Even More Details On New AEW-WBD Deal, Including Fate Of AEW Rampage
Update 10/2/2024, 10:47pm EST: This report has been updated to include recent reports from WrestleVotes and Sean Ross Sapp.
AEW and WBD announced that AEW programming will remain on WBD networks for the foreseeable future, and will even be added to WBD's streaming service Max. Since the initial announcement, new details have emerged, but the scattered nature of reports means that some of those details may have been premature. First and foremost among these appears to be the price tag — initially reported as more than $150 million per year, anonymous social media scoop account WrestleVotes claimed afterward that the number "is closer to $185 million per year," and Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp chimed in to confirm, saying "This number is accurate."
This number is accurate https://t.co/LK4q2UrXDn
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) October 3, 2024
Fightful Select, meanwhile, is reporting that claims that WBD own an undisclosed stake in AEW can't be confirmed, as sources in AEW and WBD said they hadn't heard anything about WBD having an ownership stake in the company. Meanwhile, Fightful reports that "AEW Collision" and "AEW Dynamite" are set to remain on Saturdays and Wednesdays, respectively; as for "AEW Rampage," it's possible the show could end up on another network, but if so the "Rampage" archives would not be added to to Max in January along with "Dynamite" and "Collision." AEW will continue to charge for PPVs, as the company has no interest in "cannibalizing" the PPV market by making it subscription-based, citing losses by WWE and UFC since moving to a subscription model, but the promotion is aware of the negativity generated by the idea of paywalling PPVs and then charging more for them. Fightful claims AEW may change to a different model in the future.
Finally, there are no known plans in regards to bringing Ring of Honor to TruTV, but the end of WBD's exclusivity clause means AEW is now able to negotiate with other networks, meaning there's a possibility for a return of programming like "AEW Dark" as well as the rumored Fox deal.