AEW introduced a new version of the TNT title that was revealed tonight on Dynamite.
Darby Allin entered the ring revealing a new design of the TNT title, which had a black strap instead of a red one. He participated in a weigh-in that also featured Brian Cage, who he will defend the title against next week on night two of New Year’s Smash.
The weigh-in ended when Allin prepared himself for a fight against all of Team Taz. Sting then came out to make the save, with Taz cutting a promo on the entrance ramp promising we’d see a new TNT champion next week.
It was noted during last week’s Dynamite post-show that Brodie Lee’s son, Brodie Lee Jr., would keep the TNT title given to him during last week’s Brodie Lee tribute show. It was also said that a new version of the TNT title would be given to Allin.
Allin has held the title for 59 days, defeating Cody Rhodes at Full Gear back on November 7 to win the title for the first time.
The impending NBA playoffs means some schedule changes are coming for AEW Dynamite in the weeks ahead.
TNT initially announced some changes for their new Wednesday night staple which AEW president Tony Khan updated Saturday night on Twitter:
The Wednesday, August 19th episode will air on Saturday, August 22nd at 6 PM Eastern, the spot once occupied by the NWA and WCW for decades. NXT TakeOver XXX is also scheduled for the 22nd as well.
The Wednesday, August 26th episode will air on Thursday, August 27th at 8 PM Eastern.
TNT also will air Countdown to All Out at 10 PM on September 2nd after that night’s Dynamite.
The Wednesday, September 16th episode will be a one hour special edition airing whenever the NBA playoff game that night is done. Then, a full two hour Dynamite is scheduled for Thursday, September 17th at 8 PM Eastern.
Following the above, Dynamite will air on Wednesdays in its normal slot.
The NBA had to go on hold for several months due to the pandemic and resumed this week with a schedule designed to seed the playoffs teams for a mid-August start. TNT and ESPN are broadcast partners for a combined $2.66 billion a year.
Featuring plenty of gold, red, and the same design of plates as the original, this version was originally slated to be done by May’s Double or Nothing but was delayed due to COVID-19. Rhodes pinned Lance Archer in the finals of a tournament to win the inaugural title, presented that night by Mike Tyson.
Rhodes is set to defend the title against Scorpio Sky on Wednesday’s Dynamite, the first time the belt will be seen on national TV.
Also announced for Dynamite Wednesday afternoon: Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will be in action against an opponent to be announced, and there will be an interview segment with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, his first since defeating Darby Allin last week that makes his title defense against MJF at September’s All Out official.
They join a lineup on Tag Team Appreciation Night that includes a rematch between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy, AEW World Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Jurassic Express, and the Young Bucks vs. the Dark Order. Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and the Rock’n’Roll Express will also be on hand.
The first match in the TNT title tournament will take place next week on Dynamite.
Cody will battle longtime rival Shawn Spears next week in the first round of the tournament that will decide the first-ever TNT champion. Cody and Spears, former tag team partners in OVW, collided at last year’s All Out event, with Cody picking up the win.
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite was headlined by a tag team match where Cody and Darby Allin lost to Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara. Spears rolled up Allin for the win after distracting him with a steel chair.
Other matches that will be held in the first round include Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara, Kip Sabian vs. Dustin Rhodes, and Lance Archer vs. Colt Cabana.
The finals of the tournament will take place at Double or Nothing, which is currently scheduled to take place on May 23 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
AEW announced today that they’re introducing the TNT Championship. An eight-man, single-elimination tournament to crown the first champion will begin on the Wednesday, April 8 episode of Dynamite. AEW’s press release said the finals of the tournament are scheduled for Double or Nothing in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 23.
Half of the bracket for the tournament will be revealed on AEW Dark tomorrow, while the other half will be revealed on Wednesday’s Dynamite. AEW hyped that the tournament will feature “the biggest names in AEW all vying for the inaugural TNT CHAMPIONSHIP belt.”
“It’s been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times,” AEW president and CEO Tony Khan said.
“I’m glad we’re now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I’m excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week. And, it’s only fitting that the champion and the title belt will carry the logo of the globally-respected TNT brand, and that they’ll represent not only AEW but also the great quality programming, massive reach, and storied history in the wrestling business that are all associated with TNT.”
The introduction of the TNT title was also announced on today’s Road to Dynamite episode:
A countdown special building up AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view is set to air on TNT this week.
Countdown to Revolution will air on TNT immediately after this Wednesday’s go-home episode of Dynamite. The special was mentioned on Dynamite last week and also announced on AEW’s Road to Kansas City video.
The countdown special will be an hour long.
This week’s Dynamite is taking place at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence, Missouri and will feature Kenny Omega vs. PAC in a 30-minute iron man match, a weigh-in for Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship match at Revolution, Sammy Guevara, Santana & Ortiz vs. Jurassic Express, and Best Friends vs. The Butcher & The Blade.
The Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois will then host Revolution this Saturday. The show is AEW’s second PPV since debuting on weekly television.
Here’s what’s been announced for Revolution thus far:
AEW World Champion Chris Jericho defending against Jon Moxley
Cody vs. MJF
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defending against The Young Bucks
In a deal that will make the company profitable in 2020 and beyond, TNT, Warner Media, and AEW have renegotiated and signed a new four-year contract that would keep Dynamite on the station through the end of 2023.
The four-year deal is worth $175 million, just under $45 million per year, and includes TNT having an option for 2024 at a significantly increased price.
The deal would also include adding another hour of television later this year, which would be taped on Wednesdays but air on another night, likely on TNT but could be on another Turner station. Full details of the new show have not been worked out past an agreement to add a third hour.
When the new show launches, the Wednesday tapings would expand and also include matches taped for the streaming show Dark, which would not be going away. This means there will be four hours a week of the product, allowing more time to showcase more talent, which has been limited by the current format.
AEW President Tony Khan noted that starting AEW was the biggest financial gamble he had ever taken and that the deal has resulted in it paying off far sooner than originally projected.
“When we launched AEW one year ago, we wanted to start a revolution that would disrupt the wrestling business, but everyone said it would take a strong weekly television partner to make AEW real in the eyes of everyone — above all the fans,” said Khan. “What virtually no one realized at the time was Kevin Reilly and TNT were committed to this very same movement from Day One, and their belief in us made it possible for AEW to think and act big from the start. Here we are, only three months into Wednesday Night Dynamite and now we’ve been extended through 2023! We’re now making the ultimate statement that the team of AEW and TNT is here to stay to bring fans more of the great wrestling that the fans demand and deserve.”
“When Tony Khan first shared with me his idea of starting a new wrestling league, I was impressed with his audacity to go up against a contender that has been the only game in town for 20 years, and ultimately believed that together we could bring his vision of a new, authentic, gritty product to bear,” said Reilly. “The fans have spoken and after only three months, we have seen AEW shake up the wrestling world and this will only continue as we build upon this momentum.”
Since its inception in October, AEW has skewed the youngest of any pro wrestling show on television as well as the highest in viewers per home, meaning more family and friends watch the show in groups than any other show.
tAn “extended” replay of this week’s AEW Dynamite is set to air on TNT tonight (October 25).
The replay will air from 8:00-10:05 p.m. Eastern time and will include a post-show segment from the Dynamite episode. After PAC vs. Jon Moxley ended in a draw, PAC, Moxley, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page were involved in the segment after the show went off the air. It featured PAC vs. Page being set up for AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
The Dynamite replay will go against tonight’s live episode of SmackDown. SmackDown is airing on FS1 due to game three of the World Series being on FOX.
A special edition of WWE Backstage will air live on FS1 after SmackDown at 10 p.m. Eastern.
This week’s Dynamite featured PAC vs. Moxley, Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter, The Young Bucks vs. Best Friends, a Cody Rhodes promo segment, Joey Janela vs. Kenny Omega, and the semifinals of AEW’s Tag Team title tournament (The Lucha Bros vs. Private Party and SoCal Uncensored vs. The Dark Order).
There is a chance that a portion of tonight’s AEW show will not air on TNT tonight.
Today’s St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves baseball playoff game starts at 5:02 p.m. Eastern and will air on TBS. There is also a Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers came on TBS scheduled to start at 8:37 p.m.
If the Cardinals game goes past 8:37 p.m., unlikely but possible, one of the two games would be put on TNT with the other on TBS until the Cardinals game ends.
To offset this, AEW is scheduled to air live on both TNT and Tru TV for the two hours, which, with airing on two stations, would increase the potential audience. If the Cardinals game goes long, there could be a period where TNT goes to baseball, and AEW would only air on Tru TV. But TNT would return to the AEW show from Boston as soon as the first game ends.
The complete two hour show will be replayed at 10 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
Coming out of the ending of Wednesday’s Dynamite premiere, AEW has announced a tag team match for next week.
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara will face Hangman Page & Dustin Rhodes on Dynamite next Wednesday (October 9). The episode is taking place at the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Dynamite premiere ended with an angle where Jericho, Guevara, Santana, Ortiz, and Jake Hager stood tall over The Young Bucks, Cody, and Dustin Rhodes after Hager (the former Jack Swagger) made a surprise appearance and debuted for AEW. Hager gave Jericho a gutwrench powerbomb onto a podium, then Jericho laid out Cody with the Judas Effect.
Cody had defeated Guevara earlier in the Dynamite premiere and was attacked by Jericho after the match.
