Is Cody Looking At A 20,000+ Venue For 'All In 2'?
Dave Meltzer prepared to take that wager.
After All In just about squeezed off the air last night seconds before incurring a pay-per-view overrun, promoters Cody and The Young Bucks hit the ring to heap praise on themselves, the talent, and the ten thousand plus fans in attendance who helped make the show such a spectacular success. Matt Jackson then did his best to make Joey Ryans out of the entire crowd by asking if they wanted more of the same, prompting a massive 'All In 2!' chant.
Cody took over, slyly hinting that "when you make a bet, sometimes you go double or nothing."
Was Rhodes' cliché a bit of canny wordplay, or something more substantial? Clearly, he was hinting at a sequel to Saturday's sensational show, but Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez, speaking on today's Wrestling Observer Radio, opined it could have a double meaning - quite literally.
All In came around after the journalist bet Cody a dollar that he couldn't fill a 10,000 seat arena. Lamenting that he'd probably have to fork out two bucks for a second wager, Meltzer stated he was prepared to challenge the new NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion to draw a 30,000 crowd. He then speculated about the possibility of moving a slated Madison Square Garden show to Queens' 41,000 capacity City Field stadium - though noted it may suffer without the intrigue of a non-WWE company running MSG.
Last night's show, at the 11,800 seater Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL, sold out within an hour. Obviously it's impossible to say for certain, but given the evident demand, it seems likely a bigger venue would have similarly reached capacity.
Again, it's difficult to gauge the appetite of fans going forward, and not sequel could possibly capture the novelty of the original. Howver, based on the overwhelmingly positive reaction to last night's event - and the fervour of the crowd in the aftermath - you get the feeling many more people are salivating at the prospect of going All In should the opportunity come round again. The only question is: where?