From F4W
After weeks of speculation, All Elite Wrestling is now official. AEW was officially announced at the end of a Being the Elite episode that was uploaded at midnight Pacific time on January 1, 2019. In addition to the promotion, the episode also announced "Double or Nothing" -- the sequel to All In. The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Hangman Page were included in the reveal of AEW and Double or Nothing. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky) were also part of the episode. There will be a Double or Nothing rally at TIAA Bank Field (the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars) in Jacksonville, Florida at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, January 8, with more information about Double or Nothing and AEW being revealed then. The advertisement notes that the rally will include a "special announcement from The Elite." The Young Bucks, Cody & Brandi Rhodes, Hangman Page, Daniels, Kazarian, and Sky are featured on the ad, and it says that there will be more special guests.
The rally will be free to attend and will be taking place at the parking lot in front of West Club at TIAA Bank Field. Live stream information for it will be announced soon. AEW has been rumored since October, with trademarks for the promotion being filed in November. As the announcement was made, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the details of AEW on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Here are some notes from the episode: - There are guys signed to the promotion, including Cody. The Young Bucks aren't officially signed yet but could be within 24-48 hours. - There's no television deal for AEW yet, but there are "multiple offers out there." Meltzer said he's confident enough to say that he thinks it will happen. - People are being signed to multi-year contracts. - Tony Khan (of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC) is the head of the company. He's a longtime professional wrestling fan and the son of billionaire Shahid Khan. - What happens with AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling is "100 percent up in the air." Everyone in All Elite would like to have a relationship with NJPW and would like to continue working with them. Whether or not NJPW will do it is up in the air. - The success of All In wasn't lost on certain people in the TV industry. Those who watched it were very impressed. - Meltzer doesn't think ROH talent will be working for AEW -- they'll be competing for the same wrestlers. Meltzer called this the greatest thing for talent since the WWF/WCW war, with WWE, AEW, and ROH now all competing for talent. They all wanted Bandido, and ROH got him