Photo: AEW's struggle to fill arenas continues as Battle of the Belts VIII pulled extremely low attendance

Yesterday, three hours of AEW programming was showcased for fans worldwide. The usual two hours of Collision was followed by an hour of the eighth edition of Battle of the Belts. However, it seemed as if, despite this, the in-person turnout had still been underwhelming.

Several great matches took place during the latest episode of Collision. To start the night, Bryan Danielson took on Andrade El Idolo in what was a dream match of sorts. The House of Black made their return and made their presence known on several instances, and The Blackpool Combat Club pushed the tag team champs to the limit to cap off the show.

As the third hour of the night came in, several fans who were present for the show noticed how a certain part of the arena was completely empty. Some fans took photos during Samoa Joe's promo during Battle of the Belts and brought up the underwhelming attendance.

What could be heard and seen from the live feed was not the same picture as what was seen in person.

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Key takeaways from the three hours of AEW this past Saturday

Despite the low attendance, AEW has pushed on with its show and still put on some interesting segments and matches into the night. Just what were some key takeaways?

The first match of the night saw Bryan Danielson take on Andrade El Idolo. The 20-minute-long match was full of everything. High-flying action, technical wrestling expertise, and a lot of heavy-hitting. Purely for the wrestling alone, this could arguably be the match of the night.

The most interesting takeaway of the night, though, was what occurred after the match, and this was the return of Malakai Black. As soon as the match ended, the lights went off, and in the ring appeared the leader of the House of Black, who simply laid the American Dragon out on the spot.

This would not be the last of Malakai Black, as later in the night, he and the rest of his faction members would get involved during FTR's tag team match and launch a three-on-two assault on the former tag team champions.

As if this was not enough, they also got involved in the main event to cost the Blackpool Combat Club the opportunity to dethrone Ricky Starks and Big Bill and become the AEW World Tag Team Champions.

Battle of the Belts did not have any shockers, as every champion was able to defend their titles, but there were progressions in various storylines.

With in-person attendance seemingly going down, it will be interesting what solution AEW has to bring back the crowds they used to draw a few years back.

What are your reactions to the pictures of the crowd at last night's show? Let us know in the comments section below.