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Tony Khan Talks Crowd Size at AEW Revolution, COVID-19 Safety

Published Sat, 06 Mar 2021 08:35:06 -0600

Ahead of AEW Revolution this weekend, Tony Khan was the guest on the AEW Unrestricted podcast this week. One of the topics that came up is the crowd for the show, for which more seats were opened up this week. AEW will also broadcast the PPV to movie theaters so people can experience the thrill of gathering in crowds during a pandemic outside of Jacksonville. But Khan insists everything will be done safely.

Tony Schiavone and Tony Khan appear on Impact Wrestling

"I think we'd be remiss if we didn't stress that it's an outdoor venue," said Khan on the podcast. "Everyone's physically distanced. This is not like we're packing people in an indoor space at all. Everyone's sitting in pods. Everyone wearing masks."

"And it's a great experience," Khan continued. "And for the fans watching at home, I think they want to know that there's a crowd there. And these reactions you want on pay per view, these big moments, these pops, these gasps, these chants, these reactions, you want them to be there. And I think, you know, people ordering this pay-per-view should know that there's going to be over thirteen hundred people in the audience reacting. And it's going to be like a real wrestling show. Real wrestling crowd."

Cody Rhodes also recently discussed the topic on a media call for AEW REvolution. He reiterated that AEW treats COVID-19 safety as a priority.

"This was good, a good challenge for us that we met it head first, and I think we set the standard for how wrestling can be done in a pandemic with how Keith Mitchell and Tim Walbert shot wrestling from Daily's place and continue to shoot it, with Tony's application of the locker room and getting every independent wrestler who was out of work, basically, some sort of work at AEW, and making them part of our crowd," said Rhodes. "The testing protocols, the temperature scans. The fact that I can't walk from one room to another without a certain wristband on. It is overkill. But it needed to be overkill, and it's provided a safe working environment. So I'm ready for the next the next wave of it, though, and hopefully, slowly but surely, Texas, I heard, just opened up. But we aren't gonna be the first to dip our toes into that water. We're gonna do this as safely and properly as we can so that wrestling fans feel comfortable."

Here's the synopsis for this week's episode of AEW Unrestricted:

Winner of the 2020 Wrestling Observer Awards' "Best Booker" and "Promoter Of The Year," Tony Khan returns with a preview of the PPV card for REVOLUTION on Sunday, March 7!

He confirms that the newest All Elite Wrestling talent, Paul Wight, was 100% correct in announcing that a major wrestling star will be signing a multi-year deal with AEW during Sunday's live event. Tony also shares thoughts on the Exploding Barbed Wire deathmatch between current AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and former champ Jon Moxley, the personal nature of the AEW World Tag Team Championship match between The Young Bucks and the Inner Circle's Chris Jericho and MJF, the surprise entrant in the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match and the Street Fight between TNT Champion Darby Allin and Sting and Team Taz. Plus, Tony congratulates "Best High Flyer" Rey Fenix and also speaks to AEW's expansion with the brand new AEW Dark: Elevation show.

Listen to the show on your major podcast providers or at this link.

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