Highly-anticipated AEW announcement to be made "imminently" following rampant rumors - Reports
AEW is set to make a major announcement. After months of rumors, speculation, and close calls, sources are reporting that officials are close to finally making a significant decision that will impact the future of the company in a big way.
All Elite Wrestling has been partners with Warner Bros. Discovery since May 2019. The deal has been extended and upgraded since then, which led to WBD airing three weekly AEW TV shows - Dynamite, Rampage, Collision - plus four quarterly TV specials, known as Battle of The Belts. A new media rights deal has been discussed for several months, as it's believed the next version of the agreement will come with a significant financial increase, and that would allow the company to finally turn a profit.
Sources recently revealed that WBD higher-ups want the deal done, while officials in both companies have similar opinions about the future. It was also recently reported that the WBD's exclusive negotiating period was coming to an end, which Tony Khan confirmed this week. Now a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter indicates that a new deal may be announced at any time now.
There are expectations that the new AEW - WBD deal will be announced imminently, potentially before the expiration of the exclusive negotiating window, which is about to happen. The report acknowledged how there are "completely contradictory things" being said about the negotiations.
AEW's next several years of operations will be greatly impacted by the outcome of the deal, as pointed to in this latest report. It was also noted how Khan is strongly suggesting the new deal is good news, and a game-changer, for the company, while his rivals are quietly spreading the opposite, because "that's how the game is played."
The recent AEW TV ratings are not necessarily indicative of the outcome of the deal. However, The Observer stated how the second quarter decline in numbers for Wednesday's Forbidden Door go-home Dynamite happened at the worst time possible as the finishing touches on the deal were reportedly being put together. It was also acknowledged how there are many moving parts to this deal, and WBD in general, as the network is having its own financial issues.
AEW Rampage updated lineup for go-home episode
All Elite Wrestling will present its final Rampage episode before Forbidden Door 2024 later tonight on TNT at 10 pm ET. The show was taped last week at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA.
Tonight's show will feature NJPW stars in action, including Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd. Below is the current lineup:
- Shingo Takagi vs. Dalton Castle
- Skye Blue vs. Queen Aminata
- Handicap Match: Orange Cassidy vs. The Outrunners
- TNT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: El Phantasmo vs. AR Fox
- Gabe Kidd and Roderick Strong vs. The Infantry
The winner of ELP vs. Fox will earn the final spot in the Ladder Match for the vacant TNT Championship at Forbidden Door. The others confirmed for the match are Mark Briscoe, Konosuke Takeshita, Lio Rush, Dante Martin, and Jack Perry.