WITH FOUR YEARS OFFICIALLY ON THE BOOKS, WE ARE AT A KEY JUNCTURE FOR WRESTLING’S #2 PROMOTION. HERE’S THE 30,000-FOOT VIEW OF AEW’S SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
WE’RE LED TO believe it began with a bet between the cast of Being The Elite and Dave Meltzer. When the Wrestling Observer author suggested that Ring of Honor could not fill a 10,000-seat arena, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks assembled a group of friends and peers for the historic All In event over Labor Day Weekend in 2018. Though nominally an independent card with some production assistance from ROH, that show very much set the stage for the January 1, 2019, unveiling of the Tony Khan-backed All Elite Wrestling.
The bet story is fun, but it wasn’t the beginning of the company. That distinction goes to the inaugural Double or Nothing event. On May 25, 2019, AEW presented its first official card live, on pay-per-view, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Headlined by Chris Jericho’s victory over Omega, it notably featured Match of the Year—a bloody bout between Rhodes and his older brother Dustin. It also
