All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is on a collision course with its rival World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as the company gets set for a weekend of anticipated shows 'Rampage' and 'Dynamite.' AEW founder, co-owner, president, and CEO Tony Khan joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the evolution of the pro-wrestling industry and what it feels like to go head to head with WWE's Friday Night SmackDown.<\/p>\n
\"I was surprised when I found out we had head to head competition tonight because it's kind of a first. We rise to these challenges and we have the best wrestlers in the world and the best wrestling in the world.\"<\/p>\n
AEW's flagship show, \"Dynamite,\" on TNT, has delivered its best ratings since launching in October of 2019. In August and September, the show ranked as the #1 cable program on Wednesdays in the 18-49 age demographic for six weeks in a row. As part of an extended partnership with WarnerMedia, AEW launched a second show in August 2021, Rampage.<\/p>\n
Since its August 13 debut, \"AEW: Rampage\" has also ranked as one of the top cable programs on Friday night. For the first time ever, Rampage will coincide with WWE flagship Friday show, Smackdown.<\/p>\n
AEW Dynamite AEW<\/p>\n
On September 22, AEW made history when it held its first show in New York City at Arthur Ashe stadium in Queens AEW Grand Slam. The show was not only a commercial success with 20,000 fans filing in, but it was seen as a big step up for the company to hold a show in what has traditionally been \"WWE territory.\"<\/p>\n
Story continues<\/p>\n
Khan tells Yahoo Finance that the brand AEW has cultivated is not just an evolution of the wrestling industry but also a revolution.<\/p>\n
\"This is a revolution for the fans that happens to be the name of our Q1 pay-per-view event, which has been very successful for us. And we built this big audience on TV and on pay-per-view and have really evolved the business model.\"<\/p>\n
Khan says that he tries not to oversaturate the pay-per-view world with too many shows and instead holds fewer shows but are are large in scale. The company boasts a roster filled with well-known, established names such as CM Punk, Chris Jerico, Sting, Kenny Omega, and Jon Moxley. The AEW roster also features some of the most popular up-and-coming talents in the industry: Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF).<\/p>\n
Khan said he is also mindful of not over-saturating his talent as well. He says that there is plenty of room for all of AEW's talent to shine.<\/p>\n
\"He [CM PUNK] is quite possibly the biggest name in all of professional wrestling, and it's been a huge attraction for us Darby Allin is a young, exciting wrestler,\" Khan said. \"So it's really a great time for us.\"<\/p>\n
\"AEW: Rampage\" will emanate from Miami on October 15 at 10 p.m. EST on TNT, and \"AEW Dynamite\" will air on Saturday, October 16 starting at 8:00 p.m. EST on TNT.<\/p>\n
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AEW says it's ready to go head-to-head with WWE - Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is on a collision course with its rival World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as the company gets set for a weekend of anticipated shows 'Rampage' and 'Dynamite.' AEW founder, co-owner, president, and CEO Tony Khan joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the evolution of the pro-wrestling industry and what it feels like to go head to head with WWE's Friday Night SmackDown. Continue reading