AEW kicks off summer residency in Arlington

The arlington shows have seen packed crowds in an intimate venue reminiscent of the days of the dallas Sportatorium -- including a Von Erich title match.

ARLINGTON, Texas — For the first time in 30 years, weekly televised pro wrestling has returned to North Texas thanks to All Elite Wrestling's "Path to All In Summer Series" at Esports Stadium in Arlington. 

Just one week into the series, with two broadcasts of AEW Collision and one pay-per-view event, Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor, the intensity has kept up, with rabid fans packing the house for a sold-out show on Saturday, and heated matches.

"One of the greatest natural resources in all of wrestling are the wrestling fans right here around this area," AEW Founder, CEO and President Tony Khan said during a press conference on Friday. "With AEW, we're on in 150 countries around the world, and the Texas wrestling fans are famous all over the planet."

Khan called Death Before Dishonor one of his favorite shows that ROH, a sister promotion of AEW he also owns, has done during his tenure, and part of that was due to what he called the magic in Arlington and in Esports Stadium with the fans from DFW.

"Every time we come here it seems like there's just energy, there's just a vibe," ROH Commentator Ian Riccaboni said during the press conference. "The fans are ready to explode."

AEW and ROH both have a lengthy history in DFW, with AEW hosting an annual string of shows in the area every December around its signature annual event, Winter is Coming. And ROH has hosted a number of PPVs around the metroplex since April 2022, featuring a number of critically-praised matches. 

This series of shows kicked off on July 20 and will continue to run until Aug. 17. It's being done in partnership with the city of Arlington, and is something never tried before by AEW. Tony Khan has called it an experiment. Whether a similar series could be done in other parts of the country remains to be seen.

"This happens to be some of the best wrestling fans here in the world, so I don't know if this would work in every sincle market," Khan said. "But I think this is probably the perfect place for it. I definitely think this could be the start of something really great we've done."

The last time DFW saw weekly pro wrestling was with the Dallas-based Global Wrestling Federation in 1994. But the promotion DFW is best known for, World Class Championship Wrestling, ran weekly in the area in 1990. Much like a show from the Dallas Sportatorium in the 1980s, these shows too feature Von Erichs competing for championship gold. 

Ross and Marshall Von Erich, sons of the legendary Kevin Von Erich of the Von Erich brothers, first won a match for a shot at the vacant ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships during ROH Death Before Dishonor on Friday, competing alongside fellow Texas wrestler Dustin Rhodes. And the next night, during the Battle of the Belts, on live national television, the trio secured those belts, defeating the trio of Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, to the elation of the sold-out crowd in attendance.

The Von Erich family is no stranger to six-man gold. Kevin Von Erich, alongside his brothers David and Kerry Von Erich, fought in bloody wars over similar titles against the Fabulous Freebirds throughout 1983 and 1984 in front of thousands of fans in venues like Reunion Arena and the Tarrant County Convention Center. So for the newest generation of Von Erichs to win similar gold, with their father in their corner, was a special, emotional moment for them and their fans.

"My brother and I, this name is an oath," Marshall Von Erich said during the Friday press conference. "We're around the ages that my uncles left, and we both feel this oath, to not only finish their story, but to write our own. We believe the Von Erichs will be a household name once again." 

During an emotional speech following the championship match, Marshall and Ross Von Erich said they had made a promise to their father that one day they would bring him gold again. And that on that night, they fulfilled that promise, handing their championship belts to their father. 

The Von Erichs weren't the only North Texas natives to compete on the shows, as Arlington resident Athena successfully defended her ROH World Women's Championship at Death Before Dishonor against Queen Aminata. Despite her villainous character, Athena was welcomed with cheers by the fans. So much so that, even when Athena illegally hit Queen Aminata with her championship belt to secure the win, the crowd applauded her like a hometown hero.

AEW and ROH at Esports Stadium Arlington

AEW's next event in Arlington, Collision, will be taped next on Thusday evening, Aug. 1. For ticket information, click here.

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