The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill back in 2020 and affected several industries all over the world. This included the pro wrestling business, and each company has their own protocol. AEW had its own policy when it came to COVID-19. However, Tony Khan decided to make a huge claim recently.
Last year, several pro wrestlers tested positive for the virus and it resulted in numerous shows being cancelled as well. AEW dealt with numerous COVID-19 cases since 2020 and was criticized for that reason.
While speaking with The Athletic, Tony Khan recalled having to produce shows during the COVID-19 pandemic. Khan claimed AEW had zero known COVID-19 transmissions.
“It was a very interesting time to launch a promotion, right before the global pandemic and lockdown.”
“It took live events out of the equation, and we were able to quickly pivot and reformat and find a way to do compelling shows through the lockdown. That was not something anybody could have anticipated going into it.”
“It had to be a plus to have a space to work with in Jacksonville, which allowed you to put on shows and eventually use wrestlers as “fans.”
“Absolutely, we were very fortunate to have access to such a great venue as Daily’s Place (the amphitheater connected to TIAA Bank Field), which looks tremendous on television but also made a great home for AEW for over a year.
“I was also really pleased to have an outdoor accessible venue so that when we did find a way to safely bring fans back a few months later, we brought back fans physically distanced at 25 percent capacity.
“We had zero known transmissions of COVID because we did it safely, but we didn’t wait a year to bring fans back. We were the first wrestling company to do it, but we did it safely.
“For the first few months with no fans and we were still learning, it was a big advantage to have Daily’s Place. I got the idea for that because I was trying to find ways we were going to format a wrestling show and was thinking about this a lot.
“The lockdown stuff really hit hard the night the NBA was shut down, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, and we were actually in Salt Lake City for ‘Dynamite’ that night, and really everything shut down after that show.
“I had the better of the week to think over what we were going to do and how we would present “Dynamite” on Wednesday at Daily’s Place.”
Tony Khan will continue to monitor AEW and book the company in any way he sees fit. Regardless, this is a huge claim and it is unlikely fans will necessarily agree with it.
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