The coronavirus pandemic caused some major changes in All Elite Wrestling’s 2020 plans. Some of these have been obvious every time you turn on TNT on a Wednesday night, but in an interview with Wrestling Observer Live, Jim Ross revealed a planned change to the AEW touring schedule that fans might not have guessed was in the works.
According to Ross, AEW planned to add house shows in 2020. “There were some live events penciled into the schedule until the virus.” Their purpose? To help performers improve their skills – and for AEW to bring in some extra cash. Ross explains (transcript from Fightful):
You can’t get better working one night of the week. It doesn’t matter who you are. There are some minor exceptions. Chris Jericho doesn’t need to work three or four days of the week to be grateful. He can be great working on Wednesday nights. But a lot of guys need to continue to work under the supervision of the coaches in AEW to continue to learn the fundamentals, primarily slowing down, using psychology and selling.
Because you’ve been in the business for 10 years doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a 10-year veteran. It could mean you’ve had the same experience 10 times. Getting house shows is important for developing talent and for revenue going forward, but who the hell knows when is that going to be? It won’t be any time soon apparently.
So in addition to Dynamite, Dark, and pay-per-views, an AEW house show/live event could be coming to a venue near you at some point in the future that nobody can predict yet.