Tag: AEW

AEW Releases Full Adam Page Vs. PAC Match From England (Video)

Over the weekend, news broke of AEW pulling Adam Page vs. PAC from this Saturday’s Double or Nothing card over creative differences.

PAC is the current Open the Dream Gate Champion for Dragon Gate and didn’t want to lose a match while holding the title. For AEW, they are focusing on wins/losses and didn’t want to have tie or DQ in the match. AEW is also reportedly looking at things long terms and while they didn’t necessarily have a problem with him beating Page, PAC’s next opponent was likely Kenny Omega and a win over Omega (or multiple opponents in a row) maybe wasn’t in the plans.

The PPV is slotted for four hours, so time was also a consideration as it would take up a big chunk of the show just for a tie/DQ to happen.

Last Saturday, Page showed up at a Wrestle Gate Pro event in Nottingham, England to confront PAC and answer his open challenge. The two had a match where Page won by DQ. Afterwards, PAC took down Page with a chair and told him he wouldn’t be coming to Double or Nothing or AEW as a way to write off the match.

So fans could still see a bout between the two wrestlers, AEW released the match today on its YouTube channel, which you can watch below. PAC could still return to the promotion at some point down the road. Page will be on Double or Nothing against a yet to be named opponent.

Double or Nothing will air on B/R Live and traditional PPV for $49.99 at 8 pm ET this Saturday. The Buy In pre-show will stream for free on All Elite Wrestling’s YouTube channel. Be sure to join us for complete live coverage of the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On PAC And Adam Page Match Getting Pulled From AEW Double Or Nothing

Yesterday, Adam Page showed up at a Wrestle Gate Pro event in Nottingham, England to confront PAC and answer his open challenge. The two had a match where Adam Page won by DQ. Afterwards, PAC took down Page with a chair and told him he wouldn’t be coming to Double or Nothing or AEW.

Initially, this all seemed like a way to hype their upcoming match at AEW Double or Nothing, but in actuality the match had been called off and this was how it was written off. It was reported the cancellation was do to creative differences as PAC (and Dragon Gate) didn’t want to lose a match while he’s the Open the Dream Gate Champion. AEW had other ideas for how they wanted the match to go and things weren’t lining up for the two sides.

Page will still have a match at the show against a yet to be named opponent.

On this morning’s Wrestler Observer Radio it was noted the bout in England will be streamed by AEW, most likely on Tuesday, as a way for fans to still be able to see a match between the two since it won’t be on Saturday’s PPV.

In terms of the match itself, AEW did not want a tie/DQ as they are looking for wins/losses in their matches, especially on PPVs. PAC previously went to 30-minute draws with Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr., which drew boos and would probably get a similar reaction at Double or Nothing. Also, it was reported PPV time was a factor as AEW is working within a four hour limit and that match would take up a big chunk of time, only for a tie to happen.

Dave Meltzer also speculated AEW is looking at things long-term, PAC beating Page wasn’t so much a problem, but he would have to keep winning against bigger names to make the win against Page mean something. He felt Kenny Omega would have been next in line and AEW probably didn’t want to have PAC beat Omega at this point.

When PAC eventually drops his title, doing the DQ finish in England allows an easy reentry point for PAC, if he does return to AEW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Reportedly Not Receiving Rights Fees From New TV Deal, When The Company Expects To Be Profitable

AEW will reportedly not be receiving any rights fees from their new television deal with WarnerMedia. While AEW, which will begin airing on TNT later this year, will not be receiving any rights fees, they will be receiving an ad revenue split, according to TSN’s John McMullen. WarnerMedia will also be paying for production.

“Context of #AEWonTNT AEW TV Deal — Platform is amazing and this is an unprecedented deal for a start-up,” McMullen wrote on Twitter. “Confirmed from a source on the television side there are no rights fees but as we have been saying here for weeks that should not have been expected. It’s being treated like a sports property so production fees are there and a ‘great’ advertising split for AEW.”

The deal is similar to XFL’s new agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports, where the XFL will not receive any rights fees, but the networks will pay for the production costs. However, there is no ad revenue split with the XFL deal, although they will handle sponsorships at the stadiums.

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while AEW will not be receiving rights fees, there will be a downside guarantee with the advertising revenue. Meltzer added that with production costs paid for and the ad revenue split, AEW expects to be profitable by 2020.

As I mentioned yesterday, with this new deal, AEW has become the first wrestling company outside of WWE to secure a television deal in the U.S. on a top 25 cable network since WCW folded. TNT is actually available in slightly more homes than the USA Network, although the USA Network was the eighth most watched network of 2018 while TNT was at #14. The Paramount Network, which used to be known as Spike TV and aired TNA programming for nearly ten years, was #44.

McMullen noted how great the new deal is for AEW, adding that the only reason it may come across as disappointing is due to some errant reports stating that the company would receive rights fees.

“Remember, it took Vince McMahon nearly 20 years of producing highly-rated television before he got a somewhat significant rights deal from Viacom at the turn of the century,” McMullen tweeted. “The monster deal took over 35 years. TNA/Impact once had Hulk Hogan, Sting and Randy Savage and couldn’t get this kind of platform. It’s an amazing deal that those in @AEWrestling are ecstatic about.

