Bad news for AEW and Tony Khan before Beach Break

AEW is gearing up for another round of special Dynamite and Collision tapings. The seventh annual Double Or Nothing is on the horizon, and the marquee event will showcase Tony Khan's biggest storyline happenings of the year so far. New information revealed on the so-called war between AEW and WWE threatened the momentum.

All Elite Wrestling's flagship show continues to experience growing pains. The long-awaited Warner Bros. Discovery contract extension came last fall, and a new live events approach seems to help with weekly empty arena criticism as Dynamite runs more fitting venues. TV ratings have not increased, and fan criticism aimed at the overall product seems to be at an all-time high. At the same time, WWE is growing with Netflix in the Endeavor era, but WrestleMania season viewership was down.

Wrestling attendance estimates for the First Quarter of 2025 show that WWE RAW attendance was up, while attendance for AEW Dynamite was down. The reveal is based on total attendance numbers, not paid attendees, according to The Wrestling Observer and Wrestlenomics with Wrestletix.

RAW averaged 13,600 fans in attendance for Q1, up from an average of 11,400 for the same quarter in 2204. It was noted that the increase was partially due to the excitement surrounding the shows airing on Netflix at first. SmackDown's Q1 average went from 11,200 in 2024 to 11,400 this year.

Dynamite averaged just 2,700 fans in attendance for the first quarter of this year, down from 4,100 for the same quarter last year. Collision went from a Q1 2024 average of 3,000 to 3,500 for the same period in 2025.

The Observer noted that some AEW declines are due to the use of smaller arenas. This practice was established not just for the atmosphere, but because the company was not drawing enough money at major arenas to provide a better atmosphere. Furthermore, AEW is saving money by running smaller arenas, and they save on setup and breakdown costs by doing combined tapings or tapings on back-to-back nights, but this direction will also lead to a decrease in gates and merchandise revenue for the year, based on less people being in attendance.

AEW Dynamite updated lineup for Beach Break 2025

All Elite Wrestling will present its fourth Beach Break edition of Dynamite next Wednesday from the NOW Arena near Chicago. Below is the updated lineup:

Bobby Lashley gives his answer to MJF
Ricochet vs. Zach Gowen
Will Ospreay and Adam Page vs. Josh Alexander and Konosuke Takeshita
Women's World Championship Eliminator 4-Way: Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue vs. TBA vs. TBA
World Championship Steel Cage Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Samoa Joe

AEW will then tape the inaugural Beach Break Collision to air in its usual Saturday timeslot on TNT. Anna Jay vs. Megan Bayne has been announced, along with a tribute to Steve "Mongo" McMichael with Ric Flair and Mongo's family.