AEW Grand Slam heads to Paris as promotion targets European growth
All Elite Wrestling will stage its first live event in France this fall when “AEW Grand Slam: France” takes place at Adidas Arena in Paris on Oct. 6.The show will include tapings of both “AEW Dynamite” and “AEW Collision.” Tickets are scheduled to go on sale Friday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. CEST through AEWTix.com and LiveNation.fr. Fans can also register for early access presale opportunities by signing up as AEW Insiders on the company’s website.
The Paris event will air on TBS and HBO Max and marks the ninth edition of the Grand Slam series, following previous specials in New York, Brisbane, Mexico City and Sydney. AEW CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan said France emerged as a logical next step because of the number of French fans traveling to London for AEW shows like “All In” and Paris’ status as a marquee global sports and entertainment market.
“There are so many great wrestling fans in France, and a lot of fans from France have made the trek to London to see AEW, and we believe there’s a lot of excitement around All Elite Wrestling in Paris, and it just felt like this would be the perfect time to launch with a huge event,” Khan said.
Khan said he is hopeful AEW can run additional events in France and “continue to make Paris a major live event site” for the company. Still, the success of AEW’s first French event will be judged by its attendance, live-event revenue and viewership. Adidas Arena, which opened in 2024 and cost approximately $150M, has a capacity of 8,000 seats. AEW’s most recent Grand Slam event in Mexico saw an attendance of over 13,000 at Arena México in Mexico City. Over the course of its eight Grand Slam events, the company has averaged over 12,000 in attendance.
AEW star Will Ospreay said he wants Paris to be part of a broader, long-term European strategy. Ospreay has wrestled in France twice and described those events as “absolutely breathtaking,” with crowds that felt more like a football atmosphere than a typical wrestling show, adding that French fans are “rowdy,” and “starved” for major televised shows and willing to travel for big events.
“I don’t need to watch [the market] because I’ve experienced it before, and I just know the moment that we go over there and the bell goes off, the French fans are going to let us know they want us to keep coming back,” Ospreay said.
AEW is set for a busy end to its summer as “AEW All In: London,” one of the promotion’s premier pay-per-views, is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 30, at Wembley Stadium in London.
