AEW President and CEO Tony Khan revealed in a past interview that he was planning to find a new venue for the weekly AEW Dark TV Tapings and Dark: Elevation will be shorter than it has been as it will be taped prior to Dynamite, instead of Dark. Khan also revealed that the plan is to tape Elevation prior to Dynamite and Rampage after Dynamite, but to air Rampage live from time to time for important shows such as go-home episodes of PPVs.
It was then revealed by Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast that AEW Dark will be taped in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida in the near future at a Sound Stage similar to where TNA/IMPACT Wrestling was taped in the past. Dave Meltzer then seemed to confirm Zarian’s report, adding that AEW Dark will be taped most of the time at Universal Studios in Orlando moving forward and that the Dark tapings is going to be open to the public.
Tony Khan recently spoke with Bleacher Report, where he clarified what the plans will be for AEW Dark moving forward. According to Khan, he will not be taping Dark every week and certain shows will still take place in the arena, but his main focus on Dark is for the development of the brand and the young talent. Tony Khan also said top stars will still appear on Dark and they’ll still work with the young talent and that Dark has helped strengthen their roster and build their young talent for the future.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“I’m not going to tape AEW Dark every week going forward.” “We’re filming Dynamite, Rampage and Elevation in the arena, so now I think it’s a great time to focus on Dark for developmental. I will be putting together some studio show cards. We’ll have some fun events to announce soon for fans to attend AEW Dark. I’ve got one venue that I have a hold on and then sometimes, we will still film in arenas.”
“There will still be stars making appearances and working with the young talent. During the pandemic, Dark has been so great at helping us identify the young talent who are making huge strides. A number of young wrestlers who have come from Dark have made it to TV such as Will Hobbs, Red Velvet and The Varsity Blonds. I really think that show has helped strengthen our roster and build our young talent for the future.”
Tony Khan then talked about Daniel Garcia and how he has really grown as a talent and made a name for himself and become a star. Khan also talked about how fans will be seeing more of Garcia on AEW TV.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“I do anticipate Daniel staying with us in AEW.” “He has been tremendous, and I like him a lot.”
There is no word yet on which Sound Stages Dark will be taped in as TNA/IMPACT previously taped their shows from three different Sound Stages at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, which they referred to as The IMPACT Zone. IMPACT used Sound Stage 21 from 2004 – 2013, and then Sound Stages 19, 20, and 21 after they returned from touring up until they went back on the road in April of 2018. The company was not allowed to charge fans to attend the shows, and it seems All Elite Wrestling will be having a similar agreement with Universal.
There is also no word yet on if AEW’s plan to tape Dark from Universal Studios will affect their time slot, but Dark currently takes place every Tuesday night at 7PM ET on AEW’s official YouTube channel.
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