CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For the first time since 2019, the wrestlers of All Elite Wrestling are set to invade Charleston.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) comes to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Wednesday for a nationally televised show that begins at 7 p.m. TBS will pick up the coverage of AEW Dynamite from Charleston at 8 p.m.
The announced card for Wednesday, as of the weekend before, includes AEW World Trios Tournament Tournament Match: Young Bucks & TBA vs. Andrade El Idolo, RUSH, and Dragon Lee, Two Out Three Falls Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia and KiLynn King vs. Thunder Rosa.
Mark Henry, ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ and a coach and mentor to AEW talent previewed the show with MetroNews. He said it has the makings of a classic because of the rise of the organization has made it elite.
“I think the excitement is here. The fact that CM Punk is back, Jon Moxley is still the champion. You have Chris Jericho performing at the highest level of his career,” Henry said.
Henry said fans in West Virginia should be excited for the women’s card and the current level of performance from Britt Baker, D.M.D., Jade Cargill, Thunder Rosa, and Toni Storm. He said AEW’s women’s division is worth the price of admission alone.
“The list goes on and on of these incredible female wrestlers that are redefining what it means to be a pro wrestler again,” Henry said.
In 2019 when AEW came to Charleston, it was the first live cable-network professional wrestling broadcast in the capital city since 2000. AEW officials were impressed with the crowd and figured out a way to return following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Henry said he expects the Charleston crowd to be rowdy and into the show. He said his wife was a gymnast at West Virginia University and as a Texas Longhorns fan himself, he knows how fans in the state show out.
“I have never, ever been to a show in West Virginia where the people didn’t come out in full force and want to outdo everybody. ‘Oh they had 8,000 at their show, we’re going to have 9,000,'” Henry said.
Henry, who is a two-time Olympian and WWE Hall of Famer, noted the card remains fluid from week to week because the company listens to the fans. He credits the company’s rise based on the fact that they listen to its fans.
AEW was founded on January 1, 2019 by Tony Khan, son of Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Kahn. The company continues to stay near the top in terms of cable ratings weekly with its two shows every week.
“At AEW, you want the fans to be loose and have a good time. It’s a real party atmosphere in the audience,” Henry said.
“If the crowd is cheering something, I want to hear it. We allow them to be heard. AEW we will allow the fans to dictate the way the show goes.”
#AEW returns to Charleston, West Virginia for the first time since 2019 for #AEWDynamite & #AEWRampage Wed, Aug 17th at the @chaswvccc with a 7pm bell time! Tickets start at $29 (+ fees) & are ON SALE NOW! 🎟 https://t.co/UN1cNj1kQq | https://t.co/2vCEMaFzfV pic.twitter.com/no3zqTZ5d2
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 12, 2022
Henry joined AEW in 2021 and works with educational programming and community involvement. He said he does not embrace titles because he will do what needs to be done for AEW.
Henry said he’s learned a lot in his 14 months with AEW including from announcers Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone, who have become his mentors. He said he’s enjoyed getting to learn from the roster.
“Wrestling is the same everywhere in the world. If you know it in one place, you know it in another,” Henry said. “But the people that perform it, the people that execute the game plan, that is what is different. I am learning from those people and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Wednesday’s Dynamite show will be presented by House of the Dragon, the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel that will premiere on August 21.
Tickets can be found at allelitewrestling.com/events or the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center website.