AEW Reportedly Signs New Five-Year TV Deal, Tony Khan Paid For Top AEW Wrestler’s Surgery, Mercedes Mone Walks The Red Carpet (WATCH), Dynamite Ratings (9/10/25)
— According to a report from Wrestlenomics, the September 10 episode of AEW Dynamite attracted 584,000 viewers on TBS, an increase from the 472,000 viewers who tuned in for the September 3 episode.
The show earned a 0.12 rating in the 18–49 demographic, up slightly from 0.11 the previous week.
Dynamite was also simulcast on HBO Max, though official viewership figures for the streaming platform were not released.
— During a recent appearance on the “Downunder the Ring” podcast, AEW broadcaster and former WWE Superstar Bryan Danielson discussed the differences between AEW and WWE programming, highlighting how AEW characters feel more grounded and relatable to real-life personalities.
Additionally, Danielson revealed his picks for which AEW wrestlers could defeat a bear.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the AEW product compared to WWE programming: “I would say WWE tends to be informed more by like drama and like outside of the ring action. In AEW, you get more actual in-ring wrestling. The wrestling that you see is more action-packed, it’s more hard-hitting, it’s more high-flying. I would say it’s a more exciting style of wrestling, although I’m not going to take anything away from the guys in WWE. Some of the guys do that sort of thing. But that’s not, that’s not what they’re going for, right?”
On how the characters in AEW TV are closer to people in real life: “Also, wrestling is character-based. One of the things I like about AEW, and that I loved working there, is that the characters you see on TV are closer to people in real life. It’s not quite as cartoony. [AEW wrestlers] have a little bit more nuance when they do things, and you have to say, there’s always going to be exceptions in both companies whenever you say these types of things, and people will say, ‘Oh, Brian’s bashing WWE.’ I’m not saying that at all. There are different ways of doing things, right? But I think it’s more genuine, and I think the people within AEW, because of how Tony runs it, are closer to the characters that they want to be, the characters that they desire to be. So, yeah, that’s what I would say about that.”
On Swerve Strickland: “So, it depends on what kind of match it is. If it’s a straight match, the bear wins. If it’s a gimmick match, like a Hardcore Match, I swear, Swerve is the craziest Hardcore Match wrestler that I’ve ever seen. So, he would staple that bear in the tongue or something like that, and so, yeah, it depends on the style of match. You get a straight old wrestling match? I bet the bear wins. You get any shenanigans or that sort of thing? Swerve wins.”
On Hangman Page: “I think Hangman has more experience with rounding up animals, so I think he does better in a straight match than Swerve.”
On Kyle Fletcher: “He gets destroyed by a bear. I’m sorry, Australia. If all of you Sydney people love Kyle Fletcher because he’s from Sydney and all that. He’s also a beautiful man. I heard the word on the street is that Taylor Swift is very interested in Kyle Fletcher, even though she just got engaged, but that said, Kyle Fletcher could not defeat a bear.”
On Toni Storm: “She could beat a bear. Straight one-on-one? She could beat a bear. No questions asked.”
On Kenny Omega: “Given the state of Kenny Omega right now? Even [if he was healthy] still. I love Kenny Omega. Kenny is probably one of my favorite wrestlers to watch ever. I vote for the bear just because I can’t unthink of how bad his stomach is, and I just envisioned, as soon as you said it, a bear ripping open his stomach.”
On Mercedes Mone: “I think a bear defeats her soundly. I was going to make a joke about the Beast Mortos, but I’ll just leave it at that.”
— Eddie Kingston has fired back following a recent callout from Big Bill on last week’s episode of AEW Collision, signaling that he could be ready to step back into the ring. During the show, Big Bill targeted someone from New York City, claiming that they only “pretend to be a tough guy.”
Responding on Threads earlier today, Kingston wrote, “So got the phone call and the money is right, contract is signed on my end. So Big Bill, you dumb goofy bastard, just send location.”
Kingston has been sidelined since May 2024 due to multiple leg injuries and, as of last month, had not yet been medically cleared for in-ring action. You can check out his social media response to Big Bill below:
— Eddie Kingston has been sidelined for over a year following a leg injury sustained against Gabe Kidd at NJPW STRONG Resurgence on May 11, 2024.
He underwent surgery in July, but his rehab was delayed due to complications with insurance.
