AEW News: Company President Addresses Possibility Of Going Up Against ‘Monday Night Raw’
Cody Rhodes fueled speculation recently when he said that he wanted to move All Elite Wrestling‘s weekly show, Dynamite, to Monday nights. Of course, if this happened the show could be pitted against WWE‘s Monday Night Raw in a ratings battle, which would most definitely raise the stakes for both companies. However, while the executive vice president seems to have big plans for the company, his boss, Tony Khan, is happy with the current slot on the weekly television schedule.
As quoted by SEScoops, Khan shot down Rhodes’ ambitions during a press conference following this weekend’s Revolution pay-per-view. According to the AEW president, there is currently no need to switch things up, as Dynamite is performing very well in its current slot and the network is happy with the progress made so far.
“That may be his view for five years. As his personal view and that might even be his view as the executive vice president but as the president and CEO, I am telling you we are on Wednesday nights, I want to be on Wednesday nights. I have no intention of moving for a variety of reasons and I am really happy with where we are [in the] the relationship with TNT. It’s a night that works great for them. We have been a top performer for them. We are doing great on Wednesdays and I want to stay there.”
However, while a ratings war with WWE could happen if AEW moved to Monday nights, Khan is more concerned about the NFL. According to the AEW president, football is the greatest asset to cable television, and he doesn’t want his wrestling promotion to interfere with that.
Tonight in 40 minutes, AEW Dynamite will be live on TNT at 8pm ET/7pm CT from my hometown Champaign, IL! I grew up here, I’ve been to the @statefarmcenter hundreds of times. It’s a dream come true to be here now with @AEWrestling, I promise tonight you’ll see a great #aewdynamite pic.twitter.com/X3GyUgbuZf
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) December 5, 2019
Rhodes’ comments appear to have been born out of his desire to turn AEW into the most viewed wrestling product on television, although he does understand it’s a work in progress. At the time of this writing, the weekly show has consistently defeated NXT in the weekly scrap for ratings, and perhaps Rhodes thinks going up against Monday Night Raw would bring more eyes to the product.
Of course, Rhodes is used to competing with WWE these days. As The Inquisitr previously reported, the executive vice president revealed that he’s been locked in a dramatic legal battle with the company over trademarks for World Championship Wrestling pay-per-views. Rhodes wants to acquire all of the concepts his father, Dusty Rhodes, came up with, but WWE isn’t willing to let him have them without a fight.
