Tony Khan announces the return of the special AEW Dynamite and Rampage event later this year
AEW President Tony Khan made another huge announcement this afternoon. This time it was to confirm that AEW will be returning to Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York for "Grand Slam" editions of Dynamite and Rampage.
The inaugural "Grand Slam" event took place on September 22nd 2021, with both Dynamite and Rampage jam packed with blockbuster matches that still get talked about to this day.
The main one being the in-ring debut of Bryan Danielson, as he went to a 30 minute draw with then AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. The match was heralded afterwards as one of the greatest matches in AEW's short history.
AEW Grand Slam II is happening this year in Arthur Ashe Stadium!! Thatβs BIG awesome news, this show is for dream matches.
We got Omega vs Danielson for the first time here.
Now give us CM Punk vs Bryan Danielson for the first time in AEW π€©π₯
#AEW #AEWDynamite #AEWGrandSlam https://t.co/HH9BbRj9XE
Tony Khan confirmed the news while speaking to News 12 Long Island ahead of this week's editions of Dynamite and Rampage that will take place at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.
βYes, I expect weβll be back to have Grand Slam, AEW Grand Slam, Dynamite and Rampage, back in Queens at Arthur Ashe Stadium again. It was a huge success to everyone involved and itβs all thanks to this great partnership with the USTA. They were so kind and I think it resulted in a big partnership." (H/T SEScoops).
Nothing has been set in stone in terms of dates, however it will most likely take place after the 2022 US Open tennis tournament, which concludes on September 11th 2022.
Tony Khan also confirmed Grand Slam almost drew a $1 million gate
Tony Khan revealed that the Grand Slam event in 2021 almost broke the $1 million gate first. This comes following the news that the upcoming Double or Nothing pay-per-view became the first AEW event to break the $1 million gate benchmark.
"[Grand Slam] was almost the first million dollar gate in AEW history, just came shy of that, but it was real close and of course we set that record now, for AEW Double or Nothing Las Vegas, became our first million dollar gate for live tickets." (H/T SEScoops).
Tony Khan just announced that Double or Nothing in T-Mobile Arena with just first day ticket sales gave AEW their 1st EVER ONE MILLION DOLLAR LIVE GATE.
That's incredible and such a HUGE milestone for the company with only bigger things to come! https://t.co/R9ecZFtYfZ
AEW has since broken the million mark a second time with the upcoming "Forbidden Door" pay-per-view in partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling. The event will take place in the United Center on June 26th.
Do you think Grand Slam 2 will make over $1 million? Let us know in the comments section down below!