AEW All In: London

AEW All In: London

London, England - August 2023

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, MJF was the AEW World Champion, Hikaru Shida was the AEW Women's World Championship, FTR were the World Tag Team Champions, the TNT Champion was Killswitch (Luchasaurus), Kris Statlander was the TBS Champion, the International Champion was Orange Cassidy, and the House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Murphy) were the World Trios Champions.

The somewhat infamous All In: London kicked off with CM Punk defending his AEW "Real" World Championship against longtime rival and friend, Samoa Joe. Punk's claim that he was still AEW's "Real" World Champion (his title was graffiti'd with a huge black X) was based on the fact that he had never actually lost the title in a match but had to relinquish it due to injury. Like the Forbidden Door show from earlier that year, this was one of the rare post-"Brawl Out" shows that would feature Punk, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page all sharing the same locker room, though I doubt there had been any warm conversations happening between them. Anyway...Samoa Joe controlled most of the match offensively, but Punk hung in there and got the occasional big shot in. It wasn't the most inventive match, but they hit the right notes and played-up their knowledge of one another's arsenals in fun ways. Like at Forbidden Door, Punk did a Hulk Hogan tribute spot, but unlike at Forbidden Door (which took place in Toronto), it made less contextual sense. The crowd was red hot for this and somewhat surprisingly pro-Joe on the onset. Looking back, I wonder if part of Punk's displeasure with the final stretch of his AEW run was that such a sizable part of the "hardcores" had turned on him. Despite knowing that this would likely be his last match in the company, Punk bladed from getting swung into the announcer's table and really gave his all, getting the W with the rarely-seen Pepsi Plunge. The historical significance of this match and all the callbacks to their previous matches make this match special, but if one didn't know those things, I don't think this match would be considered the near-classic that some make it out to be. A very good match, but a hair short of "must see." (3.5/5)

Next up - Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Kota Ibushi teaming up to take on "Switchblade" Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Konosuke Takeshita. This was a rare miss, though still an above-average. They were given 20 minutes, which was just a touch too long for a match that featured so many convoluted spots and a noticeably not-as-great-as-he-once-was Kota Ibushi. The word "sloppy" is rarely used for a match featuring this amount of talent, but the delayed stereo moonsaults to the floor spot was just one clear example of a spot being tarnished by folks not being as "locked in" as they once were. Omega looked good, but spent a good deal of the match playing face-in-peril, which is maybe a role that Hangman would've done better at because, when Hangman got the hot tag, he doesn't have the same explosive offense and overness as The Cleaner. Takeshita was the MVP and I'm glad he got the W, but this just wasn't the home run I'm sure everyone was wishing it were. (3/5)

The AEW Tag Team Champions, FTR, defended their titles against The Young Bucks in the next match, the "rubber match" between two of the best tag teams of the past 20 years. As expected, these two teams put on a great, back-and-forth match with plenty of finisher stealing and intricate sequences. With these teams, there is a built-in expectation that you might get one of the best wrestling matches of all time and I'm not sure they've ever delivered it. I rated their Full Gear 2020 match at 3.5 and I'm giving this the same score. There's nothing outright bad (aside from a poor camera angle late in the match that makes it look like Matt Jackson has to lift Wheeler's arm to break a count because of late interference from Dax) but there was also no captivating drama or story beyond these two teams being incredibly talented and having a ton of accolades. This was a "Who's The Better Team?" match without the emotion pull that a "must see" match has to have. (3.5/5)

Chuck Taylor, Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Trent Baretta, and Pentagon Jr. teamed up to take on Jon Moxley, Claudio Castignoli, Ortiz, Santana, and Wheeler Yuta in a Stadium Stampede match. I wasn't expecting much here as the Stadium Stampedes tend to blur together for me after the first couple Pandemic Era ones. The first 2/3rds of this match were absolutely great, though, with some truly incredible and gory violence coming from Jon Moxley, Penta, Cassidy, and Barretta in the ring. Highlights included Moxley getting stabbed in the head by a handful of skewers (one of the gnarliest spots I've seen in some time) and then nearly getting his head superkicked off by Penta after kicking out of a slam, Barretta getting his legs pulled from under him while standing on a suspended ladder, barbwire boards and 2x4s being used to bust people open, Cassidy getting stabbed in the head by a fork, Kingston getting to have his big moment of marching down the aisle and taking everybody out with a barbwire-covered chair...just a feast of hardcore spots. Unfortunately, the match delved into silly territory towards the end with "Sue" (Trent Baretta's mom, but because they didn't show her on-screen, it's doubtful it was actually her) showing up in the Best Friends' minivan with cookie trays and trash can lids and the fight "pausing" for the entrance of Pentagon Jr.'s alter-ego. That silliness in a match this violent and serious is not my cup of tea, but I won't deny that it popped the crowd. All in all, a good and worthy edition of a stipulation that I feared had run its course. Here, they made it work by making it as violent and bloody as possible and the strategy paid off. (3.5/5)

The AEW Women's World Championship was on the line in the next match as Hikaru Shida defended the title against Britt Baker, Saraya, and not-quite-Timeless Toni Storm. Saraya came out to "We Will Rock You" and was accompanied by her family. Toni Storm was in the early stages of her transition to the "Timeless" character, but some of the elements - the Golden Era of Hollywood-inspired hairdo, the ultra-dramatic expressiveness - were there. Shida had won the title a few weeks before this event on the 200th episode of Dynamite. This was a mixed bag with some of the sequences looking loose and disjointed. The implosion of The Outcasts was writ large with some serious overacting/bad acting at times from Storm and Saraya, but there were also fun moments too - Saraya applying a deathlock onto Storm only for Baker to hit a wicked curb stomp, Storm accidentally hitting Saraya's mom with a forearm, some good superkicks getting thrown, the feel-good finish (at least for the fans in attendance). This match took a pillorying on Cagematch but isn't nearly as bad as its score would indicate with most of the criticism based on the outcome and not the actual match. (3/5)

