Category: AEW

AEW To Officially Air On TNT Later This Year

They had the talent, the events and the money, and now All Elite Wrestling has a TV home. Per a press release, the promotion announced they are partnering with WarnerMedia to air on TNT in prime time later this year.

No specific date for a launch has been discussed, but there could be an update announced during today’s WarnerMedia presentation inside Madison Square Garden.

“All Elite Wrestling is a talent-forward, fan-first league whose inclusive approach to creating high-quality athletic wrestling competitions is already making waves with fans and attracting top-tier wrestlers,” stated EVP of Commercial Operations, Content Strategy and Monetization Michael Quigley. “It is high-adrenaline, gripping entertainment and we can’t wait to bring it to fans everywhere with this game-changing new business.”

B/R Live, a live streaming service from WarnerMedia, will stream all AEW-related events, including Double or Nothing on May 25. “The Buy-In”, an hour-long pre-show, will be available on WarnerMedia and AEW social channels. Matches on that card include the Casino Battle Royal and Kip Sabian v. Sammy Guevara. Streaming on PPV has also been discussed. The event will also be seen in the United Kingdom via ITV.

AEW promises to focus on producing fast-paced, high-impact competitions. They say that they will offer fans less scripted, soapy drama, and more athleticism and real sports analytics, bringing a legitimacy to wrestling that it previously not had. They claim that wrestlers will also be given more freedom to explore their characters and highlight their athletic abilities.

AEW will be presenting statistics for the first time ever in wrestling by tracking each competitor’s wins and losses, analyzing their moves, assessing damage to their opponents, and providing insights into their winning streaks.

“Wrestling fans have wanted – and needed – something different, authentic and better for far too long,” said AEW President and CEO or AEW Tony Khan. “AEW is answering the call. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s about a movement fueled by wrestling fans who have been underserved and perhaps even disappointed by what the industry has produced in recent years. AEW is rising to the occasion with DOUBLE OR NOTHING and today taking it a step further by partnering with WarnerMedia, which is as committed as we are to making wrestling fans the one and only priority. With WarnerMedia, AEW is poised globally to redefine wrestling as we know it today.”

AEW first became a reality on January 1, 2019 in a Being The Elite segment. This will be the first major wrestling program outside of WWE on TNT since WCW in 2001.

Below is the full press release.

WarnerMedia Partners with All Elite Wrestling for Multi-Platform Launch of Groundbreaking New Wrestling LeagueTNT to Air Weekly Matches Later This Year

Inaugural May 25 Event Available on B/R Live and via Pay-Per-View AEW to Introduce a New Generation of Diverse Wrestlers and Give Fans a New Wrestling Experience for the First Time in 20 Years

May 15, 2019 – WarnerMedia announced today that it is partnering with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the new professional wrestling promotion featuring a world-class roster of diverse male and female wrestlers, giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. WarnerMedia and AEW together will build this powerhouse sporting league from the ground up and will begin airing weekly matches later this year. With this league, AEW is introducing a new generation of wrestlers to fans, offering fun, gripping and authentic athletic matches that will make wrestling more accessible to a broad audience. WarnerMedia will utilize its position as a next-generation global media company to build this league into a global pro-wrestling franchise.

Founded by President and CEO Tony Khan, AEW is headlined by members of The Elite, which includes all-star wrestlers The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page, and a roster that includes the legendary Chris Jericho. Omega, Cody and The Young Bucks also serve as executive vice presidents of the company in addition to in-ring talent, and Brandi Rhodes also serves as Chief Brand Officer.

Later this year, WarnerMedia will provide exclusive multi-platform access for fans to watch AEW events, airing live weekly matches on TNT in prime time, as well as streaming them through WarnerMedia’s B/R Live and on pay-per-view. A leading digital sports enterprise, B/R Live’s high fan engagement will provide an invaluable opportunity to build AEW’s audience.

“All Elite Wrestling is a talent-forward, fan-first league whose inclusive approach to creating high-quality athletic wrestling competitions is already making waves with fans and attracting top-tier wrestlers,” said Michael Quigley, executive vice president, commercial operations, content strategy and monetization, TBS and TNT. “It is high-adrenaline, gripping entertainment and we can’t wait to bring it to fans everywhere with this game-changing new business.”

