AEW has built All In to become their version of WrestleMania or SummerSlam, and the show is upon us once again.
Approximately 55,000 fans will pack into London’s Wembley Stadium for another stacked AEW pay-per-view. I’m excited. If you’re reading this, it probably means that you’re excited. Let’s not waste any more time.
Christian Cage, Nick Wayne & Killswitch vs Juice Robinson & The Gunns vs Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews vs Pac, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta – Four-Way Ladder Match for the AEW Trios Titles
That was a lot to type.
I like that all of the entrances for this match took place during the pre-show. That’s a great way to save some actual pay-per-view time.
For all of my readers in the United Kingdom, answer this for me… are you folks a late-arriving people? This isn’t a knock on AEW, but there are a ton of empty seats in the stadium as the show starts, so I’m just wondering if it’s more that people are showing up late than anything else. I can also make an assumption that there’s a bit of a traffic jam, both on wheels and on foot, to get into Wembley at the moment.
AEW trios matches are already full of action. Throw in some ladders… and then throw in the excitement of performing in front of this type of crowd… and you have 12 men that are as amped up as can be. As soon as the opening bell was heard, the action began, and it has yet to stop.
In case you were wondering, Claudio is the first person on the show to bleed. He has a small cut on the top of his head. I didn’t see it happen, but it looks more like an accidental thing, probably during one of the dozen or so times when someone did a dive to the outside onto a group of competitors.
Since I typed that last sentence, there have been a few more dives from the ring to the ringside area. They’re spamming the button, but in no way is that a complaint from me.
Dear God… Juice Robinson sets a ladder up in the center of the ring, and it’s tall enough that the top of it hits the title belts hanging up, but he gets shoved off the ladder, and he gets crotched on the top rope in as violent a fashion as you’ll ever see in these matches.
As Killswitch lifts Christian on his shoulders and climbs the ladder, Pac makes his way up the other side of the ladder, kicks Christian down, and grabs the titles. Pac, Claudio, and Wheeler are the brand new Trios Champions! The crowd exploded for their hometown boy winning.
That was a blast of an opener. It was everything you want one of these matches to be. I wouldn’t call it a classic or anything, but at 3.75 Stars, it was an awesome way to get things started.
Toni Storm vs Mariah May – AEW Women’s Title Match
These two are beating the hell out of each other in the early moments of the match. Good. The story that has been told calls for that. Toni is still selling the heartbreak of being betrayed by Mariah. There should be anger and frustration in the offense.
The Wembley crowd has been a lot of fun so far. Plenty of noise, but I’m a bit surprised at the lack of chants that you expect from the United Kingdom crowds.
LMAO @ Mariah walking up to her own mother and slapping the fucking taste out of the woman’s mouth for seemingly no reason. Her mom has been cheering for her and everything.
After making contact with the ring steps, Mariah is bleeding from the forehead. It will be interesting to see how many matches feature someone coming up bloody on the show.
The camera has cut to Mina Shirakawa in the crowd on multiple occasions. Honestly, I’m all for it. She has a lot invested in this match, and in this story, as a whole. While they’re at it, though, they should cut to Mina once or twice in every other match, too. I wouldn’t complain.
Toni grabs the heeled shoe, but is unable to hit her former friend in the head with it. Mariah is able to take advantage of that, and we have a brand new AEW Women’s Champion because of it.
Really good stuff. Lots of emotion, and even more hard-hitting action. Both women put in some great work here. 4 Stars
Chris Jericho vs Hook – FTW Title Match
Fuzzy is there to perform live for Jericho’s entrance. This is when I go grab some snacks.
Anything goes in FTW matches, so Jericho is being joined by Big Bill and Bryan Keith for a three-on-one attack.
Jericho pulls a bag out from underneath the ring. Thumbtacks? Nails? Lego pieces? Nope. Cricket balls. Naturally, Hook then grabs a cricket bat from under the ring. Potential lawsuits are all over the place as Hook starts using the bat to hit the balls at Jericho, with the balls flying wildly out of the ring.
Big Bill is REALLY over with the Wembley crowd. Even as a heel, he’s playing to the crowd. It’s clear he loves and appreciates the reaction he’s getting.
Sick and tired of the interference, Taz gets up from the announce table and locks Bryan Keith in the Katahajime to a huge pop from the crowd. At the same time, Hook has Jericho locked in one in the ring, and we have a new FTW Champion.
After going through a table with a barbed wire board on top of it, Big Bill’s back is bleeding. I’m going to count it. That makes us three-for-three when it comes to blood on the pay-per-view.
The match itself was decent for what it was. Way too much interference for anything to really get out of first gear, but at least the crowd was into it. 2.75 Stars
The Young Bucks vs FTR vs The Acclaimed – Three-Way Match for the AEW Tag Team Titles
I don’t know what this says, but The Acclaimed appear to be a lot more over in England than they are in the United States these days.
