Today’s Warner Brothers Discovery Upfront 2023/2024 presentation had the attention of nearly every AEW fan. In an exclusive Haus of Wrestling interview, Wrestlenomics‘ Brandon Thurston weighed in on the interest pro wrestling diehards had for the big corporate event.
“Warner Brothers Discovery introduced a lot of big news today in the media world, but they really missed an opportunity, I think, to charge wrestling fans $50, and sell this as live pay-per-view,” Thurston joked. “I was flooded with replies, rando DMs, everybody asking, ‘How can I get a link to this?'”
The Upfront presentation did deliver on at least one big All Elite announcement, that AEW: Collision will debut June 17 at 8 pm EST on TNT. The two-hour program will air every Saturday, live, and feature talents like Samoa Joe, Miro, Thunder Rosa, Powerhouse Hobbs, Andrade El Idolo, and more.
The start time of 8 pm EST on Saturdays, however, does create the possibility of direct competition with WWE, something the promotion has largely shied away from. Thurston addressed how Collision could be affected by its slot on the weekends.
“This is gonna go head-to-head,” he stated. “It’s 8 to 10, not 6:05, this isn’t WCW Saturday night. This is 8 to 10, so it’s gonna go head-to-head with PLEs from WWE on Peacock. It’s (WWE’s) probably going to have, I mean, undoubtedly is going to have larger viewership, despite being on streaming. And this (Collision) being on a traditional TV network, I don’t think this show is going to outdo what I believe those shows do on streaming.”
The full interview with Thurston regarding the announcement of AEW: Collision, and how it affects the business as a whole, will be released on tomorrow’s Haus of Wrestling episode on Premier Streaming Network at Noon EST, and later in the day on the Haus of Wrestling podcast feed.
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