Tony Khan Says AEW Had Been Working On Event At Arthur Ashe Stadium For Two Years
Image Credit: IMPACT Wrestling
Tony Khan is bringing All Elite Wrestling back on the road this July. Still, no event is generating more interest than their upcoming “Grand Slam” episode of AEW Dynamite that will take place this September at Arther Ashe Stadium in New York City.
Following the big announcement this week, Tony Khan sat down with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to discuss AEW’s debut in New York City and that this venue has been in the plans for them to use over two years ago:
“We’ve wanted to come into the New York area for a long time,” Tony Khan said. “This venue is one we identified over two years ago as a place we wanted AEW to go. It’s such an iconic venue, and it sets up perfectly for wrestling. We’ve been working on this idea for two years, and Raf has put so much of this together,” Khan says. “He used to work for WWE in live events for years, and he worked for the Kraft family in New England. He’s negotiated and managed this every step of the way.”
Tony Khan went on to mention that AEW talent and former WWE Superstar Christian Cage is a big tennis fan, and holding a wrestling event inside of a tennis stadium is something he’s thought wrestling should do for years:
“People here are already very excited about it,” Tony Khan continued. “I was telling Christian Cage about this show, and he thought it was a brilliant idea. Christian is a huge tennis fan and he goes to matches, and he said this is something he’d thought about for years. And it made him really excited that he is going to be part of it.”
Are you excited about AEW’s debut in New York City? What type of show do you think Tony Khan is planning in order to fill up such a big venue? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
.@AEW is finally bringing “Dynamite” to New York City on September 22nd 🗽
“This venue [Arthur Ashe Stadium] is one we identified over two years ago as a place we wanted AEW to go,” @TonyKhan says https://t.co/wdfSmfQJGl pic.twitter.com/e5JeKGoPaW
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 16, 2021