AEW Reportedly Shut Down Dynamite Tapings Indefinitely Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

All Elite Wrestling is reportedly the latest wrestling company to shut down all live events, according to a report from Dave Meltzer via the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. Over the past three weeks AEW has been hosting events inside of empty venues (first at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, then in an undisclosed location in Georgia), but due to the shelter in place order enforced in Georgia they will be unable to continue to do any more tapings for the foreseeable future.

However, Meltzer added that AEW managed to tape "multiple weeks" of television prior to their operations being suspended, including the first two rounds of the TNT Championship tournament and the upcoming AEW World Championship match between Jon Moxley and Jake Hager. AEW had relocated every episode of Dynamite from their scheduled locations to the empty arenas up until the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 23. As of now the show has not been canceled, though the MGM Grand Garden Arena venue in Las Vegas is currently shut down.

AEW has not commented on the situation as of this time.

The first round of the TNT Championship tournament will begin this week, featuring Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears, Colt Cabana vs. Lance Archer, Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin and Dustin Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian.

"It's been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times," Tony Khan said in the announcement's press release. "I'm glad we're now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I'm excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week. And, it's only fitting that the champion and the title belt will carry the logo of the globally-respected TNT brand, and that they'll represent not only AEW but also the great quality programming, massive reach, and storied history in the wrestling business that are all associated with TNT."

WWE could possibly find itself in a similar situation soon. All episodes of WWE television have taken place inside of empty venues since the March 13 episode of SmackDown, including the ongoing two-night WrestleMania 36 event at the WWE Performance Center. As of now, WWE has reportedly taped through the April 8 episode of NXT, but a statewide stay at home order in Florida could halt the promotion from taping anything after that.