In the fast-paced world of professional wrestling, securing venues and event dates can often feel like a high-stakes chess game, where timing is of the essence. All Elite Wrestling (AEW) recently dropped a bombshell by announcing its upcoming Collision event, set to grace the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, October 21. While this revelation was met with excitement from fans, some couldn’t help but wonder why the announcement came so close to the event date, just over a month away. The intriguing explanation, as unveiled by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, revolves around the intricate web of contractual agreements WWE has with arenas.
AEW’s forthcoming Collision event at the FedEx Forum marks a significant milestone for the promotion, as it marks its debut at this prominent venue. In contrast, WWE, the global juggernaut of professional wrestling, has a well-established history of hosting shows at the arena on numerous occasions in the past.
So, what led to the somewhat last-minute unveiling of AEW’s Collision event date? According to Meltzer’s report, this timing quirk can be attributed not to any fault or delay on AEW’s part but, rather intriguingly, to WWE’s contractual arrangements with arenas. Specifically, WWE’s contracts with venues reportedly contain provisions that prohibit any wrestling company from announcing or advertising dates for events within a certain window of time before and after a WWE show at the same venue. This contractual clause serves as a safeguard to prevent conflicting ticket sales and promotional strategies.
As Meltzer further clarified,
- Advertisement -
“The reason this date at the Fed Ex Forum was announced so late in the game is that WWE’s contract with arenas calls for no announcing or advertising of dates with other wrestling companies from a certain number of days before the event (so tickets for both aren’t on sale at the same time) and for a period after the event.”
In the specific context of the Collision event, WWE had previously held a Raw show at the FedEx Forum on August 28th. This, according to Meltzer’s deduction, could have triggered the contractual restriction. The window of exclusivity for WWE, during which other wrestling promotions like AEW are unable to announce their shows at the same venue, is estimated to be approximately 15 days after the conclusion of a WWE event.
This revelation provides an intriguing glimpse into the complexities of securing venues in the highly competitive world of professional wrestling. Timing and contractual obligations often play a pivotal role in determining when and where major wrestling events are announced and held. AEW’s Collision event, with its unique backstory, now promises to be even more of a must-watch occasion for wrestling enthusiasts.
As the wrestling world anticipates the Collision event and its potential implications, the importance of securing venues and navigating contractual obligations remains a behind-the-scenes drama that shapes the industry’s landscape.
