The atmosphere at a wrestling show is truly an experience to behold. Whether you’re in basketball courts, warehouses, gymnasiums, or bingo halls with fifty to a hundred people, you can feel it. Whether you’re in arenas, ballrooms, opera houses, churches, caves, or stadiums , you can feel it. The location can make the experience and the show something else.
This is what Wembley Stadium brings to the mix. It’s an important place not just in wrestling. It played host to the 1948 Summer Olympics held for the first time in twelve years due to World War II. It’s where England won the 1966 World Cup. It’s where Live Aid was held in 1985 when Queen held the masses in the palm of their hands for twenty-two hecking minutes. It’s where the Spice Girls reunited in 2019. But it also played host to a wrestling show.
SummerSlam 1992 was the WWF’s big foray to the historic stadium. August 29, 1992 saw a varying degree of quality to matches and moments. To me, the Road Warrior Pop that accompanied The Legion of Doom and Rick Martel’s match with Shawn Michaels are some of the brighter spots. However, this was definitely a one-match show that, when wrestlers think of Wembley Stadium, they think of this match.
Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. A match that pitted a strategist and technician against a powerhouse and athlete, these brother-in-laws held the crowd in the palm of their hands as Freddie Mercury did over five years prior. The finish is still vividly burned into my brain – Bulldog escaping Hart’s Sharpshooter and reversing the pink-and-black clad Intercontinental Champion’s Sunset Flip into a roll-up pin for the win. Though bitter about the loss, Bret eventually embraced Davey and the crowd ate it up.
That is why my initial apathy for All Elite Wrestling running a UK pay-per-view event was met with a surprised shock and hype. Yes, I was going to be happy for all of my European friends who would be able to go, be it Craven Cottage or elsewhere, but nowhere did I expect Wembley Stadium to be the eventual destination. That’s when it changed. This is a place of culture and history. This is a place of importance.
What’s more, is that it is definitely possible this event, AEW’s own All In, will go off without a hitch. Take 2022’s Forbidden Door crossover show with New Japan Pro Wrestling, for instance. It sold out damn near immediately once tickets were on sale. A statement shared commonly amongst fans was that a show of that magnitude should have been reserved for a full-on stadium.
Granted, there must be work done that can sell the show. Surprises like returns and debuts, stories told through in-ring competition, and moments that will last fans a lifetime. You have only so many chances to make history; make the most of what you’ve got.
The fact that this is such a monumental topic itself without any matches officially announced as of April 6, 2023 speaks volumes. AEW’s more than an alternative, more than a viable product. It’s a fucking force at this point.
To take the name of a show that revolutionized and changed the industry, All In, it’s a big deal. This is a full circle moment that started from a bet made and multiple companies crossing over for the love of professional wrestling. This is where jaded fans of WWE found the answer. This is pro wrestling’s El Dorado.
However, this is also an opportunity to cleanse the name All In of some connotations. While there were incredible wrestlers on the card like Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Briscoe Brothers, Kazuchika Okada, Rey Mysterio, and Bully Ray, there are also some names that do not age well. On this card, there were some nasty dark stains on an otherwise pristine paper, etched in the quills of a revolution.
All In taking place in a new location with tons of history and an epic presentation is a way to add honor to its name.
This is what I was referring to when I mentioned how a place makes a show. Wherever you go, among the bumps and slams, you will meet a wall of sound. You are part of one big entity that is pleased and taken on a journey and you are left to enjoy it. It enraptures you and holds you in its power and you don’t want it to let go. You’re in the moment, you are the moment where you scream your lungs out as your heart beats with those who exude fighting spirit. You may even be left with tears streaming down your face, though you don’t care; a smile may creep upon your face and you don’t even notice it. Wrestling, like concerts, is magical.
Across the world, you’ll find fans that react in their own unique ways. Americans roar and chant while the Japanese respectfully show their support for their favorite wrestlers.
UK crowds, nevertheless, bring their own energy. Whether you’ve watched WWE’s NXT UK or any of the promotions from WxW, Progress, or RevPro, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
The singing. Fans love to sing. Whether it’s to the tune of Flight of the Valkyries, Seven Nation Army, or Oh My Darling, Clementine, they will make the moment while serenading about whosoever is in the ring. It’s the same vibe brought to football games, really. (Using the European version of the word “football” out of respect here.)
I can’t wait to see what’ll be cooked up with AEW talents. While I’m enticed to hear Queen’s “Radio Gaga” if Dalton Castle arrives in all his peacock glory or Emi Sakura entering to “We Will Rock You” and leaving to “We Are the Champions” should she win, I know that whatever energy the UK crowd brings, it’ll put a wonderful little stamp on what is undoubtedly going to be a great show.
As an American, I know this is something special. This is a moment in time for the company who has made history so very often being in a place that thrives on history itself. While not the biggest entity to grace Wembley, AEW brings something new and beautiful that could catapult it further into the public conversation.
Whether you’re seated front row or in the nose-bleeds, whether you’re in a pub, or watching at home in whatever country, you’re not going to forget this moment.
While Wembley Stadium, born in 1922, has since been rebuilt in the 2000s, it still holds that air. When you step through, you stand in the place where so many things happened that give the name its notoriety. It may not be the exact same stadium it was, but moments were made here. Moments will continue to be made here. You have to – this place was meant for people to go all in.
Whether you’re a fellow American flying in; someone from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, wherever; or London itself, let’s soak it all in together, okay? This is the company’s first foray. It has to be soaked in. Inhaled. Drank.
And to you, Wembley, and to you, All Elite Wrestling, continue to do this for us: make us laugh, make us cry, and make us feel like we could fly. You’ve yet to have your finest hour.
