Shawn Spears sees the coronavirus pandemic as a temporary setback for AEW, and professional wrestling in general. In an exclusive interview with CBR, Spears said that once this has all come to an end, things will not only get back to normal, but could lead to an explosion for All Elite Wrestling.

The pandemic and the resulting quarantine caused wrestling promotions to shut out the fans from attending shows. While WWE just kept putting on basic matches on Raw and SmackDown, AEW Dynamite went in a different direction by having the wrestlers at ringside, acting in the role of fans. Spears believes it is one way that the company kept the shows entertaining.

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However, as fun as it has been to see Spears, MJF, Billy and Austin Gunn, and Britt Baker at ringside, nothing replaces the actual fans. Spears believes that they will be back more active than ever once this pandemic ends and life goes back to a sense of normalcy. This fact is especially true for AEW, which relies on its fans to lead the direction its storylines go in.

"I think once this kind of all passes, I think we're going to have a brand-new [time] as professional wrestlers," Spears said. "We are going to have a brand new respect and appreciation for our live audience. And in turn, I believe they're going to enjoy themselves in a live atmosphere, even more so than they have before."

Spears admitted that when the pandemic starts to subside and fans are allowed back into shows, attendance might be a little slow in coming back to its pre-quarantine levels -- but it will return, and with the return of live fans, AEW will be better than ever. For the wrestlers, he said that the bumps hurt more when the fans aren't there cheering them on. He said that getting the adrenaline pumping is harder without the fans cheering and booing. For the fans, he sees it from their point of view as well.

"If you piled in a car and you go to an AEW show with all your buddies there, you had a beer or two, and you get to yell at whoever you want, you get to cheer for whoever you want, you get to chant, like those moments are friend making moments," Spears said. "They're what you're talking about the next day at the watercooler. They're family moments that you guys can talk about for weeks, months, and years afterward. I think people are going to get back to that."

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While many critics have pointed to lower ratings as a sign that professional wrestling is decreasing in popularity, Spears disagrees with the sentiment that people are ready to leave wrestling behind. According to Spears, wrestling isn't going anywhere.

"I said this before all this kind of kicked in," Spears said. "This is a hell of a time for the industry. It's a wonderful time for the industry. And it's a time that I'm not going to see again in my entertaining career, so I'm just enjoying this process."

Even with the pandemic shutting down much of the country, AEW is still pulling in over 700,000 viewers a week. The March 6 episode of AEW Dynamite beat WWE NXT with 732,000 viewers compared to 663,000. However, while those numbers seem low compared to the past, there is one thing to take into account. Around 1.395 million viewers watched wrestling on a Wednesday night, and that doesn't even take into account DVR numbers for fans who watch both shows.

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Spears mentioned that fans of professional wrestling have been looking for an alternative since the '90s, and they are finally getting it. He said the one thing that brought him to AEW is that it was breaking new ground on national television, and that made it a "first." There are not many of those left in professional wrestling.

"We're modifying things. And we're upgrading things. And we're showing the world new talent. And we're showing the world new ideas," Spears said. "And we're just kind of throwing everything that we can out there for the audience to consume and decide whether they like it or not. And that's the beautiful thing about professional wrestling — is that it's subjective."

The fans seem to like what they are seeing and during the empty arena shows in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, AEW continues to innovate and create a new experience with the wrestlers in the stands -- and Spears is right there in the center of that. According to the AEW superstar, he is having a great time, and with the new three-year plus deal he signed, he can't wait to see the fans when they return to the arenas once again.

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