ONE 168: Denver outsells WWE events at Ball Arena 

ONE Championship achieved a significant milestone this past September by hosting its second spectacle in the United States.

The ONE 168: Denver card, held at Ball Arena, exceeded expectations and even outperformed WWE’s two major events at the same venue. This is according to the report of veteran professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer. 

WWE brought Monday Night Raw and NXT No Mercy to “The Mile High City.” So, combat sports fans experienced an action-packed week. 

But it was ONE that stole the show with 8,583 paid spectators and a total attendance of 10,331. With those numbers, they generated a live gate of $1,280,335. 

“That’s an amazing number for that promotion,” Meltzer wrote in the September 23 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  

“It was way above what the NXT show five days earlier did, which would be about 6,000 actual paid at much lower prices. While it would be less than Raw did, as Raw did about 10,500 paid and 11,118 total, it would be a far larger gate than Raw.” 

This success impresses because ONE predominantly holds events in Asia.  

ONE Championship first entered the U.S. market in May 2023 with ONE Fight Night 10. That event took place at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. 

Meltzer described ONE’s significant growth in popularity for its sophomore American extravaganza as “mind-boggling.” 

“The idea that ONE in the same market could beat Raw in gate is mind-boggling,” he said. “Especially when you consider that the gate for ONE in Denver was more than the entire gate of every single show the promotion did every single year dating back to at least 2018.” 

ONE Championship returns to U.S. in November  

The promotion’s momentum is set to continue as it returns to the U.S. on November 8 for ONE 169: Atlanta at State Farm Arena. 

The card will feature four World Title bouts, promising yet another thrilling night of action.