Tony Khan Insists AEW Grand Slam Australia Was Always A TV Event, Not PPV (AEW News)
"Having [Grand Slam Australia] be a TV event has always been the plan," says AEW's Tony Khan.
Tony Khan has claimed AEW's upcoming Grand Slam Australia event was always intended to be a television event, not a pay-per-view.
Speaking with TV Insider ahead of the 15 February show, AEW's founder called Grand Slam Australia "one of the biggest TV events of the year", adding that it's "something the network wanted." He called it a great opportunity with a strong lead-in in the form of the NBA's All-Star Saturday, coverage of which will precede Grand Slam Australia on TNT next Saturday.
Said Khan:
“This will be one of the biggest TV events of the year. This will arguably be the biggest TV card of the year. Having this be a TV event has always been the plan. That’s something that the network wanted. It’s something the network brought to us recently as an opportunity to follow NBA All-Star Saturday. We saw it as a huge opportunity. It was a great vote of confidence for our partners at Warner Brothers Discovery. It will be one of the biggest nights of the year on TNT. It’s a great opportunity given the lead-in.”
This is Khan's strongest statement on the show's format to date. While the AEW booker has never explicitly called Grand Slam Australia a pay-per-view, his previously ambiguous messaging surrounding the Brisbane event has raised a few issues.
Were AEW Fans Misled Over Grand Slam Australia's PPV/TV Status?
When Grand Slam Australia was announced in August 2024, it was to be held at the 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. This followed AEW's success in promoting the prosperous All In London events at Wembley Stadium in 2023 and 2024, and preceded that brand's move to Arlington, Texas's Globe Life Field on 12 July, 2025.
AEW doesn't typically book 50,000+ venues for television shows, even those with lofty subtitles. Until this year, Grand Slam had been held exclusively at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York City, which holds up to 23,771 fans. While those shows were marketed explicitly as TV events, Sun Corp is more than twice Arthur Ashe's size. It isn't unreasonable for fans to read from this that Grand Slam Australia would be a bigger event.
Of course, Grand Slam Australia has since been downsized. AEW moved the show to the 13,601-capacity Brisbane Entertainment Center in November. Poor ticket sales were speculated as the reason. The new setting is far closer to what fans would expect from an AEW television taping.
But Khan's messaging hasn't always been consistent. On a pre-Full Gear media call last November, he said the following when asked if Grand Slam Australia would be a pay-per-view or TV taping (h/t WrestleZone):
“We’re very excited to make our debut there. We’ve sold thousands of tickets in the market, and it’ll be a great debut for us in Brisbane. Hopefully, it will be the first of many shows down there. As far as how it’s going to run, I think it will present some challenges in terms of the timing of the event and the time zones, especially when presenting it as a conventional pay-per-view here domestically. That’s something to keep an eye on.”
He doesn't explicitly state that Grand Slam Australia would be a pay-per-view, but it's easy to see why people might be confused. He specifically notes the challenges of running a pay-per-view in an Australian timezone for an American audience. These comments, coupled with the original venue and exorbitant ticket prices, don't quite align with the idea that this was always to be a television event.
Again, it is very easy to see where the confusion comes from. Clearer messaging on Grand Slam Australia from the show's announcement onwards could have avoided this.