Report: All Elite Wrestling in Negotiations with Time Warner
2019 is going to be a big year for pro wrestling. With three companies (All Elite Wrestling, ROH, and NJPW) offering big money to talent alongside WWE, there hasn’t been a better time to be a wrestler since the death of WCW.
Per sources close to Rajah.com, Time Warner, the parent company of TNT and TBS, is in negotiations to bring All Elite Wrestling to their TV stations. While no mention of which station they would be on, TBS or TNT would be a natural fit. If the deal is made, this would be the first time since the death of WCW in 2001 that wrestling has aired on a Turner network. While much of the talk around AEW is just that, securing a TV deal will be a massive step forward for the company.
Signing the likes of Cody, Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Page has proven that owner Tony Khan is serious about spending money to make this promotion happen. Also, according to the report for Fighful, AEW is also in negotiations with Jim Ross and Chris Jericho, which would be massive signings for the new company.
With reports indicating that Khan is investing 100 million into the product to get it started, it’s clear that there is serious money offers on the table for various talent. This is only good news for wrestling, as the wrestlers themselves will now have far more power in contract negotiations, no matter who they sign with. We are only two days into 2019, and the landscape of wrestling that has largely stood still since the death of WCW is starting to change rapidly.
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Will this result in the return of wrestling to TBS and TNT? Will AEW be able to woo WWE talent away when their contracts are up? Realistically, there will be a four way bidding for a lot of talent going forward with ROH, NJPW, AEW, and WWE all looking to sign people. How this affects the relationship between ROH and NJPW is yet to be seen, but this is nonetheless one of the biggest stories of the year already. How will this all play out? Only time will tell. 2019 is going to be very interesting.