The first episode of Dynamite also featured PAC defeating Hangman Page. It was Page’s first match since losing to Jericho at All Out, where Jericho became the inaugural AEW World Champion.
Jericho will defend his title against Cody at AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view on Saturday, November 9.
Two other matches are also set for next week’s Dynamite episode. The AEW Tag Team title tournament will begin with The Young Bucks facing Private Party in a first-round match, and Jon Moxley will take on Shawn Spears.
Last night’s Countdown to AEW Dynamite special averaged 631,000 viewers on TNT, up from the 390,000 that tuned into a similar show the night before the company’s All Out pay-per-view last month.
The hour-long special aired at 8 p.m Eastern time. It finished just outside of the top 25 for the night in the 18-49 demo with a 0.20 rating. That rating was up from the 0.14 that the Countdown to All Out did, though that previous special was on a Friday night at a later time slot and less promoted.
In other wrestling-related ratings news, the season premiere of Total Divas, featuring Ronda Rousey, averaged just 252,000 viewers. That was an all-time series low and more than 100,000 viewers fewer than the lowest rated episode of the previous season.
AEW Dynamite debuts tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT. It will go head-to-head with NXT.
Here’s what’s been announced for the Dynamite premiere:
Chris Jericho, Santana & Ortiz vs. Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks
Nyla Rose vs. Riho to determine the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion
AEW has released the first episode of their Road to TNT series:
Tony Schiavone was the Control Center host for the episode. He recapped All Out and began to look ahead to the AEW on TNT premiere, which is taking place at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, October 2.
Three matches have been announced for the TNT debut thus far. Chris Jericho will team with two mystery partners in a six-man tag match against Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks, Nyla Rose and Riho will face off to determine the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion, and Cody Rhodes will take on Sammy Guevara.
The Women’s title match was set up by Rose and Riho’s wins at All Out. Rose won the Casino Battle Royale, while Riho defeated Hikaru Shida.
During his post-All Out media scrum, Tony Khan was asked about the name of AEW’s weekly series and confirmed that a name will be announced that isn’t just “AEW on TNT” or “All Elite Wrestling.”
Note: This article originally stated that the Countdown special’s numbers were average for TNT. They’re color-coded as average on Showbuzz Daily’s chart for the night.
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Friday night’s Countdown to All Out preview special, which was only officially announced by AEW last week and not really promoted at all, averaged 390,000 viewers airing at 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT.
In the key 18-49 demo, the show finished 29th for the night on cable with a 0.14 rating. According to Showbuzz Daily, the rating in the demo and the overall viewership number are considered average.
TNT usually airs repeat programming in the 10 p.m. Eastern time slot.
It’s hard to say what this means, but viewership was over 50 percent higher than last year’s All In pre-show. The difference was that the All In pre-show aired on a weaker network — WGN America — and in a traditionally weaker time slot at 7 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. But it also took place right before All In and featured live matches, while Friday’s special was taped promo packages for the bouts that would take place the next night on pay-per-view.
The official debut for AEW on TNT will be on Wednesday, October 2. The show will air live weekly from 8-10 p.m. Eastern.
After airing on TNT, AEW’s Countdown to All Out special has been uploaded to YouTube:
The special was the first AEW broadcast on TNT. It includes clips from AEW’s Road to All Out series, Tony Schiavone hosting a Control Center segment to promote the All Out card, and more.
The ITV Wrestling YouTube account uploaded the special after it aired on TNT. All Out will be available via ITV Box Office in the United Kingdom.
All Out is taking place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The pre-show will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time tonight (Saturday, August 31), with the main card starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Here’s the card for the show:
Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship
Kenny Omega vs. PAC
AAA Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) defending against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) in a ladder match
Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears
Hikaru Shida vs. Riho
Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc
Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) (winning team gets a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament)
Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt vs. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
Women’s Casino Battle Royale (pre-show)
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Angelico & Jack Evans (pre-show)
AEW is heading back to the Sears Centre Arena this November.
Ahead of All Out, AEW announced that their Wednesday, November 27 television episode will take place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. That’s the night before Thanksgiving.
Tickets for the TV episode will go on sale tomorrow (August 30) at noon Eastern time.
The Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois is hosting SmackDown, NXT TakeOver, Survivor Series, and Raw from November 22-25.
All In was held at the Sears Centre Arena last September. All Out is also taking place at the venue this Saturday.
The Sears Centre show will be week nine of AEW TV. Here’s the schedule for the first six episodes:
Week one (October 2): Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
Week two (October 9): Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Week three (October 16): The Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Week four (October 23): Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Week five (October 30): Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Week six (November 6): Bojangles’ Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
The locations for the November 13 and November 20 episodes have yet to be revealed.
AEW TV will air live on TNT on Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m. Eastern time.
