Tony Khan offers insight as to AEW's upcoming schedule.
Earlier this week it was announced that All Elite Wrestling would begin airing weekly live shows on TNT beginning this fall. No premiere date or timeslot was given but many speculated that the show could be on Tuesdays, citing AEW filing for a trademark on "Tuesday Night Dynamite." However, NBA games run Tuesdays on TNT, meaning AEW would be preempted, moved, or in an offseason during the NBA season. Some have speculated that AEW could go head-to-head with WWE Raw on Monday, kicking off the 2019 version of the Monday Night Wars.
However, AEW President Tony Khan isn't thinking of directly competing with WWE for television viewers.
"I'm not gonna go on Monday night or Friday night, and I would never go head-to-head with the NFL or pay for time on television," Khan told Bleacher Report.
Reports that AEW would be buying time on television popped up earlier this month. The reports turned out to be untrue as, following the TNT announcement on Wednesday, it was reported by multiple outlets that AEW and Turner Media/TNT agreed to an ad revenue split and Turner Media would be paying for the production costs of AEW.
As far as the AEW schedule goes, Khan stated, "(AEW's) big goal is to establish a better work-life balance and quality of life for our performers with less time on the road [and] very good money comparable to what you'd get at the highest level in the world of wrestling, because we can make the bulk of our revenue from pay-per-view and television. I'm not planning on doing hundreds of non-televised events on tour, because I don't think that would represent a large enough revenue stream for us and profitable enough business sector for us to risk the health and well-being of all these wrestlers. I'm not gonna have an offseason, but there will be a lighter schedule and we'll work people in and out."
AEW Double or Nothing will be the first official event for the promotion. The event is scheduled for May 25 in Las Vegas. AEW will continue to run monthly events before their television debut in the fall.
