AEW Airs Commercial on USA Network During NXT Premiere

While AEW won't be going head-to-head with NXT for a couple of more weeks, the company made a [...]

By Connor Casey

While AEW won't be going head-to-head with NXT for a couple of more weeks, the company made a strategic chess move during NXT's premiere live episode on the USA Network on Wednesday night. Wrestling fans from across the country took to Twitter after the four-way women's match at the start of the show to point out that the latest commercial break included an advertisement for AEW on TNT starting on Oct. 2.

"Well, it appears #AEW bought advertising time on USA's #NXT broadcast. Wow," Jon Alba pointed out on Twitter.

Naturally, Wrestling Twitter had its share of jokes.

"AEW BOUGHT ADVERTISING TIME DURING NXT! OMG I'M DEAD," a fan wrote in all caps.

Based on reactions, it appears the commercial only aired in select markets and for certain cable providers.

AEW's two-hour TNT show will air the same time as NXT on USA every week starting on Oct. 2. While the show has not been given an official name, both a cable listing and a trademark filing have pointed towards the show being called AEW: Dynamite.

"Wrestling fans have wanted — and needed — something different, authentic and better for far too long," AEW president Tony Khan said in a press release back in May when AEW and WarnerMedia (TNT's parent company) announced a new television deal. "AEW is answering the call. AEW is about more than wrestling. It's about a movement fueled by wrestling fans who have been underserved and perhaps even disappointed by what the industry has produced in recent years. AEW is rising to the occasion with DOUBLE OR NOTHING and today taking it a step further by partnering with WarnerMedia, which is as committed as we are to making wrestling fans the one and only priority. With WarnerMedia, AEW is poised globally to redefine wrestling as we know it today."

The first episode of AEW television will emanate from the sold-out Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. The show's card will include Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara, MJF vs. Brandon Cutler, Riho vs. Nyla Rose for the AEW Women's World Championship and a six-man tag match involving Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho and two mystery partners.

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