AEW is celebrating a major milestone tonightbut the claim that AEW Dynamite is now the longest-running prime time wrestling show in Turner Sports history doesnt exactly hold up under the microscope.
AEW Dynamite: Spring BreakThru marks episode 289, surpassing WCW Monday Nitros total of 286 episodes before it ended on March 26, 2001. The company is promoting the achievement as a Turner record. But theres one problem: WCW Saturday Night aired 785 episodes on TBS from April 4, 1992, to August 19, 2000nearly triple the amount of Dynamite episodes.
And yes, WCW Saturday Night did air in prime timespecifically the iconic 6:05 PM ET time slot on Saturday evenings, which became a signature viewing window for wrestling fans through the early 90s. That time slot was considered prime time for cable, especially during the shows peak.
Even before it was rebranded as WCW Saturday Night, the program aired on TBS under earlier names like Georgia Championship Wrestling and NWA World Championship Wrestling, keeping a consistent spot in Turners weekly lineup dating back to the early 80s.
The confusion seems to come from Nitro being the flagship Monday night show, but in terms of weekly prime time wrestling on Turner, Saturday Night still holds the title. While its prominence declined in the late 90soften moving out of prime time and being used for mid-card matches and developmental talentit maintained a regular presence on TBS through the entire decade.
Meanwhile, AEW celebrated its 289th episode tonight from the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston. MJF even posted about the milestone on Twitter/X, writing: What Nitro was able to achieve changed wrestling. Im proud of the fact that like Nitro (but longer ) Dynamite has managed to give both fans (from an entertainment standpoint) and professional wrestlers (from a fiscal standpoint) an alternative. He followed that up with: And to think none of this would be possible without me carrying the company solely on my back for all these years Youre truly welcome.
The numbers might make Dynamite AEWs biggest TV success to date, but Turner Sports wrestling history goes way deeper than Nitroand any talk of longest-running has to include WCW Saturday Nights 785-episode run.
Should AEW have done their research before claiming the record? Or is 289 episodes of Dynamite enough to cement its place in history regardless? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
