Tony Khan Turned Down Third Hour Of AEW Dynamite In Favour Of Starting AEW Rampage

Tony Khan has revealed he was initially pitched the idea of adding a third hour of content to AEW Dynamite, turning down the idea in favour of starting AEW Rampage.

It was announced on Wednesday that AEW Dynamite would be moving to TBS in 2022 while a new hour of content, named AEW Rampage, would be debuting on TNT and air every Friday from August 13, 2021.

AEW boss Khan has revealed WarnerMedia originally asked about the possibility of turning Dynamite into a three-hour show, something Khan was against, telling them he was in favour of presenting the additional hour of content on another night.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, he said: "It’s great for everybody here, it’s big news. We knew that another show was coming this year. I’ve been saying it for a long time that we were going to add another night, one hour.

"I didn’t want to do three hours of Dynamite. They (WarnerMedia) asked at one point if I wanted to do three hours of Dynamite. It came up about doing a third hour and I said I really believed in doing it on another night."

Khan is adamant that Rampage won't be a secondary show to Dynamite, saying the two will be AEW's primary properties in terms of content and storyline progression while Dark and Elevation will serve as developmental programming. 

He continued: "This time slot, I think, is really good for the fans to keep a great night for wrestling fresh on Friday nights. So at 10pm you’re going to have a great option to come watch Rampage. 

"And I promise you Rampage isn’t going to be a secondary show. Rampage is going to be the partner of Dynamite, the equivalent of Dynamite. We have these two strong franchises in Dynamite and Rampage and they are our weekly core properties.

"And then we’ll have our peripheral properties (Dark and Elevation). They’re probably the equivalent of what you’d seen, partially a developmental show, partially a syndicated show. I think that’s what you’ll get on Elevation and Dark. But Rampage and Elevation, those will be our core properties on TNT for the rest of the year, and then next year going to TBS. I’m really excited about it."

H/T Wrestle Inc