AEW Shows With The Biggest Attendances
AEW only began five years ago, and in that time the promotion has housed some of the all-time greatest professional wrestlers, created a backlog of matches that will live on in the memory forever, and a legacy which looks to continue on for the foreseeable future too. Never has a professional wrestling promotion grown so quickly and so successfully, with them still retaining a strong and steady following.
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AEW has a roster full of talented wrestlers, but it doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement.Even though AEW has experienced some ups and downs when it comes to viewership and attendance, here and there they still fill arenas and even stadiums. It is interesting to go and look at the AEW events which have had the largest audiences in the company’s history, as it is a mix of televised shows and PPVs.
10 The Second AEW x NJPW Forbidden Had Many Big Names
Attendance: 13,631
Match Results | Length | Stipulation/Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
MJF (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi | 15:46 | AEW World Championship |
CM Punk defeated Satoshi Kojima | 13:40 | Owen Hart Tournament Quarter Final |
Orange Cassidy (c) defeated Daniel Garcia, Katsuyori Shibata, & Zack Sabre Jr | 11:15 | AEW International Championship |
SANADA (c) defeated Jack Perry | 10:49 | IWGP World Heavyweight Championship |
The Elite, Eddie Kingston, & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuke Takeshita, & Shota Umino | 21:29 | 3 Vs. 3 |
Toni Storm (c) defeated Willow Nightingale | 10:27 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega (c) | 39:50 | IWGP United States Championship |
Darby Allin, Sting, & Tetsuya Naito defeated Minoru Suzuki, Chris Jericho, & Sammy Guevara | 15:09 | 3 Vs. 3 |
Bryan Danielson defeated Kazuchika Okada | 27:47 | Exhibition Match |
After the previous year was riddled with injuries, all the big stars were in attendance for Forbidden Door 2023, as Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr, Kazuchika Okada, Jon Moxley, and CM Punk were all present. There were numerous “dream matches” on this show, which brought in a huge audience to the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega had a match of the year candidate for the IWGP United States Championship, which helped to elevate this event to a higher level.
9 Grand Slam 2022 Saw AEW Return To Arthur Ashe Stadium
Attendance: 13,800
Match Results | Length | Stipulation/Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
Chris Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli (c) | 14:49 | ROH World Championship |
The Acclaimed defeated Swerve In Our Glory (c) | 13:44 | AEW World Tag Team Championships |
PAC (c) defeated Orange Cassidy | 12:34 | AEW All-Atlantic Championship |
Toni Storm (c) defeated Athena, Britt Baker, & Serena Deeb | 9:50 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson | 19:31 | AEW World Championship |
AEW has been visiting the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York yearly, and this show had a strong audience. Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson battled to crown a brand new AEW World Champion in the main event, which served as a strong draw.
AEW held matches for the ROH World Title, AEW Women’s World Title, the International Title, and the AEW World Tag Team Titles, making this a stacked show with several titles on the line. The Acclaimed’s title victory was a big moment, and Chris Jericho also made history by becoming ROH World Champion.
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Attendance: 13,955
Match Result | Length |
|---|---|
CM Punk & FTR defeated Maz Caster & Gunn Club | 11:50 |
Miro defeated Johnny Elite | 6:07 |
Hikuleo & Undisputed Elite defeated Christian Cage, Jurassic Express, Darby Allin, & Matt Hardy | 12:00 |
Wardlow defeated JD Drake | 1:11 |
Ruby Soho & Toni Storm defeated Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter | 9:48 |
Jon Moxley defeated Daniel Garcia | 11:32 |
Following on from CM Punk’s AEW World Championship win, fans filed into the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California for AEW Dynamite. Punk would get injured in the opening match though, which was a sour moment.
This wasn’t particularly a stacked show, with Jon Moxley main eventing against Daniel Garcia, Johnny Elite’s debut, MJF’s pipe bomb, and an appearance from Hiroshi Tanahashi being the most notable happenings.