With the Bucks on offense, what sounds like a “C-M Punk” chant is heard, but it is quickly shut down with boos. Okay then.
After the entrances were done, this has easily been the quietest the crowd has been since the show began. That’s a lot of ammunition for the “Bucks are killing AEW” crowd, I suppose.
There have been some clunky spots in the match so far. The Bucks have been in multiple spots where they were looking to perform an offensive move, only to be interrupted by an opponent that was standing RIGHT THERE, making the Bucks look stupid. Now, we had a spot where Anthony Bowens went to break up a pin attempt with a dive from the top rope, but the timing was off, and it looked like the pin attempt was given up before Bowens made contact.
This was our first match that didn’t see a title change, as well as our first match that didn’t see anyone bleed. The Bucks retain in a good match, but it wasn’t anything you’ll remember in a few hours. 3 Stars
After the match, James Drake and Zack Gibson enter the ring and make it clear that they’re coming after the Tag Team Titles. The Bucks leave the ring, and the Grizzled Young Veterans attack FTR. That works for me. There should be some fun matches that come out of that.
Casino Gauntlet Match – Winner Receives An AEW World Title Shot
Entrant #1 is Orange Cassidy. Kazuchika Okada comes in at #2, and the crowd goes nuts. A completely unserious Okada starts the match by dramatically “crying” and asking for a hug from Cassidy, as both men are former members of New Japan’s Chaos stable. The hug lasts a second before Okada attacks Cassidy.
Holy shit… the third entrant is Nigel Fucking McGuinness. This is his first match since competing for WxW in Germany back on November 26th, 2011. That’s awesome. Good for Nigel. The Wembley crowd is going nuts for him.
Kyle O’Reilly is the next entrant. For those unaware of the rules of the match, there are 21 entrants that join the match at timed intervals, but the match ends whenever a pin or submission takes place, even if it’s before all 21 entrants are in the match. Lots of surprises in these things.
Next out is Zack Sabre Jr. He’s fresh off of winning the G1 Climax tournament for New Japan. That win earned him a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, and this could earn him a shot at the AEW World Title to go with it. Nigel and ZSJ have a stand-off in the center of the ring, and the crowd loses their minds.
Roderick Strong is the next entrant because it is written into contracts that Kyle O’Reilly can only team with and compete against his buddies.
The times between entrants are random, and Mark Briscoe joins the match mere seconds after Roderick Strong joined. That’s a hilarious part of these matches. You really never know when someone new is coming out.
“Hangman” Adam Page is out next, and things are really getting hectic out there.
Jeff Jarrett, come on down! You’re the next contestant in the Casino Gauntlet Match! Jarrett gets a really good reaction from the crowd, who are still rooting for him after his Owen Hart Cup performances.
Ladies and gentlemen… Ricochet is here, making his AEW debut! Business is about to pick up. Wembley is on fire.
Christian Cage is the next entrant, and he limps his way down the lengthy ramp. Before he even reaches the ring, he is taken out by Ricochet, who is flying all over the place. This match has been a blast so far.
Next out is… Luchasaurus. Yes, Luchasaurus, not Killswitch. He enters the match and looks like he’s going to attack Christian, but it’s all a ploy. A Chokeslam to Kyle O’Reilly, and Killswitch allows Christian to get the pin and the win. That really took the wind out of the crowd’s sails.
I’m not sure how to properly rate matches like this, simply based on how different they are because of the way everything is formatted. It was non-stop action, but obviously, there was a ton of stretches where there were only two men fighting in the ring while every other entrant was at ringside. As more and more people entered the match, that became more noticeable and egregious. It’s worth checking out, either way, though, even without an actual star rating from me.
MJF vs Will Ospreay – AEW American/International Title Match
Ospreay’s entrance is essentially a commercial for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows video game, set to release on November 15th.
MJF’s entrance, on the other hand, sets the record for most references to the American flag that we’ve ever seen in pro wrestling.
“You think you’re special because you can flip?!? Anybody can flip, you piece of shit!” – MJF, who then proceeds to do a flip, albeit an unsuccessful one.
Do you like reversals and counters? If so, have I got some good news for you! This match is absolutely full of them. Good stuff so far, with both men having scouted their opponent very well.
MJF is at ringside, and Ospreay decides he wants to hit a Hidden Blade from the ring apron, but MJF moves and a cameraman gets destroyed instead.
Ref bump! Ospreay hits MJF, who crashes into Bryce Remsburg and knocks Bryce out of the ring.
A masked man hits the ring and hits MJF. The man pulls his mask off to reveal a returning Daniel Garcia, who gets a good pop.
