As we saw last week, AEW is pretty good at running an episode of Dynamite in an empty arena. The choices they made regarding lighting, shooting, and keeping roster members in the audience to respond to the in-ring action all made for a strong show. It’s a good thing, too, because we really have no idea how long large gatherings will be untenable as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.
Just today, announced that four more episodes have been postponed in their original venues and will instead be broadcast crowd-free from Jacksonville. These include the April 22 show, which was planned for Philadelphia, April 29 that was to be in Houston, May 6 that would have been in New Orleans, and May 13 which has been moved from Albuquerque. This means that the earliest we might possibly see AEW Dynamite in a regular venue with a live crowd is May 20. Even that is far from a sure thing, however, as AEW noted with each announcement, “Until further notice, live episodes of DYNAMITE will be produced at closed set locations with essential personnel only.”
AEW also announced new dates for shows in all the affected cities, announcing July 29 for Philadelphia, November 4 in Houston, December 2 in New Orleans, and December 30 in Albuquerque.
These efforts show that AEW is taking the crisis pretty seriously, although whether their roster and crew will stay healthy despite all gathering every week remains to be seen. All fans can really do is enjoy what they’re offering us and hope for the best.
