AEW News: Debut TV Show Tickets ‘Tanking,’ According To Dave Meltzer
Whenever there’s a big show with a high fan demand for tickets, it’s pretty much a guarantee that scalpers (or ticket touts) will take advantage of it to make some extra bucks. Major shows tend to sell out in minutes, only for tickets to be made available online moments later for a much higher price than the original going rate.
It’s a frustrating issue for genuine fans who just want to enjoy a show without being ripped off for tickets. At the same time, it’s also a very difficult problem to combat, and most of the time, the touts end up getting their money due to the fan demand.
All Elite Wrestling’s upcoming television tapings appear to have encountered scalpers as well. Citing Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Ringside News reports that a substantial portion of the tickets sold for the new promotion’s sold-out television tapings aren’t authentic buys. As a result, tickets for the TNT debut show are allegedly “tanking.'”
“Philadelphia is very successful, it’s above — but, not anything triple or anything like that. D.C. is absolutely tanking. There’s 4,700 secondary tickets out there and they are — the price is so low if you didn’t get tickets for the first AEW taping then there are tickets out there for $8. For a show that legitimately sold out immediately, the idea that the secondary market hit that, you know the scalpers just completely bought that one out and when too many do it causes a flood and there’s a flood on that one.”
This makes you wonder whether or not AEW’s television tapings would have sold out if scalpers didn’t buy the tickets. Citing Brad Shepherd, Ringside News notes that one scalper who reportedly bought thousands of tickets is now selling them at a loss due to the low demand.
SOLD OUT??
Thank you all so very much.
(Do not give up hope on being there live though, we should be lifting potential camera/production holds as we get closer to the event. Keep checking at https://t.co/tzvxkxvV0O ) pic.twitter.com/lScHFwc4cd
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 2, 2019
With AEW’s popularity soaring overall, however, scalping will likely remain an issue until measures are taken to prevent fans from being ripped off. One solution could be to follow the example of popular musicians who demand a more rigid process before allowing fans entry to their shows.
As documented by Crypto Tickets, these measures include required identification, the use of custom software, and social media activities. Ed Sheeran’s fans, for example, are required to bring their tickets, booking confirmation forms, credit cards, as well as a valid form of identification to be granted entry to a concert.
It remains to be seen if AEW will take action to ensure that real fans can attend the shows without paying extra for their tickets.
