AEW’s pyro attack on Darby Allin didn’t disappear when the segment ended. The smoke apparently stuck around for the rest of Dynamite—and fans inside the building were letting everyone know they could barely see through it.
During the August 19 edition of AEW Dynamite, Kevin Knight called Allin out ahead of their Falls Count Anywhere match at Wembley Stadium. As Allin walked down the ramp, he was suddenly caught by what appeared to be malfunctioning pyro before Knight jumped him and continued the attack.
The angle was presented as a serious situation. Commentary later stated that Allin had suffered burns from the pyro mishap, and he was eventually stretchered out and taken toward an ambulance while Steven Borden Jr. checked on him. But once the storyline moved on, the smoke didn’t.
Fans attending Dynamite began posting photos and videos showing a heavy haze hanging throughout the arena after the pyro stunt. According to several people in attendance, it wasn’t something that quickly cleared either. The smoke remained noticeable through the rest of the show, including the main event.
One fan who otherwise enjoyed being at Dynamite said the lingering smoke made it difficult to see what was happening afterwards.
“Had fun at #AEWDynamite tonight! I just wish the Pyro later during the show didn’t fill the arena with smoke, and it was hard to see after that 🤷♂️🤷♂️”
Another viewer watching the show couldn’t help but notice how bad the haze looked after the pyro stunt.
“#AEWDynamite Christ, they weren’t kidding how smoky it is after that pyro stunt.”
Someone who was actually inside the building made it sound even worse, saying there was seemingly nowhere to get away from it.
“Dude it was so smokey in person we couldnt escape it.”
Eventually, the crowd itself reportedly started calling attention to the problem. With a large amount of pyro smoke still hanging over the arena, “We can’t see sh*t” chants broke out.
“‘We cant see s***’ chant coming from the @AEW show after a large ammt of Pyro went off and the smoke is everywhere.”
The pyro was supposed to help sell Kevin Knight’s attack on Darby Allin, but it ended up becoming a problem long after Allin had been taken away. Instead of clearing after the segment, the haze remained visible throughout later portions of Dynamite and reportedly made it harder for some fans inside the arena to actually watch the wrestling.
One big pyro stunt later, and the audience wasn’t only talking about what happened to Darby anymore. Some of them were just trying to see the rest of the show.
Do you think AEW went overboard with the pyro for the Darby Allin angle? Let us know in the comments below.