While training with Cezar Bononi, Kingston opened up about the situation and explained what happened with the insurance process. He said,
“Working out in the gym, I didn’t know what to do. It’s just squats, deadlifts, and walking for half an hour. That two and a half months of no PT [Physical Therapy] really just [shakes head]. It had nothing to do with the place I was going to, it was all insurance. They all had to wait for my insurance. That’s why in January I switched. It’s expensive, but I don’t want to go through any of that ever again. When I had hernia surgery three years ago, my insurance at the time said they would cover it. The day of the surgery, they said they couldn’t cover it. Thank God other people took care of that one. I’m still paying for the anesthesia. I get a pop-up on my credit card, ‘This amount out for anesthesia.’ It happened again, same insurance, with the knee surgery. The day of the knee surgery, they said, ‘No, we’re not covering it.’ The surgeon knew, because he’d seen this before with this insurance, he was like, ‘Let me make a couple of calls.’ Tony took care of it, Thank God. That was it.
“After that, I was like doing my insurance, but they would give six days of PT and then wait two weeks for my insurance to kick back in to cover the next six. Wait two weeks, sometimes three weeks, and then it would kick back in. I’m doing stuff at home, but it’s not the same stuff as I’m getting there. All it was were squats and deadlifts with a sandbag. That’s all I knew to do. At one point, it became two months. That was it. Arguing with them on email, my exact words were, ‘Do I pay every month? Yes. Do I ever disturb or do anything to fuck up this company? No, I don’t. If I’m paying and I’m not doing anything wrong, why the fuck are you bothering me?’ They never answered back. I just waited and then got the insurance finally in place.”
— AEW has reportedly signed a five-year agreement with TEGSport to ensure the company continues to tour Australia.
The news was first reported by Wrestle Radio Australia, with host Lachlan Albert stating, “I was told how exciting it is from TEGSport’s perspective that they’ve got this five-year deal with AEW, so AEW will continue to return to Australia over that five-year period. Presumably speaking about last year being the first year of the deal, 2026 being the second year, presumably three more years into the future of a deal between TEGSport and AEW to bring AEW to Australia.”
No additional details regarding the agreement have been released.
TEGSport, a division of parent company TEG, specializes in helping major global brands expand into markets across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, the UK, and the US.
AEW made its Australian debut with AEW Grand Slam Australia in February 2025. The promotion is set to return in 2026 with Grand Slam Australia on Saturday, February 14 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena and House Rules on Sunday, February 15 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
— Daniel Garcia and Jon Moxley are set to team up against The Paragon (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) on this week’s episode of AEW Collision.
Tony Khan announced the match on social media following Garcia’s shocking turn on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, where he aligned himself with Moxley and the Death Riders by blindsiding Darby Allin and curb-stomping his face into a chair.
You can check out the updated lineup for Saturday night’s episode of AEW Collision below:
* FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. Adam Priest & Tommy Billington
* AEW Unified Championship Tournament Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Oku
* AEW Unified Championship Tournament Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Anthony Bowens
* TayJay (Anna Jay & Tay Melo), Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, & Harley Cameron vs. Triangle of Madness (Thekla, Skye Blue, & Julia Hart), Megan Bayne, & Penelope Ford (Toni Storm on commentary)
* The Death Riders (Jon Moxley & Daniel Garcia) vs. The Paragon (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong)
* Mark Briscoe will choose the stipulation for his match with MJF at AEW All Out.
* MJF to appear.
Saturday #AEWCollision
8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT
THIS SATURDAY, 9/13!Paragon vs Death Riders
After Daniel Garcia blindsided Darby Allin + joined the Death Riders at #AEWDynamite,
Moxley + Garcia will team to collide vs Garcia’s former friends O’Reilly + Strong
THIS SATURDAY! pic.twitter.com/cdMtaGJ6sG— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) September 12, 2025
— Mercedes Mone strutted the runway at New York Fashion Week on September 11, modeling for Jeffrey Kelly Design.
The AEW TBS Champion is no stranger to the event, having previously appeared on the NYFW runway in 2022.
Mercedes Moné tonight at NY Fashion Week OMG her wig and outfit
Evelyn_tucci IG pic.twitter.com/2QjtzcT276
— é (@CEOKREW) September 12, 2025
Mercedes Moné tonight at NY Fashion Week OMG her wig and outfit
Evelyn_tucci IG pic.twitter.com/2QjtzcT276
— é (@CEOKREW) September 12, 2025
(h/t – Fightful)
