When professional wrestling journalist David Meltzer challenged Ring of Honor (ROH) to sell ten-thousand tickets to an event, it seemed like an unachievable goal. But, when Cody Rhodes and tag-team wrestlers The Young Bucks responded to the challenge they broke records selling out tickets to an event they named 'All In' in just thirty minutes.
The acclaimed event took place in September 2018 with an attendance of over eleven thousand people. Outside of the WWE and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) All In had the largest audience in attendance for any wrestling event not promoted by professionals.
A record that has not been broken since 1993.
In previous years other independent promotions have struggled to compete against professional wrestling juggernaut WWE, which has taken over the wrestling world since its first televised debut over twenty-six years ago. However, it seems that with its world-famous superstars and strong financial backing that AEW could be a strong and long-standing competitor.
All Elite Wrestling
After months of speculation, the official announcement on AEW's launch came via its YouTube channel; All Elite Wrestling. It was also announced that Tony Khan, co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C was the founder and president of the new promotion. Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks currently serve as vice-presidents, as well as being active wrestlers in the company themselves.
The eight-month-old promotion has quickly made a name for itself and built up a strong fan base in a professional wrestling community that has been monopolized by WWE and the McMahons for over two decades. AEW has even deeper connections to the WWE with sons of WWE Hall of Famer; Dusty Rhodes currently part of AEW's roster.
Cody who once went under the name Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes formally known as Goldust.
Other former WWE Superstars on the AEW roster include; Chris Jericho, Pac, once known as Neville and Jon Moxley who previously fought under the name Dean Ambrose. The company will also be working alongside Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE) and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) as it slowly builds up a roster of high-flying, no holds barred wrestlers.
Though the promotion has yet to form a weekly show of its own, it has played host to four successful Pay Per Views (PPV's) taking place over four consecutive months. These include; Double or Nothing, Fyter Fest, Fight for the Fallen and All Out. The latter of which saw Chris Jericho become the first-ever winner of AEW's own championship belt as well as being a nod to the event that started all.
Other wrestlers sent to become fan favorites include; Kenny Omega, SoCal Uncensored (SCU), The Lucha Brothers, Cima, Adam Page, MJF and A Boy and His Dinosaur. AEW also has a strong roster of female wrestlers that include; the wife of Cody; Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Nyla Rose, and independent wrestler Britt Baker.
ITV4 upcoming debut
While WWE will be heading to BT Sport after its contract with Sky comes to an end, AEW will find its new home on ITV4. WrestleTalk writes 'BT Sport is available in 2.19 million homes in the UK, whilst ITV4 is available to just shy of 27 million.' Although no official date has been announced for the debut of the weekly show on ITV4, the four PPV released by AEW are available with ITV Box Office.
