Update On AEW Rampage's Timeslot Disruptions
Ever since the NBA and NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs began in April, "AEW Rampage" has bounced around more than an NBA-regulated basketball, changing timeslots consistently. It is thus welcome news that the program will be finding itself back in its normal timeslot going forward.
With the Colorado Avalanche defeating the Edmonton Oilers last night to win the Western Conference Finals, TNT's sports obligations to the NHL and NBA have concluded until next fall. As such, "AEW Rampage" will no longer be pre-empted from its 10 p.m. EST timeslot on Friday nights, and will now once again air regularly at that hour for the foreseeable future.
The next possible pre-emptions for AEW would come in the early fall when the Major League Baseball playoffs begin airing on TBS. The divisional and championship series of the playoffs would have a potential effect on "AEW Dynamite" after the program moved to TBS at the beginning of this year.
AEW will hope that moving back to their regular 10 p.m. timeslot on a consistent basis will help stabilize ratings on Friday night, which has bounced around much like "Rampage's" timeslot has. This past Friday's "Rampage" episode, the first in the 10 p.m. timeslot in weeks, was up from the previous week, though the 18-49 number remained low compared to "Rampage's" numbers when it aired at 10 p.m. consistently.
Last week's "Rampage" was an eventful show, with the Young Bucks taking on the Lucha Brothers in another highly acclaimed tag match and CM Punk announced he would be taking time off due to an injury, leading to the announcement of an AEW Interim World Championship, which will be crowned at Forbidden Door. No matches have been scheduled yet for this week's "Rampage", which is being taped in Independence, Missouri.