It's the end of August, which means it's time once again for AEW to bring All In to Wembley Stadium! Jesus this year's been flying by....
This will be the company's third go-round in London's most famous venue, and as expected much ado has been made online about the attendance being down from the previous two visits. Yeah, obviously the 81k figure wasn't going to be duplicated in the same stadium, that's how that goes (just ask WWE). I was hoping they'd be able to equal the 2024 turnout, but they did also have a UK PPV in 2025. Regardless, anyone who's convinced themselves any wrestling company (let alone a secondary one) drawing 45,000 people for any show (let alone the third visit in the same venue) isn't a massive accomplishment is devoid of critical thinking skills. This will be their biggest crowd in two years and their third-biggest in company history. It's also more paid fans than WCW ever drew. Sorry, Fed-brains, this is still a huge win.
Now, I wish I could say everything about this show is a positive, but I must confess the build has been less than stellar for most of the bouts. While the weekly shows have been quite entertaining and sometimes excellent, the storytelling over the last several weeks has felt disjointed and unfocused, as though there have been too many cooks in the kitchen.
As a primary example, the Omega-Ospreay feud started out very compelling, with Ospreay's Death Riders membership driving a wedge between the two friends, and Omega and Moxley each urging Will not to trust the other. Then Ospreay quit the group and for some reason the Don Callis Family got involved, and then last week more or less out of nowhere Kenny seemed to turn full heel, attacking Ospreay at the end of Dynamite and putting him through a table. But then this week neither Ospreay nor the announcers mentioned the attack whatsoever (nor were any video clips shown), and Ospreay made it clear his breaking point was when Kenny mentioned Ospreay's son needing a new hero. Ummmm...... What's going on? Is this a retcon? Did we all hallucinate the table spot? Did Vince take over the booking and tear up last night's run sheet three minutes before airtime? This might be the most egregious creative oversight in AEW history. Also why wasn't Kenny in the building for the go-home show?
The Cope & Cage vs. Young Bucks feud has been passable but very basic considering it's a big first-time dream match, and having Cope team with the Bucks on the go-home show was an odd choice. I liked the post-match angle though where Cage got involved and they all came to blows, and Cope was pissed at himself for getting drawn into a fight. But I feel like that should've happened a week earlier so the go-home segment could've really set the table for the two teams to be antagonistic toward each other.
The Trios Title situation still hasn't been clearly communicated. Hangman, Bandido and Brody King have stated they'll be at Wembley for an open challenge, The Demand made it clear they want in, as did The Dogs and I think the Conglomeration, and Swerve Strickland seemed to indicate he'd be involved (presumably with the former New Day in tow) but on last night's show no mention was made about any of it. We still don't even know what type of match this'll be. Seems like a bit of a waste of two of the company's biggest singles stars to shove them into a multi-team trios match.
And then we have the annual Casino Gauntlet, starring MJF, Andrade, and some other dudes. Don't get me wrong, the gauntlets always turn out to be a good time, but I don't get super excited going into them. We know Mark Davis, Chris Jericho, Tommaso Ciampa and Jack Perry have thrown their names in but that's all so far. I assume we'll get a surprise debut or two? But it's the MJF vs. Andrade show and I'd be more excited about a singles match between them.
Anyway, those are my main creative gripes going in. I have no doubt the PPV will be spectacular, I just think the build could've been so much stronger. Last year's All In build was one of the best in company history, so it's a high bar to clear, but it doesn't feel like they even tried to do so with this one.
Anyway let's get to the predictions. As of now no pre-show matches have been announced, but Maya World vs. Persephone for the TBS Title looks likely. I think Persephone should get the duke in that scenario, she's really got it. I'm enjoying her heel persona quite well.
Trios Championship Whatever Match: Hangman Page & Brodido vs. TBD
Yeah, I'm gonna need you to tell me what the rules are for this one. Is it a ladder match? Is it a battle royal? Is it another gauntlet? I couldn't even find a graphic for it. Come on guys. Anyway, conventional wisdom says Swerve shows up with Kofi and Xavier and they win the belts. I'll never complain about Hangman and Swerve interacting, that's for sure. The match should be entertaining, I just wanna know what the fuck it is.
UPDATE: Apparently on a media call Tony Khan announced this as a 7-team Roulette Match. So basically another gauntlet, with the champs, The Demand, The Dogs, Death Riders, The Conglomeration, The Bang Bang Gang, and a wildcard team (obviously Swerve, Kofi and Xavier). And it will start on the pre-show and no doubt carry over to the main show so New Day's entrance can either be the first thing we see on the PPV or lure people to buy it last-minute.
UPDATE: Apparently on a media call Tony Khan announced this as a 7-team Roulette Match. So basically another gauntlet, with the champs, The Demand, The Dogs, Death Riders, The Conglomeration, The Bang Bang Gang, and a wildcard team (obviously Swerve, Kofi and Xavier). And it will start on the pre-show and no doubt carry over to the main show so New Day's entrance can either be the first thing we see on the PPV or lure people to buy it last-minute.