“Wrestling fans have wanted – and needed – something different, authentic and better for far too long,” said Tony Khan, President and CEO of AEW. “AEW is answering the call. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s about a movement fueled by wrestling fans who have been underserved and perhaps even disappointed by what the industry has produced in recent years. AEW is rising to the occasion with DOUBLE OR NOTHING and today taking it a step further by partnering with WarnerMedia, which is as committed as we are to making wrestling fans the one and only priority. With WarnerMedia, AEW is poised globally to redefine wrestling as we know it today.”

Focused on producing fast-paced, high-impact competitions, AEW offers fans less scripted, soapy drama, and more athleticism and real sports analytics, bringing a legitimacy to wrestling that it has not previously had. Wrestlers will also be given more freedom to explore their characters and highlight their athletic abilities. Introducing statistics to wrestling for the first time ever, AEW will raise the stakes for its matches and deepen fan engagement by tracking each competitor’s wins and losses as the wrestlers pursue championships, analyzing their moves, assessing damage to their opponents, and providing insights into their winning streaks.

B/R Live will serve as the exclusive digital streaming partner in the United States for AEW’s inaugural event, DOUBLE OR NOTHING, on Saturday, May 25, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. DOUBLE OR NOTHING, which sold out in under 30 minutes, features an exhilarating card including the headline clash between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho; Cody taking on his brother Dustin Rhodes; The Young Bucks battling the Lucha Bros for the AAA World Tag Team Championship; Hangman Adam Page clashing with PAC; and Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Kylie Rae competing in a three-way match.

Additionally, the hour-long live pre-show special THE BUY-IN will stream on WarnerMedia and AEW’s social channels. THE BUY-IN includes the first ever “Casino (Battle) Royale,” which will see 21 competitors including Jimmy Havoc, Billy Gunn, MJF and Jungle Boy entering the ring in waves of five wrestlers every three minutes followed by one final entrant, lucky number 21, all fighting it out in the ring until there is one winner, whose reward will be a future title shot against the first ever AEW World Champion.

The media rights deal was negotiated by Khan and Bernie Cahill, co-founder of Activist Artists Management, LLC, an entity in which Khan is also an investor and partner.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE/TNA Veteran Referee Earl Hebner Joins AEW, Former NXT And ROH Referees Also Signed

All Elite Wrestling announced that Earl Hebner, Paul Turner and Aubrey Edwards have signed with the promotion as referees.

Hebner is a veteran referee who is best known for his run with WWE from 1988 through 2005. He made his debut as the evil twin of his real-life brother Dave Hebner on the February 5, 1988 edition of The Main Event, where he was paid off by Ted Dibiase to secretly replace Dave and steal the WWE Championship away from Hulk Hogan. He is probably best remembered for his role as the referee in the Montreal Screwjob, where he called for the bell when Shawn Michaels had then-WWE Champion Bret Hart in a Sharpshooter, despite Hart never submitting. Both Dave and Earl were fired from WWE in 2005 for selling unauthorized WWE merchandise without the company’s knowledge. Earl worked for TNA from 2006 through 2017, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2015.

Edwards has been a referee on the independent scene, and also worked briefly in NXT last year as their second-ever female referee.

Turner is a veteran ROH referee who had been with the company since its inception. His profile is still listed on ROH’s website as of this writing.

You can check out the announcements for all three referees below:

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1128472548537192448

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1128492883303129088

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Nixes Stardom Title Match Due To AEW

When it comes to WWE vs. AEW, the former appears to be changing a lot of programs around the world.

Toni Storm made an appearance for Stardom this past weekend. She was supposed to continue the momentum from that show and face Bea Priestley on 5/16 at Korakuen Hall. Priestley just recently won the World of Stardom Title. Stardom then announced that the match wouldn’t be taking place.

There have been issues before with WWE U.K. talent appearing in certain promotions. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, WWE were the ones who ended the idea of the match taking place, due to it being their top U.K. Women’s Champion potentially losing against someone from AEW. Priestley was expected to retain the title, making WWE worried about backlash.

Priestley will now defend her title against Hazuki while Toni battles Kagetsu.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jungle Boy Faces David Arquette At Indie Show(Video), Talks Acting With Father Luke Perry In His Final Film

AEW Star Jungle Boy, Jack Perry, took on David Arquette last night at a Bar Wrestling event. Near the end of the match, Arquette hit a Canadian Destroy for a two-count. Jungle Boy would then sneak in a roll-up for the victory. You can check out clips of the match in the video below.

TMZ Sports caught up with Arquette after the match to talk about Jungle Boy’s abilities.

