Details on how AEW Grand Slam was a massive success despite controversies - Reports

AEW debuted in Australia this weekend with the Grand Slam event. The show had been surrounded by controversy since it was announced, but it appears Tony Khan and his team managed to pull off another successful evening. Many top stars like Toni Storm, Cope, Buddy Matthews, and more received thunderous crowd ovations. New details have been revealed on just how successful AEW's Down Under debut was.

TK originally announced Grand Slam: Australia for Suncorp Stadium, but the show was moved to the smaller Brisbane Entertainment Centre due to reportedly poor ticket sales. There was also confusion over Grand Slam being a pay-per-view, but it ended up being a standalone TV special on TNT and Max, airing on a tape delay of more than 20 hours. Khan himself was heavily booed during the event.

Grand Slam: Australia was the third-largest gate in All Elite Wrestling history, according to Wrestling Observer Radio. The final number has not been confirmed yet, but as of Thursday the gate was at $1.3 million, and that was two days before showtime.

"The show was a success. It wasn't the success that they had hoped for it to be, obviously. But it's still a success," said Dave Meltzer.

It was speculated by Dave Meltzer on WOR that AEW may have done around 13,000-14,000 fans in attendance if they had stayed at the 52,000-seat Suncorp Stadium before they moved to the 13,500-seat Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where they did around 11,000 fans.

Tony Khan thanks fans for AEW Grand Slam

All Elite Wrestling fans responded to Saturday's Grand Slam: Australia event with a mixed bag of feedback for the most part. However, Tony Khan took to X (fka Twitter) after the show to give his thanks to the supporters.

"Thank you all who watched Grand Slam Australia! It’s one of my favorite wrestling shows ever + favorite experiences of my life. I’m very grateful to all of the fans in Brisbane, the wrestlers + staff, + all of you who watched on @TNTdrama and/or @StreamOnMaxtonight!," Khan wrote.

The company will now run the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix for Wednesday Night Dynamite. A rare Wednesday taping for Collision will also be held which will air next Saturday.