AEW CEO Tony Khan has confirmed that the company no longer has plans to launch a new show titled Shockwave, a name that had been the subject of a trademark dispute with the NWA. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Khan was asked about the status of the trademark, which AEW had filed in September 2024 for a possible new television series rumored to debut on Fox. Khan confirmed that the application for “AEW Shockwave” was officially abandoned on November 17, 2025.
“Well, it’s just an idea. I file lots of different names and ideas of shows and things like that,” Khan explained. “And that was a name that I actually at the time did not know anybody else had used.” Khan revealed that he personally contacted NWA President Billy Corgan to resolve the situation, choosing to defer to the NWA due to their prior use of the name for a digital series titled “NWA Shockwave.”
“I’m probably not going to do it. I had a really nice talk with Billy Corgan, who owns the NWA. I like Billy. And even before I became a wrestling promoter, I had met him. And I think he’s just a great artist, and I like him,” Khan stated. “So when I talked to him on the phone, I said, ‘If that’s a show that you might do again… if that’s something you want to do and you did it first, then you can do that. That’s fine.’ And he said, ‘Oh, that’s great. I appreciate that.’ That was nice.”
The NWA produced an event titled NWA Shockwave in Forney, Texas, on January 11, 2025, which aired in March and April 2025 as part of their NWA Powerrr series. Khan also clarified that his conversation with Corgan addressed the new AEW National Championship, confirming that the lineage of the new AEW title is intended to be separate from the existing NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The inaugural AEW National Champion will be determined at the Full Gear Premium Live Event on Saturday, November 22, in a Casino Gauntlet match.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Ariel Helwani Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