“He’s just got so much talent, so much heart,” Arquette said. “He’s incredible. He’s super smart. It’s hard to believe he’s so young and so talented, but he started when he was just a little guy.”

Back in March, Jack Perry’s father, Luke Perry, passed away at the age of 52 after a suffering a stroke. He was a huge supporter of his son’s wrestling career, often in the crowd for his shows.

Luke Perry’s final film, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, will also feature his son. Jungle Boy commented about the upcoming movie during an appearance on Talk is Jericho.

“I did some extra work,” Jack said. “He’s like, ‘I want you to be in the same film, or like collection of footage that I’m in’ … and he was really adamant about it. I was like alright dad I’ll do it. My dad was so excited about that. That really kind of reinvigorated him and re-energized him. Because he liked Riverdale, but it was work, it was like his job. He told me, ‘This is like you getting to wrestle Chris Jericho.'”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WATCH: Angelico And Jack Evans Announce AEW Signing

AEW’s tag division continues to take shape, as Angelico and Jack Evans announced they’ve signed with the new wrestling company.

As we first reported, Angelico recently signed on the dotted line after there had been interest from WWE in bringing him to the Performance Center.

The South African wrestler shared a video on Thursday in which he talked about the last phase of his career in Europe and what his goals were throughout.

Angelico then explained how he’s grown tired of that phase and made it sound like he might be retiring … but then he gets a call from his tag partner Jack Evans who asks if he’s ready to do this.

The 32-year-old wrestler replies, “the real question is … are they ready for us?” Angelico then signs an All Elite Wrestling contract.

Watch the video below.

https://twitter.com/AngelicoAAA/status/1126509845228580864

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW TV Deal Reportedly “Virtually Done,” Expected To Air On TNT In The Fall

All Elite Wrestling is reportedly “virtually done” making a deal with Turner to air their weekly television show on TNT in the fall.

According to The Wrap, current plans call for select members of the press to make the announcement one hour ahead of next week’s WarnerMedia upfront event. The arrangement made between the parties allegedly calls for a group of reporters to be informed of the deal on an embargoed basis the night before.

AEW President Tony Khan and a group of wrestlers are expected to be in attendance at the pitch to media buyers. The event is taking place at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday at 10 am ET.

The Wrap’s report says current plans call for the AEW TV show to begin on TNT in the fall. As you may recall, Jim Ross previously stated the show would be two hours long.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW Hires Jerry Lynn To Work As A Coach

All Elite Wrestling announced yesterday that they have signed former ECW World Champion, ROH World Champion, WWE Light Heavyweight Champion, TNA X-Division Champion and TNA/NWA Tag Team Champion Jerry Lynn to work as a Coach.

Lynn reacted to the news on Twitter and wrote, “I’m privileged to be a part of AEW!!!”

There’s no word yet on other AEW coaches but names working as Producers, which could be a similar role to what Lynn ends up doing, are Christopher Daniels, Keith Mitchell and BJ Whitmer.

Lynn is a 30+ year veteran of the business who has worked for WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA, ROH and others.

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1126287707636891648

https://twitter.com/itsjerrylynn/status/1126297875284152325

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Angelico Reportedly Signs With AEW

Former Lucha Underground star, Angelico, has reportedly signed with All Elite Wrestling, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. An announcement is expected soon for the 32-year old South African wrestler.

The report noted WWE had interest for Angelico to be part of the NXT brand, but didn’t want to get into a bidding war with AEW over him. WWE’s interest has been there for quite some time with reports of their interest surfacing last year.

It actually went back even further with Angelico noting to Metro in 2017 that WWE had made an offer before he signed with Lucha Underground in 2014.

“I can’t really talk about the details, but there was contact made by WWE before we signed with Lucha Underground in 2014 to both me and Jack,” Angelico said. “We talked it over and decided at that time that Lucha Underground were going to take the risk with it because we really believed in the project. We also had the mentality that if WWE were interested in us in 2014 and if every year we’re still getting better as individuals and as a tag-team, why wouldn’t they still want us a few years later a few years on.

“With a few years to play with we went with the Lucha Underground project, which was fun and new. I can’t speak for Jack, but we don’t regret not going, I think he’s happy with the decision he made as am I. Who’s to say we won’t turn up there one day, but with how wrestling is in this day and age it’s great to be a free agent and travel the world.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Announces Partnership With ITV To Broadcast “Double Or Nothing” In The U.K.

ITV today announced that they will broadcast Double Or Nothing on its ITV Box Office channel. The pre-show, Buy-In, will air for free on IT4 and will feature the Casino Battle Royale with 21 competitors.

