Tony Khan Claims AEW Grand Slam: Australia Was Never Planned as a PPV

AEW is heading to Australia for the first time on February 15, but it hasn’t been the smoothest road to get there. Originally planned as a stadium show, the event was downsized to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre due to low ticket sales. Now, another change is in the works—a new broadcast time.

Originally listed for 8 p.m. ET, the show would have conflicted with NBA All-Star Saturday, one of the biggest nights of the year for TNT. AEW has now confirmed that Grand Slam: Australia will air after the NBA festivities instead.

Speaking to Scott Fishman of TVInsider, Tony Khan addressed the scheduling change and clarified that the plan was always for this event to be a televised show.

“Yes. Having this be a TV event has always been the plan. That’s something that the network wanted. It’s something the network brought to us recently as an opportunity to follow NBA All-Star Saturday. We saw it as a huge opportunity. It was a great vote of confidence for our partners at Warner Brothers Discovery. It will be one of the biggest nights of the year on TNT. It’s a great opportunity given the lead-in.”

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Despite the setbacks, AEW is still stacking the card, with Mariah May set to defend the AEW Women’s Championship against Toni Storm in what could be one of the biggest matches of the night.

AEW had massive success with All In at Wembley, but Australia has been a different story. With Grand Slam: Australia now airing after NBA All-Star Saturday, will this new time slot help the event gain momentum, or is the damage already done?