AEW Grand Slam: Dynamite & Collision - Big Sound at Arthur Ashe Stadium Team produces both in-venue and broadcast audio for the noisy wrestling event By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 - 3:31 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Arthur Ashe Stadium has long had noise complaints when it hosts the US Open tennis tournaments, but its neighbors haven't heard anything until they hear the racket generated by the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Grand Slam: Dynamite & Collision, which takes place there tonight. Spectators at the combined Dynamite and Collision events are expected to fill the venue's nearly 24,000 seats for a raucous evening, which will be broadcast on TBS and, for the first time, live streamed, via PPV Triller TV.
It's the combined events' fourth consecutive year at the stadium, before it heads to Brisbane, Australia, for its first-ever visit there, in February.
Like most AEW events, Grand Slam: Dynamite & Collision is produced in-house, from AEW's own Live Media Group-built truck. The Nashville office of Sound Image, now a Clair Global subsidiary, has operated various AEW events' live-production and broadcast interface for five years.
Wrestling as Theater All wrestling is theater, and the production embraces it as such, boosting the volume and the impact of sound effects to support the wrestlers' mythical narratives and keep the crowds roaring.
It is theater, and it is loud, acknowledges Philip Piercy, crew chief/systems engineer/project audio lead, Sound Image. I've been touring for a long time, with music and events, and this is truly unique. It's interesting to watch and hear the crowds react to how the stories play out on stage, and it's rewarding knowing that I can add to that, adjusting the sound system as the show progresses. It's not linear, like a concert. You're never exactly sure how things will turn out.
Arthur Ashe Stadium preps for the fourth straight year of AEW Grand Slam: Dynamite & Collision.
The PA system takes its audio feed directly from the broadcast truck, its consoles - a DiGiCo Quantum 338 and Calrec Apollo over a Hydra2 network, connected via MADI and Dante, respectively - mixing the live show and broadcast separately and simultaneously. Frequency Coordination Group provides the wireless audio for the event, including backstage and ringside interviews that are simulcast on-air and on the large, curved screen, provided by vendor partner Fuse Video, that Sound Image deploys. Two rotating crews handle sound, video, and lighting, traveling 52 weeks a year and doing two or three live shows every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, as well as special events, such as Pay Per Views.
We're in charge of all the venue audio, notes Piercy, but we're also providing the control package. So we're in charge of the front-of-house audio, and all of that interacts with the broadcast trucks. All the inputs, playback, commercials, pre-tapes, microphones hit the broadcast truck and are sent to us. Ultimately, it is a TV show first, but the live show energizes the audience and becomes a big part of what the television audience will see and hear.
A JBL VTX A12 sound system installed at Arthur Ashe Stadium helps energize the audience.
What they're hearing comes from various crowd mics deployed throughout the venue, some hung from the lighting rigging used with Ashe Stadium's roof closed (which also further amplifies the interior noise), and from camera-mounted shotgun mics used to pick up the sometimes very physical and contentious interaction between wrestlers even before they get into the ring. There are also key effects microphones, such as the Audix D6 cardioid dynamic mics placed facing upwards beneath the ring's floormat, functioning for wrestling much as they do for the kick-drum microphones they were designed to be for live music.
When they pick up a slam on the mat, the crowd hears that, and it sounds like it really hurts, in the PA system and on the air, Piercy says. It's up to the mixer in the truck how much he uses of that. We get all the same mic inputs as the broadcast does, and we can use any of them in the PA. The crowd gets plenty of sound.
That PA is a JBL VTX A12 system, with seven hangs comprising A12 boxes around the venue, four hangs of A8 boxes in a center cluster, and four hangs of VTX S28 subs, Some B28s are also planned for deployment at the Grand Slam: Dynamite & Collision event.
The event gets bigger in a larger venue, and the music gets louder, Piercy notes, so the sound system has to be bigger, too.
Music Choices It's a large system designed to support a large story, as much opera as sport, with music choices carefully crafted to reveal each wrestler's persona, Not unlike walk-up music played as MLB batters approach the plate, the song tells the wrestler's epic backstory - in a minute or less.
With the entrance songs that these guys walk out to, Piercy points out, you can tell a lot about their character based on whether it's a rock song or a mellow song or something else. Some of the wrestlers have [arrangements] with certain [music] artists, and the crowd knows the songs and associate the character with the song. It's part of the history of the sport. A lot of people might wonder why you need a concert-level PA system for a wrestling match. But it's more than just that. You're seeing an entire story unfold.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
09/06/2026
Composer and Conductor Eric Whitacre to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee Va...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Technology collaboration to validate AMPP and Lawo HOME orchestration integration, showcasing Dynamic Media Facility principles in practice.
