Category: AEW

Arn Anderson Joins AEW As Cody’s Personal Advisor/Head Coach

Wrestling legend/WWE Hall of Famer, Arn Anderson is joining AEW to advise Cody Rhodes as his head coach in 2020.

The announcement states:

Since AEW exploded onto the wrestling scene just one year ago, it has consistently dazzled fans with its groundbreaking shows, world-class roster, inclusive attitude and impactful announcements. To wrap AEW’s inaugural year, Cody today announced that legendary wrestler Arn Anderson will be Cody’s personal advisor and head coach for the 2020 season, starting with the New Year’s Day DYNAMITE show in Jacksonville, Florida.

According to AEW, Anderson will be ringside for Cody’s match against Darby Allin on January 1.

“2019 was the most successful year I’ve had in pro-wrestling,” Cody stated in the press release. “Beyond the superfluous financial, it’s been incredibly rewarding on a spiritual level to be able to engage so many fans with a like-minded place in their hearts for the sport.

“That said, one of my greatest fears came true as I lost the opportunity to wrestle for the World Championship again. But, on the other side of that fear is freedom to chase every other accolade
outside of that title,” Rhodes added.

“I still want to collect all the accolades I can and dominate the singles division. That’s why I’m bringing in Arn Anderson as my personal advisor and head coach. He has been in business with my family for over three decades. Having been a wrestler throughout so many different generations of talent, he understands what ingredients it takes to look beyond the horizon and produce the best content and results.”

It’s unclear at this time time whether Arn will also work behind the scenes in some capacity for AEW or if this is strictly an on-camera role.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Chris Jericho Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi At WK14 Gets AEW-Related Stipulation

NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi will get the opportunity to earn an AEW World title shot next weekend when he goes one-on-one with ‘Le Champion’ at Wrestle Kingdom 14.

Chris Jericho shared a video on Saturday morning reacting to recent comments made by Tanahashi in regards to their upcoming match.

“You said if you could beat me, that you will enter the forbidden portal and request a title shot for the AEW championship,” Chris says in the video. “I thought it’s a great idea, so ‘Le Champion’ asked the Chairman of the Board, the owner of AEW, Tony Khan, if it was okay to grant your request. And he said yes! So, if you can beat me in the Tokyo Dome, I will give you a championship match for the AEW title,” Jericho added.

Wrestle Kingdom 14 is a two-day event this year starting on January 4. The show can be viewed on NJPW World or FITE TV. The show will not be broadcast on AXS TV this year, as the relationship between the two companies recently came to an end.

Jericho vs. Tanahashi will take place on night two of Wrestle Kingdom on January 5.

Watch Jericho’s announcement below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW Explains How Records Reset Will Work Each New Calendar Year

All Elite Wrestling has confirmed their annual records will be reset every year, and in a new post they also clarified how things will work going forward.

AEW delivered the news via social media and explained the promotion’s win/loss records will reset on January 1st each calendar year.

The tweet further detailed that career records for wrestlers in AEW will be cumulative, meaning that career stats will reflect total wins and losses, but the annual stats will give wrestlers a chance at a clean slate by refreshing every year.

AEW also says the “annual records will be increasingly important as the new calendar year continues.”

Backstage News On Marty Scurll’s Status With ROH And NWA

Despite appearing for both ROH and NWA last week, Marty Scurll is currently a free agent, according to the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Scurll is one of several ROH stars whose contracts were expiring, along with Jeff Cobb, Bandido, Brody King, Tracy Williams and Shane Taylor. While it’s not clear what the status is for any of those talents, it appears as if Scurll will be working for both ROH and NWA for the near future.

Scurll, whose ROH contract expired in November, owns the rights to Villain Enterprises, and the group was victorious in the main event of the ROH Final Battle Fallout tapings last week. It also appears that Scurll will be facing Nick Aldis in the main event of the next NWA pay-per-view in January.

It was noted in the Observer that Scurll is also booked for another date that’s not for either NWA or ROH, however that spot is being kept quiet.

A lot of people had expected Scurll to sign with AEW, as he is close with the top stars of the promotion and had been subtly referenced on a recent episode of Being The Elite. AEW EVP Cody Rhodes was recently asked about Scurll possibly joining the company in an interview with talkSport.

“Marty is going to do what Marty is going to do,” Cody said. “We all love Marty. Anything he does in the next few weeks or months, I wouldn’t look at as permanent for him. He’s very much testing the waters here and there and that’s pretty much all I can say on Marty.”

Stay tuned for updates on Scurll’s status.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Announces Quick Sell Out For The Revolution PPV

AEW has announced that the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view is now sold out.

The company tweeted today and noted that Revolution sold out in less than one hour. It was also noted that more tickets will be released once production is finalized.

They wrote, “#AEWRevolution is SOLD OUT! You did it! You actually did! In less than an hour – #AEWRevolution is sold out! However! – keeping checking https://AEWTIX.COM between now and show date as we will try to open up seats once production’s set up is finalized!”

AEW Revolution will take place on Saturday, February 29, 2020, from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The event will run in partnership with the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2).

Stay tuned for news on the Revolution card. No matches have been announced yet.

