Whether or not AEW were going to run house shows was a big talking point around the time of AEW’s conception. However, speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed the original house show schedule Tony Khan was planning to run through 2020.
The original plans were for 20 house shows a year, alongside the four pay per views and 52 tapings of Dynamite.
“AEW isn’t going to go run around doing house shows, I can tell you that. When [AEW] first started, the original thing that [Tony Khan] told me was 52 TV shows, four pay per views and around 20 house shows a year. [They] would do a house show maybe every other week… He was talking to me about how you wouldn’t do any house shows the week of New Japan big shows because your top guys would all go to New Japan.”
Unfortunately, the COVID19 pandemic put a stop to any plans of house shows. But Meltzer went on to discuss how their regular spot at Daily’s Place has helped them preserve costs of running Dynamite since many of the AEW talent are already based in Florida.
Meltzer didn’t speculate on whether house shows would begin once the pandemic was over, however, Jim Ross touched on the same subject back in May 2020 that said he believed that they would. JR noted that house shows were vital in order for wrestlers to learn the fundamentals of working in front of a live audience.
It was also revealed earlier in the year that Fyter Fest, one of AEW’s annual pay per views, was originally meant to take place at Wembley Arena in London, England. Wembley has a long and storied connection to pro wrestling dating back to the early nineties, something which Tony Khan was planning to capitalize on.
