| AEW Dark | |
|---|---|
 AEW Dark logo | |
| Genre | Professional wrestling |
| Created by | Tony Khan |
| Starring | AEW roster |
| Opening theme | "Facedown" by Mikey Rukus (November 17, 2020 – April 25, 2023) "Falling From Grace" by No One Hero[1] (October 8, 2019 – November 10, 2020) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 193(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup |
| Running time | 60–120 minutes |
| Production company | All Elite Wrestling |
| Original release | |
| Network | YouTube |
| Release | October 8, 2019 (2019-10-08) – April 25, 2023 (2023-04-25) |
| Related | |
AEW Dark, or simplyDark, is an Americanprofessional wrestlingstreaming television program that was produced by the American promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from October 8, 2019, to April 25, 2023, on AEW'sYouTube channel. The program featured matches taped either before or after the preceding episode ofRampage (if it was live), apay-per-view, or atSoundstage 21 inUniversal Studios Florida, which served as the main location for the tapings ofDark's weekly episodes.[2] Prior to this, it was taped before and after the preceding episode of AEW's flagship program,Dynamite, and had featured segments highlighting the previous week'sDynamite and interviews with AEW personalities. The show was originally hosted byTony Schiavone andDasha Gonzalez in astudio called the "AEW Control Center". BothDark and its spin-off,Elevation, were canceled due to the addition of AEW's television program,Collision.
On October 2, 2019,All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) flagship program,Dynamite, premiered onTNT. During the event, there were fourdark matches, two before and two after the live broadcast.[3] During the media scrum following this event, AEW President andChief Executive OfficerTony Khan stated that the dark matches would become available to view on video in some form. On October 5, then-AEW Executive Vice President and wrestlerCody Rhodes announced a sister program toDynamite calledAEW Dark, which would be the home of AEW's dark matches. On October 8, the program began airing on Tuesdays at 8pmEastern Time (ET) on AEW'sYouTube channel. During the week of apay-per-view (PPV), however,Dark would air on Friday as the go-home show; this continued until May 2021 for that year'sDouble or Nothing PPV. Unlike the dark matches of other wrestling promotions, which generally do not affect storylines, these matches onDark were part of AEW's storylines and counted towards the wrestlers' match statistics.[4][5][6]
During the November 5 episode,Tony Schiavone announced AEW Spanish commentatorDasha Gonzalez would be his co-host going forward.[7] Schiavone and Gonzalez hosted segments onDark from the "AEW Control Center," highlighting matches and storylines within AEW.[8][9] On December 31, AEW aired a special episode calledAEW Dark – 2019 Year in Review, featuring highlights of the show from the past year.[10]
On February 24, 2021, AEW announced that a new spinoff ofDark would premiere on Monday, March 15 titledDark: Elevation. This was the promotion's third program, afterDynamite andDark, and aired on Monday nights at 7pm ET, also on AEW's YouTube channel.[11][12] With the premiere ofRampage in August 2021, Khan said thatDynamite andRampage would be AEW's core properties, while their YouTube shows,Dark andElevation, would be their peripheral properties, essentially theirdevelopmental shows.[13] WithRampage airing in the 10pm ET slot on Fridays, it replacedDark as the go-home show for pay-per-views.[14]
On August 27, 2021, it was revealed thatDark would begin being taped at its own set withinUniversal Studios inOrlando, Florida atSoundstage 21—the same studio which previously hosted weekly episodes ofTNA Impact!—whileElevation would continue to be taped in conjunction withDynamite.[2][15] The first set of tapings forDark at Universal Studios occurred on September 11, 2021. AEW tapedDark episodes about once a month, recording four shows per taping with each show lasting about 90 minutes. During the weeks thatRampage orBattle of the Belts airedlive, AEW tapedDark in conjunction with that program.[16] AEW had also occasionally tapedDark in conjunction withElevation, notably in December 2021.
Dark aired its last episode on April 25, 2023. Both Dark andElevation were canceled in preparation for the addition of AEW's television program,Collision, which premiered on TNT in June 2023. This was due to an amended deal with AEW's broadcast partnerWarner Bros. Discovery (WBD), in which all of AEW's programs would air exclusively on WBD's channels.[17][18] It was also reported thatRampage would begin showcasing younger wrestlers, essentially becoming whatDark andElevation were for the company.[19]
In an interview with Iridian Fierro in July 2025, Khan stated that he is open to bringing backDark and/orElevation, but it would have to align with AEW's current media strategy and television partnerships. He also said it would have to make sense to bring either back, but the ultimate decision is with WBD.[20]
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