AEW has only done one non-televised live event in its three-year history, The House Always Wins, which took place in April 2021 at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. AEW signed Jeff Jarrett as both an on-screen talent and the Director of Business Development in November 2022. Jarrett’s arrival in AEW made it clear that Tony Khan has plans to incorporate live events in their programming schedule on a regular basis.
Jeff Jarrett recently shared his thoughts on the company’s plans to launch a series of non-televised live events, titled House Rules, beginning on March 18. Speaking on Under The Ring, Jarrett expressed his excitement for this opportunity for growth, noting that these live events are “right up his alley.”
“It’s gonna be a crawl, walk, run process. I believe the strategic mindset is [to] absorb as much information as we can, as quick as we can, to truly make.. there’s no plan perfect. We’re gonna have our ups and downs, we’re gonna have our hits and our misses.
But coming out of the gate, there was a report online about how many shows WWE has reduced their non-televised live events, and we haven’t been in the market since the launch of AEW. So I think the timing’s real good, I think the day that our television show airs, live on Wednesday, and kind of dovetails into Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I think we’re gonna start slow and start picking up the pace and kind of figure out [how to] eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive, and keep progressing.”
“I could not be more excited because it is a real growth opportunity, I think. That’s what the business, the real essence of it is. I was born and raised here in Nashville, and there’s artists who come to town, that move to town and literally spend their life savings to move here, write songs, try to be an artist, but their goal is to get out on that road and play their music. In the wrestling industry, obviously the TV is the utmost importance, and our pay-per-view weekends, but at the end of the day, getting out, and yes, it’s a private center. It’s also a marketing initiative. It is also how you hone your craft, but there’s so much upside to it.
For me, to be blessed to have a part of it, I’m pumped in so many ways. At this stage of my career, when I look back on it, what an opportunity that’s in front of all of us. The Khan family launched AEW, it’s up and running, and wildly successful, and now here come the live events, right up my alley.”
Jeff Jarrett
While AEW has a long way to go before it can reach WWE’s level of success in the live event business, nevertheless, it’s better to start at some point than not start at all. Tony Khan had previously discussed the possibility of expanding AEW’s pay-per-view calendar, and live events could be the best way to accomplishing that goal.
AEW’s first official live event, Double or Nothing, took place on May 25, 2019, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Now, with the launch of House Rules, AEW has the opportunity to reach a whole new level of success.
H/T to Fightful
Follow Corey at @CoreyBrennanBS on Twitter
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