TNT will jump back into the pro wrestling ring on Oct. 2 with a weekly series from All-Elite Wrestling, the network announced during its Television Critics Association tour session Wednesday morning.
The as yet titled series will be the first wrestling series on the WarnerMedia-owned TNT cable network since 2001 when it aired content from the now defunct WCW wrestling franchise. WarnerMedia's Bleacher Report Live sports streaming service will also stream the episodes as well as other AEW content.
AEW will compete against the WWE in the pro wrestling ring, but AEW executive vice president Cody Rhodes said the company is not focused on the competition.
“The thing we have to do is not focus on WWE,” he said. “The WWE coins itself as sports entertainment; we’re coining ourselves as pro wrestling. We just want to be our best selves.”
Turner Sports has also stepped into the combat sports ring with martial arts organization One Championship as part of a three-year partnership agreement reached this past January. Bleacher Report Live will stream 24 One Championship events in 2019, with TNT televising at least 12 one-hour, taped re-airs featuring One Championship events per year, according to the organization.
