AEW ticket sales disappoint ahead of upcoming Dynamite

Attendance seems less like a bang and more of a whimper.

Last week, we reported AEW’s slow-moving ticket sales as it prepares for its umpteenth return to Chicago the day before Thanksgiving and days ahead of WWE’s Survivor Series in neighboring Rosemont, Ill.

Now comes word that AEW is limping into Louisville, KY, this Wednesday for Dynamite.

As per WrestleTix, a social media source for wrestling ticket information, AEW is currently running a “buy three, get one free” promotion as the company attempts to fill the seats it has set up for its flagship program emanating from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

WrestleTix reports that AEW has moved just over 2,500 tickets for the show, with the arena currently configured to hold almost 4,300 fans. The KFC Yum! Center, per its website, can seat up to 23,000 for concerts.

It’s been two months since All In at Wembley Stadium in London, England, where more than 72,000 fans were on hand to witness AEW’s United Kingdom debut. Since then, ticket sales in the U.S. have been sluggish in several markets. And just last week, Dynamite’s ratings plummeted to its worst numbers of the year, despite the recent editions of Adam Copeland (FKA Edge in WWE) and Ric Flair, who made his debut on said episode of Dynamite as Tony Khan’s gift to a retiring Sting.

Speaking of Flair, some outlets have proposed that his appearance on the show signified the conclusion of a four-decade-long streak of high ratings for the Nature Boy. It has been claimed that this was the first instance where Flair appeared on a wrestling show with fewer than 800,000 total viewers, although this assertion has not been confirmed.

Still, recent numbers from AEW indicate that the promotion’s popularity may be waning, potentially posing a challenge for the company, particularly as it prepares to expand its pay-per-view schedule and as it looks to renew its TV deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. And with the sudden announcement that Bryan Danielson, one of its top stars, is set to miss the rest of the year due to injury, AEW’s path to improvement just became more challenging.