As much as fans wanted AEW to go toe-to-toe with the WWE, network executives thought otherwise.
According to Variety, WarnerMedia announced that All Elite Wrestling will air on TNT from 8-10 pm ET beginning Wednesday, Oct. 2. So rather than face-off against the juggernaut WWE, the nascent wrestling organization will sandwich itself between the WWE's staple programs.
Currently, WWE Raw airs Mondays on USA, followed by Smackdown, which airs on Tuesday. But, two days after AEW premieres, the WWE will host its special "Smackdown Live" event on Fox before moving the show to the network where it will air weekly on Fridays. Much like the WWE's two staple programs, AEW will air live weekly shows that take place across the country. AEW's first stop will be at Washington DC's Capital One Area. Tickets for the event will go on sale July 29 at 12 p.m. ET on AEW's social media pages.
Similar to the rise of WCW, when it was announced that another professional wrestling promotion was willing to take on the McMahon Family business, many wrestlers decided to jump ship, including former WWE superstars Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose). Meanwhile, ex-WWE athletes The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega, and Cody Rhodes serve as AEW's executive vice presidents.
The AEW was founded by the company's CEO and president, Tony Khan, who's also a co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lahn announced the launch of AEW on Jan. 1. Its first pay=per=view event, Double Or Nothing, took place in May.
