Bad news for Tony Khan and AEW [Reports]
AEW CEO Tony Khan recently announced that Friday Night Rampage will air for the last time on December 27, 2024. It is rumored that the company is working on introducing a new program called Shockwave in its place.
Reports suggest Khan is vigorously searching for a home for Shockwave. Fox was initially interested in broadcasting it on FS1. However, due to declining ratings, the network backed off. Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio explained the whole situation.
"I mean, you know, the thing like, obviously, that there were talks with Fox and AEW, numbers fell. And I mean, that's the key. I mean, it's like, if their numbers had stayed stronger or, you know, I think that they would have a lot better shot getting on Fox because there are several nights a week where an AEW show could do an AEW show from a year ago, or even six months ago, could have done better than Fox does on those nights,'' he said.
The veteran journalist added:
''And there are still nights that you could do that, but it's not as much of a sure thing.'' [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]
Tony Khan had always dreamt of being a wrestling promoter
Tony Khan founded All Elite Wrestling in 2019. Since then, the company has emerged as a major competitor for the Sports Entertainment juggernaut, WWE.
Interestingly, in a recent appearance on The Five Star Podcast, the 42-year-old revealed that he conceptualized Wednesday Night Dynamite when he was in seventh grade.
"When I was growing up, before I went to University of Illinois, actually before I went to University of Illinois Laboratory High School even, [being a wrestling promoter] was something I'd thought about and dreamed of. I started writing a show when I was in seventh grade called 'Wednesday Night Dynamite,' and it's on every Wednesday now. We built it up, and it became a real thing," Tony Khan said. [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]
Hopefully, 2025 will be a fruitful year for Tony Khan and his company.