Folks, gather ’round! This summer, AEW is shaking things up with a residency at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It’s a bold move, believe me. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill wrestling tour; it’s a Texas-sized spectacle featuring five episodes of “AEW Collision,” an episode of “AEW Rampage,” two sets of ROH tapings, and the grand ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. We’re talking more shows than a binge-watching weekend on your favorite streaming service.
On June 6, tickets for the “Path to All In Summer Series” went on sale. Wrestling oracle Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave us the scoop on week one sales. Here are the numbers: 472 tickets for the July 20 “AEW Collision” episode, 565 for the ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, and 701 for the July 27 edition. With less than a month before the curtain rises, these aren’t exactly ‘drop-the-mic’ stats. More like a cautious golf clap. Meltzer, ever the realist, pointed out that sustaining high interest weekly is a tall order, even for the big leagues.
Now, let’s talk about the venue. The Esports Stadium will be seating 1,333 eager fans, up from the 1,290 initially reported by Brandon Thurston. It’s a modest bump, like adding extra cheese to your burger. However, if week one’s sales are any indicator, AEW might be in for a slow crawl rather than a sprint.
The company needs to sell around 5,000 tickets over four weeks to break even. With “Dynamite” bouncing from city to city simultaneously, it’s like juggling chainsaws while riding a unicycle.