AEW WrestleDream is set to go live this weekend on pay-per-view, marking the company’s sixth pay-per-view event in 2023 and establishing a new annual record for AEW. Tony Khan, during All In in August, revealed that this event would be a homage to Antonio Inoki, timed to the one-year anniversary of his passing. The event is scheduled for October 1, 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT, and will be broadcasted live from Seattle.
However, UK fans have the option to watch WrestleDream live without incurring the pay-per-view costs. ITV 4 has planned to broadcast the event on national television at 11 PM GMT, Thursday, October 5. Dave Meltzer, in this week’s “Wrestling Observer Newsletter,” pointed out that this complimentary airing is likely to impact the PPV purchases in the UK, particularly the last-minute buys.
This strategy isn’t novel for AEW; they previously aired All In on ITV just four days post the event. The weekly shows “AEW Dynamite” and “AEW Rampage” are also available for free every Friday and Tuesday on ITV4 and are additionally accessible On-Demand through the “ITV X” streaming platform. This became a talking point earlier in the year when a decline in UK ratings was observed. For context, the “Dynamite” episode on September 11 attracted 210,000 viewers in the UK – a record for the company – compared to the average US viewership of 911,000 for the same episode.
