Add as a preferred source on Google Tony Khan has a new benchmark for AEW‘s nighttime pay-per-views: off the air before midnight Eastern.
Redemption, held 7/26 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, ran its main card from 7 p.m. ET — an hour earlier than the 8 p.m. start AEW has used for its recent PPVs — and wrapped at roughly 11:55 p.m. ET, with The Buy In leading in at 6 p.m. ET.
Speaking with ROAR Around The Ring ahead of Wednesday’s Dynamite in Detroit, Khan said the move was about keeping East Coast viewers from being up into the early morning.
“My goal for the last one was if I start an hour earlier, I’m 100 percent sure I’ll be done before midnight Eastern, and I was. So, I thought that was great. That’s the goal. That’s all we need. I’m done before midnight Eastern and it’s before 9 pm on the West Coast. I think that’s great.”
Redemption came a month after Forbidden Door, which started at 8 p.m. ET and didn’t finish until close to 1 a.m. ET. AEW still ran a nearly five-hour main card in Montreal — the entire show just moved up an hour.
It appears to be sticking. NOW Arena has All Out on 9/26 listed for 6 p.m. CT, which is 7 p.m. ET. All In: London on 8/30 is the exception at 1 p.m. ET, since it’s coming from Wembley Stadium.
That puts 7 p.m. ET on track to become the new standard for AEW’s stateside night PPVs, and Khan’s comments suggest the fix for long cards is an earlier bell rather than trimming matches.