Rumor Killer On The Ring Size Controversy For AEW Grand Slam Australia

The ring that was used at AEW Grand Slam was smaller than a typical AEW show, but much of what's being said online about it is reportedly false.
Toni Storm and Mariah May in the Grand Slam main event
Toni Storm and Mariah May in the Grand Slam main event / Ricky Havlik - All Elite Wrestling

It must be a slow news day for the internet wrestling community because there's a great deal of chatter going on about the size of the ring that was used Saturday night at AEW Grand Slam.

Fans who tuned in to watch the show from Brisbane, Australia, or those people who saw clips of the matches online, were quick to point out that the ring looked a bit smaller than what's typically used for an AEW show.

There's a good reason for that. The ring was smaller, but it was not 16x16 as some folks online had claimed. Instead, it was 18x18, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select.

Ross Sapp is also dispelling other rumors about the Grand Slam ring, including accusations that AEW didn't properly factor freight times for Brisbane and had to get a ring on loan.

"AEW typically uses a 20x20 ring in the United States, and doesn't ship their rings overseas," Ross Sapp reported Sunday afternoon. "There was no instance of forgetting the ring, not planning freight, or anything like that. The plan was to always use an 18x18 ring -- the same size used by TNA, and that was used by ROH, ECW, WCW and virtually every prominent indie company."

This isn't the first time that AEW has used a smaller ring for one of their shows abroad, or even in the United States. When Thunder Rosa defeated Dr. Britt Baker for the AEW Women's Championship at St. Paddy's Day Slam 2022 in San Antonio, their steel cage match was inside an 18x18 ring.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino has been covering professional wrestling since 2019, but his broadcast career has spanned over 15 years. He can be heard every weekday morning on 700WLW radio in Cincinnati, OH. You can also read his work over on SI's Cincinnati Reds Talk. Follow Rick on X and Instagram: @RickUcchino