Below is AEW’s tweet on the sell out:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Tops AEW Dynamite In Viewership And Key Demographic This Week

After last week’s tie, Week 12 of the Wednesday Night Wars saw WWE NXT top AEW Dynamite in viewership and the key demographic.

Wednesday’s NXT drew 795,000 viewers on the USA Network, beating the 683,000 viewers garnered by Dynamite on TNT by 16%, according to Showbuzz Daily.

This is the second-lowest AEW viewership since the show began airing back in October. The November 27 episode drew 663,000 viewers.

NXT opened with a strong commercial-free opener this week, which saw NXT Champion Adam Cole retain over Finn Balor, and closed just as strong as Rhea Ripley defeated Shayna Baszler in the main event to become the new NXT Women’s Champion.

NXT beat AEW in the prime 18-49 demo for the first time ever by 8%. AEW drew a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic while NXT drew a 0.27 in the same demo this week. It was the lowest rating for Dynamite in the demo yet. Last week’s AEW episode drew a 0.28 in that demographic while NXT drew a 0.24.

AEW ranked #30 in the Cable Top 150 for the prime 18-49 demo, while NXT ranked slightly above it at #27. AEW ranked #43 in overall viewership, while NXT ranked #37 in viewership.

Last week’s Dynamite episode drew 778,000 viewers and ranked #11 in the Cable Top 150, and #34 in viewership. Last week’s NXT episode drew 778,000 viewers and ranked #21 in the Cable Top 150, and #34 in viewership.

CNN’s impeachment coverage at 9pm topped the night in the 18-49 demographic on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.77 rating, drawing 3.340 million viewers. Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News topped the night on cable in viewership with 5.032 million viewers, ranking at #5 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.57 rating in the key demo. The cable news channels dominated the night due to the impeachment coverage.

The Masked Singer on FOX topped the night on network TV in the 18-49 demographic with a 2.2 rating, and in viewership with 8.359 million viewers.

Below is 2019 NXT Viewership Tracker:

September 18 Episode: 1.179 million viewers (one hour on the USA Network)
September 25 Episode: 1.006 million viewers (one hour on the USA Network)
October 2 Episode: 891,000 viewers (season premiere, both hours on the USA Network)
October 9 Episode: 790,000 viewers
October 16 Episode: 712,000 viewers
October 23 Episode: 698,000 viewers
October 30 Episode: 580,000 viewers with a 0.18 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
November 6 Episode: 813,000 viewers with a 0.30 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
November 13 Episode: 750,000 viewers with a 0.25 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
November 20 Episode: 916,000 viewers with a 0.30 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
November 27 Episode: 810,000 viewers with a 0.24 demographic in the 18-49 demographic (post-Survivor Series episode)
December 4 Episode: 845,000 viewers with a 0.29 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
December 11 Episode: 778,000 viewers with a 0.24 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
December 18 Episode: 795,000 viewers with a 0.27 demographic in the 18-49 demographi

Below is 2019 AEW Dynamite Viewership Tracker:

October 2 Episode: 1.409 million viewers (premiere episode)
October 9 Episode: 1.018 million viewers (on TNT, 122k on truTV)
October 16 Episode: 1.014 million viewers
October 23 Episode: 963,000 viewers
October 30 Episode: 789,000 viewers with a 0.33 rating in the 18-49 demographic
November 6 Episode: 822,000 viewers with a 0.35 rating in the 18-49 demographic
November 13 Episode: 957,000 viewers with a 0.43 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Full Gear episode)
November 20 Episode: 893,000 viewers with a 0.39 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
November 27 Episode: 663,000 viewers with a 0.26 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
December 4 Episode: 851,000 viewers with a 0.32 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
December 11 Episode: 778,000 viewers with a 0.28 demographic in the 18-49 demographic
December 18 Episode: 683,000 viewers with a 0.25 demographic in the 18-49 demographic

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 12/18/19

Tonight’s episode (winter season finale) will air live from the AmericanBank Center Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas.

* Chris Jericho vs. Jungle Boy in a 10-minute non-title match

* The Lucha Brothers vs. “Hangman” Adam Page & Kenny Omega

* The Butcher & The Blade (w/The Bunny) vs. Cody & Darby Allin

* Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Kris Statlander in a No. 1 Contender’s match for the AEW Women’s Championship

* SCU (c) vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships

* Awesome Kong in action

AEW Dark Preview 12/17/19

The following matches were taped for tonight’s AEW Dark episode on YouTube:

* AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU vs. Private Party.

* Bea Priestley vs. Kris Statlander

* The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy vs. PAC, Jack Evans, and Angelico

* Vickie Guerrero will be the guest commentator

AEW Dynamite Preview 12/11/19

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.

* Street Fight: The Young Bucks vs. Proud & Powerful (Santana and Ortiz)

* Cody and QT Marshall vs. The Butcher and The Blade (with The Bunny)

* Big Swole vs. Emi Sakura

* MJF to address Cody’s challenge

AEW Dark Preview 12/10/19

The following matches were taped for tonight’s AEW Dark episode on YouTube:

* Scorpio Sky vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Peter Avalon

* Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt) vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds

* Kenny Omega vs. Kip Sabian w/ Penelope Ford