AEW Dark

Did You Know?

• AEW Dark was announced on October 5, 2019 by then-AEW Executive Vice President and wrestler Cody Rhodes.
• Beginning September 11, 2021, Dark was taped at Soundstage 21 in Universal Studios Florida, the same studio that previously hosted weekly episodes of TNA Impact!.
• A one-night return special titled "Stocking Stuffer" aired on December 16, 2025, with three matches taped in Cardiff, Wales on December 13.

History

On October 2, 2019, AEW's flagship program Dynamite premiered on TNT, featuring four dark matches—two before and two after the live broadcast. AEW President and CEO Tony Khan stated during the post-event media scrum that these dark matches would be made available to view in some form. On October 5, AEW Executive Vice President and wrestler Cody Rhodes announced a sister program called AEW Dark, which would serve as the home for the promotion's dark matches.

The show began airing on Tuesdays at 8pm Eastern Time on AEW's YouTube channel on October 8. During pay-per-view weeks, Dark aired on Friday as the go-home show, a practice that continued until May 2021 for that year's Double or Nothing. Unlike typical dark matches in other promotions, those on Dark were part of AEW's storylines and counted toward wrestlers' match statistics. On the November 5 episode, Tony Schiavone announced that AEW Spanish commentator Dasha Gonzalez would become his co-host; the pair hosted segments from the "AEW Control Center."

On December 31, a special episode titled AEW Dark – 2019 Year in Review aired. On February 24, 2021, AEW announced a spinoff, Dark: Elevation, which premiered on Monday, March 15, airing at 7pm ET on AEW's YouTube channel. With the August 2021 premiere of Rampage, Khan described Dynamite and Rampage as AEW's core properties, while Dark and Elevation became peripheral, developmental shows. Rampage, airing Fridays at 10pm ET, replaced Dark as the go-home show for pay-per-views.