Tony Khan reflects on AEW‘s biggest turning point.
Tonight, All Elite Wrestling will celebrate the six-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite, its flagship television show. AS AEW President Tony Khan attests, the show itself faced some challenges early on when the world was struck by a mass shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, AEW relocated all of its tapings to Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida with limited to no live crowds. Despite the big change, Khan recalls making notable progress during this time, both professionally and creatively.
“I think the biggest changes came in March 2020, when we started running all of the AEW events at Daily’s Place,” Khan told Forbes when asked about AEW’s important turning points. “We ran shows there for over a year, and they were great. We were able to keep AEW going every week, and there was so much spirit and fight from our team as they showed up to wrestle and deliver great matches. During that period, we built some of the greatest rivalries in AEW history. It was a tremendous positive for the company that we were able to prove, on a level playing field, that AEW was putting on the best wrestling shows every week. I think that helped build a worldwide reputation for AEW.
“In 2021, when we went back on the road, there was incredible excitement,” he continued. “It has been great to be back, but I still look back on those days in Jacksonville very fondly. I am also looking forward to returning there after we celebrate the six-year anniversary live tonight.”
Following tonight’s Dynamite in Hollywood, Florida and tomorrow’s Collision taping in Lakeland, AEW will return to Daily’s Place for next week’s special edition of Dynamite: Title Tuesday and subsequent Collision tapings.
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