AEW Draws Domino’s Ire for Ad Placement During Chris Jericho-Nick Gage No DQ Match

Joe Otterson
·2 min read
5
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

UPDATED: Domino’s Pizza may be slicing their ties with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) after one of their ads ran during a particularly bloody match on Wednesday night.

In Wednesday’s episode of “Dynamite” on TNT, AEW star Chris Jericho went up against legendary deathmatch wrestler Nick Gage in a no disqualification match that featured baseball bats, panes of glass, fluorescent light tubes, and more. At one point during the match, Gage used a pizza slicer and appeared to cut Jericho’s forehead. At the same time, AEW ran a picture-in-picture ad for Dominos that began with someone cutting up a pizza using a pizza slicer.

More from Variety

“Domino’s was not involved, nor had any foreknowledge, of the gory scene on the ‘AEW: Dynamite’ main event Wednesday night that showed wrestler Nick Gage apparently slicing Chris Jericho’s head open with a pizza cutter,” a Domino’s spokesperson said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward.”

Reps for AEW did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.

According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, TNT parent company WarnerMedia has reached out to Domino’s to discuss the placement of the ad. No other advertisers are believed to have reached out to WarnerMedia regarding the match at this time.

Jericho vs. Gage was the main event of AEW’s annual “Fight for the Fallen” event. The show ultimately drew 1.1 million total viewers with 582,000 in the key adults 18-49 demographic.

Jericho wrestled Gage as part of a current AEW storyline called “The Five Labours of Jericho.” In order for Jericho to earn a rematch against AEW villain Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF), he must complete four labours, with the fifth being the rematch. First up, Jericho had to take on Shawn Spears, a member of MJF’s stable The Pinnacle. Spears was able to use a steel chair as a weapon during the match, while Jericho could not, though Jericho was still able to get the win. After his match with Gage, MJF announced that Jericho will next have to face his old rival Juventud Guerrera with the stipulation that Jericho must win with a top rope maneuver to move on to the fourth labour.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.