SquaredCircle

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has officially signed a new multi-year multimedia rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to sources, the deal is valued at upwards of $150 million per year when all elements are taken into account. Under the new deal, AEW shows “Dynamite” and “Collision” will remain on TBS and TNT respectively. But for the first time since its launch in 2019, AEW programming will stream live on Max simultaneously for U.S. subscribers and will be available to stream on-demand starting in January 2025.

“We are honored to announce the extension of our incredible partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery,” said AEW CEO, GM and head of creative Tony Khan. “This extension continues the tradition of iconic wrestling events broadcast on TBS and TNT, while also establishing a new legacy for AEW through weekly live streams on Max for years to come. We thank David Zaslav, Kathleen Finch and everyone at WBD for their tireless support of All Elite Wrestling since its inception, as well as the AEW fans, talent and staff that helped make this possible.”

The deal also includes enhanced distribution rights across social media as well as potential new AEW programming on linear and digital platforms. Furthermore, AEW live pay-per-views will be available on Max later in 2025 at a discounted price per event, with all marketing and promotions of those events exclusively centered on Max.

“Tony Khan and the entire AEW team have been incredible partners, and we are thrilled to strike this expanded agreement to deliver amazing new AEW content and stories to TNT and TBS, as well as bring the thrilling live action to Max for the first time,” said Kathleen Finch, chairman and CEO of US Networks for Warner Bros. Discovery. “We are focused on creating fresh and authentic experiences for AEW’s passionate and engaged fanbase while also introducing them to our growing lineup of high-action sports and entertainment at TNT and beyond.”

AEW’s flagship show, “Dynamite,” debuted on TNT in October 2019. The show currently ranks as Wednesday’s number one cable entertainment series among adults 18-49. “Collision” is currently in the top five of in its Saturday timeslot among both adults 18-49 and men 18-49.

AEW’s current roster includes champions Bryan Danielson, Mariah May, Mercedes Moné, tag team The Young Bucks, Will Ospreay, Jack Perry, Wheeler Yuta, Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Kazuchika Okada.

“I was there when Tony Khan first shared his vision for creating a media and live entertainment company that would disrupt the wrestling industry,” said Bernie Cahill, founding partner of Activist Artists Management. “This WBD renewal is a resounding validation of Tony’s vision and leadership – making AEW a unicorn in terms of enterprise value in the media and live entertainment space.”

News of the AEW deal comes as sports rights prices have skyrocketed. AEW’s chief rival, WWE, recently set new deals for its shows “Raw,” “SmackDown,” and “NXT,” with “Raw” set to debut on Netflix in January 2025.

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Takayama (both a pro wrestler and MMA fighter) was paralyzed back in 2017 in the ring due to a cervical spinal cord injury from the neck down, but in recent years has regained a slight bit of movement in his neck. Very slow going but it's a slight bit of hope.

If you aren't familiar, here's one of the most famous MMA fights ever with Yoshihiro Takayama vs Don Frye at PRIDE 21

“It’s like I was saying, everyone defends their interests. Tony is defending his interests and we are defending our own. I’ll say this, I am still under contract with AEW, that is my present. I have not thought about my future because I prefer to think about my here and now, and my now is AEW. If they decided to not have us in matches, that’s their thing, but I am ready for the day they need me to go to work with the same energy and enthusiasm I’ve always had.

"We will see what happens in future months, but I am still in AEW and I cannot even think about talking to another company because that is not of my involvement. My legal team, lawyers and that stuff will handle everything relating to contracts and the like, but my job is inside that ring and with the fans. Everything that happens outside of that will be handled by people in their areas. My present in AEW, I’m still firm with them and, quite frankly, I don’t know what will happen in the future”.

So, we've all heard that it's coming back. I haven't yet heard if it's a one-off, or if it's a semi-regular show.

What I DID just hear, that I hadn't heard originally, is that it's an 8pm eastern start time. I assume 2 hours.

Even though I don't watch WWE, that kinda still pisses me off. It's supposed to be an 11:30pm thing, sitting in the SNL time slot on weeks when SNL is on a break week.

By 10pm, you'd still have time for a 60 minute show, then 30 minute local news, and STILL have room for SNLs regular time slot.

It's not the same.....

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"Unfortunately we have decided to cancel Fancy Wrestling and the rest of the events upcoming.

We are going on a hiatus for the time being.

All tickets have already been submitted for refunds.

Thank you for all the support."

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Ilja Dragunov tore his ACL. He'll be out 6 to 9 months.

For the next five weeks, the NWA will be airing its content on X/Twitter.

The promotion announced today that, starting this Tuesday and running weekly through October 29, episodes of NWA Power will air on the NWA’s X account at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time. The five episodes will feature matches from NWA 76, the promotion’s yearly anniversary show that was taped in Philadelphia at the end of August.

“We wanted to reward all of our loyal fans domestically and around the globe by allowing them to see our spectacular anniversary show,” the NWA’s Joe Galli said. “Especially to those fans who may have been missing out on NWA Power over the past few months.”

This Tuesday, NWA Power will be headlined by EC3 defending his NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Thom Latimer. There will also be a Tag Team title match with Alex Taylor & Kerry Morton challenging Mike Knox & Trevor Murdoch.

An AEW star is in rough shape after a scary medical situation. Former AEW Trios, Tag Team and TNT champion Luchasaurus, aka Killswitch is recovering after his fiance found him collapsed on Friday, September 27. He was rushed to the hospital where they found his blood oxygen below 80 percent and determined he had pneumonia in both longs. It was discovered that he was days away from permanent lung damage. Killswitch has been on oxygen in the days that have followed, and was told to expect a recovery of over a month. His in-ring return is unclear. Fightful gained permission from those close to Killswitch/Luchasaurus before running this article.

WOW's website claims it's on in my area Sunday at 1:00pm, and that threw me off, because it's normal timeslot here is Sunday at 12:00pm.

I checked and 12:00pm is now "Paid Programing", and 1:00pm is "The Conners". I haven't scanned through the whole week yet, but I have a feeling it's just "NXT is here now, WOW is no longer here."

Anyone else able to still get WOW on their CW syndicate?

Edit: Turns out they changed the timeslot to Sunday at 2am. So......it does still exist. I wonder if they're just letting the contract length run out, before they let it run out.

“…It’s public record, I tried to buy the company, right? To set the record straight — for those that say I tried to buy it and then I got let go, I mean, I had got let go and then I tried to buy it which was the more logical series of events. So it’s like, look, I think I know where I want this thing to go and I know where we can take it and I’m willing to put my money and others money where my mouth is and say, ‘Hey, let us acquire it and see what we can do with it.’ Ultimately, that was turned down so they continued to do their thing. Once the bitterness, the hurt feelings, and the anger subsides, just sit there and go, ‘Okay, what’s next?’”

Yes it's a video about the dog.