? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Cody Rhodes has opened up on the importance of his next match that takes place before the next AEW pay-per-view event.
The AEW Vice President took part in a conference call on Tuesday ahead of AEW Dynamite.
During the call, he discussed his match with Sammy Guevara. He tried to get over the potential implications that it could have at the Full Gear show.
“I would like to make it clear, that if Sammy Guevara beats me, I’m not going to Full Gear to wrestle Chris Jericho, by no means. Sammy Guevara will be able to take my place if he wins on the first episode of Dynamite. So, the stakes are high.”
Rhodes is expected to open the premiere episode of AEW on TNT this Wednesday in Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena. This is just one of many matches that have been announced for the stacked lineup.
Rhodes is slated to challenge Jericho for the AEW World Title at the pay-per-view event. This is part of AEW taking wins and losses seriously.
AEW presents Full Gear on Saturday, November 9th from Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena. The show will air on B/R Live, which is Bleacher Report’s streaming service, traditional PPV outlets, and FITE TV in international markets.
Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite premiere on TNT means a lot of things to a lot of people. For Jungle Boy, it marks the end of his independent wrestling career.
Jungle Boy has been one of the breakout performers of the upstart AEW promotion. Along with with Luchasaurus, the Jurassic Express tag team has taken the wrestling world by storm.
As one of eight teams in the of tournament to crown AEW’s inaugural tag team champions, the ‘boy and his dinosaur’ have hands full in the first round. They’ll face the Lucha Bros, who are arguably the odds-on favorite to win it all. That tournament kicks off in Week 2 of AEW Dynamite.
With bright lights and big cities ahead, Jungle Boy posted a message on Instagram reflecting on the independent wrestling career that led him to this big moment.
“Last night marked the end of my independent wrestling career,” he wrote. “I’m not saying you’ll never see me in an Indy ring again, but it closes a symbolic chapter of my life. I’ve had some of the most amazing times, met the wildest people, and made the best friends I could ever ask for.”
Jungle Boy continued, “There are way too many pictures to choose from, and way too many moments not photographed, but these are just a few of the most recent on my phone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has been a part of this crazy ride. I’m so excited to see what adventures the future holds, but I’ll never forget where I came from. One love. One family.”
AEW (All Elite Wrestling) has secured a television deal in Canada. The news was first reported by Dave Meltzer and PWInsider.
The weekly television show will air live each week at 8 pm ET on TSN in Canada. As of this writing, no other details have been revealed about the deal. A formal announcement is expected shortly.
This comes after it was announced last week that AEW will air in the UK on ITV4 on Sunday mornings at 8 am and a one-hour Dynamite highlights show on Monday nights.
This means that fans in the UK will have to wait four days to watch new episodes of the show although the promotion is working to air the show live but those details have yet to be revealed.
FITE TV has also announced that AEW Plus will provide live and replay access to fans in order to watch AEW Dynamite on a subscription basis as well as an a la carte option.
AEW Plus will feature the live two-hour show every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET for a $4.99 monthly subscription price on FITE or $2.99 per episode.
AEW Dynamite will begin airing live two-hour weekly matches on TNT at 8 p.m. ET starting this Wednesday.
The location for the tenth week of AEW Dynamite has been announced.
AEW (All Elite Wrestling) announced on Monday via Twitter that the promotion would be holding a TV event on TNT in Champaign, Illinois at the State Farm Center on December 4.
For fans who plan on attending, tickets for that show will go on sale this Friday at 11 am CST / Noon Eastern at AEWTix.com.
The arena has a max capacity of approximately 15,500 people, which is in line of other arenas that AEW is airing their television show from.
It turns out that this is the hometown of AEW President Tony Khan. He commented on the show by writing the following in a recent post on his official Twitter account:
“Maybe my best week ever as @AEWonTNT Dynamite debuts in 2 days, Wednesday 8pm ET + wins for @FulhamFC & @Jaguars this past weekend, now the cherry on top: @AEWrestling #AEWDynamite is coming to @StateFarmCenter in my hometown Champaign, IL 12/4! Tickets onsale this Friday 11amCT!”
