Methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for a common preamble for wireless local-area networks (WLANs). An apparatus of an access point (AP) or station (STA) comprising processing circuitry configured to encode an AP trigger frame that includes a resource allocation for other APs to transmit trigger frames to perform an uplink or downlink multi-user transmission with stations (STAs). The resource allocation includes information so that the transmissions are coordinated at the physical level to lessen interference among the APs and the stations. The processing is configured to encode a trigger frame for multi-AP request-to-send (RTS), the multi-AP trigger frame comprising for each of a plurality of APs, the trigger frame indicating that each of a plurality of APs are to transmit a physical (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU) comprising a request-to-send (RTS) or multi-user (MU) RTS (MU-RTS).