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AEW is three weeks away from debuting on TNT, and the news is only expected to get more interesting in the weeks to come - more so with their impending TV debut. Bits and pieces of important news and rumors tend to fall between the cracks, and AEW fans want to know everything they can and it's important to keep them informed.
Also Read: 5 Wrestlers who turned down AEW Contracts
In the AEW Rumor Roundup this week, we cover AEW's official TV rating, Cody Rhodes hinting at a return of a title made famous in WCW, the name of the AEW TNT show and whether AEW will use an actual writing team.
#5 AEW on TNT to be rated TV-14
According to a report by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW has sent out the information to their cable service providers that their show will be rated TV-14. TNT is hoping that this will allow the show to have an edgier feel to it.
It should be noted that WWE used to be TV-14 during the Attitude Era, in the midst of the Monday Night Wars, when it was in a ratings war with WCW Monday Nitro. It could be argued that WWE was probably at the height of its popularity with edgy characters like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and mature storylines.
While AEW will be doing a show that is the antithesis to a TV-PG rating, they will still be working within guidelines that are within TNT's standards and practices. It's also notable that the show was categorized as a "sports event" rather than being classified as entertainment.
It's going to be interesting as to what fans will see when AEW debuts on TNT. Will it have a more UFC-style atmosphere? Or will it be similar to NJPW? We will all find out on 02 October.
#4 Is the TNT show called All Elite Fleet?
The name of the show is not called All Elite Fleet. According to Dave Melzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the name that has been sent to the cable company for their TV guides is just "All Elite Wrestling." This actually doesn't reveal much about the name of the show.
For months, fans have been speculating what the name of the show would be called. One report had confirmed that AEW had trademarked the name "Wednesday Night Dynamite" on June 18th. Another report from last month, hinted that the name could be "AEW Revolution" as AEW had filed a trademark, which covered a wide range of services, including a television show
At Starrcast III, there was an All Elite Fleer banner spread across the wall. Fans started assuming that this would be the name of the upcoming TV show. Reports suggested that this is not the case.
It's unknown what the TNT show will be called at this point. AEW and TNT have been using the hashtag #AEWonTNT in their social media accounts to promote the upcoming show.
Whatever the show is called, it will mark the first time in 18 years that professional wrestling will be on TNT.
#3 All Out Buys Exceeded Double or Nothing
So far, AEW has had 4 official PPVs: Double or Nothing and All Out were the "big 2" while the rest would be best considered as filler PPVs. The PPV buy rate for Double or Nothing was considered fantastic for a company that was holding itheir first official PPV. Double or Nothing had a buy rate of between 98,000 buys and 113,000 buys worldwide. This included buys from traditional television as well as digital media via B/R Live and Fite TV.
Initially, it was reported that All Out only did a buy rate of 28,000 buys via TV buys in the U.S. This is down from the 35,000 buys that Double or Nothing drew on PPV TV. It should be noted that the 28,000 buys don't include the B/R Live numbers. While not confirmed, B/R Live is reportedly saying that the buy rate is up on its digital platform.
On a separate note, Fite TV reached out to Wrestling Inc and said that All Out exceeded the buy rate of Double or Nothing. This is very good news for the company. As of now, the final numbers are not known, but if they happen to equal or exceed Double or Nothing, that could only be a good thing going forward.
#2 AEW will not have a writing team
Cody Rhodes has been very adamant in interviews that AEW will have unscripted promos. This means that they won't have writers writing scripts for their wrestlers, as they believe that the wrestlers should be able to cut their own promos - with just a little direction and guidance from their side.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reportedly has said that AEW will not have a writing team in place. He said,
"I’ll tell you what, the one thing as far as Wednesday goes is it’s going to be a heavily scripted show vs a show with no writers. Legitimately, they are not hiring writers, and we’re going to see a live 2-hour show with no writers, just wrestlers, you know, coming up with storylines, and going out there and have them cut promos and you know, knowing the bullet points. They want to memorize their promos, they can, if they don’t want to memorize their promos, they don’t have to. But there is not going to be any word-for-word stuff."
This will be interesting for AEW as they attempt to go back to an old school way of pro wrestling that will hopefully make for captivating television.
#1 Cody Rhodes hints at the return of the World Television Title for AEW
If there was one title that was synonymous with WCW, it was the World Television Championship (aka "The best wrestler on television"). There have been many famous names who have held that title, including William Regal, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Booker T, Arn Anderson, and even Dusty Rhodes.
It was originally an NWA title, but was eventually brought into WCW, before being deactivated when Vince Russo took over creative. ROH has utilized a similar idea for their promotion. During an interview with IGN, Cody Rhodes hinted at the very idea that this could happen in AEW, sometime down the line.
"There's a title we're considering, and it's something people can probably guess since we're going to be on TV, hint hint, but there are no plans for it at the moment. Right now we revolve around the AEW Championship and in D.C. we're going to name the first ever AEW Women's Champion, and that's such a beautiful belt. I don't know if people know, up close, that rose gold is layered into it. Brandi, Kenny Omega, and Tony did a great job getting that title. There's going to be some guidelines laid out for whoever wins that title though....(laughing) some guidelines about how they're supposed to take care of it."
Bringing a TV title as a mid-level would make sense as it would push the champion to defend the title only on TV. It will be interesting how they pull that off if it ever happens.
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