Why is AEW Shutting Down Rampage After December 2024?
AEW’s new media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery(WBD) brought a surprise in exclusion of two key shows their Friday Night one-hour show Rampage and quarterly Saturday night show Battle of the Belts were missing from the announcement. While many expected that AEW might continue Rampage in some other way, AEW President Tony Khan announced during the taping of the last episode that it was canceled for the foreseeable future. But what led to this decision?
Rampage Time Slot & Poor Ratings
When Rampage debuted in 2021, AEW’s aim was to extend its presence on television. At the time, AEW already had Dynamite airing on TV on Wednesday and Dark airing on YouTube on Tuesdays. Very few time slots were available where they could go unopposed by their main rival WWE, or other friendlier promotions, while also leaving weekend slots for PPVs.
AEW eventually accepted a time slot of 10 PM ET on Friday Nights. Unfortunately, this time slot proved to be a challenge for the wrestling audience, which was habitual to tuning into the shows earlier in the evening.
Despite the unusual timeslot, Rampage performed decently initially, drawing between 600,000 and 700,000 viewers. Over time, though, Rampage viewership steadily declined. It eventually dropped below 300,000 and hovered around 200,000 in recent months. Ratings in the key demographic (ages 18-49) also plummeted from 0.3 in its early days to below 0.1 in the last six months.
Lack of Intent
Whether the lack of ratings led AEW to deprioritize Rampage or vice versa is debatable. They did put up some marquee matches on the show occasionally. However, the show became less and less relevant over time. Fans lost interest, and Rampage was no longer considered a vital part of AEW’s programming.
And the lack of intent was not only on AEW and audience’s part. Network support waned as well. Rampage’s time slot and days shifted away frequently to accommodate other programming, signaling its diminishing priority.
Given these factors, it’s clear that the show struggled to justify its continuation under AEW’s new media deal, reportedly worth $185 million annually that only includes Dynamite and Collision— a significant increase from $45 million annually. For Rampage, replicating this value proved unattainable.
Will Rampage Make a Comeback?
The wrestling landscape has evolved significantly for AEW since Rampage launched. In 2021, the company lacked a platform like Ring of Honor (ROH) to showcase its underutilized talent. Now, with ROH as part of its ecosystem, Tony Khan appears more focused on securing a TV deal for ROH rather than reviving Rampage.
However, the door isn’t entirely closed. Khan described Rampage as canceled for the “foreseeable future,” leaving room for speculation about a potential return. Reports suggest AEW is exploring other networks to host the show, though finding a buyer in the current climate may be a challenge.
Whether Rampage will rise again remains an open question—but for now, it marks the end of an era for AEW’s Friday night wrestling experiment.