AEW Dynamite is a professional wrestling television program produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It airs live every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on TBS and HBO Max, having premiered on October 2, 2019. Dynamite is AEW’s flagship program and the first wrestling show to air on TBS since WCW Thunder in 2001.
๐ Show History
Dynamite was initially broadcast on TNT from its premiere until December 29, 2021, before moving to TBS on January 5, 2022. The show has faced scheduling changes due to major sporting events, and from June 2023 to December 2024, it was one of AEW’s three television programs.
๐บ Viewership and Competition
On its debut, Dynamite averaged 1.409 million viewers, making it the largest television debut on TNT in five years. It outperformed WWE’s NXT in viewership, marking the start of the “Wednesday Night Wars.”
๐๏ธ Pandemic Adjustments
During the COVID-19 pandemic, AEW held empty arena shows and utilized its talent as a live audience. The company resumed live audiences in August 2020 with limited capacity and returned to full capacity in May 2021.
๐ Show Expansion
In August 2021, AEW introduced a second weekly program, Friday Night Rampage, which was intended to be an equal partner to Dynamite. AEW President Tony Khan rejected the idea of extending Dynamite to three hours, preferring to keep it as a separate show.
๐ Nationwide Broadcast
On October 25, 2021, it was announced that Dynamite would begin airing live from coast to coast starting October 27. This change occurred after a brief hiatus due to TNT’s NHL coverage.
| ๐ | ๐บ | ๐๏ธ | ๐ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premiered: Oct 2, 2019 | 1.409M viewers debut | Empty arena shows during COVID | Rampage launched Aug 2021 |
| Moved to TBS: Jan 5, 2022 | Outperformed NXT | Limited audience resumed Aug 2020 | Separate show, not an extension |
| Longest running on Turner network | Wednesday Night Wars began | Full capacity resumed May 2021 | Coast-to-coast airing from Oct 2021 |
| Flagship program of AEW | Simulcast on HBO Max | Utilized talent as audience | Core properties of AEW |