Report: AEW Sources Believe Pay-Per-Views Are Too Long (AEW News)
AEW wrestlers and staff reportedly believe PPVs, including Double Or Nothing, should be shorter.
Bryan Alvarez has claimed via Wrestling Observer Live that "every single person in the company that [he] talked to" behind the scenes at AEW's Double Or Nothing 2025 pay-per-view in Arizona believes the promotion's supershow output is "too long".
The general consensus amongst unnamed staff members and wrestlers is that there's nothing they can do about it. Tony Khan is the boss, and he gets final say on just how lengthy some of these shows are. Interestingly, these reports flooded into Alvarez whilst Double Or Nothing was happening - so, people were complaining about the length of a pay-per-view that was currently being produced.
Wow.
There's been a ton of debate amongst fans and industry critics alike about the length of AEW's top shows since the group launched in 2019. Some believe Khan offers his customers true value for money by stacking cards with anywhere between 10-15 matches (including pre-show 'Buy In' fare), whereas others reckon All Elite's braintrust could do with showing some restraint when it comes to formatting these things.
It's all a matter of opinion, but Alvarez heard from a lot of folks behind the curtain and they seemed to fall into the latter camp. The WOL host was quick to point out that he didn't chat with absolutely "everybody". In other words, he didn't sit down with TK and thrash out the ups and downs of AEW PPV length during DoN.
Some sources told Bryan: "The shows are too long. Everybody knows it except Tony and a small handful of the sickos that would watch the show if it were nine hours long".
Tony Khan Would Clearly Disagree
Again, Bryan Alvarez didn't get a word with Tony Khan about whether or not AEW pay-per-views are a bit on the long side, but it's unlikely the All Elite boss would agree they're long winded anyway. Besides, some staff saying, "Everybody knows it except Tony and a small handful of the sickos that would watch the show if it were nine hours long" gives the game away that Khan doesn't see the problem.
Previously, the boss man has spoken about offering incredible value for PPV dollars. He's pretty firm on that, and it made a lot of sense when AEW only produced a handful of supershows per year. Since 2023, the company has greatly increased the number of pay-per-views on offer (adding events like Dynasty and WrestleDream to the lineup) though, so the subject of length has come up yet again.
The recent Double Or Nothing event offered 11 matches; 2 of those were on the 'Buy In' pre-show, which means the main card was 9 bouts strong.