Grass Valley and ...
09/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced that Axel Springer SE, international media and technology company, has deployed Playe...
09/06/2026
LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video solutions, today announced a landmark deployment with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) that has brought Video ...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Two Alumni Win Tony Awards Mike Morris and Cedric Leiba Jr. won awards for Best Orchestrations and Best Play, respectively.
June 8, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
...
09/06/2026
These special programmes will highlight RT 's connection with the Irish diaspora
This year, RT is marking 100 years of public broadcasting in Ireland with...
08/06/2026
The two execs discuss the goals and the challenges of building a huge multi-cult...
08/06/2026
This industry legend has been a road warrior since the early '90s and is, today, a lynchpin on College GameDay
The sports-production industry continues to ...
08/06/2026
DAZN has agreed a multi-year rights partnership with Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), expanding its global combat sports portfolio.
DAZN will broadcast EFC...
08/06/2026
As fans move across broadcast, streaming, social, mobile and creator-led platforms, and they expect every angle, in real time, TVU Networks has released a new e...
08/06/2026
Infront has further strengthened the 2026 Diamond League's international bro...
08/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced the appointment of Sam Craig as Vice President, Global Pre-Sales. Based in the United States, Craig will lead Grass Valley's glob...
08/06/2026
SMPTE has announced its summer 2026 education lineup covering IP networking and SMPTE ST 2110, including two standalone courses, a 13-week boot camp, and a hand...
08/06/2026
Sportradar Group AG has announced a multi-year global agreement with Kalshi, a p...
08/06/2026
FIFA and Gamefam have announced the launch of a FIFA World Cup 2026 event on Roblox, running June 5 through July 31, 2026. The event centers on FIFA Super Socce...
08/06/2026
A collaboration of NHL Productions, Monumental Sports, and Michael Levitt Produc...
08/06/2026
CBS Sports production staffer Bryce Adair has died at the age of 31 after sustaining injuries during a car accident on Wednesday while in Ohio working the the P...
08/06/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
08/06/2026
WMT Digital today announced the launch of WMT Fan Intelligence, designed to unif...
08/06/2026
The Heat are the seventh NBA team to air their games over-the-air next season...
08/06/2026
Paramount and UFC have announced an expansion of their media rights partnership making Paramount the exclusive home of UFC Numbered Event main cards in Canada ...
08/06/2026
The Qatar Football Association (QFA), in cooperation with Sponix and broadcaster...
08/06/2026
Project B has announced the appointment of Host Broadcast Services (HBS) as Offi...
08/06/2026
The Buckeyes now produce and stream upwards of 200 sports events annually with a...
08/06/2026
At Spotify, our commitment to the LGBTQIA community is year-round. Through GLOW, our global music program, we celebrate and amplify the contributions of queer ...
08/06/2026
Get Hands-on With Keyboard & Synth Brands
GearExpo UK wouldn't be complete without some synth action, and we've got some of the industry's most ...
08/06/2026
50 popular in-ear monitoring system profiles added
The latest update for IK Multimedia's headphone-correction system has just arrived, and introduces ca...
08/06/2026
Manny Marroquin signature cans upgraded with SLAM Technology
The flagship model in Audeze's Manny Marroquin Signature Series has just been treated to an...
08/06/2026
Air domain supremacy redefined - New counter UAS, space solutions and directiona...
08/06/2026
he BBC and BritBox have announced that Edward Bluemel (We Might Regret This, My ...
08/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/06/2026
Dante interfaces, intercom and control systems for modern AV environments
Glensound will showcase a focused range of networked audio and intercom solutions fo...
08/06/2026
Bminty is proud to celebrate the first anniversary of T18, the new free national French DTT channel launched on June 6, 2025. This symbolic milestone also marks...
08/06/2026
DaVinci Resolve Used For Global Collaboration on Tony Foster Documentary
Brie Clayton June 8, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Cl...
08/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/06/2026
Plus, 20% off TVs ahead of kick-offMonday 8 June 2026
Sky introduces Real Time...
08/06/2026
FOX Secures Live NFL Game Package in Mexico Starting in Fall 2026 Agreement Features Thursday Night Football, Sunday Games Package, Thanksgiving Day Games, al...
AEW Grand Slam: Dynamite & Collision - Big Sound at Arthur Ashe Stadium Team produces both in-venue and broadcast audio for the noisy wrestling event By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
