WWE has long been the number one name in pro wrestling in the US, UK, and beyond, but now a new promotion has begun, giving WWE their first real competition since the demise of WCW.

All Elite Wrestling, the brainchild of The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and businessman Tony Kahn, held their first pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, on May 25, firing the first shot in what could be the next wrestling war and creating a whole lot of buzz both inside and outside of the wrestling world.

All Elite Wrestling

But what is AEW and why should WWE fans and even non-wrestling fans be interested? Well here’s what (and who) you need to know about the company set to take on WWE.

What is AEW?

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All Elite Wrestling is a new wrestling promotion, based in the US. The genesis of the company comes from YouTube series Being the Elite, created by tag team The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) who were members of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor.

Initially, the series served to document the Bucks’ time on the road, but later it grew to include storylines with other wrestlers such as Kenny Omega, Adam Cole, Marty Scurll and Cody.

The success of Being the Elite and The Elite’s range of T-shirts at Hot Topic stores led them to create the All In pay-per-view on September 1, 2018, to prove that a non-WWE promoted event could draw over 10,000 fans in the US.



All In's success led to tremendous interest in The Young Bucks, Cody, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page and Kenny Omega, whose contracts with ROH and NJPW were coming to an end.

But instead of re-signing with ROH, NJPW or going to WWE, The Young Bucks and Cody decided to form their own wrestling promotion, with the official announcement of AEW being made on January 1, 2019.

Cody and The Young Bucks were also named as the company’s executive vice presidents alongside Kenny Omega, who joined on February 7, days after his NJPW contract officially ended.

Who is on the AEW roster and who are The Elite?

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Currently, the AEW roster consists of over 60 wrestlers, male and female, most of whom are yet to have international television exposure. The Elite members: Cody, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, will all be active wrestlers alongside their executive roles as will Brandi Rhodes, who is the company’s chief brand officer.

Kenny Omega is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and winner of the 2016 G1 Climax tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Young Bucks are one of the most decorated tag teams around, having held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, the ROH World Tag Team Championships and are the current AAA World Tag Team champions.

Cody Rhodes, who’s more commonly known as simply Cody these days, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. He left WWE in 2016, after being frustrated with the creative direction of his character. Cody then went on to prove himself in ROH, NJPW and TNA before forming AEW.

More familiar names on the roster also include former WWE Champion Chris Jericho, who made a big impact when he was announced as signing with the company on January 8. Jericho had previously stated that he would never work for an American wrestling company other than WWE. AEW has also signed ex-WWE Superstar Shawn Spears (Tye Dillinger) and Dustin Rhodes, the former Goldust.

The company also has a great line-up of talent you may be less familiar with, including Jungle Boy (son of the late Riverdale actor Luke Perry), MJF, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, The Lucha Bros., So Cal Uncensored, Jimmy Havoc, Sonny Kiss, Trent Beretta and Joey Janela.

AEW has also made a priority of signing a diverse group of women from all over the world, to give the company one of the most exciting female rosters of all time. Dr Britt Baker D.M.D. (who is an actual dentist) is among the names to look out for, along with Nyla Rose, Sadie Gibbs, Riho, Leva Bates and Kylie Rae.

And at Double or Nothing, the company shocked the wrestling world when Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance and was announced as their newest signee.

Who is Jon Moxley and why is he one to watch?

Photo by Ricky Havlik All Elite Wrestling - Ricky Havlik

Jon Moxley is better known to wrestling fans as Dean Ambrose. After a career on the independent circuit, Moxley signed with WWE in 2011 under the name Dean Ambrose, first competing in developmental territory FCW and then NXT.

In November 2012 he made his first main roster appearance at the Survivor Series pay-per-view alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, as new faction The Shield. In May 2016 he won the WWE World Championship, defeating Seth Rollins after cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase. He would lose the belt to AJ Styles that September.

In January of this year, WWE made an unprecedented move when it confirmed that Ambrose would be leaving the company in April when his contract expired. What followed was months of building up The Shield’s final outing, which ended up being aired in a WWE Network special.

