When Tony Khan announced that AEW would be heading to Wembley Stadium in London for its debut show in the UK, many were surprised by the move.
However, within a week of them going on sale, All In had sold in excess of 60,000 tickets for the 90,000-seat arena, showing that the gamble had paid off before a single match had even been announced.
Prior to Wembley being revealed as the venue, many had expected Craven Cottage to be the frontrunner as it is the home of Fulham FC, the football club also owned by the Khans.
This is setting the stage for what #AEW in the UK looks like!
Our highly anticipated UK debut will take place at the iconic @wembleystadium on Sunday, August 27th! Do not miss out on this historic event!
🎟 https://t.co/UN1cNj1kQqpic.twitter.com/vRwdcpK3s3— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 17, 2023
Tony Khan explains why Wembley Stadium was his “first choice” of venue for All In
During an appearance on TalkWRESTLING, the Khan explained why the Cottage wasn’t a viable option for All In, citing the logistical issues with holding a major event on the grounds.
“Those are two of my favorite places in the world. Craven Cottage is literally a home to me. I would love to do any big event in Craven Cottage.
“Wembley offered several things that we just couldn’t possibly do at the Cottage. In this case, the load-in, logistically at Craven Cottage was going to be pretty much impossible. It would have been really hard to make it a big-scale event there based on how challenging it would be load set, the ring, and all the elements for a big wrestling show into Craven Cottage.
“The Cottage was built in 1879. We’ve done a lot of renovation, to say the least, on the riverside in recent years, but Wembley offered us a less challenging load in, and also the ability to sell many times more tickets.”
Khan went on to say that All In has already sold over twice the tickets Craven Cottage would have allowed.
“We’ve already sold twice as many tickets as we could have sold at Craven Cottage. I really wish that would have come off, but Wembley is also one of my favorite places in the world. This is, to be honest, my first choice of where to do the show, at Wembley Stadium.”
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.