AEW celebrated its fifth anniversary with the much-anticipated Double or Nothing pay-per-view in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event, featuring headline matches such as Mercedes Mone defeating Willow Nightingale for the AEW TBS Championship, Swerve Strickland retaining the AEW World Championship against Christian Cage, and the third-ever Anarchy in the Arena match between Team AEW and The Elite, has prompted a detailed financial analysis by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Attendance and Gate Figures
AEW initially reported that 7,500 paid fans were present for Double or Nothing, with over 9,000 people in attendance at bell-time. However, Pollstar later reported 9,099 paid fans, generating a gate of $582,204, which contradicted AEW’s initial gate figure of just under $800,000. This discrepancy led Meltzer to question the reported average ticket price of $63.99 from Pollstar, which seemed unusually low compared to the actual ticket prices.
For the “AEW Collision” show on May 25, AEW reported a gate of $112,298 from 3,944 fans, averaging $28.47 per ticket. Meltzer found this figure implausible, suggesting that the actual attendance might have been closer to 2,500, with additional tickets likely being complimentary.
Salaries and Expenses
One of the standout figures from Meltzer’s report was AEW’s salary expenses over the Double or Nothing weekend, which totaled $2 million. This figure included all talent and other workers employed by the company. When annualized, these expenses contribute to an estimated annual salary bill of approximately $104 million, assuming standard annual contracts across the roster.
The total expenses for the weekend, including operations, technical support, hotel costs, broadcast production, and talent airfare, amounted to $3,868,200. Meltzer noted that this figure included $400,000 for operations and technical support, $250,000 in hotel expenses, and $150,000 each for broadcast production and talent airfare.
Profitability and Financial Outcome
Despite the high expenses, Meltzer concluded that the overall weekend was profitable for AEW, albeit marginally. The sources of revenue included pay-per-view earnings ($3 million), TNT revenue for “AEW Collision” ($500,000), merchandise sales ($150,000), and live gate receipts. Additionally, AEW benefited from favorable tax conditions, paying only 10% of their expenses in taxes.
Combining all these revenue streams, AEW managed to turn a profit from their Las Vegas ventures, an outcome that is relatively rare for large-scale events. Meltzer’s analysis highlighted the importance of strategic financial planning and the need for AEW to secure a substantial media rights deal to maintain financial stability.
