August Poised To Be Biggest Month For Professional Wrestling In 2019

Whether it’s WWE, AEW, New Japan, Ring of Honor, etc., wrestling fans in 2019 have the choice that had been lacking since WWE’s purchase of WCW in 2001. All this variety has made 2019 a watershed year for pro wrestling, from Double or Nothing being a massive success to women main eventing Wrestlemania for the first time.

And it seems the trend is going to continue, with August poised to be the biggest month of the year for the industry.

Now, it does beg the question as to how August could be bigger than Wrestlemania season. Typically, every promotion with any notoriety descends on Wrestlemania’s host city and dots it with shows throughout the week. But while these feature some of the biggest talents in wrestling outside of WWE, everything is ultimately packed into one week and then it’s back to business.

That isn’t the case with August, with multiple big shows spread throughout the month for wrestling fans to enjoy. Currently, there are eight major shows scheduled to be taking place throughout August – AAA Triplemania XXVII, Summer Supercard, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Summerslam, NJPW Royal Quest, NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff, and AEW All Out.

Triplemania XXVII, which is scheduled for August 3rd, is Mexican promotion Triple A’s biggest show of the year. Like most supershows, the event will feature a mix of the biggest current stars in lucha libre along with legends who can still perform in the ring. The only match announced for the show thus far is lucha legend Blue Demon Jr. vs Rey Wagner in a Mask vs. Hair match.

Next is Summer Supercard, scheduled for August 9th. The show will serve as the kickoff to Summerslam weekend and will feature talent from Ring of Honor, New Japan, the NWA, and Mexican promotion CMLL. And while no matches have been announced, there's a good chance fans will get to see names like Will Ospreay, Bandido, Dragon Lee, Nick Aldis, and Kazuchika Okada in action.

WWE’s festivities then get started with NXT Takeover: Toronto on August 10th. NXT Takeovers have historically been the talk of the weekend for WWE coming out of major shows, sometimes overshadowing the big shows they’re paired with. And based on the latest NXT tapings, fans can expect to see Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano 3 to headline for the NXT Championship, along with Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Title and Street Profits defending the NXT Tag Titles against the Undisputed Era.

WWE will conclude its weekend with Summerslam on August 11th. The show is typically regarded as WWE’s second biggest show of the year and will showcase the talent from Raw and Smackdown.

After a quick lull, August closes out big with NJPW Royal Quest, NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff and AEW All Out on August 31st.

Whether it was premeditated or an accident, fans will get to enjoy shows from the three companies regarded as the biggest in wrestling. Royal Quest will be taking place in London, England, while NXT UK Takeover airs from Cardiff, Wales. Royal Quest marks New Japan’s first major show in England, while Takeover: Cardiff will be the second Takeover event in the brand’s short history. Following those shows, AEW All Out airs from Chicago, Illinois, with two headline matches – “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho for the AEW World Title and Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley.

Safe to say, it doesn’t look like WWE has a grip on the wrestling industry that it did ten years ago. Fans now have true alternatives to WWE, even within WWE, to enjoy if they feel dissatisfied with WWE’s current main roster product. And for the wrestlers, there is now legitimate choice in places to go and make a good living wrestling in-front of fans all over the world.