Tony Khan Celebrates AEW's Four-Year Anniversary
On January 8, 2019, AEW held its inaugural press conference at the TIAA Bank Field, where the original roster was unveiled. This week, the upstart wrestling promotion is celebrating its 4-year anniversary.
AEW President Tony Khan took to Twitter to thank fans who've supported his promotion over the past four years while plugging AEW's return to Los Angeles for a live episode of "AEW Dynamite" this Wednesday.
"Thank you all who watch @AEWonTV!" Khan wrote on Tuesday. "This week we celebrated 4 years since @AEW launched, we had great fan feedback on our shows in Seattle + Portland last week, and we're back on the west coast for Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite in LA @thekiaforum TOMORROW! See you tomorrow on TBS!"
With Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) executives set to be in attendance for "Dynamite" at the KIA Forum, AEW will look to pull out all the stops to impress its network bosses, especially with the promotion's television rights deal due to expire at the end of 2023. The confirmed lineup for the show includes "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley in a grudge match, Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Big Bill & Lee Moriarty vs. JungleHook (Jungle Boy & HOOK), and Match 7 of the best-of-seven series between The Elite and Death Triangle.
The match creating the most buzz among wrestling fans is a tag team bout pitting Dr. Britt Baker & AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya & Toni Storm. While Storm has been confirmed as Saraya's partner, several fans believe Hikaru Shida — the person snubbed by Saraya as a teammate — could turn heel and take out her frustrations on Storm, opening the door for Mercedes Moné to make her AEW debut. The speculation of Moné joining AEW has gathered momentum since the former Sasha Banks made her NJPW/STARDOM debut in the first week of 2023.