Ambrose got such a good send off that many fans believed he may not actually be leaving WWE. But on May 25 Ambrose confirmed he was now a member of AEW, reverting back to his old Jon Moxley moniker. Moxley’s deal with AEW also allows him to work other select dates and he’ll be making his NJPW debut on June 5.

Moxley’s WWE run never quite lived up to the hype of his past and his ‘Lunatic Fringe’ character often seemed too much of a parody. But with the shackles off in AEW, we can expect the Moxley of old to return, as he’s already promised to inflict ‘unscripted violence’ on the rest of the roster.

Who owns AEW?

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AEW is owned by Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-American billionaire with even more money than Vince McMahon. Kahn also owns NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC. But the reins of AEW are firmly in the hands of Shahid’s son Tony, a life-long wrestling fan who had dreamed of starting his own company.

Where can I watch AEW TV and AEW pay-per-views in the UK?

AEW pay-per-views will be airing on ITV Box Office in the UK. Their weekly television show, which is due to begin in the autumn, will also be airing on an ITV channel. There’s no confirmation on which ITV channel it will be, but ITV4 seems likely as that’s where the Double or Nothing pre-show aired.

Where can I watch AEW TV and AEW pay-per-views in the US?

In the US TNT, the former home of WCW Nitro, is your destination for AEW, with pay-per-views happening on streaming service Bleacher Report Live.

Who is the AEW champion?

Photo by Ricky Havlik All Elite Wrestling Ricky Havlik

AEW unveiled their World Championship at Double or Nothing, with comedian Jack Whitehall and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart presenting the title belt.

At present, the title is vacant, with ‘Hangman' Adam Page, who won the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing, and Chris Jericho who beat Kenny Omega, the two number one contenders. They will compete for the title at All Out.

When are the next AEW PPVs?

Photo by James Musselwhite All Elite Wrestling James Musselwhite

AEW’s next show will be Fyter Fest on June 29, which is a collaboration with the Community Effort Orlando gaming event. UK broadcast details have not been announced but in the US it will be streamed on Bleacher Report Live. Jon Moxley will make his in-ring debut at the event with a match against Joey Janela.

On Saturday, July 13 Fight For The Fallen will take place, in aid of victims of Florida gun violence. The event will see Cody and Dustin Rhodes team to take on the Young Bucks.

However, these two events will be on a smaller scale than Double or Nothing. AEW’s next big show will be All Out, taking place in Chicago on August 31. The show will be headlined by ‘Hangman’ Adam Page vs Chris Jericho for the World Championship.

Can AEW be real competition for the WWE?

Photo by James Musselwhite All Elite Wrestling James_Musselwhite

The short answer is yes. Back in the late 90s during the Attitude Era wrestling boom, WWE was competing with WCW for ratings, leading to more people watching wrestling than ever before. But in 2001 Vince McMahon bought his competition and WCW was no more.

Since then the closest WWE has had competition-wise is TNA (now Impact Wrestling) which was founded in 2002. But despite a roster of great talent, including future WWE stars Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, TNA never came close to challenging WWE. One of the main reasons for this was the company’s reliance on ex-WWE talent, including bringing in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, rather than them truly building their own stars.

AEW feels far less likely to fall into this trap. Yes, they have Jericho and Moxley, but they’ve also stacked their roster with amazing young talent who, given the chance, are future superstars (in the non-WWE sense). It also helps that AEW has a whole heap of money behind it, as well as Tony Kahn, a genuine and knowledgable lover of pro wrestling at the helm.

With no weekly TV series yet it’s hard to say with any certainty how big a dent AEW will make in WWE’s fanbase, but if the buzz created by Double or Nothing is anything to go by, WWE has just found their biggest competition in nearly two decades.

But one thing is for certain. It sure is an amazing and exciting time to be a wrestling fan.

AEW All Out takes places on August 31 and will stream on Bleacher Report Live in the US and ITV Box Office in the UK. AEW will air their as-yet-untitled weekly show on TNT in the US and on an ITV channel beginning in the fall.

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