AEW's alleged instructions to "seat fillers" hired for Dynamite leaked - Reports

AEW has been facing issues when it comes to ratings and viewership numbers as of late. Reports online are suggesting something that wrestling promotions do consistently to cover empty seats - the concept of seat filling - which seems to have found its way into the Jacksonville-based company. Seat fillers are paid to fill seats and make the auditorium fuller than it actually is.

Seats and viewership are a touchy subject for wrestling promotions, so seat fillers aren't something that's very openly spoken about in wrestling circles. An alleged text interaction between someone mediating for AEW and individuals committed to filling seats has created a ruffle online. The text carries detailed instructions about where the fillers should meet before the show that's to be shot begins, including references to a 'dark match.'

"Please arrive by 6:30 PM and meet outside the Norton Healthcare entrance to the KFC Yum! Center. It will be to the left of the Cardinal Authentic store when facing the arena. I will come out to get you just after 6:30 and bring you into the lobby through the security checkpoint where we will wristband everyone and meet with an AEW representative for more details around 7. The event starts at 7:30 but the first hour is a dark match (not televised) and the live matches begin at 8:30. I do have room for more seat fillers so if you have others who want to come last minute, please let me know. Thanks!" (h/t ringsidenews.com)

There's no confirmation yet about whether this is indeed an interaction between someone from AEW or someone from the stadium that hosted the show. But the words of the interaction indicate that at least someone from Tony Khan's company is in the know about the seat fillers.

AEW Collision bleeds at the ratings

The Collision episode this week should have worked wonders, especially with MJF and Kenny Omega having a match. But even that headline couldn't do much for its ratings. This has been a cause of discussion ever since Tony Khan's company lost the Tuesday Night ratings war to WWE's NXT in October.

The loss in viewership wasn't moderate well. The company lost 9% viewership in the 18-24 age bracket and a whopping 26% in the 18-49 segment. This could be worrisome for the AEW President as he is also the head booker of his promotion.

What do you think? What should Tony Khan do to stem the loss of viewership? Tell us in the comments section.