Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, most AEW shows from March 2020 to June 2021 were held at Daily's Place, but these were not held as Homecoming events due to the circumstances. Additionally, AEW's returns to Daily's Place for their weekly television programs in December 2021, March and October 2022, and April 2024, were also not held as Homecoming specials.
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic that began effecting the industry in mid-March 2020, AEW held the majority of its programs from Daily's Place;[3] these events were originally held without fans, but the company began running shows at 10–15% capacity in August, before eventually running full capacity shows in May 2021.[4] Although held at Daily's Place, these shows were not "Homecoming" events due to the circumstances. In May, AEW announced that it would be returning to live touring, beginning with a special episode ofDynamite titledRoad Rager on July 7.[5] Road Rager was also the first of a four-week span of specialDynamite episodes as part of AEW's "Welcome Back" tour, which continued with the two-partFyter Fest on July 14 and 21 and concluded withFight for the Fallen on July 28.[6][7] In early July, AEW scheduled asecond Homecoming episode to be held after the conclusion of the "Welcome Back" tour, briefly returning AEW to Daily's Place on August 4. The event was promoted as the final event to be held at Daily's Place for Summer 2021.[8][9][10] AEW would then return to Daily's Place in December that year, but that event was held as theNew Year's Smash special.[11]
Although AEW returned to Daily's Place in 2022 for episodes ofDynamite and their secondary program,Friday Night Rampage (which premiered on TNT on August 13, 2021), these were regular episodes that were not produced as Homecoming specials.[12][13] AEW did not hold any shows at Daily's Place in 2023, but scheduled a return to the venue in January 2024. The company in turn revived the Homecoming special with thethird event held on January 10, 2024. Unlike the prior two events, the 2024 Homecoming expanded the show to a two-part special, with the first part airinglive as a special episode ofDynamite onTBS (the program moved from TNT to TBS in January 2022), with the second part taped the same night to air ontape delay on January 12 as aspecial episode ofRampage on TNT.[14] AEW returned to Daily's Place in late April 2024 for episodes ofDynamite,Rampage, and its third program,Saturday Night Collision (which premiered on TNT in June 2023), but these were not held as Homecoming specials.[15]
The firstCollision to be a Homecoming special was theJanuary 2025 event, scheduled for January 25. This also reduced Homecoming back to a one-night event, followingRampage's cancellation at the end of December 2024. This was also the first Homecoming to besimulcast on the streaming serviceMax.[16] Asecond Homecoming for 2025 was scheduled as a two-part event in October, airing as the October 7 and October 11 episodes ofDynamite andCollision, respectively (Collision was taped on October 8 to air on tape delay). TheDynamite broadcast was also simultaneously the fourth annualTitle Tuesday special, another one of AEW's specials ofDynamite that is themed aroundchampionship matches and is held on one Tuesday in October due to a scheduling conflict withMajor League Baseball onTNT Sports channels. TheDynamite broadcast was in turn branded as Homecoming: Title Tuesday.[17]
The 2020Homecoming was the inaugural Homecoming television special produced by AEW. The event marked the promotion's return to its home base of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, following the company's debut at the venue during Fight for the Fallen in July the previous year. It was held onNew Year's Day on January 1, 2020, and was broadcast on TNT as a special episode of AEW's weekly television program,Wednesday Night Dynamite.[2]
The 2020 Homecoming averaged 967,000 television viewers on TNT and a 0.36 rating in AEW'skey demographic.[24]
The 2021Homecoming was the second Homecoming television special produced by AEW. The event marked a brief return to AEW's home venue of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, which is where they had produced shows through the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 – June 2021), and came after the conclusion of AEW's "Welcome Back" tour, which celebrated the company's resumption of live touring. It was held on August 4, 2021, and was broadcast on TNT as a special episode of AEW's weekly television program,Wednesday Night Dynamite.[9] This was the final Homecoming special produced until 2024, as despite AEW returning to Daily's Place in December 2021 and then in March and October 2022 for episodes ofDynamite and their Friday night programRampage, these were not produced as Homecoming specials,[11][12][13] and no shows were held at Daily's Place in 2023.
The 2021 Homecoming averaged 1,102,000 television viewers on TNT, with a 0.46 rating in AEW's key demographic.[27]
The 2024Homecoming was the third Homecoming television special produced by AEW. The event marked the company's return to its home venue of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida for the first time since October 2022, although it was the first Homecoming special since 2021. It was held on January 10, 2024. Unlike the prior two Homecoming specials, which only aired as a special episode ofWednesday Night Dynamite, the 2024 event expanded Homecoming to a two-part special, also encompassingFriday Night Rampage.Dynamite aired live on TBS whileRampage aired on tape delay on January 12 on TNT.[32][33] The event also paid tribute toMr. Brodie Lee, an AEW wrestler and leader ofThe Dark Order who was a prominent figure during the company's time at Daily's Place during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to October 2020 before his death that December.[34]
The January 2025Homecoming was the fourth Homecoming television special produced by AEW. Although the company held shows at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida in April 2024, this was the first Homecoming special at the venue since January that year. It was held on January 25, 2025. Unlike the prior year, which aired as a two-part special encompassingWednesday Night Dynamite andFriday Night Rampage, the 2025 event was reduced back to one night and was the first Homecoming to air as aspecial episode ofSaturday Night Collision. The special was simulcast live on TNT and Max, which was the first Homecoming to be simulcast on Max.[16]
The October 2025Homecoming is the ongoing fifth Homecoming television special produced by AEW. This marked the first Homecoming to be held twice in one year, after the January 2025 event, as well as expanding it back to a two-part special, encompassingWednesday Night Dynamite andSaturday Night Collision. The first part was a live episode ofDynamite on TBS and HBO Max, which was also simultaneously the fourth annual Title Tuesday special and branded asHomecoming: Title Tuesday, while the second part was taped on October 8 to air as the October 11 episode ofCollision on TNT and Max.[43]
