10 Most Important Days In The Creation Of AEW

3. The Big Reveal (8 January 2019)

Cody Walks
AEW

Held outside the Jacksonville Jaguars' 68,000-capacity TIAA Bank Field in 8 January, AEW's big press conference was marred only by shoddy presentation and a handful of uncertain promos. Though the YouTube stream was stable, the camerawork and production values were lacking, hosts Conrad Thompson and Alex Marvez meandered, and some of the wrestlers stumbled, but the content more than made up for the imperfect delivery.

Executive Vice Presidents Cody and The Young Bucks planted their flag with the promise to "change the wrestling economy," claiming their promotion would listen to the fans, make wins and loss matter, and cast a wide net in their global talent search. Brandi Rhodes claimed pay parity for women's wrestling and introduced Britt Baker as AEW's first female signing. Elsewhere, the likes of Hangman Page, Joey Janela, PAC (who showed up in full gear), SoCal Uncensored, and others were introduced, as was Chris Jericho, whose unexpected arrival made for a perfect way to close the presser.

It was hard not to feel excited about AEW coming out of this, and the announcement that Double Or Nothing would go down on 25 May gave fans the next big date to look forward to.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.