When Tony Khan announced that AEW’s UK debut would take place London’s Wembley Stadium, many were skeptical that the company could fill the 90,000-capacity venue.
However, the company has already exceeded all expectations with 50,000 tickets being snapped up in the pre-sales alone and numbers now exceeding 60,000 since the opening of the general sale on May 5th.
This means that the company has smashed its previous attendance record, with the previous record of 18,300 set at Arthur Ashe Stadium now being a distant second.
Dave Meltzer believes AEW’s gamble has already paid off
On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer spoke about the company’s accomplishment, noting that, at well over 60,000 tickets sold, All In is already ahead of most WrestleMania’s apart from the 2016 edition of the event which had an attendance of around 80,000.
“[It is] ahead of [SummerSlam 1992], it’s ahead of WrestleMania 3, ahead of every other WrestleMania except for Dallas, it’s an incredible story.”
Looking back at the company’s history, Meltzer admitted the story, while incredible, isn’t all positive.
“You go back to the start…this is the movie.
“It’s not all positive. The idea of what The Young Bucks and Cody [Rhodes] started, then the meeting with Tony Khan, and the building of this company, and getting to this date with Cody gone and all of the stuff that happened in the last year, it’s an incredible story.”
When Wembley was mentioned to Meltzer before the announcement, he assumed they meant the smaller Wembley Arena which he felt they would sell out quickly.
“I thought in England, they could get, easily, 25,000, maybe 30,000. When they did the stadium, I thought, ‘It’s a gamble, but it’s a smart gamble’ and it’s what they needed to do.”
While Meltzer sees the event as “historical”, he says it doesn’t mean a turnaround for the promotion is imminent as that hinges on getting a “great” TV deal.
“It is gigantic. It is historical and all that. It doesn’t mean this is a turnaround, or it’s all smooth sailing. If they get a great television deal, then it’s all smooth sailing.”
H/T to F4WOnline for the above transcription.