Last weekend, AEW’s event in Texas set a new record in professional wrestling by lasting nearly six hours, making it the longest pay-per-view in the sport’s history. Despite facing competition from WWE’s NXT: The Great American Bash and WWE Saturday Night main events, AEW President Tony Khan deliberately extended the event’s length to directly challenge his rivals. According to Dave Meltzer from Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW aimed for a major show during the time WWE started airing Goldberg’s retirement match at 8 PM EST. Meltzer noted that if AEW wasn’t involved in this wrestling rivalry, the show likely would have ended earlier, but because they weren’t backing down, they chose to compete head-to-head with WWE on a Saturday night.
Previously, WrestleMania 35 held the record for the longest wrestling pay-per-view with its main show running five and a half hours. It remains uncertain whether these tactics benefited either AEW or WWE, or if viewers were overwhelmed by the abundance of wrestling content available that night.
Fan Take: This bold move by AEW highlights their determination to compete at the highest level and deliver epic shows, which is exciting for fans eager for groundbreaking wrestling events. However, balancing attention and viewer engagement will be key as the sport evolves with more intense competition between major promotions.
