AEW Redemption Sells 6,898 Montreal Tickets, Up 541 Since Friday

Q: With AEW capping Montreal's arena at 7,470 seats, is this artificial scarcity a genius television strategy or a sign of struggling demand?

It is more a practical TV presentation strategy than a pure distress signal, though the limited cap also reflects AEW’s realistic view of demand. The key fact is that AEW did not fail to fill a 21,000-seat Bell Centre; it chose a wrestling setup of about 7,470 seats and had distributed roughly 6,900 to 7,000 by show day. That means the configured building was close to full, with only a few hundred seats left. For television, that matters: a near-capacity lower-bowl setup looks far better on camera, sounds louder, and avoids the dead atmosphere that comes with thousands of empty upper-deck seats. At the same time, the cap is not accidental in the sense of hiding booming demand. Montreal has recently shown it can support much larger wrestling crowds, especially for WWE, with gates from roughly 10,000 to nearly 15,000. AEW’s own history in the market is more modest: 4,994 for Dynamite and 2,852 for Collision in December 2023. Redemption is well above those AEW numbers, but still far below the venue’s true wrestling ceiling. That makes this less “genius scarcity” than disciplined right-sizing. AEW appears to have matched inventory to what it believed the market would bear, protecting the event’s optics and energy while avoiding the embarrassment of a half-empty arena. The setup suggests competent promotion rather than collapse, but it also shows AEW is not yet drawing at WWE’s level in Montreal.

3 articles · Updated · Figure Four Online · Jul 26

6,898 tickets had been distributed for AEW Redemption at Montreal's Bell Centre as of Sunday, leaving the pay-per-view just under the 7,000 mark ahead of the show.
That total rose by 541 from 6,357 on Friday, while the cheapest available seat was listed at C$53.25, or about $37.76.
Bell Centre comparisons show AEW still trails recent WWE gates there: January's Saturday Night's Main Event drew 11,425 and SmackDown the night before drew 10,248.
AEW's last Bell Centre run in December 2023 drew 4,994 for Dynamite and 2,852 for a Collision taping, suggesting Redemption is pacing above that prior AEW visit.