Potential worrying update for AEW ahead of WWE Survivor Series 2023 weekend
AEW has had a very successful 2023 despite several controversies surrounding backstage altercations, the behavior of Tony Khan, and the departure of CM Punk. However, the company is in a major slump when it comes to ticket sales.
Several potential reasons have been put forth to explain this disappointing trend, including lackluster builds, WWE's current hot streak, and the price of AEW's tickets increasing two or even three-fold over the last two years.
While sales have looked stronger over the past couple of weeks, the difficulties don't seem to be over yet. WrestleTix provided an update on the figures for the live Dynamite taping on Wednesday, November 22, and they don't look great.
AEW will head to Chicago that week, just a few days before WWE Survivor Series 2023 takes place in the same area. While the Stamford-based company's pay-per-view is showing strong sales, that week's AEW Dynamite hasn't yet reached the 2,000 mark.
It should be noted that a recent trend has seen many fans waiting until the last few days or even hours before the show to purchase their tickets, as the company has been known to lower prices and offer special deals closer to the day of the event. This might explain the extremely lackluster initial sales figures and the late bursts in activity we've seen over the past couple of months.
Ratings bounce back for AEW Dynamite after head-to-head loss against WWE NXT
WWE's current hot streak under the creative leadership of Triple H has certainly put a damper on All Elite Wrestling's success. The Jacksonville-based promotion ran its flagship show against NXT two weeks ago, and the result was a huge victory for WWE.
WWE's loaded NXT program saw first-time appearances from legends like John Cena and The Undertaker while Dynamite – which was bumped from its standard Wednesday slot due to the MLB Playoffs – featured several title matches. Both shows went commercial-free for the first half hour and secured overruns as well.
In the end, NXT claimed a massive victory with 921,000 overall viewers against Dynamite's 609,000. It was an ugly loss for All Elite Wrestling, but thanks to strong showings from WWE Hall of Famer Adam Copeland (fka Edge), Kenny Omega, and an appearance by lucha megastar Mistico, Tony Khan's company has managed to bounce back.
The latest episodes of AEW Dynamite and Collision drew solid ratings, with the Wednesday show most recently topping the 900k mark, and both programs up over 40% from the week prior.
How long do you think All Elite Wrestling's ticket sales slump will continue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!