The anticipation, the high stakes regarding the Men's World Championship, and everything in between finally unfolded during AEW's third annual All In. Instead of being Wembley bound, this year's All In took place in Arlington, Texas at the Globe Life Field stadium. Truth be told, the crowd this year wasn't as good as how it is at Wembley. But some of that can certainly be due to heartbreaking news that fans were dealt before and during the show's runtime.
Aside from that, the build to this All In was tremendous, I'd even go far as to say the build was much better than the PPV itself. Of course we'll get to that later as we dive into the nitty gritty. All in all (the pun was mildly intended), this year's All In had a few satisfying results. Primarily the last three matches which were the strongest of the bunch. Let's jump right in and get into the good, the in between and much more. This isn't your typical individual match breakdown, so hold onto the ropes.
Trio's Match
Rating: 3/5
There's not a lot to say about this match and at the end of the day, we knew the titles weren't likely to change hands. Samoa Joe was great as usual and TDR beat them up at the end. It wasn't a bad match, but there's really not much else to say.
Men's Casino Gauntlet
Rating: 2.5/5
As soon as MJF secured his #2 spot for the Men's Casino Gauntlet, it was incredibly obvious that he was likely going to win the gauntlet. After all, considering the way he tends to get what it wants within storylines, nobody was surprised by this. Even being a fan of his, who is undoubtedly struggling with his current work (more in particular storylines, as well as promo work), this win is deeply predictable in a way that's not very enjoyable.
The match overall was exactly what one might expect, with so many different styles and wrestlers colliding. It was chaotic, had some spots that picked up the speed, and there's tremendous talent across the board. But the moment MJF was confirmed to be in this match, there's nobody else that realistically was going to secure the win over him. Not even a fan-favorite like Brody King.
Truth be told, him cashing in on the newly crowned champion and second-time World Champion, Hangman Adam Page, won't likely have a good end result. Therefore, him crashing and burning, even with this opportunity of potentially being World Champ again, might be the best course of action for his trajectory. Overall, the match wasn't a total slog to sit through, we got exciting returns with 3/4 of the Bang Bang Gang (or Bullet Club Gold), but the overly predictable nature of the ending knocks it down a peg.
TNT Championship (Four-way, previously meant to be Adam Cole v. Kyle Fletcher)
Rating: N/A
As a fan of Adam Cole, who had to vacate the TNT Championship due to health issues (Fightful has since reported the nature of it), his speech was very emotional for everyone to listen to. Many people in the crowd were already worried about him after we were told that he wasn't medically cleared to compete. Cole being candid and open about needing to step away from the ring for a while, made for a gut-wrenching speech. He's an incredibly talented, respected, and loved individual. And may he get the rest, healing, as well as a stellar return to the ring when the time is right.
Naturally, the crowd was deflated and disappointed during the first bit of the 4-way (Kyle Fletcher v. Daniel Garcia v. Dustin Rhodes v. Sammy Guevara). In which nobody was essentially asking for and weren't expecting in the first place. The match itself was fine considering the predicament and the end result is Dustin Rhodes, who is a very respected veteran wrestler, getting what is going to be a transitional title reign. The favored wins were between Kyle Fletcher and Daniel Garcia upon the match changing due to Cole having to vacate the title. Though there's no doubt that Fletcher is going to be TNT Champion at some point within the coming months. Fletcher has more than earned a title run.
Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay v. The Young Bucks
Rating: 3.5/5
After a long stint of exerting power by way of their EVP status (even though they are still EVPs in shoot), The Young Bucks have officially been stripped of their EVP titles. The stipulation was for Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay to not be allowed to challenge for the World Championship for a year if they lost.
Considering how much people have been clamoring for the Bucks to do something new, it makes some sense why Strickland and Ospreay secured the win this time. The only issue is that, storyline wise, it leaves a lot of opportunities for both of them to jump into the World title scene. Strickland is a previous World Champion, and Ospreay has yet to hold the belt. It would've been far more intriguing for them to lose, grapple with that failure, and potentially aid to them feuding as a result.
Aside from the storyline standpoint, both teams are spectacular in the ring and some of the best to ever do it. So there are no major complaints to be had about the quality of the match itself.
