With AEW's "All In" pay-per-view in London just weeks away, industry insider Dave Meltzer has provided an update on ticket sales and the potential impact of Bryan Danielson's impending retirement match.
As of July 31st, 44,646 tickets had been sold for the event, which is slightly lower than AEW's initial announcement of 45,000. However, Meltzer noted a surge in sales over the past week, attributed to local promotion by AEW stars like Mariah May and Nigel McGuinness. Further promotion by more AEW talent is planned in the coming weeks, with the final week before the event seen as a crucial period for driving ticket sales.
AEW aims to achieve a paid attendance of 54,000, which would place them third on the UK wrestling all-time list behind WWE SummerSlam 1992 and last year's "All In" event. However, Meltzer considers this target a longshot, requiring a significant increase in sales over the next three weeks. He also observed a lack of tickets on the secondary market, contrasting with the high demand for WWE SummerSlam on August 3.
The recent announcement that Bryan Danielson could potentially retire if he loses his AEW World Championship match against Swerve Strickland has sparked debate about its impact on ticket sales. While Meltzer believes Danielson's retirement would have been a huge draw in the past, fans are now more sceptical about such stipulations, particularly after witnessing numerous instances in WWE where similar storylines were not fulfilled. He argues that Danielson's potential victory, potentially marking his last major title win, is a more compelling draw than his retirement itself, especially since he is expected to remain with AEW in the near future.
Meltzer sees the coming weeks as crucial for gauging the success of "All In", particularly as the novelty of it being AEW's first major stadium show and first outside North America has lessened compared to last year. He acknowledges that AEW's current momentum is not as strong as it was in 2023, but highlights the strong build-up for the announced matches, leaving the final verdict to the box office results following the August 25th event.
