Jim Ross Addresses Criticism of AEW’s Pay-Per-View Length – AEW’s pay-per-views often draw criticism due to their length, with the recent AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event featuring a hefty 15-match card, including the Zero Hour pre-show. On his podcast “Grilling JR,” Jim Ross was asked about the ideal duration for big shows and whether it should be determined by the number of matches or the total time.
Ross shared his perspective, emphasizing the importance of keeping pay-per-views concise. “Somebody asked me that question on Sunday because the discussion was, are we serving too much barbecue? It’s hard for me to even equate that answer because I believe that…it’s a tough question. I believe that a pay-per-view should be three hours. Plenty of time. If you can’t conduct your business in three hours, you need to reevaluate your plan. At least, that’s my take on it. Those four and five-hour pay-per-views are daunting, to say the least.”
Reflecting on his experience in WCW, Ross noted the shorter length of past events: “Somebody said, ‘Well, when you guys were down at WCW back in the day, how long were your pay-per-views?’ I said, ‘They were two hours and 50 minutes long.’ That’s a fact. So I think somewhere more in the two-hour and 50-minute range is better, or just day three hours, for simplicity’s sake, is more my wheelhouse.”
Ross also highlighted the impact of show length on viewer engagement, particularly as audiences anticipate the main event. “Now that I’m getting older, my attention span has been affected, so I think three hours is a nice starting point for a pay-per-view. That’s just me. You first gotta cater to your audience, and I think when you get past three, you’re gambling, and I don’t know if that’s a smart thing to do, gamble with your audience’s attention span. Because no matter what we say, the heavy shit is at the end. It’s called a main event, and I think that’s something that’s very important. You gotta cater to that audience, make sure they’re covered, make sure they like the order, and it’s just hard. It’s hard to figure that out, but I think somewhere in that three-hour range would be my preference.”
Ross’s insights suggest a three-hour duration as an optimal length for pay-per-views, balancing sufficient match time while maintaining viewer engagement and avoiding the pitfalls of excessively long shows.
Jim Ross Addresses Criticism of AEW’s Pay-Per-View Length
