WWE Buys Ad Time During AEW Dynamite’s Live Broadcast on HBO Max

In a significant escalation of the rivalry between North America’s top two wrestling promotions, WWE has begun running advertisements for Monday Night Raw directly within the HBO Max live broadcast of AEW’s flagship show, Dynamite.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter confirmed that the ad buy occurred this past Wednesday, August 27. The commercials, which promoted an upcoming Raw event in Evansville, Indiana, mark the first time WWE has targeted AEW’s audience on a national streaming platform. While both companies have previously purchased local ad time on competing television channels, this move invades AEW’s dedicated streaming space.

This new advertising strategy is part of a series of increasingly aggressive tactics by WWE aimed at its competitor. The most notable of these is the scheduling of WWE’s Wrestlepalooza premium live event on September 20, the exact same day as AEW’s major pay-per-view, All Out. This marks a major shift in strategy, as previous counter-programming efforts were typically restricted to the NXT brand, not WWE’s main roster shows.

Furthermore, reports from mid-August pointed to another strategic move, suggesting WWE has been encouraging TNA Wrestling to move its weekly television program to Wednesday nights to directly compete for viewership with Dynamite.

According to analysts, this series of actions is interpreted as a deliberate strategy by WWE to weaken AEW and reduce its leverage just before the company enters its next round of crucial media rights negotiations.