On Tuesday, the announcement was made by members of the Elite that All Elite Wrestling was official with the group set to hold the “Double or Nothing” follow up to “All In”.
News of the group’s formation came after trademark filings were made for terms including “All Elite Wrestling”, “AEW”, “AEW All Out”, “AEW Double or Nothing”, and “Tuesday Night Dynamite”. The filings were registered to the same address as TIAA Bank Field, the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The team is owned by the Khan family with Tony Khan believed to be the main person funding All Elite Wrestling.
There will be a Double or Nothing Rally taking place Tuesday, January 8th at 5 pm at TIAA Bank Field with Cody, The Young Bucks, SCU, Hangman Page, and Brandi Rhodes appearing with a special announcement advertised.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has added that there are multiple television offers made but nothing has been signed yet. He also noted that the Young Bucks are not signed at the moment to AEW but are expected to within 48 hours.
The immediate ramifications to the industry are the creation of another viable U.S. promotion for talent to earn full-time work. By securing television that pays the group, it creates an arms race between the WWE, Ring of Honor, and All Elite Wrestling to secure talent to exclusive contracts. The next tier of promotions will be Impact Wrestling and MLW, who each have television deals, albeit without strong penetration in the country. Those are groups that are going to be vulnerable as the big three set out to bolster rosters and those would be obvious places to recruit from.
The non-televised groups such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Game Changer Wrestling, AAW, and Beyond Wrestling (who will be running a weekly two-hour show online in April) among others are going to be forced to be ahead of the curve scouting new talent and becoming the entry point for undiscovered performers. There isn’t a shortage of great talent worldwide and this could create an opening for talent in Mexico for further U.S. exposure, the issue will be how long these groups will have access to a performer that breaks out before they are snatched up.
Chris Jericho is one of the significant power players in 2019 with many options. Jericho is having fun with a cryptic message thanking Tony Khan for setting him up at this past weekend’s Minnesota Vikings game.
One of the biggest players is Kenny Omega and how involved he is with this new venture. He is a big piece on the chess board with options ranging from New Japan, AEW, and WWE. New Japan has enjoyed a working relationship with Ring of Honor since 2014 and they are committed to going through with the Madison Square Garden show in April, beyond that is anyone’s guess. New Japan president Harold Meij isn’t the one that forged the relationship with Ring of Honor and he would have to determine what New Japan’s best course of action is for a U.S. partner.
