Wrestling in the Premier League: AEW and WWE make their mark in English football with Bournemouth and Fulham

For many years, the only shared connection between American professional football and the Premier League was their exclusive coverage on the Sky Sports channel.

Oh and there was that weird rumour flying around that WWE owner Vince McMahon was going to buy Newcastle United.

But generally, the planet's biggest sport and the biggest sports-entertainment company were worlds apart.

Now that is no longer the case. In recent times - in part thanks to the rise in popularity of the Premier League on the other side of the Atlantic - the two have regularly crossed paths.

 

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Wayne Rooney went to a WWE televised event, sat at ringside and slapped a superstar. For context, this was around a full six years before the former Manchester United forward retired from playing.

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Then in 2020, Arsenal started regularly playing WWE entrance themes as part of the Emirates Stadium matchday setlist.

Just earlier this year when Ivan Toney returned from his eight-month FA ban, Brentford heralded his return with the Undertaker’s iconic gong and theme song at the Gtech Stadium.

And now the crossover looks set to go to the next level, with two rival wrestling promotions facing off – not in the squared circle – but via the Premier League pitch.

Forget, Undertaker vs Triple H, The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin or Roman Reigns vs John Cena, it’s time for the biggest main event of all-time, er… Fulham vs Bournemouth.

Why are Fulham and Bournemouth both connected to the wrestling world?

Fulham’s connection to professional wrestling is longstanding and comes via owner Shahid Khan.

Khan’s son Tony has ran the Cottagers as vice-chairman for much of the previous decade, but is also the founder and co-owner of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which launched at the start of 2019 and is the primary mainstream competitor to the industry-leading WWE.

A lifelong pro wrestling fan, Khan even appears on screen as part of the drama from time to time and the AEW has held major live events at Wembley Stadium.

Earlier this month Fulham announced that AEW would be the new shirt sponsor for the women’s teams’ shirts during the 2024/25 season.

AEW and WWE have a huge rivalry in the wrestling world, with mentions of their direct competitor during their own programming, about as rare as referencing TNT.

Until recently WWE didn’t have a horse to back in the Premier League field but that has changed thanks to a new partnership.

AFC Bournemouth have announced what they call “an exciting new partnership with the globally renowned WWE 2K video game series.”

This will see content related to the Cherries released through the video game “in the coming weeks.”

So until wrestling fans get a genuine crossover showdown event between WWE and AEW, they’ll just have to settle for tuning into Fulham taking on Bournemouth at Craven Cottage on December 29.

There will be plenty of midfield flair, not so much Ric Flair.

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