We are now just days away from All Elite Wrestling making history on multiple levels.
Sunday, August 27th will see AEW present AEW All In live from Wembley Stadium in London. The event will be the first show for the company outside of North America and is set to be one of the largest attended wrestling events in history.
With only 3 matches announced so far and mystery still surrounding the event, it feels that AEW doesn’t entirely know what they want this show to be.
The Rumour
Prior to All In being made official, reports had circulated that AEW were thinking of bringing a show/tour to the UK. Many expected either a live episode of Dynamite taped at the Khan-owned Craven Cottage or a series of house shows across the British Isles. However, when news broke on Dynamite of what Tony Khan was actually planning for the trip across the pond, the entire wrestling fanbase was collectively flawed.
The Announcement
Fuelled by the belief of his promotion and the enthusiasm of the fans, Tony Khan did go All In [pun intended] on April 5th by announcing the date and location for the most ambitious show yet. All Elite Wrestling would be putting on a show across the pond one of the biggest and most iconic venues imaginable, Wembley Stadium. Reactions to the news would occupy either end of the spectrum. One extreme would praise the company for taking such a gamble and giving fans the biggest show they possibly could, while the other side would laugh at the company for choosing a stadium so large, believing there to be many empty seats in London.
The tickets would go on sale May 5th following a 2-day pre-sale. By the end of the first day of the first pre-sale alone, more than 35,000 tickets had been sold, already setting a new attendance record for AEW. The sales would be even more impressive at the conclusion of the first day of general sales, with attendance jumping to over 60,000. Despite the positive start, the sceptics refused to admit defeat, noting that not all sections had been opened up and All In would look second-rate.
Following the goodwill of a very positive first week of ticket sales, the confusion started to begin for wrestling fans.
All In and All Out
With the All Out pay-per-view always taking place in early September, questions started to be asked following All In being announced to take place 7 days prior, sparking confusion as to what exactly AEW All In is, with speculation that the Wembley show would fact be a replacement for one of the company’s biggest pay-per-views in 2023. The announcement by talent and then AEW themselves that All Out would air 7 days after All In raised more questions than answers. Is All In a pay-per-view or just one giant house show? Will both shows be televised? How will the company build to a show with only 3 episodes of programming in between?
Eventually, both AEW shows were announced as available to purchase on pay-per-view platforms. With the company still using the paying-for-each-show format and not a subscription service like WWE, some fans may only be able to afford one pay-per-view, and have to make a choice of which show will get their hard earned cash?
The Card & Featured Talent
Fans waited and waited and waited some more for matches to be announced for All In, with AEW keeping their cards close to their chest and no obvious storylines pointing to Wembley. Finally, the main event was announced on August 2nd with MJF defending the World Championship against Adam Cole. The bromance angle has been fun and the in-ring quality will be great, but that spark that gives it that big fight feel is currently missing.
Five matches have been made official for AEW All In main card and one match made official for the zero-hour pre-show at the time of writing. In an attempt to keep the comparisons between AEW and WWE to a minimum, this is the only point that will be analysed in detail. For a show taking place in the UK, AEW does not have a marquee match featuring a well-booked wrestler from the British Isles. Clash at the Castle would see Sheamus and Drew McIntyre compete in two of the biggest matches of the show, receiving a hero’s welcome due to their close proximity to Cardiff.
The only British star scheduled to appear at All In is Saraya, competing in a 4-way match that will be lost in the shuffle. Unfortunately, injuries can’t be helped, PAC and Jamie Hayter having to sit out the historic show is a terrible shame. However, they are the only big names to be seen frequently on AEW TV from the UK.
Rumours have been circulating regarding British talent from outside promotions to have matches against contracted AEW wrestlers, with Will Ospreay being the biggest name. But with too many stars from other promotions being brought in, they won’t be around the following Wednesday, leaving the opponents they face without a direction for the next big show.
With only 2 matches having that big fight feel, is AEW resting on their laurels of strong ticket sales and saving their real pay-per-view card for All Out?
The Verdict
There is no doubt that AEW All In will be one of the most important wrestling shows in history. This is not only the first time that wrestling has come to Wembley Stadium in over 30 years, but it is the largest audience to watch wrestling in the UK in history and it is not WWE who will hold onto that record now that All In has sold more tickets than SummerSlam 1992.
With more matches still to be announced, it is likely that AEW will sell out Wembley Stadium and have one or two more surprises yet to be revealed to showcase some can’t-miss masses. The away fans have been given the potential for a great first show in the UK, but with 2 pay-per-views in as many weeks, can the company keep the fans at home happy, and can they put on a show big enough to warrant a return audience for the inevitable second show?
If Tony Khan is able to deliver, we are in for an exciting future as wrestling fans.
