Speaking with the Associated Press to mark the one year anniversary of AEW Dynamite, current TNT Champion and AEW EVP Cody Rhodes remarked about the progress the company has made in such a short amount of time, particularly in offering an alternative to the competition.
We reached that goal within one ‘Dynamite. I think the secret formula there is really just authenticity. The products are vastly different. I think we knew right out of the gate that the alternative wrestling brand that we had talked about and promoted, but was really sight unseen to that point, really ended being correct. We were vindicated that there was this audience that wanted something different from their wrestling and that has been the audience since day one.
Of course, many plans have shifted from their original incarnations due to the current state of the world, and one of those was reportedly a match between Chris Jericho and Iron Mike Tyson, who made a pair of memorable appearances in the company in opposition to The Demo God. Cody says that fans shouldn’t “close the book” on the former boxer reappearing, indicating that the teased encounter will come to fruition sooner or later.
Elsewhere in the article, Cody openly wonders about how Dynamite would fair in the long run if it were unopposed rather than in a constant ratings battle with NXT.
When you hit that million mark, and even on the nights where the average might be in the eights or nines, there are segments that go over a million and it certainly begets the question: What would this be like unopposed? But opposed, it’s doing just so damn fine. I think we have a good indicator. We’ve seen what it looks like. But competition is not something we’re shying away from by any means. Wednesday night is our home.
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