AEW has announced several locations for upcoming TV events. Here is an updated look at the AEW TV schedule:
Week 1 (10/2): Washington, D.C.
Week 2 (10/9): Boston, MA
Week 3 (10/16): Philadelphia, PA
Week 4 (10/23): Pittsburgh, PA
Week 5 (10/30): Charleston, WV
Week 6 (11/6): Charlotte, NC
Week 7 (11/13): Nashville, TN
Week 8 (11/20): Indianapolis, IN
Week 9 (11/27): Charlotte, NC
Week 10 (12/4): Champaign, IL
You can watch the latest episode of Being The Elite here:
Triple H has discussed the latest comments made by Kenny Omega.
“The Game” continues to make the media rounds to promote WWE NXT on the USA Network. He did so again when he spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News where he spoke about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he was asked about Omega stating that fans will see real stars on TNT with AEW Dynamite whereas NXT offers “developmental talent.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I’m not sure if you’re aware of social media and that landscape. It’s a fairly negative place (laughs). If you’re going to get thin-skinned and read into stuff and get angry about stuff that people say, it’s gonna be a rough life. There’s a statement about opinions over the years I’ve heard. Everybody it entitled to their opinion. Everybody is entitled to put an executive tag on the front of their name and think that’s a cool thing.”
Triple H continued by nothing that if that’s the way that Omega sees it then bring their best show because he’ll bring his and that the winners in this war are the fans.
Triple H thinks that fans will choose what they want to watch and how. He continued by noting that it doesn’t matter to him and it’s not his interest but rather putting on the best show possible is his interest.
The war between NXT and AEW starts this Wednesday night.
Ahead of Wednesday’s premiere of AEW Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling has released what appears to be the opening video package for the new weekly series.
As seen below, the opener features footage of AEW’s top stars with the familiar ‘exploding rainbow-colored paint’ style we’ve seen in the first AEW Dynamite posters and promotional artwork.
The official theme song of AEW Dynamite is aptly titled, “Dynamite” by the band No One Hero. They wrote on Facebook:
“We’ve been underground reorganizing but now we are back and pleased to announced that our new upcoming single “Dynamite” is now the official Theme Song Show opener for All Elite Wrestling’s “DYNAMITE” which premiers this Wednesday 8pm/7C on TNT!! Check it out!!!”
AEW Dynamite kicks off this Wednesday, October 2nd from Washington, D.C.
Ahead of All Elite Wrestling’s premiere this Wednesday, Cody Rhodes sat down for an interview on the Rich Eisen Show. During their conversation, Cody was asked about what it was like to grow up not only as a wrestling fan but as Dusty Rhodes’ son.
“When I heard the first bump in the ring and the crowd react, I never wanted to be backstage again,” Rhodes stated, remembering the moment he became a fan. “Brad Armstrong match in Savannah, Georgia. After that, I was hooked.”
He shared how he had discovered his father’s bloodier matches hidden away in a guest bedroom. Cody revealed that, once he found these matches, he dove right in and watched everything.
“I found, in our guest bedroom, this chest of huge reels. VHS was pretty big at the time, but a lot of the stuff my dad was in was rather violent and bloody. It was hidden from me, but I found it and I dove right in. I watched everything, I was genuinely shocked because I was 8 or 9. I had no clue he was as significant to our industry as a wrestler.”
Even when Dusty would have his supposed rivals over for dinner, Cody remembered how “He always explained it me in a way that I didn’t mind. I liked being disillusioned by it all. He explained that you couldn’t fight outside the ring or else “the league” would fine you, or there would be these big repercussions. At a young age, I bought it. Never once did I question it. I didn’t want to question it. The show was just too fun.”
AEW: Dynamite premieres on TNT this Wednesday, October 2nd.
Baron Corbin has been vocal about standing up for WWE and has said before that he will always defend the company against haters. He also seems to can’t keep to himself when it comes to poking fun at supporters of AEW.
