All Elite Wrestling talent arrived in Phoenix for Full Gear on Saturday after private flights bypassed a nationwide FAA ground stop.
AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that every main card wrestler reached the Mortgage Matchup Center by deploying private planes to three different U.S. hub locations, according to PWTorch. The company ensured the main card stayed intact, though POST Wrestling reported that changes were required for the Tailgate Brawl pre-show.
Khan Makes Alternative Travel Plans
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday, which Mezha reported affected numerous sectors, including the NBA, NHL, and professional wrestling. Khan said that the company began making alternative travel plans as soon as the disruption took effect.
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Khan went live on X to provide updates on the situation, explaining that everyone was grounded and the promotion had to formulate a plan that came together very well.
He said that yesterday was a hectic day as it was for a lot of people with flights grounded, and that applied to all flights including private and public flights. Khan said that AEW was operating the same as everyone else and was not trying to break any rules.
RJ City hosted the start of AEW’s Buy In live preview show on Saturday evening, noting that Renee Paquette was not present while omitting any specific reason for her absence. Khan announced that AEW will reveal the field for the 2026 Continental Classic during a special presentation on Monday during halftime of Monday Night Football, co-hosted alongside Tony Schiavone.
The fourth edition of the tournament follows previous winners Eddie Kingston in 2023, Kazuchika Okada in 2024, and Jon Moxley in 2025, and is scheduled to begin on the November 18 episode of Dynamite at the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado. Participants must be available for five round-robin matches across five weeks, with potential advancement to the semifinals and final.
“I think it was virtually impossible given how many flights of people who work in AEW have been canceled had I not dispatched the private planes to the three hub locations, I think it’s very unlikely everybody would have made it here,” Khan said, OutKick reported.
“No idea if I was going to make it today.” “All of my flights started getting canceled one after the other after the other,” Khan said.
Talent Faces Travel Delays from Nationwide Ground Stop
Some talent relied on driving across state lines to reach the venue.
“We told each other, we’re blessed, we’re in California. A lot of these guys are coming further than us, but we will do anything – planes, trains and automobiles – we will be here at Full Gear,” Matt Jackson said.
Social media personalities Big Justice and The Rizzler also faced travel hurdles. Mezha reported that Big Justice expressed hope that their group would be able to travel on Saturday morning to join “Big Boom” A.J. and Q.T. Marshall. A.J., Big Justice, and The Rizzler faced the nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA on Friday, which disrupted travel across the U.S. affecting college football, the NHL, the NBA, and pro wrestling.
A.J. was scheduled to team with Q.T. Marshall against Trent Baretta and Rocky Romero at Full Gear, with Big Justice and The Rizzler in his corner. A.J. posted a TikTok video showing his son on the phone with The Rizzler, who was preparing to fly out. In the clip, Big Justice noted they would have to return home and catch a flight in the morning.
Mark Davis and Jake Doyle, known as Davis and Doyle, were also set to challenge The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
Wrestling Industry Sees Wide Disruptions
The travel chaos extended beyond AEW.
The Full Gear main card features Will Ospreay defending the AEW World Championship against Kyle Fletcher in the headline match starting at 8 p.m. Wrestling Observer said that UFC 334 was scheduled from 5 p.m. to about 12:30 a.m., running longer than Full Gear by a couple of hours minimum.