“If it comes across as flat to some that’s because they were expecting rights fees due to some shoddy reporting. Right now #AEW is set up like old #WWE where PPV numbers and advertising will be significant to growth. #WWE remains idiot-proof because of TV deal”

AEW has yet to announce their official start date, the day of the week that it will air and how long the episodes will be, although AEW’s Jim Ross noted last month that the show would be two hours. It was noted in The Observer that the show will air either on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, but that has not yet been determined. WarnerMedia is apparently doing market research to determine if the show should air on Tuesdays to fill the void of SmackDown when it moves to Fridays in the fall. The downside of Tuesdays is that the show would regularly be preempted during basketball season due to NBA games on TNT. While there are some NBA games on TNT on Wednesdays later in the season, most of the Wednesday games air on ESPN.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Young Bucks On AEW Differentiate Themselves From WWE And WWE Stars Being Interested In Jumping To AEW

At yesterday’s WarnerMedia Upfronts in New York City, WarnerMedia officially announced that AEW will be airing in prime time on TNT later this year. AEW Executive Vice Presidents The Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson, were amongst the stars from the promotion who attended this morning’s event.

As seen in the video above, The Bucks spoke with WrestlingNews.co at the event and discussed what they feel that the upstart needs to do in order to differentiate themselves from WWE.

“It’s gotta look different, it’s gotta feel different,” Nick said.

“It’s got to be shot different. Whatever do they do, we have to do the opposite,” Matt added. “If that means that they have a PG type of show, we should have a more edgy type of show. Our matches should look different and the things we do in the matches should be different. Our stories should be different, they should be more complex.”

In recent months, there have been many reports of WWE talent being unhappy backstage. Tye Dillinger and Luke Harper even took to Twitter to announce that they were requesting their releases. While Dillinger’s was granted, Harper found his extended. The Bucks were asked if there are WWE talent looking to join AEW.

“I think so, we’ve heard the chatter a lot. We have a lot of friends that work there so we hear it from them too,” Nick said. “I feel like we’ve changed the landscape of wrestling and it’s gonna give them some competition.”

The company has had some major signings over the past several months, including Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. When asked who else they might be looking to bring on board, Nick noted that there might be a couple that they can’t yet mention.

“Take a look at our roster,” Nick said. “Those are all the guys we’ve wanted. There may be a couple that I can’t talk about yet.

“We might be negotiating right now with some. We want surprises to happen and we have a big show in 10 days, Double Or Nothing in Las Vegas.”

Matt added, “You never know who you’re gonna see in Las Vegas.”

AEW’s first show, the Double Or Nothing pay-per-view, takes place on Saturday, May 25th from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody And Brandi Rhodes Say That There Will Be No Scripted Promos In AEW

Yesterday was a historic day in the world of professional wrestling as it was officially announced that AEW will be airing in prime time on TNT later this year. With the deal, AEW has become the first wrestling company outside of WWE to secure a television deal in the U.S. on a top 25 cable network since WCW folded.

At yesterday’s WarnerMedia upfronts in New York City, AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes and Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes spoke with WrestlingNews.co about the big announcement.

“This is serendipity how this is coming together,” Cody said. “My family moved to Atlanta 20+ years ago because WCW was going to Turner. Here we are talking about All Elite Wrestling in 2019 going to Turner. It’s just wild how it works and the number 1 thing I discovered is we build the best team. That’s what led to all of this. All In happened, me, Matt and Nick, Kenny joining and then Tony Khan being the guy to say ‘hey, I believe in you guys. I’ll invest in you guys, I believe in wrestling outside of one company.’ That has put us here so I’m really excited.”

AEW plans to offer a real alternative to WWE programming. One of the major criticisms about WWE has been their scripted promos. Cody claimed that “you might not see one scripted promo” on their television.

“When it comes to promos, if we invested you, we already know your voice,” Cody said. “We just want to put the voice out there for more people to hear. There’s great coaches we have, great collaborators. Guys like Jim Ross, guys like Billy Gunn, a bunch of guys I can’t name. We have these great collaborators, plus all of us who want to make this work. Collaboration yes, micromanagement no, scripted no, that’s the best.”

“We’re honest when we say that we want it to be very sports-centric,” Brandi added. “In order to do that, it has to be focused on the bell-to-bell, the actual matches, less of the drama and the behind-the-scenes.”

Brandi also said that the company plans to keep their roster active and not sitting on the sidelines.

“We’ve obviously been cautious in building our [women’s] division because we don’t want people to be sitting weeks and weeks out of the year not being active, not being used, not being having stories, not having reasons for you to like them,” Brandi stated. “So we’ve been very careful to pick and choose competitors that we think we are gonna be able to keep moving in some sort of sense.”

Despite all of the major developments, AEW has yet to run their first show. AEW’s first pay-per-view, Double Or Nothing, will take place next Saturday night in Las Vegas. Cody said that the company plans to make the event a great one.