Recently, Corbin commented on an Instagram post about fans who overanalyze every little thing done by AEW such as the stickers on the company’s trucks, promos done on Being The Elite, its UK TV deal issues, etc.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B272bd1gMwx/
Corbin commented on the post taking a shot at AEW and its fans. According to Corbin, AEW is for people who nitpick and complain about everything. He wrote, “The ones who criticize every detail are literally their target audience haha.”
This is nothing new for Corbin, as he has taken shots at AEW fans before too. Corbin had much to say on an Instagram post criticizing fans who complain about WWE putting their titles on older stars but supporting AEW who themselves have Chris Jericho, 48 as the current AEW World Champion.
Corbin chimed in with his opinion, and commented, “All of these smarks have hated everything we do and complained about every detail that now they are forced to love everything these guys do even when it shows dumb they really are.” Corbin didn’t really hold back and called out what he sees as the hypocrisy of the WWE naysayers.
Corbin has said before that he will always support the WWE. “I’ll always stand up for WWE,” Corbin said in an interview. “We have the best superstars in the world, and we have the best people helping. We have Triple H, Michael Hayes, Fit Finlay, and Vince McMahon. We’re the best in the world, and I’m willing to stand up for that. I hold what we do to anyone in the world, no matter if it’s another wrestling company or the MLB or the NFL.”
The stars of All Elite Wrestling are doing the media rounds ahead of Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite premiere on TNT.
Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes spoke with Scott Fishman of TVInsider this week about AEW’s plans to change the wrestling landscape, the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, her in-ring training and more.
Rhodes spoke in-depth about the AEW women’s division, including her close relationship with Awesome Kong and her overall vision for the female roster. She says AEW has around 16 women under contract, including some surprises.
“You’re going to see in the first few weeks of TV a heavy focus on the familiar names,” said Rhodes. “There will probably be some you haven’t seen before, but they were actually signed for some period of time. So, it’s going to be new to you, but we’ve been planning to use them for a long time.”
The ‘Roster’ page at AEW’s official website lists 11 female competitors. The Casino Battle Royale at last month’s All Out pay-per-view featured 21 women.
“I was really excited for and impressed with a lot of the girls,” Rhodes said of the Casino Battle Royal match. “I think the fans were too. Just wait and see. You will probably see some of those involved in there again.”
Head over to TVInsider.com to read Scott Fishman’s complete interview with Brandi Rhodes.
Ahead of All Elite Wrestling’s TNT premiere next Wednesday, several AEW talents and personnel spoke with The Post regarding the promotion’s core values including their focus on diversity and inclusion.
WarnerMedia’s Brett Weitz, who is the general manager for TNT, TBT and truTV, spoke about AEW’s aim for their product to “look like the world does.”
“We expect the ring to look like the world does,” Weitz said. “When you open up the prism and spread the lens out wider and show people that you as a consumer are represented here… that’s really empowering for people.”
AEW’s Chief Branding Officer, Brandi Rhodes, added to this. She explained that AEW doesn’t look at race, gender or sexuality, they judge the talent purely on their wrestling ability:
“[We’re] looking at everybody as a wrestling star,” Brandi stated. “Sometimes people see wrestlers for other attributes they have — their race, gender or sexuality — we just see this person as an incredible athlete, and we need them on our team.”
Safe Space
One AEW star who is grateful for AEW’s values is Nyla Rose. Despite being a transgender competitor, AEW has never made a point of it or turned it into a storyline. Rose admits this was “huge” for her.
“That was a huge thing for me,” Rose said, before adding, “transphobic critics who say AEW is shoving [her gender] down their throats couldn’t be more wrong. Nobody said anything!”
Commenting on dealing with daily hate, Rose said, “It’s a little hard to see such hateful, spiteful vitriol being spewed daily. It doesn’t cost you anything to use my proper pronouns. That’s how I identify, that’s who I am, that’s not a character, that doesn’t go away when the camera stops rolling.”
Ultimately, Rose is thankful that AEW has her back and are taking steps to make sure AEW is a “safe space for everyone, so everyone feels welcome.”
AEW: Dynamite premieres on TNT next week, October 2nd.
