All Elite Wrestling has been phenomenal throughout 2020 and has proved itself time and time again. Perhaps the only main contender to WWE, AEW has routed NXT and has now crossed the 1 million viewership mark.
Great content, excellent stipulations, and talented Superstars are what make AEW exciting. The different and raw vibe of wrestling in AEW makes it a very viable alternative to WWE wrestling.
It’s hard to believe that the company is not even 2 years old, considering the fact that it has already beaten NXT viewership. AEW’s creation was announced on January 1, 2019, which turned a lot of eyes away from WWE.
The idea began when journalist Dave Meltzer posted on Twitter that ROH (Ring of Honor) had not managed to sell even 10,000 tickets for any wrestling show.
Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson), both responded by organizing a huge cross-promotion Wrestling event. Using their massive influence as the top stars of ROH, the three were able to gather a lot of Superstars.
The event, called All In, was a huge success. It registered the largest crowd attendance for a pay per view that wasn’t organized or affiliated to WWE. A whopping 11, 263 people attended All In, raising a lot of eyebrows.
Following this impact, Cody and the Young Bucks decided to pursue this new-found dream. It was announced on January 1, 2019, that All Elite Wrestling was going to enter the wrestling world.
Billionaires Tony Khan and Shahid Khan backed this new promotion as the main investors. The Khans are also board members of the Jacksonville Jaguars and English football club Fulham FC.
Cody and the Young Bucks joined AEW as co-executive vice presidents, a day after the promotion’s arrival was announced. Cody’s wife Brandi Rhodes was announced as the company’s Chief Branding Officer.
Following this, AEW also announced the signing of many other Superstars. The team SoCal Uncensored consisting of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky, “Hangman” Adam Page, Joey Janela, Dr. Britt Baker, and former WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Pac.
Later, popular Wrestler Kenny Omega also joined the promotion as the fourth co-executive vice president of the company. He has proved to be quite an attraction and is regarded as one of the best in the business.
AEW also made the key decision of partnering with Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE) and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), which gives them access to another pool of talents.
The first-ever pay per view, ‘AEW Double or Nothing,’ had tickets out on February 7, 2019. Since then, the way has only been up for AEW. Signing with TNT, AEW now has their shows aired on the same platform as WCW 20 years ago. AEW Dynamite has been a huge problem for NXT for the past few months as the AEW vs WWE war continues.
In fact, AEW ratings have risen during the pandemic period. The company is making good use of the pandemic situation to get an edge over WWE. The promotion has been letting in a number of fans to watch the event live, which has also helped its episodes.
It is the only promotion that is actively competing with WWE and has already overtaken NXT to reach 1 million viewers. AEW will only keep climbing, and seek to do what WCW couldn’t- topple WWE.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American Professional Wrestling Promotion founded in 2019. It’s President and CEO is Tony Khan. Shahid Khan, along with Tony Khan, is the lead investor in the promotion.
Unlike WWE, AEW does not have PG restrictions. This means that it can show explicit content that involves bloody stunts such as thumbtacks.
WWE stopped airing such content after it attained the PG license post the Attitude Era. The insanity of Mick Foley and other “violent” acts would no longer air. AEW provides fans with a distinct similarity to those days.
The promotion freely uses thumbtacks and has little restriction in its matches. The reality of the entire show attracts a lot of wrestling fans. Unfortunately, WWE NXT cannot match this.
AEW has also made great use of former WWE Superstars. The promotion recruits Superstars who were never used to their potential in WWE and makes them stars, showcasing the true talent that WWE threw away.
AEW has a star-studded roster that can make wrestling fans go crazy over the possible storylines.
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega defeated the unbeatable Jon Moxley to regain the title in a thrilling encounter.
AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin is another big name for the promotion, notching a crucial win for his career over Cody Rhodes to win the gold.
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida is a major talent in the women’s division and is arguably one of the best in the business. Her wrestling style has been critically acclaimed.
The AEW Tag Team FTR have been hailed as the next Arn and Tully, and they are certainly living up to that potential. We are yet to see the best of them.
The constant stars of the show are Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho who recently had one of the funniest feuds ever. It ended with Jericho falling in a vat filled with a mixture of orange juice and Champagne form a mimosa.
Other prominent names in the AEW roster include Cody, “Hangman” Adam Page, Brain Cage, Miro, Kip Sabian, MJF, Matt Hardy, and Sammy Guevara.
The women’s division also has upcoming talents such as Abadon, Anna Jay, and Brandi Rhodes.
AEW also announced the signing of former WWE Superstars Miro (Rusev), Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder), and Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne), adding them to the already great roster.
AEW can be watched every Wednesday Night at 8 PM in the USA on TNT. You can also stream the show on TNT’s official website or app.
Created By | Tony Khan |
Country of Origin | The United States of America |
Original Network | TNT |
Distributor | AEW |
History | January 1, 2019- Present |
First Event | October 2, 2019 |
Date | Wednesday, 8 PM E.T. |
Location | Georgia (exact location undisclosed) |
Live Streaming | TNT Website |
TV Channels | TNT |