All Elite Wrestling (aka AEW) is going to host its first-ever international Pay-Per-View this year on August 27th in London, UK. It is scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium, which can hold up to 90 thousand people (about the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum).
It is going to be one of the biggest events in the company’s history, and could be groundbreaking for the entire wrestling industry, but is it really so important? In this article, we will try to answer this question, speculate on the match card and see what it could mean going forward for All Elite Wrestling.
Is it Actually a Pay-Per-View?
First of all, we need to see if it is going to be an actual PPV or a glorified house show. It is uncertain at this point. AEW is advertising it as it should, as a huge deal, a huge event with tons of attention paid to it. On the other side, they host their annual PPV All Out in Chicago only a week later on September 3rd, 2023.
AEW All In might be a huge event, especially in Europe, almost like the Super Bowl is to America. And similarly, like you can check NFL Super Bowl odds, you can also see which winners are most likely to win for wrestling shows, however as of right now there are no matches announced for the show.
So far, we can only assume based on the advertising that it is an actual Pay-Per-View event, but there are voices in the community that are worried that it will be just a set-up show for an actual PPV in All Out a week later. Hopefully, it is so much more than that, because AEW needs to draw its international audience towards the product, and putting on an amazing match card would solidify that.
History of All In
All In was the first show put on by AEW, even before its actual creation. The show was somewhat of a challenge to sell out a big show not put on by a company like WWE in North America, compiled of indie wrestlers. It was a show that proved that there is a place for another wrestling company in the world that would be televised. The inaugural show took place on September 1st, 2018, in the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Even though AEW was non-existent back then, the show sold out in a matter of minutes and was highly praised for its quality.
Next year AEW would be formed by many names who participated in the show like Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Adam Page to name a few. Ever since then we only had four-five major PPVs from All Elite Wrestling in Double or Nothing, All Out, Full Gear, Revolution, and later on Forbidden Door.
This is the first time the All In officially returns, five years after the first show. It could be the beginning of hosting one international PPV a year in different cities and countries around the world. All In could become a symbol of AEW’s global expansion going forward.
All In to be AEW’s Revolution?
All Elite Wrestling has a huge chance of capturing the hearts of many wrestling fans from outside of the U.S. by putting on a show that fans will never forget. It is also possible that the show will actually be bigger than anticipated. So far there have been around 70,000 tickets sold, with 20,000 more up for grabs, however, it is with zero matches announced and shows like UFC often sell out from the perspective of some specific fights.
This means that there is a big possibility AEW will sell out Wembley Stadium, or even surpass 90,000 people capacity. How would that be possible? Well, even though the stadium has a limited capacity, it is possible that it will be expanded because it is a wrestling show, the area around the ring is occupied by the fans, and the entire pitch/field is shrunk down to contain as many people as possible.
With all that in mind, it could also be a potential flop if the card itself does not deliver. There already have been a few hiccups with some injuries in the past weeks and months. Bryan Danielson suffered an injury at AEW Forbidden Door that most likely means he will have to miss London’s show. It is also unknown if Jamie Hayter will be cleared to wrestle at the event, and it’s especially painful considering the show is in her home country and she is a true fan favorite.
It is hard to balance making money and making fans happy. We still can have plenty of potential impressive matches to come featuring Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, The Elite, CM Punk, MJF and Adam Cole, PAC, Saraya, Toni Storm, Orange Cassidy, Zack Sabre Jr. and more. The show is in about a month so only time will tell what matches will happen at this show, but all-in-all (pun intended) this should be a monumental show that could shape the company’s international expansion going forward!
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