January 2nd, 2019
After months of speculation following the overwhelming success of ALL IN, Cody (Rhodes) and The Young Bucks, alongside Being The Elite co-star “Hangman” Adam Page, have announced the launch of wrestling’s worst kept secret: All Elite Wrestling.
The announcement was made at the end of BTE episode 132 (New Years Elite), following the reveal of Double or Nothing - the same words used by Cody in his speech to end the historic self-promoted independent wrestling event last October.
Double or Nothing is expected to be the first pay-per-view under the AEW banner, with the time and location of said event yet to be revealed, as is the talent who will be featured on the card.
All Elite Wrestling will be financially backed by thirty-six year old Tony Khan of the billionaire Khan family, who are the current owners of both NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars and English soccer team Fulham Football Club.
Cody, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Adam Page have all been announced as the first signings to the company with multiple year deals, and subsequently expected to become integral figures of the company from the beginning - no word on whether any of these men have further roles within the organisation other than being in-ring performers.
Brandi Rhodes was announced as the “Chief Brand Officer” so it looks unlikely that she will be an active in-ring competitor, but it is something that Brandi has rigorously been training for as of late, so it shouldn’t be ruled out down the line.
The two key 'Being The Elite' cast members who were noticeably missing from the scene outside the Tokyo Dome were “The Villain” Marty Scurll and the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega.
In a strange turn of events, it appears that Scurll has chosen against joining up with his BTE comrades and decided to re-sign with Ring of Honor, reportedly securing a contract “too good to turn down”.
The name which is really on everyone’s lips is the man that many consider the best active wrestler in the industry today, Kenny Omega - who still has contractual obligations with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Whilst the aforementioned four names were previously signed to Ring of Honor, Omega is contracted to NJPW until February, which explains why he has not been mentioned or featured yet in relation to the new promotion.
It’s not guaranteed that Kenny will even land next to his Elite stablemates, with lucrative deals from both New Japan and the WWE on the table - he may just take a leaf from “The Villain’s” book and opt for another offer.
All kinds of rumours have run rampant since October when trademarks were filed following ALL IN, with Jim Ross and Chris Jericho being at the centre of most, although both categorically denied they were in talks to launch a new wrestling promotion.
Whilst they may not be launching one together, they are both current free agents in the world of pro-wrestling, and both are very familiar with The Elite, having worked alongside them this past year in Japan.
Both are also very familiar and friendly with Tony Khan; Ross was seen late last year in the Jaguars owners box alongside the Khan family and notable wrestling agent Barry Bloom.
Chris Jericho went on record last week via his Instagram account to thank Tony Khan for tickets to the latest Minnesota Vikings game in the U.S. Bank Stadium.
Jericho is a master at stirring the pot online to keep himself relevant amongst the hot topics of the business, but all signs would point towards this not merely being a coincidence.
So, where can you watch All Elite Wrestling? And when is the suspected Double or Nothing event? These are questions yet to be answered, although one thing is for sure - it won’t be on AXS TV who categorically denied any association to the then rumoured AEW two months ago, committing to their current deal with IMPACT Wrestling.
This has the potential to really backfire in AXS TV’s face however, with another murmur being that the Khan family have recently been offered the chance to purchase IMPACT Wrestling, for a very reasonable price.
With the announcement of AEW now released it would appear this offer has been declined by Tony Khan, unless the entrepreneur decides that inheriting the IMPACT talent could be a good way to easily and quickly build his new roster.
Expect further announcements from All Elite Wrestling via their social media platforms in the near future, as the company look to strike whilst the iron is hot and build on all of this positive momentum generated since the turn of the year.
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I am big into the graphics side of things and having the thread aesthetically pleasing on the eye, so there's a good chance I'll come back and change these posts into PDFs and add a couple of relevant social media posts (for example, the Jericho Instagram one mentioned).
Extremely keen to keep things rolling , so for the likes of of these initial posts, I'm happy to get the content out there first so the thread keeps ticking over in the mean time.
