After tennis’ biggest stars graced the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, some of Wrestling’s biggest names will be squaring off in a different kind of Grand Slam at the famed tennis venue.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is returning to Queens on Wednesday for the second consecutive year to put on one of its biggest events of the year, AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Grand Slam. The special wrestling event has quickly turned into the company’s premier dates on the calendar as it continues to battle with the WWE for fans and viewers.
And AEW CEO Tony Khan is setting the bar high for what wrestling fans can expect on Wednesday.
“I am really, really excited for this one. I think this is going to be one of the greatest live events we’ve ever put on this week in New York City,” Khan told amNewYork in a phone interview. “I really believe the card across Dynamite and Rampage for Wednesday night is as strong of a lineup as we’ve ever had in one night. For the live fans in New York City, everybody come to Arthur Ashe Stadium. … I think this is going to be one of the best AEW shows that we’ve done and frankly for your dollar, you will not get a better value for live wrestling in New York City.”
Wednesday’s event will air live on TBS for the Dynamite portion of the show, which is AEW’s weekly Wednesday night broadcast. Afterward, they will shoot the Rampage portion of the card to air on Friday night on TNT.
Last year’s event marked the first time AEW came to New York. The wrestling company tours across the country similarly to the WWE, which hosts different events in various cities. The 20,177 fans that attended in 2021 was the AEW’s most attended event to date and was considered a major success by critics and fans alike.
This year, AEW is already on track for another major milestone with the Grand Slam closing in on a $1 million gate, Khan Tweeted on Monday. On Tuesday AEW had distributed over 12,000 of the roughly 15,000 tickets that were available for Wednesday’s event, according to the Twitter account WrestleTix, which tracks attendance at wrestling events from AEW to WWE.
Arthur Ashe Stadium provides a rather unique backdrop for the AEW and one that Khan stumbled onto during a Google search. The AEW executive said that he had been searching “stadiums with a roof” online when he came across the Queens venue.
“I couldn’t believe it. What an amazing venue and the more I looked at it the more I thought it would just be so perfect for a wrestling show,” Khan explained. “But then I thought wow it’s been there for a long time and surely someone would have tried this before. It just worked out great. They’ve been very open to hosting us and we’re honored to have the access and this chance to run Arthur Ashe Stadium for pro wrestling every year.”
Khan added: “It’s become our signature television event.”
Among the matches taking place on Wednesday Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley will battle for the AEW World Championship singles title and Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland square off with Anthony Bowens and Max Caster for the tag team World Championship during the Dynamite portion of the program. Both Bowens and Caster are locals as well with Bowens growing up in New Jersey and Caster hailing from nearby Long Island.
New York has traditionally been known as a hotbed of wrestling for the WWE, with the company’s offices in nearby Stanford and some of their biggest events taking place at some of the area’s best-known venues. AEW has forged a different path quickly building a relationship with the newly opened UBS Arena in Elmont as well as Prudential Center in Newark.
For more sports coverage, visit amNY.com
Khan acknowledged how important events like Grand Slam and other shows are to being successful in the New York area.
“This is one of the real homes of professional wrestling,” he said. “It means a lot to be able to come up here. This is one of the biggest weeks of our year and I think for our TV Shows this is the biggest week of the year on par with our biggest pay-per-views.”
