AEW taped its Grand Slam: Australia special on Saturday, hours before it aired on TNT following NBA All-Star coverage. The event took place at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, having been relocated from the originally planned 52,000-capacity Suncorp Stadium due to reportedly slow ticket sales. AEW CEO Tony Khan clarified that the event was always intended as a TV special.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW achieved impressive merchandise sales but faced significant supply issues.
Meltzer explained, “I know that the negative, obviously, besides the sound, I think the other negative was, as far as the live event went… I mean, the big complaint that I heard is they did not bring enough merchandise. They sold out of everything long before the show even started. I mean, they sold out of everything, period, probably by the first match of the show. I mean, like, every single thing. They didn’t bring anywhere near enough. And it’s like, okay… I mean, I guess, you know, you should have enough merchandise. I mean, for a new market, I think that they did… If I remember, when they went to Wembley, it was $17 a head… Okay, so this is the first time in a new market, so they should have had at least enough merchandise for $17 a head. And maybe they did, and they just sold it all out so quickly that it didn’t matter. But, I mean, I just heard a lot… you know, there was only one stand, and it sold out so quickly, and all these people wanted merchandise, and they couldn’t get any.”
Despite the venue change, AEW’s strong merchandise demand highlighted the enthusiasm of the Australian fanbase, even as the limited supply left potential revenue on the table.
