It’s official, another big sellout for a major AEW event. This one’s a truly historic one, the first-ever broadcast of AEW on TNT, emanating from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. And true to form, and true to my own expectations, it sold out pretty damn quickly. It took ever so slightly over three hours.
But honestly, it’s even more staggering in reality than it appears on the surface. Because this happened amidst a monumental struggle from their provider, Ticketmaster. I dare say they weren’t even close to prepared for the demand of this show, as the amount of people flooding in caused severe issues with requests being processed.
I can speak from experience on this one, as I was among the many desperately trying to get tickets. Somehow I managed it! Lemme tell you, I was right there when they went on-sale and rushed in, yet it took pretty much an hour on the dot of frantic clicking. My hand was on the verge of cramping by the time I finally got two tickets. And it would seem many others suffered the same thing, likely having to wait even longer than I did.
What this means is that, ironically, the incredible demand actually slowed down this sellout considerably. If less people came pouring in – or if Ticketmaster were better prepared – who knows how fast this actually could’ve happened? I’d have hazard a guess as to say it could well have been sold out within the hour if not for these issues.
Regardless, seeing their biggest arena yet sell out in three hours is mighty impressive. It’s another in a long line of major statements. When the world tunes in to TNT on October 2nd, they’ll see a packed house for sure, and a buzzing one I’d wager.
AEW surely aided this with their announcements over the past week.
Four things have been announced for this broadcast, in spite of it being two full months away. It was announced that Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara will be taking place. We know that Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks will be facing Chris Jericho and two partners of his choosing. Jon Moxley will be making a special appearance as well, and the first-ever Women’s World Champion will be crowned on the night to top it all off. In my humble opinion that’s already quite a show, right there. And I suspect we’ll see more announcements coming off of All Out, plus some surprises as well.
I think it was going to sell out even if they didn’t say anything. I mean, we’re buzzing this much about a show that doesn’t even have a name yet! But the slow trickle of big announcements throughout the days leading up to the sale certainly seem to have built anticipation into a fever pitch.
Personally speaking, these next two months can’t go by fast enough. Regardless of what kind of wrestling you enjoy, I think deep down everyone can agree that the industry as a whole needs this. We need a hot, thriving alternative and we’ve needed it for a long while. That it’s succeeded so much so far is stellar, but it still needs all the support it can get. I urge everyone to atleast give it a chance when it comes to air on October 2nd.
