AEW All In attendance controversy explained

AEW has been a lightning rod for the media since its inception. While many of the headlines the Tony Khan-owned company has generated have been good, it's also had more than its share of bad press. One of the latest controversies surrounding the company revolves around the number of tickets sold for AEW All In.

The show was historic in every sense of the word. It was held at the famous Wembley Stadium in London - a place most wrestling promotions wouldn't have dared to book, and it was headlined by some of the hottest names in the business: Christian, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, and, of course, Kenny Omega and Sting.

Tony Khan excitedly claimed that the event sold a total of 81,035 tickets. Since the announcement, media outlets have been adding several phrases and titles to the number - including the idea that this is the highest number of tickets ever sold for a single wrestling show.

However, just as Tony Khan and company were basking in the glory of the record number of sales, new information from the local government in London stated that the total number of attendees that entered through turnstiles was just over 72,000, almost 10,000 less than the number that AEW had projected.

To make matters more complicated, reports surfaced this week that a member of the Brent Council in London had released another attendance number for the event, which was 85,258. However, a follow-up uncovered that the number had been revised to 72,265.

It's anyone's guess who the record keepers are going to take more seriously, a wrestling promoter or the government authorities over in London. But the difference could be, as Vince Russo explained, scalpers at work - people who bought the tickets from Khan's company and then didn't manage to sell them all off.

So, while Tony blinked and rubbed his eyes at seeing the number of tickets sold, it may not have translated into seats occupied at the event. Then again, the idea of fudging the number of ticket sales in the world of sports entertainment is not new or shocking. If there's ever an industry that inspired the term 'fake it till you make it,' it's this one.

Tony Khan's Role in the AEW All In ticket sales controversy

What was unique for the reporting and viewing crowd was CEO Tony Khan going all out about the numbers and even posting about them on social media. Khan posted a tweet about the ticket sales hitting the 50k mark - being nice enough to translate those sales into 'dollahs'.

"Thanks to the amazing support from our fans, #AEWAllIn London @wembleystadiumjust hit 50,000 tickets sold for £5.2M ($6.5M)! Remarkably all 50k tickets sold have been in the pre-sale! The general ticket on-sale begins TOMORROW, with great seats opening up!" his tweet read.

The All Elite chief even compared his pay-per-view to WrestleMania. The Vince McMahons, Paul Heymans, and Eric Bischoffs of the world would know exactly what Khan must have felt while making that particular post, but for a young crowd weaned on events and companies 'so big they can't fail,' the CEO talking about tickets sales seemed a bit out of the way. But as they say in this business, the show must always go on - and the bigger the better.

Do you believe that the turnstile count accurately captures AEW All In's ticket sales, or do you believe Tony Khan's number? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.