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AEW Dark

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AEW Dark
AEW Darklogo
GenreProfessional wrestling
Created byTony Khan
StarringAEW roster
Opening theme"Facedown" by Mikey Rukus
(November 17, 2020 – April 25, 2023)
"Falling From Grace" by No One Hero[1]
(October 8, 2019 – November 10, 2020)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of seasons3
No.of episodes193(list of episodes)
Production
Camera setupMulticamera setup
Running time60–120 minutes
Production companyAll Elite Wrestling
Original release
NetworkYouTube
ReleaseOctober 8, 2019(2019-10-08)–
April 25, 2023(2023-04-25)
Related

AEW Dark,or simplyDark,was an Americanprofessional wrestlingstreaming televisionprogram that was produced by the American promotionAll Elite Wrestling(AEW), running from October 8, 2019, to April 25, 2023, on AEW'sYouTubechannel. The program featured matches taped either before or after the preceding episode ofRampage(if it was live), apay-per-view,or atSoundstage 21inUniversal Studios Florida,which served as the main location for the tapings ofDark's weekly episodes.[2]Prior to this, it was taped before and after the preceding episode of AEW's flagship program,Dynamite,and had featured segments highlighting the previous week'sDynamiteand interviews with AEW personalities. The show was originally hosted byTony SchiavoneandDasha Gonzalezin astudiocalled the "AEW Control Center". BothDarkand its spin-off,Elevation,were canceled due to the addition of AEW's television program,Collision.

History[edit]

Old stage for Dark from 2019 to 2022

On October 2, 2019,All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) flagship program,Dynamite,premiered onTNT.During the event, there were fourdark matches,two before and two after the live broadcast.[3]During the media scrum following this event, AEW President andChief Executive OfficerTony Khanstated that the dark matches would become available to view on video in some form. On October 5, then-AEW Executive Vice President and wrestlerCody Rhodesannounced a sister program toDynamitecalledAEW Dark,which would be the home of AEW's dark matches. On October 8, the program began airing on Tuesdays at 8pmEastern Time(ET) on AEW'sYouTubechannel. During the week of apay-per-view(PPV), however,Darkwould air on Friday as the go-home show; this continued until May 2021 for that year'sDouble or NothingPPV. Unlike the dark matches of other wrestling promotions, which generally do not affect storylines, these matches onDarkwere part of AEW's storylines and counted towards the wrestlers' match statistics.[4][5][6]

During the November 5 episode,Tony Schiavoneannounced AEW Spanish commentatorDasha Gonzalezwould be his co-host going forward.[7]Schiavone and Gonzalez hosted segments onDarkfrom the "AEW Control Center," highlighting matches and storylines within AEW.[8][9]On December 31, AEW aired a special episode calledAEW Dark – 2019 Year in Review,featuring highlights of the show from the past year.[10]

On February 24, 2021, AEW announced that a new spinoff ofDarkwould premiere on Monday, March 15 titledDark: Elevation.This was the promotion's third program, afterDynamiteandDark,and aired on Monday nights at 7pm ET, also on AEW's YouTube channel.[11][12]With the premiere ofRampagein August 2021, Khan said thatDynamiteandRampagewould be AEW's core properties, while their YouTube shows,DarkandElevation,would be their peripheral properties, essentially theirdevelopmentalshows.[13]WithRampageairing in the 10pm ET slot on Fridays, it replacedDarkas the go-home show for pay-per-views.[14]

On August 27, 2021, it was revealed thatDarkwould begin being taped at its own set withinUniversal StudiosinOrlando, FloridaatSoundstage 21—the same studio which previously hosted weekly episodes ofTNA Impact!—whileElevationwould continue to be taped in conjunction withDynamite.[2][15]The first set of tapings forDarkat Universal Studios occurred on September 11, 2021. AEW tapedDarkepisodes about once a month, recording four shows per taping with each show lasting about 90 minutes. During the weeks thatRampageorBattle of the Beltsairedlive,AEW tapedDarkin conjunction with that program.[16]AEW had also occasionally tapedDarkin conjunction withElevation,notably in December 2021.

Darkaired its last episode on April 25, 2023. Both it andElevationwere canceled in preparation for the addition of AEW's television program,Collision,which premiered on TNT in June 2023. This was due to an amended deal with AEW's broadcast partnerWarner Bros. Discovery(WBD), in which all of AEW's programs would air exclusively on WBD's channels.[17][18]It was also reported thatRampagewould begin showcasing younger wrestlers, essentially becoming whatDarkandElevationwere for the company.[19]

Roster[edit]

Main article:List of All Elite Wrestling personnel

The wrestlers featured on All Elite Wrestling take part in scriptedfeudsandstorylines.Wrestlers are portrayed asheroes,villains,orless distinguishable charactersin scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. AEW Dark features both AEW contracted wrestlers and various independent wrestlers.