Darby Allin and Sting took on the team of Christian and Swerve Strickland in a Coffin Match next. Cool pre-match video and entrance for Sting. Highlights included Sting putting Swerve through a table, Darby having to wrestle with his hands zip-tied behind his back, Allin performing a Coffin Drop onto a closed coffin...it was all good, fun action. Killswitch (Luchasaurus) eventually showed up to help out the heels and we saw a cameo from Nick Wayne (he was swiftly taken out and then carried to the back by Killswitch), but this was much more straight-forward and "traditional" than the Stadium Stampede match (with considerably less blood). (3/5) 

Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay followed. Jericho did a Freddie Mercury tribute bit with Fozzy before the match and then sang "Judas" on the way to the ring (accompanied by Sammy Guevara). Ospreay had a considerably "smaller" entrance, but it still felt like a big moment for him and he probably would've gotten an even stronger babyface response if Don Callis had not been at his side. This match could go down as Jericho's last truly great match to some fans (I actually think he had some after this) and he clearly went "all in" to try to deliver a performance that matched Ospreay's. Even in his prime, I'm not sure Jericho ever had the agility, speed, or high-flying arsenal that Ospreay has, but I certainly give him credit for working his butt off here. This still comes across, at times, as something of a "carry job" because Ospreay's bumping and risk-taking is tremendous. There was a touch too many false finishes for my liking with Jericho kicking out of Ospreay's finisher multiple times but this match was clearly designed with the intention of telling the story that Jericho was as good as he ever was. This was a "self-conscious epic," a concept/story that I've tired of but that Jericho obviously wanted to tell. A very good match, but it does lean towards overly-choreographed at times and, if you're tired of Jericho and not a fan of Ospreay's over-the-top style, this probably won't convince you of either's greatness. (3.5/5)

The House of Black's Malachai Black, Buddy Murphy, and Brody King took on The Acclaimed and "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn (commentary made sure to highlight that this was not "Daddy Ass," but a tougher, more serious Gunn) for the HoB's Trios Championships in the next match. The House of Black paid tribute to Bray Wyatt during their entrance as he had passed away not too long before this. This was "No Holds Barred" per the House Rules stipulation, but The Acclaimed didn't seem to have any reason to choose that particularly stipulation, which made them look kinda dumb. The match went 10 minutes but felt longer because of how much action they filled it with, including Anthony Bowens delivering a legdrop to the spread legs of Julia Hart, a trifecta of Fame Assers on Buddy Murphy, and Brody King getting a little bit of color before eventually falling prey to two Mic Drops. I didn't like Gunn kicking out Malachai Black's finish at all as Gunn didn't need "the rub" and Black's signature move should've been better protected than in a 10-minute filler match. (2.5/5)

Main event time - MJF vs. Adam Cole for the AEW World Championship. In the months leading up to this show, MJF had been turned face by building a friendship (and winning the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships) with Cole and then, in a show of good sportsmanship, granting him this title shot on the biggest stage in the history of AEW (an astonishing 81,000+ were in attendance, a number that has since been disputed by the British government, who reported it was "only" 72k). Cole had also nearly defeated MJF on an episode of Dynamite, pinning him for a full 3 count...right as the 30-minute time limit expired. Anyway...they start things off with shows of mutual respect and straight-up wrestling before Cole starts to cut corners, pulling MJF's hair, hitting an awesome brainbuster on the steel steps there, and then, after MJF opts not to hit a piledriver on the table, Cole delivers one anyway. It's all very dramatic and, while the individual moves are executed well, they are often undersold and strung together without credible transitions or shifts in momentum. For example, after being dropped on his head on the steps - an undeniably incredible spot - MJF magically springs up at 9.5, dives into the ring, and then rolls back out to the floor. Why not sell the struggle of beating the count? And after rolling back out to the floor, seemingly exhausted and still suffering from the brainbuster, MJF is back in control, teasing a piledriver on the table within 40 seconds. From there, the stakes continue to be raised with nifty moves - like a Panama Sunrise on the floor - but the big false finish happens when they hit a simple clothesline, a cutesy reference to their "Double Clothesline" team that is just too precious for a match that also featured a straight-jacket suplex on the ring apron. Roderick Strong eventually makes an appearance, but its "subtraction by addition." While Strong was an important side character in the MJF/Cole story, his inclusion felt a bit like if Mr. Perfect or Earthquake had shown up in the main event in WrestleMania VI. Like the gratuitous ref bumps in the final act, the overbooking was unnecessary when, in the end, MJF winning with the inside cradle told the story that it needed to tell - that MJF was the better man that night, but that Cole was essentially his equal. The post-match drama got a good response and gave us the big "Hug It Out" moment, with MJF forcing Cole to prove, once and for all, that their friendship was real and not just a ploy to get to the championship. For the AEW fans invested in the Better Than You Bay-Bay storyline, it was a fitting capper to the show...but as someone who never really got into it, it felt a bit too goofy. (2/5)

Earning an average score of 3.06-out-of-5, All In: London was a step up from the lackluster Forbidden Door and Double or Nothing shows, but mileage may vary depending on one's appreciation for the work of guys like Ospreay, Adam Cole, Jericho, and the Young Bucks, some of the more divisive wrestlers of the past decade. The crowd, historical significance, and scope of the production makes this event special, but I wouldn't call a single match "must see," with Jericho/Ospreay and the Punk/Joe opener perhaps coming closest. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand