AEW had a major sponsorship deal this week with Sega.
As Fightful Select had reported, AEW landed a big deal with Sega for the street fight match that aired on the November 15 AEW Dynamite. We’ve learned much more about the deal, and how it came to be.
The Sega deal was into the six figures, and largely connected to Kenny Omega. The sponsorship was tied to the Yakuza spinoff Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and featured several references to the game.
The deal had been worked on for weeks, along with Sega, AEW’s Nik Sobic, and Kenny Omega. There were original pitches for the match to take place at AEW Full Gear or other shows, but it was ultimately decided on the Ontario Dynamite. Dynamite as compared to Full Gear also put more eyes on the sponsorship. Paul Wight had been planned for a return to the ring in November and factored in, and Sammy Guevara ended up getting pulled from the match to be replaced by Brian Cage due to injury.
The segment with Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks from last week were actually filmed the week prior. AEW sources said they believed Tony Khan included Sega in the Kota Ibushi signing announcement for added value as well.
Those we spoke to were happy how it came off. Reps from Sega were at both Dynamite and AEW Full Gear.
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