7 The First Ever AEW Dynamite Brought A Big Crowd
Attendance: 14,129
Match Result | Length |
|---|---|
Cody Rhodes defeated Sammy Guevara | 11:53 |
MJF defeated Brandon Cutler | 2:55 |
PAC defeated Adam Page | 13:02 |
Riho defeated Nyla Rose to become the first ever AEW Women's World Champion | 13:26 |
Chris Jericho, Santana, & Ortiz defeated The Elite | 12:29 |
After hosting a few PPV events, AEW arrived on TV for the first episode of AEW Dynamite in October 2019. Over 14,000 fans piled into the Capitol One Arena in Washington to see stars like Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Kenny Omega.
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There are plenty of reasons AEW is starting to decline in terms of viewership!It was a huge night for AEW, and this size of audience was a sign that the company was intriguing to fans and was set to be a big success going forwards.
6 AEW Double Or Nothing 2022 Saw CM Punk Crowned As World Champion
Attendance: 14,459
Match Result | Length | Stipulation/Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
Wardlow defeated MJF | 7:30 | |
The Hardys defeated Young Bucks | 19:15 | |
Jade Cargill (c) defeated Anna Jay | 7:25 | AEW TBS Championship |
House Of Black defeated Death Triangle | 15:35 | |
Adam Cole defeated Samoa Joe | 12:30 | Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final |
Britt Baker defeated Ruby Soho | 13:20 | Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final |
Men Of The Year & Paige VanZant defeated Frankie Kazarian, Sammy Guevara, & Tay Conti | 12:30 | |
Kyle O'Reilly defeated Darby Allin | 9:45 | |
Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Serena Deeb | 16:55 | AEW Women's Championship |
Jericho Appreciation Society defeated Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz | 22:45 | Anarchy In The Arena |
Jurassic Express (c) defeated Swerve In Our Glory & Team Taz | 17:15 | AEW Women's World Championship |
CM Punk defeated Adam Page (c) | 25:40 | AEW World Championship |
CM Punk was one of AEW’s largest draws, and that was evident at Double or Nothing 2022 where his main event title match brought in a massive crowd to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The show also saw the likes of Wardlow vs. MJF, a chaotic Anarchy in the Arena match, and much more. It may not have been one of AEW’s best PPV events, but the interest in CM Punk vs. Adam Page for the AEW World Championship was very clear.
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Attendance: 15,316
Match Result | Length |
|---|---|
Jurassic Express defeated Private Party | 10:13 |
Jade Cargill defeated Kiera Hogan | 1:05 |
Jon Moxley defeated Daniel Garcia | 4:08 |
With just a few teases and the general feeling that CM Punk was going to debut in AEW, the company drew over 15,000 fans to the United Center in Chicago, Illinois for just the second ever episode of Rampage, which is just an hour-long event.
CM Punk did in fact debut in front of a massive and raucous audience, who greeted him with a hero’s welcome. This moment with this huge audience will always go down as one of AEW’s most historic nights.
4 Forbidden Door 2022 Brought AEW & NJPW Together For A Major Show
Attendance: 16,000
Match Result | Length | Stipulation/Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
Minoru Suzuki, Chris Jericho, & Sammy Guevara defeated Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino, & Wheeler Yuta | 18:58 | |
FTR (c) defeated Roppongi Vice & United Empire | 16:19 | IWGP & ROH World Tag Team Championships |
PAC defeated Clark Connors, Malakai Black, & Miro | 15:10 | AEW All-Atlantic Championship |
Darby Allin, Sting, & Shino Takagi defeated Young Bucks & El Phantasmo | 13:01 | |
Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Toni Storm | 10:42 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Will Ospreay (c) defeated Orange Cassidy | 16:43 | IWGP United States Championship |
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Zack Sabre Jr | 18:26 | |
Jay White (c) defeated Adam Cole, Adam Page, & Kazuchika Okada | 21:05 | IWGP World Heavyweight Championship |
Jon Moxley defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi | 18:14 | AEW World Championship |
Fans were very interested in seeing AEW and NJPW come together for the first time at Forbidden Door 2022. Even though the event was cursed by injuries and absences, it was still one of AEW’s best nights from a match quality perspective.
