Tony Khan Chose to Exaggerate Forbidden Door Attendance Numbers, Despite Doing a Huge Number From “Gate” Sales

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door was a night filled with spectacular matches. Passion and emotions ran high in the Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as superstars turned up to demonstrate their savvy in front of a psyched-up crowd. That said, the number of crowds officially announced by Khan slightly varied from the actual number of attendees.

Canada has an impressive record in pro wrestling. Toronto has hosted countless high-voltage wrestling events, being a hotbed of the entertainment sport. So, it was a bit challenging for Tony Khan to ascertain the demand for his promotions’ PPVs among fans. But he nailed it hitting a massive $1.2 million for their gate, which was the third highest in the history of Canadian pro wrestling. But still, he chose to alter the attendee’s numbers a bit.

AEW slightly jacked up the Forbidden Door attendee’s number

Forbidden Door 2023 was overall a massive success for Khan, surpassing last year’s record. It also saw the highly anticipated CM Punk’s return, even if it didn’t go in his favor. The blockbuster also resulted in some interesting storylines developments for AEW Dynamite, Rampage, and its new third brand Collision. But there was still one end left for haters to take a shot at.

Wrestle Tix came up with the latest ticket information for the Forbidden Door. It showed that Khan announced 1K more people than the number of actual attendees in the building. According to the report, total ticket distribution reached up to 13,631, whereas AEW’s official information of the number of fans present recorded a figure of 14,826.

Read more: CM Punk Got the Exact Reaction at Forbidden Door, as Many Had Anticipated for Weeks He Would Get Outside Chicago

However, attendance number alteration in PPVs is a pretty common practice among promotions.

WWE inflated the WrestleMania attendance record numerous times

If any rival promotion fan is out there to take a dig at the Jacksonville-based promotion, AEW fans also have valid pointers to counter them. WWE has a rich record of inflating attendance records in their mega events, especially in WrestleMania.

WrestleMania has always been about grandeur since its inception. It was the biggest showcase event of the promotion that gets the highest spotlight. That said, the attendance figures have a history of seeing inflation, sometimes more than you can imagine.
According to the exclusive report by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, it has been found that WWE exaggerated WrestleMania attendance 14 times so far.

So, AEW Boss, Tony Khan, isn’t the only boss that practices this action in this case for sure.

What’s your take on this information about AEW Forbidden Door? Let us know in the comments.