The All Elite Wrestling (AEW) franchise will grow its footprint with a move of “AEW: Dynamite” to TBS in January 2022.
Until then, presence on TNT remains robust in 2021 with the addition of the new hour-long series “AEW: Rampage.” Debuting on August 13 at 10 p.m. ET, “AEW: Rampage” is a third hour of high-octane wrestling featuring the world-renowned stars of AEW. In addition, TNT will debut four new professional wrestling specials annually, continuing to garner and grow AEW’s audience until the move to TBS in 2022.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to help Tony Khan expand his wrestling fiefdom across our networks and bring more content to our fans that fits the thrill ride brand of TNT and good time of TBS,” said Sam Linsky, Associate General Manager, SVP, Programming and Operations, TBS, TNT and truTV. “It’s Wednesday. You know what that means.”
Currently, Fox broadcasts rival WWE Friday Night Smackdown nationally as a 2-hour program. As plans stand at the moment, Smackdown and Rampage would not be in direct competition with each other as Smackdown runs from 8PM-10PM EST while Rampage’s late-night cable spot would be a third hour of wrestling on Friday nights for anyone wanting to tune in. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Warner may wish to change that should the new AEW show take off big. Then there’s the question of what will all this look like once the AT&T/Discovery deal finalizes, as an entertainment business Discovery may want to see just how far AEW can go in direct competition.