Commentators[edit]

Commentators Dates
Jim RossandExcalibur October 8, 2019(2019-10-08)– October 15, 2019(2019-10-15)
October 29, 2019(2019-10-29)
Excalibur andTaz October 22, 2019(2019-10-22)
January 21, 2020(2020-01-21)
February 4, 2020(2020-02-04)– March 24, 2020(2020-03-24)
April 7, 2020(2020-04-07)
May 12, 2020(2020-05-12)– April 25, 2023(2023-04-25)
Excalibur andMJF November 5, 2019(2019-11-05)
Excalibur, Goldenboy,Arn Anderson,andChuck Taylor November 8, 2019(2019-11-08)
Excalibur andDustin Rhodes November 19, 2019(2019-11-19)
Excalibur andShawn Spears November 26, 2019(2019-11-26)
Excalibur andNyla Rose December 3, 2019(2019-12-03)
Excalibur, Chuck Taylor,Orange Cassidy,andBritt Baker December 10, 2019(2019-12-10)
Excalibur,Vickie Guerrero,andJoey Janela December 17, 2019(2019-12-17)
Excalibur andColt Cabana December 24, 2019(2019-12-24)
Excalibur and Chuck Taylor January 7, 2020(2020-01-07)
Excalibur andDave Brown January 14, 2020(2020-01-14)
Jim Ross, Excalibur, andTony Schiavone January 28, 2020(2020-01-28)
Tony Schiavone andCody March 31, 2020(2020-03-31)– May 5, 2020(2020-05-05)
Tony Schiavone andJimmy Havoc April 7, 2020(2020-04-07)
Tony Schiavone and Taz August 4, 2020(2020-08-04)– August 11, 2020(2020-08-11)
September 14, 2021(2021-09-14)
Tony Schiavone, Taz, andVeda Scott August 18, 2020(2020-08-18)– August 25, 2020(2020-08-25)
Excalibur, Taz, and Veda Scott September 15, 2020(2020-09-15)– September 22, 2020(2020-09-22)
Excalibur, Taz, andRicky Starks September 29, 2020(2020-09-29)– October 20, 2020(2020-10-20)
January 19, 2021(2021-01-19)– January 26, 2021(2021-01-26)
Excalibur, Taz, andAnthony Ogogo October 27, 2020(2020-10-27)– November 6, 2020(2020-11-06)
November 24, 2020(2020-11-24)– December 15, 2020(2020-12-15)
January 12, 2021(2021-01-12)
February 2, 2021(2021-02-02)– March 9, 2021(2021-03-09)

Ring announcers[edit]

Ring announcers Dates
Justin Roberts October 8, 2019(2019-10-08)– March 17, 2020(2020-03-17)
June 16, 2020(2020-06-16)– March 4, 2023(2023-03-04)
Live AEW event-based shows.
Dasha Gonzalez December 3, 2019(2019-12-03)
March 24, 2020(2020-03-24)– June 9, 2020(2020-06-09)
August 17, 2021(2021-08-17)
September 14, 2021(2021-09-14)– April 25, 2023(2023-04-25)
Studio-based shows.

References[edit]

  1. ^"AEW Themes 2.0".bandcamp.com.All Elite Wrestling. July 30, 2020.RetrievedJuly 30,2020.
  2. ^abLee, Joseph (August 27, 2021)."UPDATED: AEW Dark To Be Taped In Studio, Note On Likely Location".411 Mania.RetrievedJune 14,2022.
  3. ^"AEW Dynamite off-air results: Four dark matches".WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results.2019-10-02.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  4. ^"Post-AEW Dynamite Dark Match Results".WrestlingInc.com.6 November 2019.
  5. ^"BREAKING:" AEW DARK "begins this Tuesday! Featuring the matches you didn't see on Dynamite. Hosted by @tonyschiavone24".Cody Rhodes on Twitter.October 5, 2019.RetrievedOctober 5,2019.
  6. ^Pratt, Emily (2019-10-07)."AEW Just Announced A Very Goth Number One Contender's Match".UPROXX.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  7. ^"AEW DARK REPORT | PWInsider.com".www.pwinsider.com.
  8. ^"AEW Dark coming to YouTube, will be hosted by Tony Schiavone".WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results.2019-10-05.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  9. ^"AEW Hypes Matches For Premiere Episode Of" Dark "(Photos)".Wrestling Inc.2019-10-07.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  10. ^AEW DARK - 2019 YEAR IN REVIEW.YouTube–All Elite Wrestling.December 31, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 7,2020.
  11. ^Defelice, Robert (February 24, 2021)."AEW Dark: Elevation Announced As Third AEW Program, Will Air Mondays On YouTube".Fightful.RetrievedFebruary 24,2021.
  12. ^Lambert, Jeremy (February 24, 2021)."Premiere Date And Paul Wight's Broadcast Partner Announced For AEW Dark: Elevation".Fightful.RetrievedFebruary 25,2021.
  13. ^Thomas, Jeremy (May 19, 2021)."Tony Khan Reveals New Details About Move to TBS, Says He Was Offered a Third Hour of Dynamite".411mania.RetrievedJuly 9,2021.
  14. ^Shrivastava, Arpit (June 17, 2021)."Tony Khan discloses interesting details about AEW Rampage".Sportskeeda.RetrievedJuly 9,2021.
  15. ^Sean Rueter (August 27, 2021)."AEW Dark set to become a studio show (Updated)".Cageside Seats.RetrievedAugust 27,2021.
  16. ^Gagnon, Joshua (September 11, 2021)."First-Look At AEW Dark At Universal Studios".Wrestling Inc.RetrievedSeptember 12,2021.
  17. ^Nason, Josh (May 3, 2023)."AEW Dark & Dark Elevation done for now due to new exclusivity deal with WBD".Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online.RetrievedMay 3,2023.
  18. ^Rueter, Sean (May 25, 2023)."Tony Khan on AEW vs. WWE, WBD deal, Collision secrecy, more".Cageside Seats.RetrievedMay 25,2023.
  19. ^Nason, Josh (May 5, 2023)."Update on future direction of AEW Rampage".Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online.RetrievedMay 10,2023.

External links[edit]

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