It was a historic night for many reasons, and those who were able to compete put in some tremendous performances. The crowd in the United Center in Chicago were on fire for this event.
3 AEW Revolution 2024 Hosted Sting’s Final Match
Attendance: 16,838
Match Result | Length | Stipulation/Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
Christian Cage (c) defeated Daniel Garcia | 16:52 | AEW TNT Championship |
Eddie Kingston (c) defeated Bryan Danielson | 19:45 | AEW Continental Crown Championship |
Wardlow wins | 16:22 | AEW All-Star Scramble |
Roderick Strong defeated Orange Cassidy (c) | 12:43 | AEW International Championship |
Blackpool Combat Club defeated FTR | 21:47 | |
Toni Storm (c) defeated Deonna Purrazzo | 12:17 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Will Ospreay defeated Konosuke Takeshita | 21:57 | |
Samoa Joe (c) defeated Adam Page & Swerve Strickland | 19:41 | AEW World Championship |
Darby Allin & Sting (c) defeated Young Bucks | 21:03 | AEW World Tag Team Championships, Tornado |
The Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina was the setting for Sting’s last ever match in professional wrestling, which served to be a huge draw, bringing in nearly 17,000 fans to the arena.
Top to bottom, this was up there with AEW’s greatest shows, with Sting’s match stealing the show, Will Ospreay’s first night as an AEW wrestler, and so much more up and down the card. AEW were under a lot of pressure after an underwhelming previous show, and this delivered in a major way.
2 AEW Filled Arthur Ashe Stadium For The First Grand Slam
Attendance: 20,177
Match Result | Length |
|---|---|
Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega ends in a time limit draw | 30:00 |
MJF defeated Brian Pillman Jr | 9:24 |
Malakai Black defeated Cody Rhodes | 11:09 |
Darby Allin & Sting defeated FTR | 9:29 |
Britt Baker (c) defeated Ruby Soho (AEW Women's World Championship) | 13:21 |
AEW’s biggest ever TV crowd came back in 2021 for the first edition of Dynamite: Grand Slam. Over 20,000 fans were in the stadium to see a legit dream match in Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega, which tore the house down.
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AEW has some tremendous performers that deliver the goods not only in the ring, but on the mic as well!The likes of Sting, Cody Rhodes, Malakai Black, MJF, and Britt Baker were all in action too, so it was a star-studded night for those in attendance. It felt like a televised PPV event in the grandeur, crowd size, huge stage, and quality.
1 AEW All In 2023 Had The Company’s Largest Ever Attendance
Attendance: 72,265
Match Result | Length | Stipulation/Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
CM Punk (c) defeated Samoa Joe | 14:00 | "Real" World Championship |
Bullet Club Gold defeated The Golden Elite | 20:30 | |
FTR (c) defeated Young Bucks | 21:45 | AEW World Tag Team Championships |
Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, & Penta El Zero Miedo defeated Blackpool Combat Club, Santana, Ortiz | 21:30 | Stadium Stampede |
Saraya defeated Hikaru Shida (c), Britt Baker, & Toni Storm | 8:50 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Darby Allin & Sting defeated Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland | 16:00 | Coffin Match |
Will Ospreay defeated Chris Jericho | 14:55 | |
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defeated House Of Black (c) | 10:50 | AEW World Trios Championship |
MJF (c) defeated Adam Cole | 29:00 | AEW World Championship |
AEW’s largest ever crowd came in front of 72,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in England, and this may very well be the largest crowd the company ever has. So many fans filed into All In to see huge names like CM Punk, MJF, Sting, Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay, Chris Jericho, and countless more.
The size and scale of the event was like nothing ever seen before in AEW, and it felt like the company had firmly reached the “big time”.