“Jim Ross has been really good about saying ‘it can’t be good, it’s gotta be great.’ He’s right and everyone in the group shares that sentiment,” Cody said. “We gotta make this great and it’s just the beginning. It’s the perfect jumping in point for a brand new fan. There’s nothing before this, just jump in now and you’ll love it.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW At WarnerMedia Upfronts, Chris Jericho Takes Credit For AEW TV Deal, Double Or Nothing PPV Prices Revealed

It was announced yesterday that WarnerMedia has signed with All Elite Wrestling for a multi-platform launch of the new promotion. TNT will air a weekly AEW TV series later this year and AEW’s special events will air on WarnerMedia’s Bleacher Report Live platform. AEW’s Double Or Nothing event will air on B/R Live and traditional pay-per-view on Saturday, May 25. You can read the full announcement on the WarnerMedia – AEW deal at this link.

The price for Double Or Nothing on B/R Live is listed at $49.99 for the event.

Double Or Nothing is listed for $60 on AT&T pay-per-view, $50 on DirecTV and $60 on In Demand. To compare, WWE Money In the Bank is currently listed for $44.95 on the Dish Network, which does not have AEW up for ordering as of this writing.

It’s worth noting that Chris Jericho was not at the WarnerMedia Upfronts in New York City today with the rest of the AEW crew. As seen in the various shots below, AEW was represented at the Upfronts by Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes, Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Dr. Britt Baker and The Young Bucks.

Jericho did cut a heel promo to hype the TV deal and his Double Or Nothing match with Omega, which you can also see below. Jericho took credit for the TV deal.

“Congratulations to All Elite Wrestling for signing a television deal with TNT, Time Warner. That’s huge. But keep this in mind, while Kenny Omega and Cody and all the other suck-ups are swarming around Tony Khan and all the executives, all the Warner executives at the Upfronts in New York City, I’m here in the dungeon, in Tampa, training for Double Or Nothing. I don’t have time to put on a suit and tie, Kenny, and go act like a hot shot with a bunch of TV executives. All I have time to do is continue training, so I can beat your ass at Double Or Nothing and get that ‘thank you’ on behalf of AEW for getting that contract in the first place. Don’t forget – when Chris Jericho signed with AEW, TNT signed with AEW. You’re welcome,” Jericho said.

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1128667944177811457

https://twitter.com/tntdrama/status/1128727588656934912

https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1128689064239091712

https://twitter.com/tntdrama/status/1128669604040060929

https://twitter.com/Joe_Staszewski/status/1128668610224971776

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1128662055077203968

https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/1128647701141151744

https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1128649791217520640

https://twitter.com/TheBrandiRhodes/status/1128652259460558848

https://twitter.com/tntdrama/status/1128632147248668673

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody Rhodes Discusses What WWE Is Lacking That AEW Plans To Seize On

As we previously reported, All Elite Wrestling and WarnerMedia officially announced today that AEW will air live on TNT later this year. WarnerMedia will be providing 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.

Cody Rhodes spoke to Variety about the big announcement and discussed his own ten-year run with WWE. Rhodes admitted that while he liked his time with WWE, he felt that “it wasn’t wrestling.” AEW has promised to focus on producing fast-paced, high-impact matches and have less less scripted and soapy drama. AEW stated that wrestlers will also be given more freedom to explore their characters and highlight their athletic abilities.

“[As] much as I say [WWE] was a wonderful job, it wasn’t wrestling,” Rhodes admitted. “That’s something I’ve learned a lot about, the grittiness and the sports-centric element of the industry that doesn’t exist really anywhere else currently. We have the opportunity to seize that.”

WWE Co-President George Barrios was asked this week if WWE considered AEW to be competition. Barrios said that they did, just like they consider the NBA and Kung Fu novels to be competition, because they are all “fighting for people’s time.” Rhodes talked about AEW being a competitor to WWE, and said that it is best for both parties.

“Competition raises everybody’s game,” Rhodes said. “It will raise the wrestlers’ game, the creative people’s game, everybody. Everybody feels a sense of urgency when someone is competing with them.”

“Competitive means being profitable,” he continued. “It doesn’t mean, ‘We have to have this to beat the WWE.’ Our job is not to worry about what WWE is doing, not their TV clearances, not whose in the main event, nothing. With a growing company there are a lot of growing pains. It’s a mix of creative and athletics and a lot of different things. Our focus has to be us, period.”

AEW also officially revealed that they will be presenting statistics by tracking each competitor’s wins and losses, analyzing their moves, assessing damage to their opponents, and providing insights into their winning streaks.

“One thing we really strongly want to present is wins and losses mattering again in pro wrestling. That takes more than the W and the L column,” Rhodes said. “We’re talking about percentage of times someone loses to this particular maneuver, percentages against somebody of this height, a whole by-the-numbers approach that really intrigues me. It’s not a cornerstone of AEW necessarily but it’s a great peripheral element we’re working on and that’s going to be exclusive to us.”

No official date has been announced regarding when the show will start airing on TNT. B/R Live will exclusively stream AEW Double Or Nothing on Saturday, May 25th, while the hour-long live pre-show special, The Buy-In, will stream on WarnerMedia and AEW’s social channels.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

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.