Dave Meltzer Says AEW Will Lose Out On Merch Opportunities At All In Unless They Optimize Better

In a recent interview with McGuire On Wrestling, Dave Meltzer weighed in on the upcoming All In show hosted at Wembley Stadium by AEW next month (via Wrestling Inc). Meltzer noted one limiting factor in AEW’s track record for maximizing their live event profits: merchandise sales. According to Meltzer, AEW has consistently underperformed in that area compared to their primary competitor and the company stands to miss out at All In if they don’t fix the issue beforehand. You can find a few highlights on the subject from Meltzer and listen to the full podcast below.

On AEW’s historical under-utilization of merch sales: “I hear it at every show — it’s like people go to the show, they want to buy merch, the lines are ridiculously long, and the selection is not as big as people want. They usually have one merchandise stand; WWE usually has multiple, [and] I know when I go to concerts, there’s multiple. It’s an issue, without a doubt.”

On the potential for missing out on sales at All In: “They should do $2.5 million or more in merchandise, and I don’t think they will, because I don’t think they’ll have the selection to do it, and I don’t think that they’ll have enough stands. The lines will be too ridiculous. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what they should do.”