Women's Casino Gauntlet
Rating: 3/5
The winner is the biggest highlight of this match, and that's ultimately a shame. The women's division has been in a strange state for quite a period of time. Fans have been begging for women to get more time in matches, more substantial feuds (beyond the World title scene), and therefore the women getting a gauntlet match was exciting for fans. However, this match was only a tad bit better than the men's and that's partially due to Athena winning the title shot.
Alex Windsor did enter the gauntlet as an official member of the roster, and that was expected. But there were no major returns or anything all that surprising, aside from Athena winning rather than Kris Statlander. The match itself was just fine, and there are a lot of talented women on the roster. Athena winning does present a lot of opportunities because she's back to being full-time on the roster. And her becoming World Champion is incoming at some point, it's a matter of who she faces and when.
World Tag Team Championship
Rating: 2.5/5
The end result is predictable, but the post match moments usher in a new era for Christian Cage and Adam Copeland (or Cope). The Hurt Syndicate winning this match doesn't progress or set the tag division back any further than it is. And the match overall was mostly what one might expect, especially of late when it comes to matches featuring THS. The more important aspect of this match is the aftermath with Cage, Nick Wayne, and the rest of The Patriarchy in which is likely going to be renamed.
Wayne finally turned on Cage, and everyone knew it was coming eventually. What people weren't really expecting is this soon of a return for Cope at All In. The reunion between Cope and Cage has been long anticipated, and it's a nostalgic reunion that plenty of fans are looking forward to. How they get there is still to be seen, but Cage and Wayne losing this match was seemingly a way to push forward with that.
Women's World Championship
Rating: 4.5/5
Fantastic build, tremendous chemistry, campy queer moments, and Mercedes Moné first singles loss. Toni Storm didn't lose her championship, which was and wasn't something people predicted would happen. But storyline wise, it makes sense for Moné to finally experience a loss in AEW and potentially experience character growth. The match was executed well, Moné and Storm are fantastic wrestlers and are at the top of the division, and the match was built well.
Storm's popularity continues to be consistent as she remains Timeless, and her retaining the belt means we're awaiting who will take it from her. Athena is likely her next opponent, and there's a lot to anticipate there. Meanwhile, Moné's character takes a necessary hit and her losing confidence in herself is bound to happen because of this. Ultimately, the match was enjoyable to watch, and it also marks the longest women's match in AEW history. And that means there's more work to do as far as the women's division.
Unified Championship (Continental Championship and International Championship Unification)
Rating: N/A
The history between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega runs quite deep, but thankfully, AEW never fails to harken back to these longstanding feuds. As everyone expected, Okada and Omega brought their A game to the ring and chemistry. There's nothing negative to say about the match itself because considering Omega is able to wrestle still is huge. But, the build to the match because of things out of Omega and Okada's control, wasn't nearly as good as the match itself.
As fans predicted, Omega lost to Okada and Kota Ibushi came to Omega's rescue. There's no doubt that we're officially entering a fresh Golden Lovers tag run. And that's a fantastic end result for a number of reasons. As far as the aftermath for Okada, his new opponent could be anyone and once he eventually loses the belt, there's no telling what's going to happen. His affiliation with the Elite is up in the air, and Don Callis is still in the background.
Men's World Championship
Rating: 5/5
Finally, the moment has come for Hangman Adam Page to have the World Championship title run he deserves. After a tumultuous two years for Page in terms of his storyline, a moment of relief and closure to that chapter of his life has come. The previous four-time World Champion, Jon Moxley, has been terrorizing the roster with The Death Riders for over 200 days. Therefore, a lot was riding on Page being able to dethrone him and take the belt out of the briefcase. And this Texas Death Match absolutely delivered on several fronts.
Page's journey as the main character has been very long over the past two years. Therefore, his victory feels like a necessary shift and there's a lot to be excited about for his reign. The match as a whole nailed (pun not remotely intended) the blood, violence and gnarly moments (such as bodies being dragged through glass). We got returns that fans can be excited for in Bryan Danielson and Darby Allin. And Strickland helping Page adds to the emotionality of the entire thing.
At the end of it all, both men didn't fail to bring it. Those of us who are fans of Page are experiencing that moment of extended relief, rightfully so. Page's current title run is bound to be very satisfying and will continue to push everything forward this year.
Match of the night: The Men's World Championship
(image credit: AEW)
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