When did AEW start and become a wrestling company?
AEW has cemented itself in the world of professional wrestling as one of the true trailblazers of this generation. Under the leadership of Tony Khan, the brand is growing from strength to strength and continues to push the envelope.
All Elite Wrestling is now considered a direct rival to Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment. Of course, The Worldwide Leader in Sports Entertainment has not seen any real competition from another wrestling organization since The Monday Night Wars of the 1990's.
In recent weeks and months, AEW has fired shots at WWE by securing their former talent such as Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole. Tony Khan has even added CM Punk to his roster, who had no intention of returning to wrestling following his well-documented split with Vince McMahon and WWE in 2014.
So when did AEW start and become a wrestling company?
All Elite Wrestling began its operations on January 1, 2019. The company was founded by Tony Khan and his father Shahid Khan, who also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham Football Club.
This is from the 2019 January press conference in Jacksonville. #aew https://t.co/m2HYJTrxMm
In an interview with Forbes earlier this year, Tony Khan discussed competing with Vince McMahon and WWE:
"When we started AEW Dynamite, just over two years ago, in October 2019, it was a tough fight for a couple of years. We'd never been #1 on cable until April 14, 2021 and since April 14 we've had several number one finishes and a really hot run of them recently. With the launch of AEW Rampage, we had to get bigger and better and make this the best time in the history of AEW, which I think, it really has been. In terms of every major business metric - television ratings, pay-per-view, viewership, live events, merchandising - we're at all time highs in all these metrics. It's definitely the most exciting time in the history of our business. Really hasn't been anything like what we're doing in terms of competing head to head with WWE, week to week, in the cable ratings in two decades." Tony Khan said.
When was the first-ever AEW pay-per-view?
This day in #AEWHistory, @IAmJericho vs. @KennyOmegamanX is officially announced for Double or Nothing 2019 https://t.co/suLV2DrYKd
AEW's first-ever pay-per-view came on May 25, 2019 when they hosted Double or Nothing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The event saw a brother vs. brother bloodbath with Cody and Dustin Rhodes colliding in a classic. The main event featured Chris Jericho defeating Kenny Omega to earn a shot at becoming the first-ever AEW World Champion.
What do you think about the rise to prominence of All Elite Wrestling in its short history? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.