AEW was recently profiled by The New York Post ahead of tonight’s Dynamite premiere on TNT.
Regarding tonight’s show going up against WWE NXT on the USA Network, AEW Executive Vice President Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks said one flip of the channel is all he wants this first TV show to need to make an impression.
“The moment you flip to our show, I want it to take one frame to go, ‘Oh, I’m watching AEW,’” Matt said. “We should immediately have the ability to be and look different. … Everything about us should be different, so you know at least this one’s AEW and this is the other wrestling show.”
It was noted that AEW plans for Dynamite to stand out by focusing on wrestling, with everything happening in the arena and with limited backstage interactions. Brett Weitz, General Manager of TNT, TBS and truTV, said the AEW action won’t stop throughout the two hours. He also commented on WWE being a “very mic-heavy” promotion. It was also noted that AEW will continue to announce Dynamite matches 2 or 3 weeks ahead of time.
“I’d say the one across the street [WWE] is a very mic-heavy league and there are a lot of people grabbing mics and a lot of people talking trash in and out of the ring and there is a lot less wrestling happening,” Weitz said. “[AEW] is from soup to nuts, from the moment you start to the moment the night is over, it never stops. It never ever stops. It’s really like watching an action movie.”
Tonight’s Dynamite premiere will see AEW World Champion Chris Jericho team with Santana and Ortiz to face Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks in the six-man main event. Matt talked about the decision to have Jericho as AEW’s first world champion and called it a no-brainer.
“We felt like if we want someone to be the identity of this company, it’s got to be the most famous guy who everyone knows and it’s Chris Jericho, who just so happens to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time,” Matt said.
We noted before how AEW Dynamite will be TV-14, while WWE and NXT will remain PG content. Weitz said this rating will give Dynamite “exactly the right amount of provocative content” for the fans who want it. It was noted that fans should not expect gore or the hardcore matches that we’ve seen on AEW pay-per-view events, to happen on Dynamite.
“You have to save those big moments for things like pay-per-views,” AEW Executive Vice President Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks said. “If you do that type of stuff on a weekly basis, then I feel like it’s just too much, it loses the importance.”
Matt also talked about giving the fans what they want, and said he doesn’t want to be a “con-man, shyster wrestling promoter” by promising fans something early in the show, and then not delivering later.
“Sometimes maybe the best option is to just give people what they want and not try to swerve them for the sake of swerving them because this is pro ‘rasslin and you have to do that — no, not necessarily,” Matt said.