Double or Nothing will air on ITV Box Office at 1:00 a.m. GMT, Sunday, May 26.

ITV ANNOUNCES AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING” WRESTLING EVENT FOR ITV BOX OFFICE

All Elite Wrestling’s Highly Anticipated PPV Show will Ignite the Screen with Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, The Young Bucks, Cody, SCU, and more

LONDON, UK, (May 8, 2019) – ITV, the largest commercial television network in the UK, announced a partnership today with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the new wrestling promotion headlined by members of The Elite, to broadcast the highly anticipated DOUBLE OR NOTHING event on its ITV Box Office channel.

Fans across the UK can look forward to seeing all the drama, action and entertainment live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on the night of Saturday 25 May going into Sunday 26 May. DOUBLE OR NOTHING, which sold out in under 30 minutes, features an electrifying card packed with stars including the headline clash between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho. The wrestling world will rock as Cody takes on his brother Dustin Rhodes, The Young Bucks battle the Lucha Bros for the AAA World Tag Team Championship, Hangman Adam Page clashes with PAC, and Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Kylie Rae compete in a three-way match.

Additionally, before the live pay-per-view event begins at 1:00 a.m. GMT, Sunday, May 26, the hourlong live pre-show special BUY-IN will air for free on ITV4 at midnight. BUY-IN includes the first ever “Casino (Battle) Royale,” which will see 21 competitors including Jimmy Havoc, Billy Gunn, MJF, Michael Nakzawa, Jungle Boy, Glacier, Sonny Kiss, and Joey Janela entering the ring in waves of five wrestlers every three minutes followed by one final entrant, lucky number 21, all fighting it out in the ring until there is one winner, whose reward will be a future title shot against the first ever AEW World Champion. BUY-IN will also feature a pair of high-flyers squaring off one-on-one as the UK’s own Kip Sabian will face Sammy Guevara.

“We’re delighted to announce this partnership with AEW, whose entry into professional wrestling is already making a massive impact on the industry and promises to deliver an electrifying event later this month, and a fantastic experience for our viewers and wrestling fans in the UK,” said Niall Sloane, Director of Sport, ITV. “Joining forces with AEW for this event is faithful to ITV’s More Than TV strategy to develop direct relationships with viewers through big events available on its platforms.”

“We’ve stated since our launch that we want to make this the greatest time ever to be a professional wrestling fan, and part of this plan is to make our product as accessible as possible to a global audience,” said Tony Khan, President/CEO of AEW. “Since our launch in January, we’ve signed the best talent, sold out our debut show in record time, and we’ve built relationships and formed bonds with the best media partners like ITV. This collaboration with ITV is so important to AEW, ITV is the best in the UK, they were always my first choice to be our international PPV partner for DOUBLE OR NOTHING, and we’re looking forward to a great show.”

In addition, a special pre-event show “Before the Bell” will air for free on ITV4 and ITV Box Office in the build up to the DOUBLE OR NOTHING broadcast. Details about how to access DOUBLE OR NOTHING on ITV Box Office can be found at http://www.itvboxoffice.com.

Rhyno Says He Turned Down Big Money Offer From WWE, Talks About AEW

Sounds like Rhyno will soon be done as an active competitor in WWE, as his contract expires in July and the wrestler says he’s not signing a new deal.

In a new video interview, Rhyno told Chris Van Vliet the following:

“July 17th is my last date there. They actually offered me more than twice my downside but it wasn’t where they would have to use me because the downside is so large and it wasn’t about money it was about me wanting to be on the road work and helping the younger guys kind of like a player coach.”

“It was a mutual understanding that we were not going to figure out a number. And they’ve been great, I can’t say anything bad about them. I had a lot of fun. I was afraid that they would say yes to a larger downside than what they offered me because I was afraid that they would still sit me at home. It’s not that they don’t like me, there is a lot of talent there and they have to cycle the talent which is normal because you want to get men and women out there to work. I was afraid that I would become miserable and that’s the last thing that you want to do when you’re doing something that you love. I would rather take a step back and work for some of these companies and work the independent scene.”

As for why … Rhyno says he wants to help the future generation of wrestlers find themselves, which he can’t do if WWE doesn’t book him to be on the road.

“On the indies, I can do that,” he explained. “And with other companies whether it’s AEW, Impact, Ring of Honor or New Japan … I’ve done that before in the past and that’s something I can do now in the future.”

Watch the full interview below:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet