AEW All In London is in the books and while my predictions record took a violent hit, the company shook up their landscape from top to bottom with seven title changes across both the men’s and women’s divisions. If that weren’t enough Sting reemerged to do “Sting things” and also offer an assist to his son and Darby Allin. Meanwhile Britt Baker also made her return on the pre-show to help Persephone win the TBS title. We also saw Austin Creed and Kofi arrive in AEW rebranded as the “New Level.”
The biggest moments saw AEW’s elite tag teams come together in the ring, Mercedes Mone winning the AEW women’s title, and Kenny Omega seemingly passing the torch to Will Ospreay “My Hero Academia” style like All Might to Midoriya. The larger questions though are what happens next and I have some thoughts on how All In alters the company’s course for the rest of the year.
And as for those predictions…. yeah, that went well. After that debacle we’re sitting at 76-29 (76/105; 72%). Sad face, yes, but I think looking at how they executed the results, specifically the main card title changes, those results were mostly the right calls. However I have to say… getting U.K. fans hyped with the Brawling Birds victory only to follow that with Nigel having to tap out while still on that previous high? That’s just rude and poor form.
Five Takeaways From All In: London
Power Shift in the Women’s Division
All In bore witness to all three women’s titles changing hands, while Persephone’s TBS title win had an emphatic exclamation point punctuating it with the return of Britt Baker.
I’d assume Maya World gets some sort of rematch out of this, but given how the match ended I wouldn’t expect the result to be walked back. The post match also established that Baker and Persephone were working together. They also immediately put Baker in a power position that installs her as a veteran with perspective with both Thunder Rosa and Maya World in their sights.
Persephone was due this moment, I’m just shocked they did it on the buy-in. What it did do was set the tone for the night, in addition to the women’s mid-card going forward. Where I think sometimes the TBS title contingent can become an afterthought, having something substantial going on with all three levels of the division is a boon, with a fresh titleholder in the TBS slot that I think can really make the division her own. Persephone is a talent and I’m looking forward to her run with Baker by her side.
The tag team division I’m less sure of, but that really depends on what the plan is for the former champions. A rematch wouldn’t be absurd to expect given they’re the only other team in the division that is a heel and formerly on a run. With Maya World available now you coulds reform her team with Hyan, but with the Sisters of Sin losing at All In and every other team that has been featured so far being a face team there is a shortage of immediate challengers. You’ve also put them in a position where you either take them off TV or keep them together because you’ve also overhauled the whole division and put heel champions in both singles slots. Tony Khan has in effect booked his former tag team champs into a corner and given them no alternative options.
As for the world title, this is the one I think everyone saw coming. I don’t have a lot to say here other than I assume Willow is getting surgery on her hand and will be away for a while, leaving Mercedes to defend against all of the top challengers in the division. I think the division is in a good spot overall with Mone at the front, but I think they need to retool the tag division. Otherwise you’re looking Birds-Dominion rematches, maybe Baker and Persephone if they chase those belts, and/or “good sportsmanship” face vs. face team matches.
Austin Creed and Kofi Help Level Up the Tag Division
At the risk of being incendiary, given the reaction Creed and Kofi received when they entered the trios roulette royale, WWE probably misjudged how beloved they are and what their value is as performers. You can’t manufacture that roar from the crowd, and I think it’s a very appropriate statement for them to get trios gold with Swerve in their first match in AEW; I think more far-reaching it’s important for them to have also made their impression in the tag team division. That was the whole point of bringing all of those teams out at the closing of the Cage and Cope vs. Young Bucks match.
I think their impact goes beyond a new name and some applause. Their arrival bolsters an already very stacked division as evident by the legendary teams that were in the ring at the same time. To crystallize that, between them all of those teams have held 43 world tag team championships stretching back 20+ years. Their arrival also opens up the ongoing trifecta of FTR, Cage-Cope and the Bucks, which along with the inclusion of Shelley and Sabin, renews the tag division and puts it in a position to reset itself. This might be the most solid the division has been in AEW’s existence.
The Continental Cup Accomplished Nothing
Jon Moxley has been Continental Champion for 247+ days, and his reign is fast approaching his two longest AEW world title reigns. His reign has been fine on its own merits, however I think his overall objective as a character is to sharpen the entire AEW landscape to be the best version of itself. That’s a fine mission, but the problem with that foundationally is that at some point that needs to be demonstrated with results. That’s why when Hangman Page defeated him for the AEW title in 2025 the win had so much impact and helped punctuate the ascension of Page as a two-time AEW champion. I think there have been opportunities to create a similar result with the Continental Championship, a very rules-centric division, with people like Kyle O’Reilly or Nigel McGuinness.
The mission is hollow if no one rises to the challenge, and if that’s absent it undermines what they’ve tried to do with Mox as a character since late 2024. This is why I’d argue the tournament accomplished nothing because all it did was maintain the status quo, elevated no one and served only to reinforce Moxley’s standing in the Continental Championship landscape as we head into the winter for the Continental Classic. I would assume he drops it there at this juncture, but this tournament did nothing for the title, the company and the show as a whole, and it really only served to fill up air time on television and pay per views. I’d also argue the ending hampered the momentum coming out of the women’s tag title match.
Sting Returns
I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the realities of time and Sting making another big appearance for All Elite Wrestling. I’ve said many times that I’m a lifelong Sting fan. I saw very little WCW growing up in the late 80s with cable being what it was, but when I did get to watch anything on TBS I watched WCW/NWA and from the first moments I was a fan. Getting to see him close out his career the right way, in a way that he deserved, was great for me personally and I imagine anyone who was ever a fan.
Those moments he’s returned since then have been electrifying. The reality is that he’s 67 now and as cool as it is to see him come out to Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy,” there will be a time when this doesn’t happen anymore. It might even be All In this past weekend. So for us to see him one more time in the facepaint, seemingly passing his “crazy” torch to his son, that holds some weight. Maybe it’s the last one and maybe it isn’t, but as Darby Allin said in the post-event presser, don’t take it for granted.
Will Ospreay Becomes AEW Champion
This is the big one of the show. Although it was the obvious endgame, it still hit a certain way with how the entire experience played out from the extended opening retrospective and intro with the people who helped shape him to the entrance itself with his United Empire mates flanking him, all the way through the nearly 35 minute main event with Kenny Omega. It was every bit a NJPW-style main event you’d expect from the company they both formerly called home. I’d argue this was easily a top three or five AEW match of all time.
You could probably talk about so many things, right down to the thematic My Hero-torch passing, but right away I think we need to take a look at the path ahead. We can assume Omega will be stepping aside, and in the near future we’ll see Will Ospreay against Andrade for the AEW title. I think that’s deliberate and I still think MJF screws over Andrade when the match happens, and that in turn keeps MJF in Ospreay’s orbit. Also, with Kyle Fletcher out of the International title picture we probably see another Ospreay-Fletcher match for the big prize. I’d also note that Okada was missing from that opening, so I’d expect an Okada-Ospreay match as well, and this all builds — in my opinion — to MJF and Ospreay matching up for the championship.
The roadway there is the fuzzy part, though I’m expecting some variation of the top contenders lining up to dethrone him. I’d argue MJF is probably at the end of that path over the next few months and that likely couples with a title change. Between now and then what Ospreay gives us is a fresh look at the future AEW title scene, meaning we get to see him against new faces and old rivals where the narrative surrounding even something like say a Kyle Fletcher match refocuses on the AEW championship and what it means to the individuals involved.
The unique part of this is Will himself as he’s unlike any champion before him save for Omega, and that aspect and how they make those encounters work with Ospreay as defending champion, the stories they tell around his health and what the endgame could be if Callum Newman does in fact cause him to inevitably lose the championship. For long as it lasts, provided he stays healthy, Ospreay’s world title reign could be one of the better ones in AEW history and also a glimpse into a future where Ospreay and MJF are arguably 1A and 1B.
