Posted on 8/24/126 by Bob Magee
All Elite Wrestling will stage its first live event in
France this fall when “AEW Grand Slam: France” takes place
at Adidas Arena in Paris on October 6. The show will include
tapings of both “AEW Dynamite” and “AEW Collision.” Tickets
are scheduled to go on sale Friday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. CEST
through AEWTix.com and LiveNation.fr. Fans can also register
for early access presale opportunities by signing up as AEW
Insiders on the company’s website.
The Paris event will air on TBS and HBO Max and marks the
ninth edition of the Grand Slam series, following previous
specials in New York, Brisbane, Mexico City and Sydney. AEW
CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan said France emerged
as a logical next step because of the number of French fans
traveling to London for AEW shows like “All In” and Paris’
status as a marquee global sports and entertainment market.
“There are so many great wrestling fans in France, and a lot
of fans from France have made the trek to London to see AEW,
and we believe there’s a lot of excitement around All Elite
Wrestling in Paris, and it just felt like this would be the
perfect time to launch with a huge event,” Khan said.
Khan said he is hopeful AEW can run additional events in
France and “continue to make Paris a major live event site”
for the company. Still, the success of AEW’s first French
event will be judged by its attendance, live-event revenue
and viewership. Adidas Arena, which opened in 2024 and cost
approximately $150M, has a capacity of 8,000 seats. AEW’s
most recent Grand Slam event in Mexico saw an attendance of
over 13,000 at Arena México in Mexico City. Over the course
of its eight Grand Slam events, the company has averaged
over 12,000 in attendance.
AEW star Will Ospreay said he wants Paris to be part of a
broader, long-term European strategy. Ospreay has wrestled
in France twice and described those events as “absolutely
breathtaking,” with crowds that felt more like a football
atmosphere than a typical wrestling show, adding that French
fans are “rowdy,” and “starved” for major televised shows
and willing to travel for big events.
“I don’t need to watch [the market] because I’ve experienced
it before, and I just know the moment that we go over there
and the bell goes off, the French fans are going to let us
know they want us to keep coming back,” Ospreay said.
AEW is set for a busy end to its summer as “AEW All In:
London,” one of the promotion’s premier pay-per-views, is
scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 30, at Wembley Stadium in London.