The Real Reason For AEW’s Recent Booking Revealed
AEW has been loading up Dynamite in recent weeks and with its 250th episode and Blood & Guts on the horizon the real reason why has become clear.
The 10th of July edition of Dynamite saw the winners of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments crowned and that meant heartbreak for one AEW champion. Mariah May brutally attacked Toni Storm after she won the women’s tournament and earned a shot at Storm’s AEW Women’s World Title in her native England at All In.
On the 250th edition of Dynamite, one match many expected to be taking place at All In will be happening in Little Rock, Arkansas instead. It didn’t take long for the bad blood to develop between MJF and Will Ospreay and now those two men are set to clash for Ospreay’s AEW International Championship.
Two more AEW stars have signed up for Blood & Guts as the newest member of Team AEW provided the perfect reason for Hangman Adam Page to swallow his pride and be The Elite’s fifth man.
TV Negotiations Driving AEW’s Stacked Shows
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained the reason Tony Khan is putting on PPV-level matches on TV and it all comes down to the company still being in negotiations over its TV rights:
The reason that these shows have been so loaded is because the negotiations aren’t done and they’re really looking… To get the best foot forward.
Until the contract is signed, if it’s signed, which presumably it will, but these ratings are important as far as the final payment numbers and time slots and all the other stuff that’s going into the negotiations and all aspects of it. If the product looks hot in the ratings it’s gonna help them, that’s why next week’s show is so loaded, that’s why this week’s show is the way it was.
AEW has been in talks with its current US broadcast partner Warner Brothers Discovery about a new deal for Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. However, it is now believed that the exclusive negotiating period between the two sides has expired leaving Tony Khan to look elsewhere for the best deal he can.