All Elite Wrestling has planted its flag in North Texas.
As a month-plus residency at Esports Stadium Arlington titled the “AEW: Path To All In Summer Series” comes to a close this weekend, AEW CEO and general manager Tony Khan couldn’t leave town without making one more major move.
Alongside Arlington mayor Jim Ross, Khan took part in Thursday’s announcement at Globe Life Field that the pay-per-view event “All In Texas” will be coming to the home of the Texas Rangers next year.
The event is scheduled to take place July 12, 2025. It will be the first stateside event held in a stadium in the company’s history.
AEW world champion Swerve Strickland, TBS champion Mercedes Mone and many other of the company’s top stars were on hand for the announcement. Here’s what some of them had to say after the announcement of the first AEW pay-per-view headed to Texas:
Swerve Strickland, AEW world champion
“It’s always a pressure [adding shows like All In Texas], but I respond to pressure by kicking it in the back of the head. ... The only way to truly respond in a championship way as a leader, is you got to hit that much harder, you know? And that’s what I’ve been doing. ... [That’s] what makes this company keep moving and building to get us to All In [next] July is like, we take a lump and we just keep getting back up and we hit harder the next time, we hit harder and we just stay on our grind. We don’t run the race looking left and right at who’s next to us. We just run our race and we just keep sprinting.”
Mercedes Mone, AEW TBS champion and NJPW Strong women’s champion
“Upstairs in the green room, I actually got teary eyed because I just found out last night about this announcement. For me to be part of just the wrestling business, growing up loving this, growing up seeing how wrestling has grown to such a global scale, but being part of a company that has taken it there ... to be here for our first ever U.S. stadium show — I legit have goosebumps. I was crying. I just feel so ecstatic being here and just being part of wrestling. I’m a wrestling fan all over again, and I just think wrestling fans from all over the world are gonna be flying into Texas for this. I just can’t wait. I’m so excited for July next year. I’m ready for it to be here now.”
Tony Khan, AEW CEO and GM
“It is a huge announcement on many, many levels. AEW All In is such an important event in sports, and it’s one of the most marquee nights in pro wrestling. I think for us, it’s the end all be all. To announce the location is very special to us and Arlington, Texas, a very special place. And the timing of this is so ... the timing of this feels like kismet. It’s so incredible that we’ve been able to come to Arlington and have this run of shows that has been so energetic and fun to go to the Esports Stadium and put on shows every weekend, live on TNT. I think that the energy of the Texas wrestling fans is unparalleled, and we’ve been waiting for so long to make this announcement. For so long, fans have asked, when is AEW going to do a pay-per-view in Texas? It comes up all the time. And every time we do a show in Texas, the fans deliver. And I’ve been waiting a long time to give that answer. We do everything big here in Texas, so it’s very fitting that we bring our biggest event, and make history here with our first Texas pay-per-view.”
Dustin Rhodes, Ring of Honor six-man tag team champion
“You know, we heard rumors, right, about a stadium show — and I actually thought it might be AT&T Stadium because wrestling has been there. This is better. This is a first. They’ve got a huge arena here. Globe Life Field is great. Fans are gonna bring it down. They always do in Texas.”
Tribute to the greatest @Rangers to ever grace the mound, #NolanRyan @GlobeLifeField @AEW #ALLIn2025 pic.twitter.com/XHARtGq5Nb
— Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodes) August 16, 2024
Thunder Rosa, former AEW women’s champion
“Let me tell you a story. I was here [Globe Life Field] in 2020 and I did a tour. It was just like the brand new stadium. [We] couldn’t do anything because nothing was open. So I just came here with my family. So we walked everywhere, and I had the opportunity to walk out on the field and take pictures on field. ... So, you can imagine from being a wrestler, an independent wrestler in 2020 coming and paying to do a tour, and now we are doing the VIP reveal that we’re gonna have a show. It just puts things in perspective. I still can’t believe I’m part of this. And the other thing is, like, your imagination just starts going. I’m just thinking about, you know, entrance gear, if I’m gonna come out with a low rider, am I gonna ride a horse, or I don’t know, just something that represents Texas in general. The opportunities are crazy.”
Paul Wight (formerly known as Big Show)
“You want to talk emotions? I think one of them is definitely pride. I‘m very proud of what Tony Khan has been able to do with AEW, and the massive strides that he’s made to give successful alternatives for the fans and the athletes themselves. ... The atmosphere here is energetic. It’s chaotic. It’s family. It’s all moving in the right direction. We get a chance like, you know, coming here in July for All In Texas — this is an event that I’m so happy for the younger talent that haven’t experienced these kind of crowds yet. For them to experience that because these kids have paid their dues, they’ve worked hard, they’ve taken bumps, they’ve driven up and down the road for little to no money to be successful in this business, and then now to get an opportunity like this to perform in Texas, in a stadium of this caliber. This is a great moment for them, and I’m happy to be a part of it in any way that I can.”
As a veteran in the game, many WrestleMania matches, what piece of advice would you give the young talent who has never walked through the curtain for a show like this?
“Focus is going to be your key for shows like this, because this is going to be loud. It’s going to be a different kind of atmosphere where if you try to take it all in, you can’t. You have to kind of be a part of it to feel it. It’s kind of like standing in the ocean. If you try to look at the entire ocean, it’s too big, but you can feel the waves around, you can see the ocean that’s in front of you. It’s the same thing in these kind of shows. You open yourself up to this crowd, and you just feel it, and you’ll ride off in the energy and find that current, and it’s going to be an amazing experience for this talent. It really will.”
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