Rise and Fall of AEW Rampage

AEW is closing a major chapter in its history with the apparent conclusion of its weekly program, Rampage. The Friday night show began airing three years ago and started off hot, regularly featuring top stars from the Tony Khan-led company.

However, various probable reasons—from booking issues to Tony Khan and his creative team's failure to distinguish the show meaningfully from Wednesday Night Dynamite—eventually led to declining viewership figures and ticket sales, affecting the brand's stock over time.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and his Death Riders seem to have pulled the plug on Rampage, as seen on the program's 2024 New Year's Smash edition. The All Elite CEO has claimed that the show may be done for the foreseeable future.

As such, let us briefly examine the story of All Elite Wrestling: Rampage as we know it.

The beginning of AEW Rampage in 2021

All Elite Wrestling announced that it would expand its content production and launch a new show called Rampage, which will be broadcast on Friday nights on TNT.

The first episode of the weekly program, which aired on August 13 from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, featured multiple title matches, including a blockbuster bout that culminated in Christian Cage dethroning "Belt Collector" Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship.

The second episode of Rampage, dubbed The First Dance, witnessed the blockbuster All Elite debut of CM Punk, following weeks of speculation surrounding the topic. The show generated an average viewership of 1.129 million viewers and was attended by over 15,000 people, seemingly foreshadowing a bright future for the program.

The gradual decline of Rampage

Having begun its television tenure impressively, Rampage tried to capitalize on the momentum generated by its initial output by consistently presenting high-quality matches involving prominent names from the Jacksonville-based company.

Viewers might remember several unforgettable moments from the show, such as Eddie Kingston's epic promo battle with CM Punk in 2021, TayJay's gnarly Street Fight with The Bunny and Penelope Ford that same year, and Wheeler Yuta's star-making efforts against Jon Moxley in 2022, that led to his inclusion in The BCC.

Even though AEW continued to present Rampage as an important part of its overall programming, the show's ratings gradually declined over the years, dropping below the 200,000 mark multiple times this year only.

Critics have suggested many possible reasons for the show's apparent downfall. Some argue that Tony Khan and the company could not develop Rampage as a unique program unrelated to Dynamite. This issue became more conspicuous after AEW introduced a new Saturday night show, Collision, last year.

What's next for All Elite programming after the end of Rampage?

Earlier in 2024, AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery signed a new profitable media rights agreement. While WBD retained its broadcasting rights for Dynamite and Collision, the deal seemingly excluded Rampage.

Soon after, rumors spread that the Friday night program would be canceled heading into the new year. Tony Khan seemingly corroborated this earlier this month during the tapings for what seems to be the very last episode of Rampage.

Although there have been reports that AEW might substitute Rampage with its new rumored program, Shockwave, concrete discussions regarding the show have seemingly hit a snag lately. All Elite Wrestling has proven its undisputed capability of producing world-class wrestling action on TV and pay-per-views.

However, Rampage's rise, stagnation, and gradual demise should serve as a learning opportunity for the promotion, enabling its key players to make necessary changes and elevate its product to greater heights in 2025.