Pat McAfee knows a thing or two about broadcasting wrestling shows on television, and he believes AEW doesn’t want fans to see a photo that circulated after AEW Double or Nothing.
The opening bout of Double or Nothing saw Orange Cassidy defend his International Championship in a Blackjack Battle Royale. The match saw plenty of twists and turns, including renewing tensions between former partners Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland.
In the end, Cassidy was victorious when he eliminated Swerve, continuing his championship reign. Wrestling journalist Bryan Alvarez posted a photo of the star celebrating his victory after the match, and fans were quick to notice a host of empty seats behind Cassidy on the hard cam side of the arena.
Orange Cassidy won the battle royal last eliminating Swerve, match was incredible live pic.twitter.com/S3drP7BSbb
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) May 29, 2023
Pat McAfee Commented On Bryan Alvarez’s Double Or Nothing Photo
Speaking on a recent edition of The Pat McAfee Show, former SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee commented on the number of empty seats shown in the arena, saying that All Elite Wrestling likely wanted to avoid having the photo shown as it paints an unflattering picture of attendance at the event.
“Anytime you get a shot away from hard cam, you know what I mean, you can really see a lot of things. AEW found out this weekend or whatever at one of their events, it’s like three quarters of an arena completely empty. They don’t want that photo out anywhere.” (h/t WrestlingInc)
According to WrestleTix in a post on the day of the event, Double or Nothing sold a total of 10,222 tickets. The T-Mobile Arena was set up to hold a capacity of 11,641 fans, leaving 1,412 unsold. The main event of the show saw The Elite take on the Blackpool Combat Club in an Anarchy in the Arena match, which was won by BCC after interference from a newly-villainous Konosuke Takeshita.