Andrew SpoorsFrom start-up company in 2019, to aspirations of selling out Wembley Stadium in 2023, the scope may have shifted, but AEW’s modus operandi sure hasn’t.
The aim of changing the landscape of professional wrestling is barely four years old, but it’s hard to argue it hasn’t been achieved to some degree already.
As tickets for their blockbuster event in August create a frenzy in the UK and Europe, our King Of The Ring Andy Spoors sheds some light on one of the biggest players in the wrestling industry and their even bigger aspirations…
Bet On Yourself
There’s not many companies that can claim to have started on a bet.
But that was the exact way the green shoots from which AEW began to sprout.
The landscape of professional wrestling, especially in North America, had long been dominated by WWE with few credible rivals able to mount any kind of traction in the industry.
This dominance of the market had, however, led to a number of unforeseen issues for the market leader.
Indifference and disillusionment slowly crept in to not just fans, but wrestlers looking to make a name for themselves on their own terms.
In 2018 wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer made a comment that wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) could not sell 10,000 tickets for a wrestling event.
His basis for that statement was down to the fact no other promotion in North America, outside WWE, had managed that figure since WCW — WWE’s now defunct and last major competitor — back in 1999.
Fueled by the opportunity to prove a respected voice in wrestling journalism wrong, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) set out to prove Meltzer wrong.
Setting up a one off PPV named All In, the trio called on their fellow talent in ROH as well as other promotions from around the world, before selling the event out in an astonishing 30 minutes.
The reaction to All In was universally acclaimed and rumours quickly spread that the event would lead to a new promotion being established.
It didn’t take long for those rumours to become a reality as All Elite Wrestling was formally announced on 1 January 2019.
Rhodes, The Young Bucks were announced as Executive Vice Presidents with Tony Khan at the helm, serving as President of the promotion.
Khan, the son of one of the owners of both Fulham FC and the Jacksonville Jaguars, had been a long time wrestling fan.
And he jumped at the chance to become involved in what promised to be the hottest new player in the wrestling industry.
Talent soon became attached to the promotion in the form of Kenny Omega, Hangman Adam Page, Lucha Brothers, Dr. Britt Baker, Pac and arguably most shocking of all, WWE legend Chris Jericho.
A Viable Option
With talent on board, AEW laid on their first official PPV in May 2019, titled Double Or Nothing inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
It was here that the first truly seismic shift in momentum would occur.
Jon Moxley, previously known as Dean Ambrose in WWE, made his first appearance, sending social media into a frenzy.
This was a major star for the industry leader, seemingly happy to run down his contract and sign for the upstart promotion.
Whereas the likes of Jericho and Pac had been effectively free agents ready to be picked up, Moxley exited WWE in a prominent position and with a dedicated following of fans eagerly anticipating his next move.
But it wasn’t just Moxley that would see AEW’s rise to the hottest new commodity in the business.
Events like Fyter Fest and Fight For The Fallen caught the attention of fans who preferred an emphasis on wrestling centric matches rather than sports entertainment offered elsewhere.
Presumably it was a view shared by TV executives, after seeing the fledgling promotion produce their second pay-per-view event, All Out, AEW announced the company would make its television debut on TNT every Wednesday night from October 2019.
On October 2, AEW ‘Dynamite’ debuted averaging 1.409 million viewers, making it the largest television debut on the channel in five years.
A weekly show would catapult them into direct competition with WWE’s developmental brand NXT.
Viewing figures and demos suddenly flooded Twitter, pointing out AEW were easily winning the unofficial ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ (a reference to the WWF vs WCW head to head of the 90s).
Proving his business mindset, Tony Khan brokered a deal with ITV for British television rights, allowing AEW to become far more accessible on a free to air channel than WWE’s rights with BT Sport on a subscription model.
Of course COVID would play a big part in AEW’s own development in both positive and negative ways the following year.
Stifled of the chance to capitalise on live events and touring, AEW was, however, able to bolster their ranks with new talent that found themselves released elsewhere.
With each acquisition came an influx of new fans, ready to support not only the wrestler themselves but their new home in AEW.
Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE), Adam Cole, Ruby Soho (Ruby Riott), Saraya (Paige) and Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) were just some of the names eager to make the switch and prove themselves on a different stage.
AEW were no longer simply the underdog, they were a new destination for both jaded and curious fans alike.
This was a company that seemingly thrived on upsetting the odds and proving doubters wrong…even tempting CM Punk back into the business to a huge reaction.
And in 2023, Tony Khan decided to take that methodology to a whole new level…
There’s Ambition And There’s AMBITION…
There’s no right or wrong way to achieve success.
But one of the key ingredients is ambition. For Vince McMahon, he bet the house (literally) when making WrestleMania a reality.
He saw an opportunity to go even bigger for WrestleMania 3 and booked the Pontiac Silverdome in an attempt to sell over 90,000 tickets.
Ambitious, but at the very least he had at least run huge events and shows in America to add some measure of realism into those lofty ambitions.
On April 5 2023, Tony Khan, Adam Cole and Nigel McGuinness announced that AEW’s highly anticipated UK debut would take place not only in London, but at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 27 in the shape of ‘AEW All In’.
That is not a misprint, AEW’s first event outside North America, is set to be at Wembley STADIUM. A venue that can hold up to 90,000 spectators.
Sure, the company may have exposure on ITV 4 and sure British and European wrestling fans are some of the most passionate in the world.
But as a first ever show outside their home continent, the announcement sent shockwaves through the industry.
For comparative purposes, WWE ran Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in 2022, the company’s first stadium event since the legendary SummerSlam 92 event also at Wembley Stadium.
That event, Clash At The Castle drew just over 60,000 fans to the event and WWE is a company ingrained in the very DNA of wrestling history and one that has frequently toured UK arenas for decades.
AEW have not officially planted their flag in the ground on these fair shores.
How many tickets could they possibly sell? Would they even open the entire stadium? Is there an appetite for the company in this continent?
At least some of those questions were answered when tickets went on pre-sale this week.
Tony Khan announced on Wednesday that an astonishing 43,000 tickets for over £4.5M ($5.7M), were sold before general on-sale had even begun.
AEW are fast becoming experts at proving not just doubters but logic wrong.
For years the European market has been starved of a major wrestling event on the continent, but with business and competition pushing all involved to offer more choice, it is wrestling fans that are coming out on top. And long may that continue!
Be part of wrestling history — tickets for AEW: All In London at Wembley Stadium go on sale to the general public this Friday May 5 at 9am BST. Tickets can be purchased here.
