| AEW Winter Is Coming | |
|---|---|
AEW Winter Is Coming logo
| |
| Promotions | All Elite Wrestling |
| First event | 2020 |
AEW Winter Is Coming is an annual professional wrestling television special produced every December by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since 2020. The event's title is a reference to the motto in Game of Thrones, as well as its eponymous television episode. The show is distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of AEW's broadcast partners, TNT and TBS. With the exception of the inaugural 2020 event, which was held at Daily's PlaceinJacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year, the event has been held annually in Texas markets since 2021. The event originally only aired as a special episode of the promotion's flagship weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite, but the 2023 event expanded the show to a three-part special, also encompassing Friday Night Rampage and Saturday Night Collision.
On the November 18, 2020, episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced that the December 2 episode would be a special episode titled "Winter Is Coming". The phrase was the title of the pilot episode of the Game of Thrones television series, as well as the motto (or "Words") of House Stark of Winterfell in the series. The use of the title was approved by WarnerMedia officials, as WarnerMedia has used Dynamite to promote HBO Max and other WarnerMedia properties.[1][2] The event was notable for the debut of former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) legend Sting in AEW, which was his first appearance on TNT in over 19 years since he defeated Ric Flair on the final episodeofWCW Monday Nitro in March 2001. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held at Daily's PlaceinJacksonville, Florida.[3]
On the November 19, 2021, episode of Friday Night Rampage, it was announced that a second Winter Is Coming would air as the December 15 episode of Dynamite. This established Winter Is Coming as an annual December television specialofDynamite. With AEW's return to live touring in July 2021, this second event was held at the Curtis Culwell CenterinGarland, Texas. This would also be the final Winter Is Coming to air on TNT as in January 2022, Dynamite was moved to TNT's sister channel, TBS.[4]
The third Winter Is Coming was held as the December 14, 2022, episode of Dynamite. It was also confirmed that the event would return to the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.[5] The fourth Winter Is Coming was originally scheduled to just be held on December 13, 2023.[6] However, in addition to Dynamite on TBS on December 13 in Arlington at the College Park Center, the 2023 event was expanded to a three-part special, also encompassing the broadcasts of Friday Night Rampage and Saturday Night Collision, both on TNT. Rampage was taped after the live broadcast of Dynamite and aired on tape delay on December 15, with Collision airing live on December 16 and held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.[7][8]
Omega completely turned heel on last week's AEW Dynamite by cheating to beat Jon Moxley with the help of Don Callis.
