FOX Hoping To Make AEW Look Inferior With WWE SmackDown Debut?, News On AEW Start Date And Time Slot

AEW is expected to start on Turner during the first week of October, which is the same week that WWE SmackDown will being airing on Friday nights on FOX. The news was first reported by MMA insider @fightoracle, who first broke the story that Turner Sports would be presenting AEW at their upfronts last month. As noted, AEW applied for the trademark "Wednesday Night Dynamite" earlier this month.

With the television show seemingly airing on Wednesday nights, the premiere date will be October 2nd. Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while there are still meetings occurring regarding the show, strategies, and other ideas from the TNT side, the plan is for the show to air on Wednesdays, with 8-10 p.m. being the most likely time slot.

WWE SmackDown will make its much anticipated debut two nights later at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. It was reported in The Observer that FOX will be testing out two new cameras for the debut. FOX is also looking to invite a lot of celebrities and give the show the feel of a major event, which is a reason that it's being held in Los Angeles. It was noted that the idea is to make WWE look as major league as possible, which in turn would make AEW look minor league from the start.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter