AEW is heading back on the road

This morning (May 10), AEW announced they’ll resume traveling around the country - or at least the southern part of it - for Dynamite & Dark tapings beginning in July.

Here’s the press release:

“AEW DYNAMITE” IS BACK ON THE ROAD WITH LIVE, TICKETED EVENTS IN MIAMI, AUSTIN, DALLAS

— Rescheduled Dates Announced for St. Louis and New Orleans Shows—

May 10, 2021 – After safely hosting 27 live, ticketed events throughout the past nine months at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Fla., AEW is bringing the excitement of its flagship show AEW DYNAMITE to Miami, Austin and Dallas this summer. AEW will become the first major wrestling promotion to safely return to a traveling schedule since March 2020.

The dates for the live shows in Miami, Austin and Dallas are:

- Wednesday, July 7: James L. Knight Center in Miami.
- Wednesday, July 14: H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas (greater Austin area)
- Wednesday, July 21: Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas (greater Dallas area)

General tickets for the three shows will go on sale this Friday, May 14, at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT via AEWTIX.com. At the same time, tickets for the Miami and Austin shows will be available via Ticketmaster.com, while tickets for the Dallas show can be purchased at CurtisCulwellCenter.com. Tickets start at $30 (not including service charges or fees). Each event will be held in compliance with state COVID safety guidelines, and seating capacities will adhere to state and local mandates.

“We’re so appreciative of our fans in Jacksonville who have been with us these past nine months, ” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Their support and incredible energy have lifted us week after week, and viewers have fed off their enthusiasm and support. Daily’s Place will always be our home.

“Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to welcome our fans back to become part of the action in Miami, Austin and Dallas. We’ve missed touring cities, meeting the fans and hearing their roar during our live shows. Please be assured, we are working closely with the venues to comply with state and local regulations in each city. Miami, Austin and Dallas are the first of many as we gear up the trucks to travel around the country again! ”

In the near future, AEW will be announcing additional live events for the late summer.

The company also announced two rescheduled dates for St. Louis and New Orleans:

- The show at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis on June 23 has been rescheduled for Friday, November 5, 2021. The live event will be an AEW TNT television taping.
- The show at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January, 12, 2022, as an AEW DYNAMITE event.

Fans who have already purchased tickets to either show will have their original tickets valid for admission to the respective rescheduled show, or they can receive a refund via the point of purchase.

As AEW continues to deliver the best matches and most entertaining moments in professional wrestling today, be sure to tune into AEW DYNAMITE every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TNT.

Interesting timing, for at least a couple reasons.

One, it’s the latest sign that wrestling - like pretty much everything else in the United States, is marching back to normalcy after more than a year with various levels of COVID lockdown. Time will tell if that’s the right call, but it’s what’s happening. We’ve also heard reports of WWE having an August/September target date for at least Raw and SmackDown broadcasts.

Two, this comes after Wrestling Observer and others have noted AEW is having a hard time selling tickets to their bi-weekly tapings at Jacksonville’s Daily’s Place. Last Wednesday’s Blood & Guts edition of Dynamite only had 1,300 paid in attendance when the company was shooting for 2,500; this Wednesday’s episode with three title match has only sold about half the 1,500 tickets AEW made available.

Tony Khan is hoping for a “packed house” at the Double Or Nothing PPV on May 30.

We’ll see how that goes, and how tickets move in Miami and Texas in a couple months.