''AEW Rampage'', also known as ''Friday Night Rampage'' or simply ''Rampage'', is an American
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
produced by the American
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE.
AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
(AEW). It airs every Friday at 10 p.m.
Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
(ET) on
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
in the United States. It is AEW's second weekly television show, positioned behind their flagship show, ''
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
''. ''AEW Rampage'' is the second professional wrestling program to air on TNT since the
final episode of ''
WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
'' on March 26, 2001.
History
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE.
AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
(AEW) was officially announced and launched on January 1, 2019, and their weekly flagship television program, ''
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
'', began airing on
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
that October. On January 15, 2020, TNT's parent company
WarnerMedia
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
and AEW announced a US$175 million contract extension for ''Dynamite'' through 2023. As part of the new deal, it was also announced that AEW would be launching a second weekly television show.
In May 2021, AEW revealed their second weekly television show, and fourth program overall, as ''AEW Rampage'', which would begin airing on TNT on August 13 as a one-hour show on Fridays at 10pm
Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
(ET). During AEW's marquee event
Double or Nothing
Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...
on May 30, former
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
wrestler
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...
was announced to be a part of the ''Rampage'' commentary team as an analyst. On August 4, ''Dynamite'' and ''
Dark
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...
''s commentators
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
and
Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to:
Geography
*Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia
*Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia
People
* Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia
** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...
and wrestler
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...
, who has served as a guest commentator several times on ''Dynamite'', were announced to join Henry as ''Rampage''s four-man commentary team. AEW President and
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Tony Khan
Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All E ...
said that the commentary team would not always be all four men, as Henry would also have other roles on the show, such as doing interviews. In September, AEW wrestler
Ricky Starks
Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990), is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also serves on the commentary team for AEW's sister streaming television program, ''Elevation''. Starks is also known ...
replaced Henry on the commentary team, with Henry now just doing interviews on the show.
In an interview with ''
PWInsider'', Khan stated that while ''Rampage'' would air
live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
for most episodes, some episodes they would
pre-tape, depending on the city that the preceding episode of ''Dynamite'' was held in. He also said that ''Rampage'' would serve as the go-home show for AEW's
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
s (PPV), due to the show airing two days before those events, in turn replacing ''Dark'', as although ''Dark'' normally airs on Tuesdays, it would instead air on Fridays during the week of a PPV to serve as the go-home show. Khan also said that WarnerMedia had asked him if he would rather expand Wednesday's ''Dynamite'' to three hours, but he rejected the notion, stating that he did not want to run ''Dynamite'' for that length as he really wanted that third hour as a separate show on a different night. He also claimed that ''Rampage'' would not be a secondary show to ''Dynamite'', and that it would be its partner or its equivalent. He further said that ''Dynamite'' and ''Rampage'' would be AEW's core properties, while their
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
shows, ''Dark'' and ''
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
'', would be their peripheral properties, essentially their
developmental
Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitosi ...
shows.
''Rampage'' airs immediately following WWE's own Friday television program, ''
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
'', which airs on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. Although ''Dynamite'' had
run against WWE's ''
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
'' from October 2019 to April 2021, there was expectation that there would be no overlap between ''Rampage'' and ''SmackDown'' in nearly the entire country unless the latter were to run over its scheduled time, which ends at 10pm ET, when ''Rampage'' begins broadcasting. To date, this has occurred only once, which was on October 15, 2021. That night, ''SmackDown'' aired a special episode titled "Supersized SmackDown", which extended its runtime to 10:30pm with the additional 30 minutes airing commercial free, therefore directly competing with ''Rampage'' for its first 30 minutes. ''SmackDown'' had also aired on Fox's sister channel
FS1
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed (TV network), Speed on August 1 ...
due to the
MLB playoffs
The Major League Baseball postseason is an elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season. Starting in 2022, the playoffs for each league— American and National—consist of two best-of-three ...
airing on Fox, which also decreased ''SmackDown''s normal average viewership. During the 30 minutes that the shows went head-to-head, ''Rampage'' beat ''SmackDown'' in the key demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49, drawing 328,000 views to ''SmackDown''s 285,000 views.
It was initially announced that both ''Dynamite'' and ''Rampage'' would be moving to TNT's sister channel
TBS, also owned by WarnerMedia, in January 2022. However, on September 23, 2021, it was revealed that ''Rampage'' would remain on TNT while only ''Dynamite'' would move to TBS.
The May 6 and May 13, 2022, episodes of ''Rampage'' were moved to 5:30 p.m. ET in order to accommodate
TNT's coverage of the
NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The May 20 episode was moved to 7 p.m. ET to make way for
TNT's coverage of the
NBA Western Conference Finals.
