"You're going into a hole" - WWE veteran warns AEW about low attendance numbers
Since day one, AEW has worn its ambitions on its sleeve in the promotion's pursuit to topple WWE from the top spot in global wrestling. However, poor attendance numbers are preventing this from happening. An industry veteran recently sent out a warning to Tony Khan and his company following shockingly low turnout lately.
Speaking on his Story Time podcast, Dutch Mantell warned AEW about the dangers of trying to book similar-sized venues to WWE. The main issue being the financial strain this can put on a young promotion:
“They wanted to run the big ones. They wanted to be-- At one point, they wanted to run the same buildings as WWE. Well, what that meant was you just lose more money. These buildings are not cheap.” [05:10 - 05:23]
Mantell continued, speculating that with such low attendance numbers, there may have been times when AEW just managed to cover a venue's rent with barely any further profit:
“I bet sometimes they have booked some venues, and the venue house, the live gate, may have been enough just to pay the rent. Not even to pay the talent. So you’re going into a hole.” [05:39 - 05:53]
For the time being, the Khan Family fortune is not at risk of dwindling by any means. However, these are worrying times for the promotion and something Tony Khan will need to amend sooner rather than later.
Embarrassing images of last night's AEW Dynamite go viral
The November 1st edition of Dynamite took place in Louisville, Kentucky. The booked arena has a capacity of 22,000 but was scaled down to accommodate 4,800 fans. Even this could not save the promotion from online ridicule as photos began to surface of the remarkably low attendance for the show.
WrestleTix estimates that approximately 3,600 tickets were distributed for the show. Images of the massive arena with empty seats have gone viral:
Despite the promotion's best efforts, their struggles to garner more live viewers continue. Perhaps it is time for Tony Khan and his team to devise a new strategy going forward.
How would you address AEW's attendance woes? Sound off in the comments section below.