AEW Live Events VP Rafael Morffi Reveals Why They Run Chicago So Often

Apart from Jacksonville, Florida due to the pandemic-era residency, All Elite Wrestling has been to no city more than Chicago, Illinois, with the company having held 17 events there since its inception. During a recent appearance on "Talk Is Jericho," AEW's Vice President of Live Events, Rafael Morffi, took some time to explain why the company visits Chicago so often.

"I'll say this: there's not one city in America that can have two million-dollar gates ... in the same summer in two different venues like we did last year in Chicago," Morffi said. "There's a reason why we go to Chicago a lot." The AEW executive pointed out that the company has fantastic relationships with venues in the city, and part of the reason why they've been so successful there is having great deals with their venue partners.

Morffi also discussed the difficulties of running shows on the west coast as a newer company, with the primary hurdle being the ability to draw a large crowd to a show that has to begin at 4 p.m. PT. While it took some time for AEW to begin running west coast events, the company now has a number of visits to states like California and Washington under its belt.

Based on Morffi's conversation with Jericho, it seems as though the company is still figuring out the optimal booking for television tapings, pay-per-views, and live events. The next major step for AEW, heading overseas, has been scheduled. The company will hold All In at Wembley Stadium on August 27, marking their first foray to the United Kingdom and Europe as a whole. Before that, it remains possible the company will announce Chicago's United Center as the venue for the debut of "AEW Collision," as Tony Khan is set to announce the details this Wednesday.