Just about every big promotion — including the likes of WWE and TNA — has staged events in the Phoenix area, transforming whatever venue they visit into a full-on mark-fest in the best possible way. So it’s no shocker that big-time shows keep packing local arenas on the regular.
The latest spandex-and-suplex extravaganza to invade the Valley? Upstart promotion All Elite Wrestling will crash into Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale this Sunday with its “AEW Double or Nothing” pay-per-view, bringing a slam-filled spectacle to local fans. Five-star classics and chaotic brawls are on the menu. Exhilarating moves will be unleashed. And maybe even a title or two will change hands.
“AEW Double or Nothing” is one of the company’s biggest pay-per-views of the year and was held in Las Vegas for its first five editions. So why the move to the Valley? AEW owner Tony Khan says it’s largely due to the response the company has gotten bringing its events to town, including previous episodes of “Dynamite,” its flagship weekly television show.
Local wrestling fanatics brought the heat, Khan says, and AEW took notice.
“We’ve had several great experiences here with fans,” Khan tells Phoenix New Times, “So that's why bringing ‘Double or Nothing’ to Arizona was so exciting for us.”
New Times spoke with Khan about what wrestling fans can expect at “AEW Double or Nothing” this Sunday, May 25. One of the highlights will be the absolutely bonkers Anarchy in the Arena match involving 10 wrestlers, all-out chaos and mayhem happening throughout the venue. Another is the main event pitting “Hangman” Adam Page against Will Ospreay, the British-born wrestler who’s a literal human highlight reel.
Phoenix New Times: Why did you decide to bring “AEW Double or Nothing” to Phoenix after running it in Vegas its first five years?
Tony Khan: I love the Arizona wrestling fans. We had a great experience here in Phoenix last year. It was a great night and it's one of my favorite (episodes) of “Dynamite.” Darby Allin and Sting won the AEW World Tag Team championship — and it was the only time Sting had been a champion in AEW. He's one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time and he spent like three years with us and finally won the championships about a month before his final match ever. What happened in Phoenix set the stage for Sting's retirement match at “(AEW) Revolution” 2024. And it was just a great show. We’ve had nothing but great experiences and matches here in Arizona with great fans, so that's why bringing “Double or Nothing” to Arizona was so exciting for us.
And “AEW Double or Nothing” is really important to the wrestlers here, the staff and — most importantly — to AEW fans, because it’s the first event we ever did. Six years ago, we held our very debut event with “AEW Double or Nothing” in 2019. It's a classic pay-per-view event and it set the stage for, I guess, everything that’s happened since that we've been able to do the past six years. So it means a lot to us. And wrestling fans in Arizona have been great to AEW. It means a lot to bring our first-ever event and the six-year anniversary of the company itself to a great wrestling city.
Are you pleased with the response to “Double or Nothing” hast gotten in Arizona? WrestleTix has reported that it’s nearly sold out.
It’s on pace to be (sold out), yes. “Double or Nothing” has been a smashing success. We've got a big crowd coming to this show. We've already sold a lot of tickets and I expect great walk-up (ticket sales). There's a lot of excitement around this event and this is a tremendous wrestling market. ... There's going to be people traveling from all over the world to Arizona to be a part of “Double or Nothing” this Sunday.
There's a rumor you're bringing “AEW Double or Nothing” back to Arizona next year? Is that true?
It's a great question. I honestly can't say that far ahead. I know that, based on this success, we will definitely want to bring an AEW pay-per-view in the future back (to Arizona), yes. I can't say exactly when and where, but I know that we want to come back and soon because this has been a great city for us and we've had great experience running our TV here and fans continue to support for AEW’s TV shows and now our pay-per-view.
Desert Diamond Arena is part of the Westgate Entertainment District outdoor mall. Do you think the action of Anarchy in the Arena, one of AEW’s wildest matches, will occur outside? Are we going to see wrestlers brawling in the fountains?
I can't speak to the action that's going to unfold, but there's some really exciting possibilities in this area. There's really cool things we can do by being here, and I expect it's going to be a lot of fun. You never know what’s going to happen. There's so many brilliant wrestlers (involved) and some of the best athletes and hardest-hitting people in the sport: the Death Riders, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, Powerhouse Hobbs and, of course, Katsuyori Shibata.
WWE is running two nationally televised events this weekend to compete with “AEW Double or Nothing.” Will AEW’s wrestlers try to go harder, one-up the competition and put on the better show?
I think that AEW is where the best wrestlers are, week in and week out, and “Double or Nothing” is one of our most important events ever. The event means so much and right now it symbolizes a lot. So I expect the wrestlers in AEW will go very hard and everybody will be at their very best for Sunday.
"Hangman" Adam Page, right, will battle Will Ospreay, left, in the main event of "Double or Nothing."
AEW
There are so many matches that are pivotal to the show. We have a great squad of wrestlers and I think the “Hangman” Page/Ospreay is so captivating, because it's two stars that have taken very different paths to reach the finals of the Owen Hart men’s tournament. It’s the story of “Hangman” Page's redemption versus Ospreay's ascension and one of the best wrestlers alive. I believe many matches on this show that are main event matches. I'm very excited for the card, top to bottom, and (with) “Hangman” Page versus Will Ospreay in that main event spot, I think its a can't miss, must-watch match.
"AEW Double or Nothing." 4 p.m. Sunday at Desert Diamond Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale. Tickets are $40.05 and up.
