Tony Khan On If There Will Be A Name For AEW On TNT, Why They Chose To Air The Show On Wednesdays
Following All Out this past Saturday, Tony Khan spoke to the media for an extended period of time. A tradition following big shows, the President and CEO of All Elite Wrestling talked about a variety of topics, whether it be Kylie Rae's release from AEW or anything else AEW related.
Wrestling Inc.'s Nick Hausman was inside the Sears Centre Arena and was able to ask Tony Khan about AEW on TNT. Taking place on Wednesday nights starting on October 2, the show currently doesn't have a name. When asked if there is an idea for a name already, Khan answered the question without revealing too much information.
"It is not going to be called 'All Elite Wrestling' because I think it would be confusing between the company and the name of the show," Khan stated.
With AEW going against NXT on Wednesday nights, many were wondering if that was the initial plan. Khan revealed that October 1st (Tuesday) was considered before settling on Wednesday. The co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C. didn't want to deal with scheduling conflicts from the NFL.
"Tuesday and Wednesday were really good nights for the wrestling fan," Khan continued. "It would not be competing with the most popular show on television which is the National Football League. The vast majority of the top 100 shows are NFL games in this country. I don't want to go against the NFL on Monday, Thursday or Sunday night because I am a part of the NFL."
In regards to Tuesday nights, AEW would have had a free day with SmackDown moving to Friday's. AEW might have ended up landing there if the network they chose was different. Besides football, AEW had to deal with basketball.
"We ended up partnering up with TNT. The NBA has games on Tuesday, which is a pre-existing commitment," Khan went on to say. "I didn't know a year ago what my TV partner was going to be. I knew wherever we were I'd like to do a weekly television show and give back to wrestling fans; two hours of live, high-quality wrestling."
The next AEW show is Full Gear, which will be taking place on November 9 inside the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.