AEW Boss Tony Khan Praises ‘Major Influence’ of WCW as ‘Dynamite’ Surpasses ‘Monday Nitro’ Episode Count

by

This week, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and their weekly series “Dynamite” are poised to achieve a significant landmark in the professional wrestling sphere.

On April 16th, the episode of “Dynamite” airing on TBS will be their 289th, making it the longest-running show compared to the 288 episodes of WCW’s “Monday Nitro,” which aired from 1995 to 2001 on Turner Network Television (TNT).

Tony Khan, AEW’s president, CEO, and general manager, shared his thoughts about ‘Nitro’ during an interview with EbMaster. He stated that it significantly impacted anyone who was tuning in to watch wrestling back then, as many of the most memorable moments in ’90s professional wrestling unfolded on that show.”

“In a chat with EbMaster, Tony Khan, head honcho at AEW, remarked that ‘Nitro’ exerted a substantial impact on viewers who were watching wrestling during that era. He highlighted some of the most captivating scenes in ’90s professional wrestling as having taken place on this show.

In wrestling lore, ‘Nitro’ stands out as a pivotal event, igniting what became known as the Monday Night Wars against WWE and their Monday Night Raw show during the 1990s. An ardent admirer and scholar of professional wrestling, Khan singled out early Nitro narratives such as Randy Savage’s rivalry with Ric Flair, Lex Luger’s debut appearance, and the iconic ‘Macho Man’ storyline as significant milestones in Nitro’s history beyond the emergence of the New World Order.

It’s often misunderstood that WCW began to gain popularity and heat when the NWO arrived, but the company was already experiencing success before their entry. As Khan explained, many matches on ‘Nitro’ showcased a unique style of wrestling that wasn’t common in the U.S. at the time. This innovative approach, highlighted on the show, has significantly impacted and inspired generations of wrestlers since.

He mentioned that during that time, there were numerous exceptional athletes and some of the most thrilling, fast-moving professional wrestling matches. This style has since developed and become more popular. Nowadays, the top professional wrestlers globally aren’t only massive individuals weighing 400 or 500 pounds.

Moreover, “Nitro” concluded over eighteen years prior to the debut of “Dynamite” on TNT (later TBS). However, both series have a significant similarity in one aspect.

Khan commented, “Sting had countless memorable moments during his time on ‘Nitro’. He’s a significant figure in AEW, and he was wrestling on TBS and TNT for a long time even before AEW existed… Many of my favorite nostalgic wrestling memories from TBS and TNT involve Ric Flair and Sting.

On Wednesday, “Dynamite” is set to explode from Boston with a lively “Spring BreakThru” theme. This event will showcase exciting bouts such as the AEW Trios champions, Death Riders (Jon Moxley, PAC and Claudio Castagnoli), facing off against The Opps (Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and HOOK). Additionally, various matches are planned for the Owen Hart Cup tournament, including Hangman Page versus a Wild Card Entrant, Will Ospreay versus Konosuke Takeshita, and Athena versus Mercedes Moné.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has been running their fresh rights agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery for a couple of months now, marking the first time AEW programming airs live on Max. Khan commended David Zaslav, head of Warner Bros. Discovery, for this new arrangement, stating that Zaslav himself expressed, “I genuinely want AEW here; I have faith in AEW.

Khan stated, ‘He’s offered us a chance to not just maintain our remarkable progress this week, but also tap into a fresh audience through Max. In my opinion, this aspect plays a significant role in shaping our future.’

Read More

2025-04-17 02:46