Special episodes
Roster
The wrestlers featured on ''AEW Rampage'' take part in scripted
feuds
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...
and
storylines. Wrestlers are portrayed as
heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
,
villains
A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
, or
less distinguishable characters during scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match.
Commentators
Ring announcers
Broadcasting
In the United States, ''Rampage'' currently airs live on Fridays on TNT at 10pm ET. The program was to move to TBS in January 2022, but in September, AEW announced that while ''Dynamite'' would move to TBS, ''Rampage'' would remain on TNT.
On September 25, 2019, AEW announced an international streaming deal with
FITE TV
Fite (stylized as FITE by Triller) is an American digital video streaming service launched on May 20, 2012, that is dedicated to combat sports-related programming (including boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling). The network dis ...
primarily for regions outside of the United States and Canada via the "
AEW Plus
Fite (stylized as FITE by Triller) is an American digital video streaming service launched on May 20, 2012, that is dedicated to combat sports-related programming (including boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling). The network dist ...
" package, which includes live streaming and replay access of ''Dynamite'' in simulcast with its U.S. airing. This was expanded to include ''Rampage''.
Canada
On August 9, 2021, PWInsider reported that
TSN, which airs ''Dynamite'' in Canada, would stream ''Rampage'' online in simulcast with the U.S. through its website and TSN Direct service.
Europe
On July 3, 2021,
WarnerTV Serie (known as TNT Serie until 24 September 2021) announced a deal to air ''Rampage'' on Monday nights in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
On July 6, 2021,
Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
(another WarnerMedia channel) announced a deal to air ''Rampage'' in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
On August 27, 2021,
Sky Sport (owned by Comcast, which holds rights to a rival wrestling promotion,
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
in the United States) and AEW announced that ''Rampage'' would air on Mondays nights in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
On January 1, 2022, AEW announced that ''Rampage'' would be broadcast every Tuesday night on
ITV4
ITV4 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The channel h ...
with repeats every Thursday night on
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, it is also available to view on their streaming service
ITVX
ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) is a British online video-on-demand service operated by ITV plc, ITV. The service offers predominantly features content from ITV1, as well as ITV Digital Channels, ITV Digital channels and some licensed content. The serv ...
.
On February 10, 2022,
Warner TV
Warner TV is a pay television channel mainly airing in Latin America, Europe, parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its International unit that focuses on airing American series and films.
Most ...
announced that they would air ''Rampage'' in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
In Spain, ''AEW'' announced that was going to air Rampage on
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
starting on June 19, 2022.
Latin America
On October 22, 2020, AEW reached an agreement with the digital platform
Pluto TV
Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United Sta ...
, broadcasting its repeat events (including past pay-per-view) with commentators in Spanish from
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
On October 1, 2021, ''Rampage'' began airing on
Space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
, a
WarnerMedia International channel in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and on Space's Spanish feed, available throughout
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
on Saturdays. On September 30, 2022, it was announced that AEW would stop airing on Space in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
on October 1, with
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
following on December 30.
Africa
''Rampage'' began airing on
TNT Africa
TNT is a pay television channel focused on movies. The network is broadcast in Africa under the TNT name (formerly TCM Africa until 2018), as well as in the Arab world as TCM MENA; the latter features its own schedule and optional Arabic subtit ...
on October 2, 2021, in Sub-Saharan Africa. The show airs every Saturday morning at 10 AM CAT, one week after the U.S. broadcast.
Asia
In India, ''Rampage'' airs on
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
starting on August 15, 2021, and later at the same time as the American airing from August 21, 2021, every Saturday 7:30 AM IST. Eurosport is owned by Discovery Communications, which is set to acquire WarnerMedia later in 2021. ''Rampage'' began airing on
Premier Sports
Viaplay Sports and Premier Sports are a group of pay television sports channels owned by Viaplay Group.
Viaplay Sports holds exclusive live UK and Republic of Ireland TV rights to La Liga, Scottish League Cup, Elite Ice Hockey League, NHL an ...
in the Philippines in October 2021 On April 8, 2022, it was announced that as part of the AEW and
NJPW
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...
working relationship that ''Rampage'' would air in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
on
NJPW World
, also referred to as NJPW World and New Japan World, is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 2014, NJPW and its minority owner TV Asahi ...
.
See also
*
List of professional wrestling television series
This is a list of professional wrestling television series.
Territory-era (1950s–1970s)
1980s wrestling boom
1990s wrestling boom
Modern-era (2002–present)
International Broadcasters
See also
*Monday Night Wars
* Wednesday Night ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
{{authority control
Rampage
2021 American television series debuts
2020s American television series
American live television series
American professional wrestling television series
English-language television shows
TNT (American TV network) original programming