RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein revealed on The Ariel Helwani Show that the wrestling promotion’s first international event in Georgia drew a sold-out crowd of 10,000 fans, describing a scene that caught even the organization’s leadership off guard.
” Georgia was crazy because I think that was probably one of our cool[est shows]. We were sitting, it was me, Eric [Bischoff], and Izzy [Israel Martinez] outside, and it felt like the World Cup. Like there’s, we sold out, the arena was 10,000 people,” Bronstein said. “Outside of the arena, it was wild. And we never seen anything like it. But the arena was wild there.”
The Georgia show, headlined by a dramatic comeback win, has become a touchstone for RAF as it heads toward its one-year anniversary. The company debuted in Cleveland last August and now returns to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this Saturday for its anniversary card, also expecting a crowd of around 10,000.
With RAF’s roster increasingly overlapping with mixed martial arts, featuring names like Islam Makhachev, Khamzat Chimaev, Chael Sonnen, and Arman Tsarukyan, questions about the promotion’s relationship with the UFC and its parent company TKO have followed the organization all year.
Bronstein addressed the persistent chatter directly.
“Listen, like we have a good relationship with TKO. Like obviously Eric and we, we got to know Nick and they’re very good to our organization. We have had zero problems with them,” he said. “So I just think for right now, we’re trying to grow the sport of wrestling.”
Asked whether any acquisition talks have taken place, Bronstein was clear that nothing formal has occurred, though he did not rule out a future partnership.
“I don’t, you know, I think right now we’re just happy with Fox,” he said, adding that RAF has fielded outside interest but declined to name suitors. “Have we get calls from other people? Yes… I’m not going to name them.”
He also addressed speculation over UFC stars competing for RAF while under contract elsewhere, noting there is no formal coordination required.
“I have a good relationship with Hunter [Campbell]. Like if he had a problem, he would reach out to us, but they’ve been really great to us,” Bronstein said.
