AEW All In: Texas Is Arlington’s Latest Statement of
Intent as a Pro Wrestling Town
Dallas used to be the capital of pro wrestling in North
Texas. Now, Arlington has taken up that mantle—and
Saturday’s mega-show at Globe Life Field is a big reason
why.
Mike Piellucci
July 10, 2025|9:27 am
Bring up Dallas to someone in the professional wrestling
business, and it won’t take long for you to hear about the
city’s legacy as a wrestling town. You can thank two words
for that: Von Erich. This will always be the home of one of
wrestling’s most famous families, and one of wrestling’s
most storied promotions, World Class Championship Wrestling.
Cache like that doesn’t fade, even though WCCW held its last
match in 1990 and even though the Sportatorium was
demolished in 2003.
It can, however, relocate. While the American Airlines
Center hosts its fair share of big events for World
Wrestling Entertainment, the world’s largest wrestling
promotion, Arlington is the new heartbeat of pro wrestling
in North Texas. That’s hardly the city’s most glamorous
sports property, of course. Arlington is where the Cowboys
and Rangers play, and the Wings, too, until they relocate to
Dallas in 2027. The rebooted XFL operates out of Arlington,
as well. And it’s where the World Cup will be next summer. I
bet you know most, if not all, of those things.
What you’re probably less aware of is how Arlington has
positioned itself as one of the capitals of pro wrestling in
the United States. That starts with WrestleMania, WWE’s
signature event and the biggest wrestling show on the
planet. Whenever it comes to North Texas, it’s held at AT&T
Stadium. But a single mega show does not make a hub any more
than a single wrestling company does—not even the biggest
wrestling show put on by the biggest wrestling company.
The true backbone of this is All Elite Wrestling, the
country’s second-largest promotion. Since its inception in
2019, the company has been hosting shows around North Texas,
with the bulk of them emanating from Arlington and Garland.
That’s not unusual. Things began getting interesting last
summer when AEW ramped toward its biggest show of the year,
All In, with a so-called Summer Series, a multiweek
residency featuring 10 live shows, all run out of Esports
Stadium Arlington, in the shadow of Choctaw Stadium. It was
a throwback to wrestling’s territorial era, and it went well
enough of that the promotion upped the ante for 2025. Rather
than using Arlington to build toward All In, which had
previously been held at London’s Wembley Stadium, AEW moved
the flagship show to Globe Life Field for AEW: All In Texas.
It goes down on Saturday, and it should pack in north of
20,000 people, making it the company’s largest-ever show in
the United States.
For good reason, too. AEW bills itself as the place “where
the best wrestle,” a subjective claim that nonetheless holds
plenty of water when one considers the names on the
company’s roster and the fast-paced, action-heavy style
they’re allowed to work. A WWE pay-per-view—or premium live
event, as the company calls them—is a Marvel movie: maximum
star power and spectacle. An AEW show is more like a
Christopher Nolan flick, marrying big-budget talent with
arthouse film sensibilities. It makes sense that All In:
Texas will be where Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada, who
created arguably the most acclaimed rivalry in pro wrestling
history in Japan, wrestle each other for the first time on
American soil. And where a first-time dream match between
Toni Storm and Mercedes Moné, who rose to prominence in WWE
under the name Sasha Banks, takes place. Those are but two
tentpoles of a card that could encompass more than 10
matches and stretch more than five hours by the time
everything is finalized. There might even be a Von Erichs
appearance; Marshall and Ross Von Erich, sons of Kevin Von
Erich, the only living Von Erich brother, are contracted AEW
talent.
That’s a lot. It’s also by design. One reason why AEW picked
Arlington to host All In—why AEW’s founder, CEO, and head of
creative Tony Khan says, “We’ve always wanted to have an AEW
pay-per-view in Texas, specifically around the Dallas
Metroplex”—is because of the type of wrestling fan North
Texas has cultivated for decades. It’s the type of person
who will digest everything the company throws at them and
clear his or her plate for more.
“The fans are red hot,” he says. “They’re so passionate. I
think it’s one of the reasons the fans really embraced the
residency at the Esports Stadium … it makes for great
wrestling TV shows, and the wrestlers love to wrestle for
the fans there.”
Saturday, then, is what the six-year-old company has “been
building towards,” both in Arlington and the United States
at large, Khan says. And he is confident enough in the
groundwork AEW has laid that he called his shot during a
recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. “I think it’s
going to be our best show ever,” he told the venerable
sportscaster.
All In goes back to London in 2026, which for now makes
Saturday a one-off. AEW will return to North Texas plenty
over the next calendar year, but there is no telling when or
if the company will plant its flagship show stateside again.
If they do, though, it won’t be surprising to see All In
find its way back to Arlington. Big-time pro wrestling
always does.
