All Elite Wrestling special event series
Professional wrestling pay-per-view event series
AEW Fight for the Fallen is a professional wrestling event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established in 2019, it is held annually during the summer as a charity event to raise money for different causes, which is a reference to the event's title. These events have helped raise money to support victims of different types of violence, people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and various other non-profit organizations and natural disaster relief. Since 2020, Fight for the Fallen has been held as a television special of AEW's weekly television programs. The event was originally held in July but was pushed back to August in 2023.
The inaugural event was streamed for free on B/R Live in North America and aired on pay-per-view (PPV) internationally. The second iteration of the event aired as a special episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite, which started its annual broadcasting format as a television special. In 2022, the event was expanded to a two-part television special, also encompassing Friday Night Rampage, and then expanded to a three-part event in 2023 to encompass Saturday Night Collision.
History
The inaugural Fight for the Fallen took place on July 13, 2019 at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and was All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) third-ever event held.[1] The company held the charity event to support victims of gun violence, with all gate receipts from the event being donated to these victims. The event was titled as a reference to this cause.[2] In North America, the event was streamed for free on B/R Live, while internationally, it aired on pay-per-view (PPV).[3]
The following year, AEW held a second Fight for the Fallen event, this time as a special episode of their flagship television program, Dynamite, which aired on July 15, 2020. It was also broadcast from Daily's Place, but this time, it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March that year, which forced the majority of AEW's programs to be held at Daily's Place. This second iteration in turn raised money for COVID-19 relief.[4][5]
The 2021 event was announced to also broadcast as a special episode of Dynamite, thus becoming the annual broadcasting format for Fight for the Fallen. It was also the first Fight for the Fallen to be held outside of Daily's Place. Following AEW's return to live touring during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 event was held on July 28 at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina and was the final event in AEW's "Welcome Back" tour.[6] The 2021 event's charitable cause raised money to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.[7]
In August 2021, AEW launched a secondary television program titled Rampage, airing on Friday nights. In turn, the 2022 Fight for the Fallen was expanded to a two-part event, encompassing the broadcasts of Dynamite and Rampage. Dynamite aired live on July 27 while Rampage was taped the same night but aired on tape delay on July 29. This year's event supported Oceana, a non-profit marine wildlife organization.[8][9]
In response to the Hawaii wildfires that occurred in early August 2023, AEW president Tony Khan announced that the 2023 Fight for the Fallen would be held as a three-part event, encompassing the August 16 episode of Dynamite, the August 18 episode of Rampage, and the August 19 episode of Collision, a third television program that launched in June that year and airs on Saturday nights. Proceeds from the event went to the Maui Food Bank.[10]
