AEW Touring Schedule Needs a Shakeup
It’s plain and simple, AEW needs to go to different cities in 2023.
Tony Khan kicked off AEW in a big way in 2019. The company had its first live pay-per-view in the great city of Las Vegas and it was a smashing success. They followed that up with trips to Daytona Beach for Fyter Fest, and to AEW’s home base in Jacksonville for Fight for the Fallen.
Their next major show came to Chicago for All Out in 2019. Shortly thereafter, AEW announced that the first three Dynamites would take place in Washington DC, Boston, and Philadelphia. Every single one of those shows produced great segments and fantastic wrestling.
We fast forward three years later, the young upstart company has come to the Massachusetts area four times in the past 13 months. Technically, five times if you count ROH Death Before Dishonor.
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The over-saturation of going to the same market time after time has taken its toll. Every single AEW show in the Massachusetts area sold out except for the Dynamite show at Worcester, MA in July, and for the one in Boston just a few days ago. The Connecticut and New York areas have also gotten a lot of shows in the past three years.
On the other hand, no city has lucked out more than Chicago totaling FIVE pay-per-view events, which is by far the most, not including Daily’s Place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I get that AEW probably gets a deal with Chicago and that’s where Pro Wrestling Tees is located and all and it’s one the major wrestling cities in the world, but Tony Khan is singling out one city, and not willing to grow the company outside that market.
When was the last time AEW went to places like Phoenix, Arizona, San Francisco, California, or even both Dakota states? The answer is zero. How about places north of the border like Montreal, Quebec, Edmonton, Alberta, Calgary, Alberta, or Vancouver, British Columbia? Nope, not one time.
I get the pandemic has had a lot to do with not being able to tour in certain places, but we’re deep into 2022 now and there’s no excuse to not go to other cities that deserve to watch All Elite Wrestling live. Although, Khan is starting to make some strides into going to different places starting in 2023.
AEW announced in their latest broadcast that the company will be coming to the United Kingdom in 2023. No firm date was announced as of this writing, but we should hear an official announcement as to where and when the show will go down.
Khan has expressed a great deal of interest in going to the UK for quite some time now, but due to the pandemic, that wasn’t possible. Khan has said in the past that he wants AEW’s UK home to be at Craven Cottage.
The venue has a long history with it being built as a cottage in 1780 and built as a stadium in 1896. The venue can hold up to 22,000 fans, and if that event sells out, it would be a new record in attendance and would just edge out AEW’s Grand Slam show in 2021 where it held over 20,000 rowdy AEW fans.
All Elite Wrestling has had great success, no doubt about it. As a fan from the Boston, Massachusetts area, I love going to wrestling shows and experiencing the vibe live. I honestly think it’s one of the coolest events anyone could ever go to.
However, I do feel for the fans are exhausted from going to potentially five wrestling shows in 13 months. It’s not that the fans or myself, for that matter, feel disinterested, we like to come to the shows. But when the company comes to the city so often, some people won’t be able to afford the next show.
Let’s get one thing straight, WWE has admittedly gone to the same places over and over again for quite some time. After all, they put on a lot more televised shows, house shows, and premium live events than AEW does, so they’re more balanced in a way.
Next. Jade Cargill vs Nyla Rose is a fun feud for the AEW women's division. dark
Some of the 2023 AEW tour dates have already been announced and it’s encouraging that AEW is going back to the California area in January as well as Seattle, Washington for the first time ever. Where do you want to see the AEW tour next? Let me know in the comments below or send me a tweet @Rich_Cardinale on Twitter.