Billionaire Tony coming in hot from the wrestling war room that is Twitter.
Many people believe that AEW is the first real competition WWE has faced since the closure of world championship wrestling in March of 2001.
AEW shares a lot of similarities with WCW. Both were broadcast on TNT and TBS, both featured Tony Schiavone as the voice of their promotion at one point in time, and both utilized free agency in the world of wrestling to create excitement.
One difference between WCW and AEW is who is at the helm of the promotion. While Ted Turner loved professional wrestling and openly admitted that the triad of the Atlanta Braves, The Andy Griffith Show, and NWA wrestling he's what anchored the early days of his TBS Superstation, Ted Turner did not have interest in directly being involved with the creative process of his professional wrestling organization.
In AEW, Tony Khan is where the buck stops. It has not been an easy ride, but Tony Khan openly admits that the more control he's taken over his promotion, the better the product has gotten. Now, ahead of his first night going head-to-head with a major WWE brand, Tony Khan is saying that his knowledge of professional wrestling is his greatest asset, and if Ted Turner had the same knowledge, WCW would still be around today.
I’ve never met Ted Turner. It’s very possible Ted Turner is smarter than me, but he didn’t know 1% of what I know about professional wrestling or WCW would still be on TNT/TBS. @AEW is here to stay, watch #AEWRampage LIVE tonight on TNT or WatchTNT app on your phone or any device https://t.co/eYLCzCiMiQ
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) October 15, 2021
Fightful will have live coverage of AEW Rampage which, along with its Buy-In special, will go head-to-head with a portion of tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
