As we reported earlier this week here on eWn, AEW Full Gear drew an estimated 145,000 buys. If those numbers hold, it will be the second-largest grossing pay-per-view event in AEW history. These estimated numbers are before the cable and TV buys come in, which are said to have also been “very strong,” so that number will likely increase. AEW Full Gear in 2019 drew 85,000 buys, while the 2020 Full Gear pay-per-view event drew 95,000 viewers.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there were just over 10,500 fans in attendance at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. The show was about 2,500 fans short of a sellout. Of the over 10,500 fans in attendance, around 10,000 of those were paid for a $640,000 live gate. That number marks the third-largest live gate in AEW’s history.
AEW Full Gear is behind the $700,000 gate for All Out 2021 in Chicago, IL and the $960,000 gate for Dynamite Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. When CM Punk made his return to pro wrestling at AEW Rampage at the United Center in Chicago, IL earlier this year, that show drew a $635,000 gate. With that being said, tickets for that show were priced lower due to it not being a pay-per-view event.
Also, AEW Full Gear earned $150,000 through movie theater screenings. In theaters, AEW Full Gear outdrew All Out. AEW All Out earned $120,000 in 140 theaters ($857 per screen/34 per theater). AEW Full Gear 2021 was shown in 314 theaters and made $478 per screen/19 per theater. In comparison to WWE SummerSlam, that show did $125,000 in 400 theaters ($313 per screen/13 per theater).
There were only 50,000 Google searches for AEW Full Gear 2021, which is a big decrease from the 500,000 searches for AEW All Out 2021.
When you combine theaters, live gate and merchandise, AEW Full Gear 2021 is expected to gross $7.32 million, which marks the second-largest non-WWE show since 1999. AEW’s take home for the show will likely be around $3.81 million.
