AEW fans have been asking the same question for years: why doesn’t the company run more live events? According to a backstage story shared this week, the answer might be a lot simpler than people think.
The subject came up on The Hump while Sean Ross Sapp was breaking down AEW’s upcoming schedule. One particular stop stood out to him—Collision in Northern Kentucky just before the company heads to Europe. At first, it felt like a strange place to run a show, especially with Cincinnati sitting right across the river.
“I saw that they were promoting at Truist Arena, the former BB&T Arena in Northern Kentucky. Not even in Cincinnati, but it’s in Northern Kentucky at NKU. And I was like, that’s a random place to run a Collision the week before you’re going to Europe.”
Then Sapp noticed something he hadn’t seen before. The Jaguars are playing the Bengals the very next day, meaning Tony Khan would already be in the area. Once he connected those dots, the scheduling didn’t seem random anymore.
“And then I looked, the Bengals play the Jags the next day. And I go, okay, I see why Tony Khan and AEW are doing this. And I kind of like that. That’s smart.”
That thought led Sapp to bring up a conversation he’d had in the past about AEW’s live event business. He said someone once gave him a reason for why the company has never really embraced a full house show schedule, and it’s one that’s always stuck with him.
“Listen, I once had somebody tell me, like, ‘You know why we don’t do that many live events? Because Tony feels the need to be at all of them.’”
Sapp then explained why that reportedly makes running dozens of extra events difficult. If Khan wants to be present every time AEW is in a building, every additional house show means another flight, another trip and another logistical headache.
“And you got to fire up the jet every time you do that. So, it’s not feasible to make them like that.”
Whether that’s the only reason or not, it’s an interesting explanation for something fans have talked about ever since AEW launched. While WWE has spent years touring the country with live events, AEW has largely stayed focused on television and that might not be changing anytime soon.
Do you think AEW should run more live events, or do you like the company’s current approach? Sound off in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
