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News: AEW Dynamite Will Air Live on Wednesdays on TSN in Canada, Full Press Release

By John Canton • Published 1st October 2019
TJR Wrestling

It’s the news that those of us wrestling fans in Canada have been waiting: AEW Dynamite will air live on TSN here. It’s great news for All Elite Wrestling because Canada is the third-largest market for pro wrestling in the world after the United States and United Kingdom, so being able to get TV time on one of Canada’s two major sports network is pretty huge for AEW.

Here’s an official announcement from AEW’s Executive Vice President Kenny Omega, who is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (like AEW Champion Chris Jericho) about the deal.

Shortly after that was posted, AEW Champion Chris Jericho posted a message as well.

Here’s the full press release from Bell Media/TSN:

TSN Announces New Partnership with ALL ELITE WRESTLING, Becoming the Canadian Home of Weekly Series AEW DYNAMITE, Beginning October 2

— October 1st, 2019

– AEW DYNAMITE is headlined by Canadian wrestling superstars Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Shawn Spears, The Dark Order, Allie, and more –

TORONTO (October 1, 2019) – TSN announced today a partnership with the new professional wrestling promotion ALL ELITE WRESTLING(AEW) to deliver live coverage of the weekly live wrestling show, AEW DYNAMITE, kicking off Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the famed Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

TSN and TSN Direct subscribers can watch the all-new AEW DYNAMITE every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on TSN’s digital streaming platforms, including TSN.ca and the TSN app, and on the network’s five national television feeds (subject to final scheduling confirmation). TSN’s AEW DYNAMITE schedule for the month of October is as follows:

  • Wednesday, Oct. 2: 8 p.m. ET on TSN.ca, the TSN app, and TSN2
  • Wednesday, Oct. 9: 8 p.m. ET on TSN.ca, the TSN app, and TSN2
  • Wednesday, Oct. 16: 8 p.m. ET on TSN.ca, the TSN app, and TSN2
  • Wednesday, Oct. 23: 8 p.m. ET on TSN.ca, the TSN app, and TSN2
  • Wednesday, Oct. 30: 8 p.m. ET on TSN.ca, the TSN app, and TSN3

Among the featured wrestlers competing in AEW’s highly anticipated, action-packed matches are Canadian superstars Chris Jericho, the inaugural and current AEW World Champion; and Kenny Omega, the subject of the acclaimed, fan-favourite documentary OMEGA MAN: A WRESTLING LOVE STORY, part of TSN’s award-winning series ENGRAVED ON A NATION.

“For many, many years, Canada has been home not only to some of the most legendary wrestlers ever, both past and present, but also to some of the most knowledgeable and passionate fans anywhere in the world today,” said Tony Khan, CEO of AEW. “I’m thrilled that we are teaming with TSN to show AEW DYNAMITE live in Canada. TSN has great history broadcasting wrestling, and I know they will be a great partner for AEW and our fans.”

“We were overwhelmed with fans’ outpouring of support for our OMEGA MAN documentary earlier this year, and that incredible response has primed TSN to showcase Kenny Omega and the rest of AEW’s high-octane talent for fans across the country,” said Shawn Redmond, Vice-President, Discovery and TSN. “AEW DYNAMITE is headlined by two Canadian mega-stars alongside a growing roster of must-see wrestlers, and we’re very excited to deliver the wrestling world’s game-changing new series to TSN subscribers.”

AEW also features members of The Elite (Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Matt and Nick Jackson, and Hangman Adam Page) as well as Jon Moxley, Nyla Rose, Awesome Kong, and Dustin Rhodes, with renowned wrestling commentator Jim Ross calling the action.

TSN’s coverage of AEW DYNAMITE is also available for on-demand viewing to TSN and TSN Direct subscribers via TSN.ca/Live and the TSN app.

TJR Thoughts: Here in Canada, there are five TSN channels labeled 1-5. Some people may only have one of them (that would be TSN4), but a lot of us have all five on our cable packages. I have all of them, so it will be no problem for me to watch it. It’s also good news that they are showing it on TSN’s digital streaming platforms because it gives us other ways to watch it as well.

This will be the first time TSN has had a major wrestling promotion on the air since 2006. Prior to that, TSN was the home to WWF/E Raw and WCW Monday Nitro. Raw moved to The Score, which became Sportsnet 360 (Smackdown was already there) and it’s been there ever since.

The fact that it will be carried live on TSN2 also means there’s a very good chance I’ll be writing live reviews right here on TJRWrestling on Wednesday nights. I can’t promise to do it live every week, but I will try to get it posted later that evening if it isn’t live. I’m considering AEW Dynamite reviews to be a weekly commitment just like I have been committed to Raw and Smackdown reviews for many years.

This is huge for AEW. The negative thing about it is that it became official just one day before AEW Dynamite debuts tomorrow night. If they got the deal done earlier, then TSN could have ran ads for it. Instead, fans have to find out online unless TSN mentions on their Sportscentre (R before E up here!) broadcasts tonight. Anyway, at least we get to see the show live. That’s a huge plus for wrestling fans.