Backstage Details On The Future Of AEW Rampage & Battle Of The Belts

It's been a few weeks now since the deal was first announced, but AEW's new TV rights with Warner Brothers Discovery remains a heavy topic of conversation. Part of that conversation revolves around the future of AEW programs "AEW Rampage" and "AEW Battle of the Belts." While both "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" will continue on TBS and TNT for the duration of the new deal, the futures of "Rampage" and "Battle of the Belts" has been less clear, with neither program being mentioned in any press release or report regarding the deal.

As such, the expectation is that both "Rampage" and "Battle of the Belts" may be coming to an end, rumors that won't be going away following the reveal of certain details. On Sunday's "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer stated that "Rampage" isn't expected to continue much longer in its current form, though it's unclear whether the show will run through the end of the year or air earlier. As for "Battle of the Belts," Meltzer stated the special wasn't included in the deal, and while it wasn't for certain it would be done, the expectation is the specials would also be ending.

Meltzer did note, however, that while "Rampage" could live on in another incarnation on another network. This includes the possibility that "Rampage" could become "Shockwave," a rumored new TV show that AEW has reportedly been shopping around to broadcasting networks, including Fox. Meltzer confirmed that AEW was currently having two sets of talks regarding another show, though he noted the talks at this point weren't believed to be close to finalized.