AEW WrestleDream Crowd Burnout Blamed on Long Runtime

AEW WrestleDream brought intense matches and major storyline developments—but by the end of the night, the energy in the building was noticeably drained. The show ran over five and a half hours, and while the St. Louis crowd started loud, they couldn’t keep the momentum going all night.

Dave Meltzer addressed the issue during Wrestling Observer Radio, saying the late-night format continues to hurt AEW pay-per-views, especially compared to shows that run in the afternoon.

“The crowd was really, really hot until they got tired because the show went too long. Which was, you know, the thing is, is like the one thing that like very early into the show, it’s like everything that we said before—AEW just needs to do shows in the afternoon or they need to do shows that are shorter because the show at night, the show was too long.”

He pointed out that afternoon shows not only avoid fan fatigue, but have also performed well in terms of international buys—particularly in Europe.

“They’ve done longer shows in the afternoon, significantly longer, that weren’t too long. And the difference is in the afternoon you don’t get tired. And in the evening… especially, I could just imagine Eastern time and Central time, but Eastern time in particular, because this thing ended at 12:30. And it doesn’t need to do that. Just do it in the afternoon.”

If AEW wants fans to stay loud from the opening bell to the final pinfall, they might need to start rethinking how long these shows really need to be. Packing a card with nonstop action is great—but if the crowd checks out before the finish, it takes the edge off the biggest moments. The solution might be simple: start earlier, end stronger.