Tony Khan Reveals Why He Booked AEW All In At Wembley Stadium Instead Of Craven Cottage

After much anticipation, it was revealed on Wednesday night's edition of Dynamite that All Elite Wrestling will make their debut in the United Kingdom later this year when All In airs from Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 27. Tickets for the event go on sale on Monday, May 5 at 9 am BST and fans can register for a pre-sale here.

Tony Khan had previously announced that AEW would be debuting in the UK in 2023 but many assumed the event would take place at Craven Cottage between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 Premier League football seasons since Khan is already the Director of Football Operations at Fulham FC, who play their home matches at the Cottage. 

Speaking with the PA news agency, Khan revealed why he decided to hold AEW's first UK show at Wembley instead of Craven Cottage. 

"I had two places I would like to run AEW - Wembley Stadium and Craven Cottage. However, I do believe for the history of Wembley Stadium and for the capacity of the event that Wembley is right now the best place for this event. Craven Cottage would present too many logistical challenges for a wrestling show of this size," Khan said.

"I definitely believe that it's long overdue for a major professional wrestling event to emanate from Wembley Stadium. It is unbelievable that it's been over 30 years but I think the timing is right now. I think Wembley is the true embodiment of the ultimate sporting ground, in the best city in the world. I'm surprised there has not been any attempt to run a major wrestling event there in decades."

Should All In be a success, the AEW CEO plans to come back to the UK for more shows. 

"I hope it's very successful, I would love to come back. The [Jacksonville] Jaguars have had a long-term commitment at Wembley Stadium and at Fulham, we've had great memories at Wembley Stadium. If this is the sort of success that we expect it will be, then surely we would look to follow up on it and return. I hope we can build an event for the fans in London that they'd look forward to that will be fitting of the massive fan support in the UK, and the prestige of Wembley Stadium," Khan added.

AEW All In will be the first pro wrestling event at Wembley Stadium since WWE SummerSlam 1992, a show which ended with a classic match between The British Bulldog and Bret Hart that saw Davey Boy Smith win the Intercontinental Championship. 

H/T to Independent