All Elite Wrestling (AEW)

About

All Elite Wrestling, also known as AEW, is a professional wrestling promotion founded by Tony Khan. The promotion features some of the most popular independent wrestlers from around the globe as well as former WWE stars, most notably Cody Rhodes, who serves alongside indie wrestlers Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) as the company's executive vice presidents. The company has attempted to position itself as a legitimate challenger to WWE's stranglehold on the global professional wrestling market.

History

On November 28th, 2017, Wrestling Observer^[1] reported that Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks, three of the independent wrestling scene's biggest stars, were planning an event bringing together some of the top independent wrestling talent around the globe. This became All In, a pay-per-view that sold out in 30 minutes when tickets went on sale on May 13th, 2018.^[2] All In was held in Chicago, Illinois, September 1st, 2018, and was the first non-WWE or WCW wrestling event to sell over 10,000 tickets since 1993 (clip shown below).^[3]

On January 1st, 2019, after months of speculation, Rhodes and the Young Bucks announced the creation of All Elite Wrestling and the follow-up pay-per-view to All In, called Double or Nothing (shown below).^[4] Entrepreneur Tony Khan was named president of the company, while Rhodes, Omega, and the Young Bucks were named Executive VPs. Rhodes' wife Brandi was named Chief Brand Officer. On January 8th, several talents were announced to be joining AEW, including former WWE star Chris Jericho, as well as independent stars like Joey Janela, "Hangman" Page, Rey Fenix, Pentagon Jr., and more.^[5]

On May 25th, 2019, the company held its first official pay-per-view, Double or Nothing. The show was a huge critical success, with noted wrestling critic Dave Meltzer^[6] calling the promotion the hottest non-WWE force in professional wrestling in 20 years. The show also featured the surprise debut of Jon Moxley, who was known in WWE as Dean Ambrose. The promotion will have a weekly show on TNT.^[7] As of June 28th, 2019, future events for the promotion are Fyter Fest, which airs June 29th, Fight for the Fallen (July 13th), and All Out (August 29th).

Competition with WWE

AEW has taken many indirect shots at WWE during its tenure. Rhodes has cut promos against the company, notably calling out the company's nostalgia for "the Attitude Era" (shown below, left). During Double or Nothing, Rhodes smashed a throne with a sledgehammer, which was a clear reference to WWE executive and wrestler Triple H (shown below, right).

After the show and the AEW debut of Moxley, it led to speculation AEW may be a legitimate contender with WWE.^[6] WWE has been rumored to be aggressively trying to resign wrestlers so they don't go to the promotion.^[8]

Online Presence

All Elite Wrestling has developed a strong social media presence. Most notably, the YouTube channel Being the Elite has featured developments in promotion storylines, and has over 385,000 subscribers.^[9] The promotion also has over 362,000 followers on Twitter,^[10] 274,000 likes on Facebook,^[11] and a subreddit with 9,800 followers.^[12]

Search Interest

External References