Chris Jericho Praises AEW’s Shift to Smaller Venues – AEW has faced a noticeable decline across its business metrics, including live event attendance and touring. However, the company remains the second-largest wrestling promotion in the world and continues to boast an exceptional roster of talent. In response to the downturn, AEW has opted for a strategic pivot by moving its events to smaller venues, including the iconic Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
This shift not only addresses the decline in attendance but also aims to create a more intimate and engaging atmosphere for fans. AEW’s decision has drawn praise from Chris Jericho, one of the company’s cornerstone figures. During an interview with Josh Martinez of Z100, Jericho applauded the move, emphasizing its strategic benefits and potential impact on the product.
Jericho explained, “Yeah, it really is man [being excited about the move] I think the worst thing you could ever do is to kind of in any business overprice yourself or overextend yourself. We’re at a place where to go to some of the middle-size venues not in every city but in some of them, it’s a very smart move. For many reasons, but most importantly, just the vibe of the fans and like you want to put 10,000 people into an arena, and if you can, you do. If you’re down to 5,000 but you go to a 4,000-seat arena, it increases demand. It just makes the show that much more exciting, and it translates so much better on TV. I think right now, with all of the different choices that people have to buy tickets to go to shows, I think we’re smart to moving to some of these, like you mentioned, different-sized venues. Because it just makes it cooler, and we have always had the cool factor in AEW, especially when we started and then going into the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic. I think one way is the supply and demand. If you have this many tickets for sale and they’re gone. It just makes the product hotter and you can just continue to grow.”
Chris Jericho Praises AEW’s Shift to Smaller Venues
