Momentum is everything in wrestling, and for the first time in a while All Elite Wrestling went into an episode of Dynamite with absolutely loads.
In an odd similarity to the last time wrestling ran the UK's biggest stadium, the United States markets have been a little soft for AEW of late, but that wasn't a concern when pre-sale opened for the company's All In spectacular later this year. 36,000 pre-sale tickets were sold on the first day, instantly making it AEW's biggest show ever. Further pre-sales and general sale dates may well bring the attendance close to Wembley Stadium's mammoth 80-90,000 capacity, and that's before a single match has been announced.
It all stands as a monument to the organisation's relationship with its base, even if that has felt a little tenuous domestically. There's time to address a disappointing Double Or Nothing build, but it's disappointing to even speak in those terms when AEW is leading from the front with a battle between pillars and a huge showdown between The Elite and The Blackpool Combat Club.
But momentumis everything in wrestling, and could AEW get a burst of that transatlantic energy?
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
