Folks, if you thought AEW was already everywhere, buckle up because they’re about to truly take over your screens. It looks like Tony Khan is getting ready to drop some major news—an all-new, shiny media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). We’re talking about four years of wrestling mayhem for a cool $170 million! And just when you thought you’d only be seeing AEW on TNT and TBS, rumor has it TruTV might also join the wrestling party. Get ready to flick between basketball reruns and body slams.
Now, this deal isn’t just about throwing more wrestling onto more channels. Oh no, AEW pay-per-views—those precious events you’ve been shelling out for—are reportedly heading to Max (the artist formerly known as HBO Max) in January! Yes, finally some justice for your streaming bill. But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to access them on other platforms if you’re not ready to make the leap into the Max ecosystem just yet.
Andrew Zarian broke this juicy news on his “Mat Men Podcast” and confirmed that the deal is basically done—just a few little details left to iron out, like which catering company gets to supply the post-event nachos. According to Zarian, while the ink isn’t quite dry, this new deal will keep AEW programming on TNT, TBS, and quite possibly TruTV. No, TruTV won’t be airing 24/7 blooper reels anymore—they might just be broadcasting AEW Dynamite and Collision replays. How’s that for range?
What about AEW Rampage? Well, don’t start planning a funeral just yet. While it won’t be on TNT or TBS under the new deal, it may find a new home on TruTV. But here’s the twist: Zarian dropped the name “AEW Shockwave,” an extra hour of programming with zero explanation of what it’s about. Another hour of matches? Behind-the-scenes chaos? A reality show where Tony Khan teaches wrestlers how to drive stick shift? Who knows! What we do know is that Fox is apparently linked to this mysterious “Shockwave,” and they might want a piece of that wrestling pie.
Speaking of Fox, don’t expect AEW to swoop in and take WWE SmackDown’s old timeslot. WWE’s moving to USA, but Fox’s sales team is still confident they can sell wrestling as a hot commodity. You can almost picture Fox execs rubbing their hands together, muttering, “Wrestling? We can sell that, right?” with dollar signs in their eyes.
As for the official announcement of this deal? Zarian says we’ll hear about it next week! Unless, of course, the announcement gets pushed again—because in the world of wrestling, nothing is real until someone gets put through a table. But seriously, folks, the deal’s happening.