Sources within AEW have taken issue with the overall runtime of its pay-per-view events, believing that they should end a lot sooner.
May 25th saw the 7th Double or Nothing pay-per-view take place and was well-received by the audience. Along with the return of the entertaining Anarchy in the Arena stipulation, the show also saw the finals of the Owen Hart Tournaments take place to set up the biggest matches for All In later in the year. With Will Ospreay vs. Adam Page garnering the most praise, few have taken issue with the quality of the big matches.
However, with the main Double or Nothing card having a 4 and a half hour runtime along with Revolution and Dynasty both exceeding the 4 hour mark, the argument of how long a pro wrestling pay-per-view should be has once again resurfaced. Despite the fact that all 9 matches were given the appropriate amount of time and delivered on the night, there was also a feeling that some of the matches could have been moved to Dynamite or Collision.
Speaking about the runtimes on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez stated that many people he talked to in AEW believed that the shows should be cut down, especially as fans have other commitments on a Sunday night:
“Yesterday, I spent the whole day talking to all sorts of people in AEW and – I will say with one exception because if I say everybody then like, you know, but it was actually everybody. Every single person was like, ‘These shows are too long. We all know it. They should end before midnight on the East Coast,'” Alvarez said.
“Like every single person in that company that I talked to, except Tony because I didn’t talk to him because of course he doesn’t think they’re too long, every single person there is like, ‘They’re too long. He just does it. We can’t stop it. There’s nothing that can be done.’ I hear from fans, ‘Yeah, we had to leave the show early, we’ve got kids.’ The shows are too long. Everybody knows it except Tony and his small handful of the sickos that would watch the shows if they were nine hours long.”
Backstage Update On AEW Main Event
The final match of Double or Nothing saw Adam Page defeat Will Ospreay and become the new number one contender to the World Championship. Although many were happy to see Page emerge the victor, many were surprised to see “Hangman” pick up the victory. According to a new report, more information has been provided on the AEW Double or Nothing creative process.
H/t to Cultaholic.
Featured image: AEW
