AEW Dynamite could face a major decline in attendance according to recent reports.
This week's Dynamite is the fallout of the brutal attack by The Elite on Kenny Omega. However, the upcoming NHL Stanley Cup game could become a major problem for the Jacksonville-based promotion's flagship show. The game is set to be held in Edmonton, Alberta, CA which is the same city this week's AEW Dynamite is set to air from at the Rogers Place.
Speaking on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained the hype behind the NHL Stanley Cup game between Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. He noted that despite the game being held in Vancouver, it will be presented in Edmonton through a watch party:
"It’s going to be really tough because they’re in Edmonton and the Oilers are in the Stanley Cup against the Vancouver Canucks that day. The game’s in Vancouver, but in Edmonton, the city’s basically going to shut down for the game. There’s going to be an event in Edmonton, right next to the show where AEW is, and there’s going to be 20,000 people for a watch party for the game.”
The show also features Adam Copeland defending his AEW TNT Championship against House of Black's Brody King. Meltzer also noted that many fans could possibly no-show or leave Dynamite early which is set to be headlined by WWE Hall of Famer Adam Copeland:
“The traffic getting out is going to be murderous unless you stay for the ROH tapings, in which case the traffic may not be that bad, but a lot of people at that thing are probably going to want to be getting home for the game. Because the game was just announced, it’s not like when people bought tickets they knew there’d be this game, so I could see people no showing that have tickets, and I could see people leaving early to get home and see the game." H/T: [RingsideNews]
Freddie Prinze Jr. believes AEW CEO Tony Khan should have fired The Elite
Tony Khan suffered a brutal beatdown at the hands of The Elite a couple of weeks ago on Dynamite. Khan welcomed Jack Perry back to AEW before getting punched in the stomach by the Scapegoat. The Young Bucks would follow up on the attack by taking the All-Elite CEO out with a brutal TK Driver.
Speaking on Wrestling with Freddie, the former WWE writer stated that Tony Khan should have fired Jack Perry and the Bucks for putting their hands on him:
“Why is Tony Khan making decisions right now? Shouldn't he be, if they're [The Elite] taking over the show, it should've been the EVPs making that match and not Tony. Or why haven't they been fired if he's okay enough to book a match? He's okay enough to go, 'Yo, you're gonna assault me in the ring, you're suspended.' Or fired or whatever it is." [H/T - WrestlingInc]
Tony Khan has been absent from AEW TV ever since the brutal attack. It will be interesting to see if we witness Khan as an on-screen act in the upcoming weeks on Television.