Should AEW be more transparent with fans?

We all read about the latest scandal surrounding AEW. It was reported that the All In attendance was much lower than what had been announced. That’s not a big deal, as wrestling companies have been doing that for years, so I’m not too surprised that AEW has started doing it as well.

What surprised me a bit more was the second part of the report, which stated that AEW not only applied for a reimbursement program from the state of Texas, but also included an NDA in the contract they wanted the state to sign—so that the real attendance for the event couldn’t be released.

Then, add another part of the report where Tony Khan supposedly told officials this would be a multi-show event, including a CMLL show and a Fozzy concert during that weekend—which clearly didn’t happen. This really exposed AEW and how shady of a businessman Tony can be.

How can fans continue to believe anything Tony says when he not only got caught in a huge lie but also got caught trying to cover it up? I don’t think they can, really.

I wrote a while ago that AEW was at a crossroads—they could either continue going the way they are or make the changes needed to adapt to the current market. That also means being more transparent with fans about the company’s current struggles instead of always trying to hide them. And they should stop having everyone sign NDAs, because that’s not a good look for the company.

How many talents in WWE had to sign NDAs after being released? None that I know of.

How many times has WWE had town officials sign NDAs to hide the fact that they embellished attendance numbers? None that I know of. So if Tony is so determined to hide the fact that AEW didn’t draw as big of a crowd for All In as claimed, what else is he hiding? That’s the question fans should be asking themselves.