Former AEW Producer Details ‘Genius Idea’ AEW Had During Pandemic

AEW’s New Year’s Smash marked the final show for long-time wrestling producer Keith Mitchell, who retired following the show.

Mitchell recently appeared on Talk is Jericho, where he discussed being a producer for AEW during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mitchell explained AEW’s approach, and why he didn’t want to use screens, like what WWE used with the Thunderdome.

He said:

“From us, there was several different things. The zoom wall or this, and I really didn’t want to do that. I don’t know if I talked Tony out of doing it. To me, it just felt like it would be canned, it just didn’t seem like to me it would come across well on television. That was my concern. It was difficult to mix the sound of the people, the look, to me it just came across like it was going to look real plastic, and real fake. Not that energy that I was talking about earlier with the crowd. You wouldn’t have felt you were sitting at ringside, you would feel like you’re watching a video game or whatever.”

In the end, AEW used wrestlers in the crowd for the shows. Mitchell explained that he thought the idea of using wrestlers in the crowd was ‘genius’.

He said:

“It was a big transition. But I think having the guys come in, you know the talent sitting at ringside was a genius idea. I think that was probably Tony’s idea. It helped out a lot of guys, brought them in so they could work on Dark and Elevation. It was enough.”

transcription via Wrestling Inc

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• AEW
• pandemic
• COVID-19
• Keith Mitchell

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