Tiger Driver from Ospreay, and we have a new champion! This was a blast. Ospreay continues his insane streak of great matches, while MJF does the same. 4.25 Stars. Both men busted their asses here. As I said, there were reversals and counters galore, with both men doing their homework in a big-time match.
Mercedes Moné vs Dr. Britt Baker, DMD – AEW TBS Title Match
It is forever hilarious to hear the “C-E-O” chants during Mercedes’ entrance, only to see little-to-no people actually chanting it.
This is now the quietest that the crowd has been all show long. It’s up to you to decide if it’s because the fans have been out there forever, if it’s because they’re exhausted after the previous match, or if it’s because they don’t care about Mercedes and/or Britt.
I’m not really sure what to say about this one. It wasn’t a bad match, but man, this crowd wasn’t invested at all. Mercedes retains her title, but the pin got almost no reaction. 3.25 Stars. Mercedes just isn’t having the run with AEW that people expected her to have. Her promos, never her strong suit to begin with, have been almost universally panned. Her matches have largely been good, but most of them have stayed right there in that category.
Jack Perry vs Darby Allin – Coffin Match for the AEW TNT Title
This motherfucker Darby has thumbtacks glued to his face. The headbutt that he’s going to deliver at some point is going to be vicious.
Perry pulls a bag out from under the ring and it is revealed to be full of broken glass. This leads to a “fuck CM Punk” chant from the crowd. Punk continues to live rent free in the heads of everyone everywhere.
Within seconds, Perry is reversed into the glass. It’s certainly real, as Perry comes up with a handful of little cuts on his back, but it’s nowhere near what you would’ve thought with someone being slammed onto broken glass.
Darby gets his wrists taped together, and then has his ankles tied together, before being thrown from the ramp and through a table. That had to hurt.
Is the show running long? That one was a lot shorter, with a lot less action, than I was expecting. Jack Perry gets the win, retaining his title and handing Darby his first ever loss in a Coffin Match. I didn’t see an exact number, but I’m pretty sure the match was less than ten minutes long, with much of that time spent setting up the various spots that took place. 2.5 Stars
After the match, the Young Bucks come out and pour gasoline all over Darby and then all over the coffin. Before Perry can light it ablaze, Sting makes his return to AEW and makes the save.
Swerve Strickland vs Bryan Danielson – AEW World Title vs Bryan Danielson’s Career
“The Final Countdown” by Europe begins to play, and I’m about ready to cry as well as run through a fucking wall for Bryan Danielson. Wembley is singing the song! Brie Danmielson is in the front row, and so are her and Bryan’s two children. “Yes” chants! These folks are pumped up.
Swerve has DJ Whoo Kid handle his introduction, and then is accompanied to the ring by Bun B, Westside Gunn, and Flash Garments, who are rapping their verses on the remix of Swerve’s entrance music. This match already has a big fight feel. I love it.
Swerve hits a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron, atop the ring bell, behind the referee’s back. That was well done. Vicious looking spot. After an attack, Danielson comes up bleeding. The man’s kids are watching! Right on cue, Swerve drags Danielson to ringside in front of his family and stomps his head a bunch of times, before yelling at the kids that he’s sending their daddy home.
Birdie Danielson is crying. As the father of a daughter, I can’t watch things like that. I get too emotional.
Swerve is wrestling as if his World Title is on the line. Danielson is wrestling as if his career is on the line. Great stuff so far.
That praise comes to an immediate halt with yet another pause during a Danielson match so that Doc Sampson can enter the ring to check on his condition. AEW REALLY uses that too often. I get that Bryan has legitimate issues with his neck, and that’s fine, but every big match gets stopped at least once. It really screws with the momentum of things.
Danielson kicks out at two, and Wembley explodes!
FUCKING CINEMA! Swerve is delivering kicks to Danielson, who stands up and eats each one as he points to his family and tells them how much he loves them.
Danielson hits a Busaiku Knee, and Swerve literally stands there and brushes his shoulders off. He looked like a horror movie villain there. That was an incredible spot.
Adam Page pops up at ringside, but he is surrounded by security before he is able to get his hands on Swerve. The distraction allows for Danielson to hit another Busaiku for a 2.999 count.
Swerve taps! We have a new World Champion! Immediately, Bryan turns and looks at his family, blowing them a kiss. The PacPool Combat Club comes out and helps the Danielson family over the guardrail and into the ring.
Amazing, amazing match. I might be caught in the moment and the emotions of everything, but I’m giving that 5 Stars. As an actual match, it was great. Throw in the molten hot crowd, the emotion, and the storytelling, though, and you have a Match Of The Year candidate.
Overall, this was a great show. Really fun stuff, almost all the way up and down the card. Plenty of title changes to signal a new “era” in the company. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already done so.
