With the exception of roaring their approval for Jon Moxley in the opening match, the 2,521(ish) in attendance at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio didn't really have too much to raise their voices for elsewhere on the show.
AEW playing to emptier buildings has been a 2023 trend, but the lack of producing around the smaller crowds continues to be a problem as far as the television viewing experience goes. When matches sagged and fans sat on their hands, visuals revealed empty parts of the building while the silence was filled by the commentary veering off into random asides, leaning too hard into their favourite running jokes, and at one point, another dreaded "bizarro world" reference.
The vibe was off for most of the night, furthering the frustration when certain matches or segments didn't really sizzle in the way they had the potential to. Speaking of which...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
