Matt Hardy Urges AEW to Book Smaller Venues Amid Dwindling Attendance Issues

Since AEW launched in 2019, it has made significant progress and achieved success in the professional wrestling world. However, since the 2021 All Out event, its momentum has slowed down. Like any organization, AEW faces challenges, with one of the major issues being difficulty selling tickets for its live events. In response to this, Matt Hardy has advised AEW to consider booking smaller venues for their shows.

One of the main concerns raised by critics is AEW’s use of large arenas, which create unappealing visuals and reveal attendance issues. Despite this, AEW continues to book these bigger venues, even though ticket sales have struggled to keep up.

While speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Matt Hardy urged AEW to book smaller venues for their shows instead of larger ones. He says that when you only get two to three thousand fans, it doesn’t make sense to book huge arenas. If you’re in a 10,000 or 11,000-seat venue and only a few thousand people show up, it creates an awkward feeling. People might look around and feel unsure about the situation.

On the other hand, Hardy believes smaller venues like the 2,000-seat arenas used by TNA are much better. When the place is packed, the energy is amazing, and it benefits both the crowd and the wrestlers. He thinks AEW would have the same positive effect in a smaller, more intimate space.

“When you’re drawing two to three thousand people, it seems like a no-brainer. Even for AEW, those situations can be tough. You don’t need to book massive venues if you can’t regularly fill them or at least get close to full capacity. If you’re in a 10,000 or 11,000-seat building and only a couple of thousand people show up, it creates an odd vibe. People look around and think, ‘Is this cool?’ It’s just weird.

On the other hand, if you’re in a smaller venue, like a 2,000-seat building with TNA, and the place is packed, everyone’s on top of each other, going nuts—that energy is incredible. I think the same would apply to AEW. A smaller, packed house creates a much better vibe for the audience and the wrestlers in the ring.”

For wrestlers, it’s harder to stay energized in a large arena with only a few thousand fans. But in a smaller venue with a loud and excited crowd, it makes a big difference. The energy motivates wrestlers to perform better and makes the match feel better overall.

In bigger venues with empty seats or sections blocked off, it can mess with a wrestler’s mindset. Hardy feels it’s harder to have a great match in that kind of setting compared to when the crowd is full and excited.

“As a performer, being in a big venue with only a few thousand people can make it harder to keep your adrenaline up and stay motivated. But in a smaller, more intimate setting, where the crowd is wild—yelling, cheering, booing, and just going crazy—it makes a huge difference. It improves the quality of the match and inspires you to work harder and be better.

When you’re wrestling in a venue with lots of empty seats, especially if areas are tarped off, it can mess with your mindset. It’s trickier to have a great match in that kind of atmosphere compared to when you’re in a packed house with an electric crowd.”

According to Fightful Select, AEW opts not to scale down to smaller venues for several reasons. The promotion takes into account factors like venue amenities, accessibility, parking availability, and the ability to expand seating if needed. They also consider the effectiveness of mailing lists and the adequacy of concession staff when choosing event locations. Regardless, only time will tell if AEW will pay heed to Matt Hardy’s advice and simply book smaller venues for their shows.

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