Chris Jericho: There’s nothing better for the business than AEW’s new TV deal

Chris Jericho believes AEW’s new media rights deal is a good thing for the entire pro wrestling industry.

With an average annual value of $185 million, the new deal was announced by AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery last week. It’s a three-year agreement that includes an option for a fourth year. The deal keeps AEW Dynamite and Collision on their respective homes of TBS and TNT — and both shows will also be simulcast on Max starting in January 2025.

Jericho appeared on Wednesday’s Busted Open Radio and gave his thoughts on the new deal. He believes that a thriving AEW is what’s best for fans and everyone involved with pro wrestling:

• I think we proved a lot of so-called ‘experts’ — we made them look like idiots. We knew what was going on with this. The landscape changes constantly, numbers go up, numbers go down. But the overall demo of what AEW brings to the table as a live sporting event is invaluable. So we knew that it was something that people would want to be involved with and be a part of, and Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t want to let us go anywhere.
• And you can see, I mean, $185 million a year for a company that’s only been going for five years, that’s never happened before. Ever. Obviously WWE is the standard, the gold standard. They didn’t have a deal like that five years in. Nobody else has. So with all the growing pains — good and bad — that AEW has, we’re still such a young company. And that, to me, showed that we have a real commitment. We’re not going anywhere. Tony Khan’s not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere, much to some people’s chagrin. And neither is the rest of the company. And I think it’s going to be a really great next 3-5 years. And, listen, Tommy [Dreamer] and Bully [Ray] know, there’s nothing worse than if AEW didn’t get a great television deal. There’s nothing better for the business, the fans, for you guys [than] for AEW to be thriving and to be healthy. And we are.

As part of the deal between AEW and WBD, AEW pay-per-views will be offered live on Max at a “discounted price per event” starting at some point in 2025.

AEW has also had talks with Fox about a potential new show, which would be called AEW Shockwave.