On Cody Rhode’s official Youtube channel, Cody announced that the “Over Budget” Battle Royal will be returning to AEW’s Double or Nothing.
While the winnings were not announced, Cody did talk about how it would make the winner.
Cody also teased looking at bigger buildings for the future.
Chris Jericho chats with Chris Van Vliet in Ocala, FL 4 days after signing his contract with All Elite Wrestling. He talks about why he signed with AEW, the length of his contract, how Vince felt about it, whether CM Punk or Kenny Omega will go to AEW, his thoughts on Becky Lynch, gives an update on Roman Reigns and much more!
SHAD KHAN STATEMENT ON AEW, Tuesday, January 8, 2019
I am the lead investor, a supporter and a backer of All Elite Wrestling, and I anticipate great things today and into the future for AEW and everyone who has worked passionately on this week’s launch. I know AEW will be welcomed by wrestling fans here in the U.S. and throughout the world who are ready for something new and authentic. AEW will work hard to deliver on that promise.
As important, I am the father – the proud father – of Tony Khan, who will serve in a leadership role at AEW during the 2019 launch and in the years ahead. Tony will assemble a great team to take AEW over the top, for the benefit of everyone who loves the wrestling industry, while continuing to serve in his current capacities with the Jaguars and Fulham.
AEW will operate as an organization completely independently from my other interests. It will not deter attention or divert resources from any of my businesses, teams, projects or investments. At the same time, AEW will enjoy the same full commitment I given to everything and everyone in my life – my family and friends, my business and, in recent years, to sports, hospitality and now entertainment.
TONY KHAN STATEMENT ON AEW, Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Wrestling fans are a community unlike most others. I’ve been a part of this community since I was 7 years old, and I can tell you that wresting fans see the world every day through a special lens. We see wrestling in Hollywood films and tv shows, we see elements of wrestling in the presentation of sports and in the marketing of grandiose star athletes, and we certainly see wrestling in politics.
The wrestling community is a constant; its members are diverse, we are physically located on all corners of the planet, yet we are constantly connected. Recently, a new family has formed, bonded by love and respect for wresting but armed with a vision and resources that have never before been available to the wrestling community. Our objective is to connect our community closer than ever before through All Elite Wrestling, or AEW.
AEW does not mean any less of a continued commitment to existing obligations and duties that I have, or my family has, to our business and sports interests. That will never be the case. What’s important is that every individual decision we make as family, whether it’s ownership or investment in a team or property, is 100 percent beneficial to those specific interests. I will always welcome that accountability and responsibility, as nothing is more important than serving our supporters and friends.
AEW will launch with a roster of the top wrestlers in the world. While they’ll clash in what will be some of the most intense and fast-paced contests ever sanctioned in the squared circle, they’ll also share a common goal: to make this the true golden age, to make this the greatest time ever to be a wrestling fan. Likewise, as a business, by treating our wrestlers with respect and warmth, we also seek to make this the golden age for the performers themselves.
I urge everyone who believes in what we’re doing, or wants to believe in dreams coming true, to support AEW by spreading the word and passing the wrestling bug onto someone else. My message: Get in on the ground floor with AEW today and help lead our movement to grow the wrestling community and ensure that the voices of the wrestling fans, their creative minds and their remarkable ideas, will always be heard.
Editor’s Note: The line “Do they need TV for long term growth? Possibly. ” has been edited as it was an original misrepresentation of our stance. The original line was “Do they need TV for long term growth? Absolutely. “
Being The Elite’s Youtube Channel has officially announced the launch of All Elite Wrestling. The promotion is said to be owned by Tony Khaun with Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks said to be on the executive team as well as talent for the promotion. More news on talents, distribution, and more are set to be announced soon. With all this hype, AEW has left more questions than answers.
This is a question that has been asked time and time again: Can AEW get some sort of TV distribution deal? Will they need a TV deal? Me personally, I don’t think they will need a TV deal. At least in the short term.
Is a TV deal necessary for the promotion to get off the ground? No. I don’t think so. I’m not sure how many people ordered All In on the Fite app, but I’m sure that collectively AEW can start running shows that can make them profitable.
Think about this: On Twitter, they have a combined 1.8M followers. On Youtube, they have over 300,000 followers. If 10% of them sign up for a Patreon at $15 a month, that would be $2.7M a month or $32.4M a year. Of course, this is using the rule of 10% and hoping that 10% of their following would actually sign up for this.
That $32M a year could fund Youtube shows. They can find venues where they can sell out and make money on the ticket, sell ad-space online, and of course their merch store would be a huge money maker for them.
Do they need TV for long term growth? Possibly
I actually think that having fans being able to go “all in” with the guys is a great idea. Gives the audience a sense of ownership and a sense of them being apart of the team. No wrestling company has done that.
With the announcement, no real announcement of any talent signings were made. This leaves us to wonder, who else will AEW bring in to fill up the roster?
This is important. Cody has come out and said that he plans to not wrestle as much in the future. The 33-year-old son of a plumber’s son might want to go full time for another handful of years before slowing down.
The Young Bucks are a tag team. Will they eventually want to go solo and try to compete for the top titles in AEW? Or will they stick together as a unit?
The AEW team has announced that Double or Nothing is coming. Will it be their launch event? Will it just be the planned rally?
I guess we have to wait and see.