For the last five years, All Elite Wrestling has remained under the banner of Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly Warner Media); through its current media rights negotiations, it is clear that the company hopes to remain there even longer. As AEW President Tony Khan has pointed out, though, the process of inking a new deal with WBD is rather "complicated," as there are many layers to this potential agreement. During the AEW All Out post-show media scrum, Khan provided an update on the AEW-WBD discussions.
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"I said last night here in the arena after the conclusion of the three hours live, as we were starting the countdown show on TNT and saying good night to the live fans here at the NOW Arena, that I think it's safe to say I believe AEW is here to stay on TNT and TBS and I think that's true, for a very long time. I believe it," Khan said. "I have not put pen to paper. I'm still working on things. It's an exciting time, without getting too specific, but while giving everybody that anticipation of things to come. There's really exciting things to come in AEW, and I'm very grateful to have the support of Warner Brothers Discovery, TNT and TBS."
As Khan mentioned, his closing statements after this week's back-to-back "AEW Collision" and "AEW Rampage" broadcasts exuded confidence that AEW would continue to air on TBS and TNT. Naturally, this fueled speculation that a deal between AEW and WBD had finally been struck. Per Khan himself, though, this is not yet the case.
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Currently, AEW features three shows in its weekly lineup "Collision," "Rampage," and its flagship program "AEW Dynamite." While "Dynamite" airs on TBS, TNT resides as the home to "Collision" and "Rampage."
In addition to AEW's television rights negotiations, Tony Khan also addressed a recent trademark application filed by the company through the United States Patent and Trademark Office, specifically for the phrase "AEW Shockwave." While maintaining a sense of ambiguity as to how the trademark may be utilized, Khan did emphasize the company's aim to continue producing industry-wide buzz, much like it did with the events of AEW All Out.
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"I think it would be safe to say that AEW is set to create a shockwave throughout all professional wrestling," Khan said. "I think people tonight are going to be talking about what they saw at AEW All Out, which was a huge business success for us. [We] did really, really well here at the NOW Arena, big sellout show and also really well on pay-per-view. I think it bodes really well and creates a lot of anticipation for what's going to happen Wednesday night on Dynamite on TBS. We'll continue to send that shockwave through the world of professional wrestling here at AEW."
Between its main and pre-show, AEW All Out hosted 12 matches, three of which sent notable shockwaves throughout the wrestling world due to their violent natures. The first was a Chicago Street Fight between Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale. The second was the headliningUnsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage match between "Hangman" Adam Page and Swerve Strickland. The third centered on a post-match moment, in which Jon Moxley put a plastic bag over the head of AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson, just moments after he retained his title over Jack Perry.
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit AEWwith a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
