WWE To Block AEW From Running Madison Square Garden?

WWE return to their spiritual home on 9 and 10 September.

AEW MSG
AEW/Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

As reported earlier this week, WWE's decision to book Steve Austin for their upcoming Raw and SmackDown tapings in Madison Square Garden on the 9 and 10 September was motivated by poor ticket sales, with PWInsider's Mike Johnson claiming both shows had sold roughly half their alliance.

Dave Meltzer touched on this in the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, stating that the company expect Raw to eventually sell out - though there are presumably doubts over SmackDown.

More interesting are his comments on AEW, however, with Meltzer stating that WWE are trying to block their new competitors from every running the building, hence the emphasis on shifting tickets this time around.

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A bold but understandable move from Vince McMahon, given the building's importance to his promotion's legacy. His decision is almost certainly motivated by this year's ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard, which sold the legendary building out in less than an hour over WrestleMania weekend.

MSG seems like a natural place for AEW to host a major pay-per-view, though it looks like they'll need to leap over a Stamford-sized hurdle first. It'll be interesting to see how the dust settles from this.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.