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I asked around this week to try to get a sense of whether hopes of another AEW weekly television deal is still alive but haven’t heard anything.
Speculation about such a show stemmed partly from Swerve Strickland mentioning in passing in September that AEW was getting a show on Fox. That seemed to support the notion of a new major show for AEW as a trademark was filed on September 6 for “AEW Shockwave”.
Getting a show on a major broadcast network like Fox would be a major step forward for AEW’s distribution and marketing. It would expand the reach of AEW programs to more households and, if Fox were to be the network, could provide the added benefit of promotion during the network’s most-watched programs—much like how Smackdown was promoted during NFL broadcasts.
The idea seemed plausible after Smackdown’s departure from Fox, especially with the prospect of AEW content being acquired for a much lower fee—potentially offsetting the financial challenges Fox faced in monetizing Smackdown. While it might seem unlikely for a major broadcaster to show interest in AEW, given its position as the clear #2 wrestling company, the Khan family’s connections as NFL owners could help open doors with the league’s broadcast partners.
Given that rumors of a deal have been quiet since the fall I would be surprised if a new deal with Fox or another broadcast network emerged soon, but that’s just my intuition.
Brandon Thurston has written about wrestling business since 2015. He operates and owns Wrestlenomics.