Pick: Swerve Day
Women's Tag Team Championship: Divine Dominion vs. Brawling Birds
This one should be fun, like watching the Road Warriors fight the Skyscrapers in 1989. I will say the method by which the Birds were granted a title match didn't make much sense - Willow pinned Mercedes in a trios match also involving these two teams - but the match'll be a hoot. The UK natives will obviously win. Jamie and Alex have great charisma together and their gusto is infectious. I hope Megan Bayne and Lena Kross don't get lost in the shuffle after this; both of them should be in the singles title mix if this is their last hurrah as a team.
Pick: Birds
Casino Gauntlet
Like I said before, I rarely get excited for these but they always turn out fun. We could see a debut like Ilja Dragunov, or perhaps the former Sheamus. But it's all window-dressing for the MJF-Andrade feud. I think it's too soon for MJF to get yet another title match, so Andrade has to be a favorite, though that would set up yet another babyface vs. babyface match. I suppose MJF and Andrade could cancel each other out to set up a singles match at All Out, leaving a dark horse like Mark Davis to get the upset and set up Ospreay-Davis III for a future Dynamite episode. Side note: Max trotting out with the fake belt is just weird; he lost it fair and square. Where are we goin' with this?
Pick: Hmm, now that I think of it that makes a lot of sense. Davis.
Continental Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Nigel McGuinness
A lot has been said about the Collision color commentator taking a prominent spot away from a full-timer, and while I don't disagree with that sentiment, it is, let's be frank, Nigel fucking McGuinness. One of the best in-ring workers of the 2000s, whose career was cut criminally short by WWE's bizarro medical policy, and who can still go. So I ain't about to complain that he's getting another chance to make up for lost time, on his home turf no less. I imagine Moxley probably wanted this match too, so they'll both be motivated to make it a memorable one. I'm looking forward to this.
Pick: Mox retains
TNT Championship Falls Count Anywhere: Kevin Knight vs. Darby Allin
Darby's a maniac and his matches are always something to behold. The use of exploding bags in this feud has gotten a little silly but not necessarily in a bad way. This'll be arguably Knight's biggest match to date; while it's not a PPV main event it is in front of 45,000 people in a match that will no doubt push the violence envelope. This one's the hardest to predict and I could see it going either way. A Darby win will make the crowd happy but it also seems premature to take the title off Knight. Coin flip.
Pick: I'll go with Knight to retain
International Championship: Kyle Fletcher vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada
This could steal the fuckin' show. Any combination of these three guys is a great match and I can't wait to see what they do all together. This is one of the most compelling stories at the moment, Kyle at odds with Okada and Callis, Okada playing the good soldier. Takeshita has been largely absent due to his G1 duties, but he should get a hero's reception at Wembley. This is another one I could see going in any direction. Fletcher could retain and make up with Okada, Okada could win and drive Fletcher out of the group, or Takeshita could win and leave Fletcher and Okada to blame each other. I think the latter is most likely.
Pick: Takeshita
Tag Team Championship: Cope & Cage vs. Young Bucks
Weird that FTR didn't end up being a part of this after their long involvement with both teams. But I guess the big dream match was just a straight-up tag. This should be pretty great, Cope and Cage no doubt really wanted to work with the Jacksons and will have their best working boots on. There's no scenario in which the champs should retain here, so obviously the Bucks have to win the titles.
Pick: Bucks
Women's World Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Moné
I'm torn on this one. Obviously Mercedes is the top star in the division while Toni Storm is away (Dammit Toni, where are you??), and she's been waiting patiently for two-and-a-half years for the top championship. On the other hand, Willow just finally won this belt herself a month ago and is massively over, and deserves a proper run with it. Unfortunately she also suffered a hand injury this week so if they were considering keeping the belt on her that may be out the window so she can take time off. Willow could always repeat last year's revenge win over Mercedes later on. I will say this match has had the best build; I like the idea that Mercedes feels like Willow is constantly in her way and soaking up some of the spotlight that by all rights should be all hers. All things being equal I think Willow retaining and Mercedes losing her everlovin' mind would be a much more fun story than Mercedes winning and Willow doing another redemption arc. But I think Moné probably wins.
Pick: Mercedes
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay
I mentioned earlier why I haven't been that engaged with this build, but that won't take away from what should be an epic main event. Their Tokyo Dome match and their Forbidden Door 2023 rematch were both spectacular and this will doubtless equal those. Ospreay's journey to the company's top title has been close to three years in the making, so in that respect it'll be satisfying to finally see him take the mantle of AEW's top babyface. I just think they missed the best story to get him there.
Like Superman, Will Ospreay as a character is simple, but also very easy to screw up. He's a white meat babyface who does incredible, heroic things. If you hew too strictly to that it can get boring, but if you mess with that format too much it becomes emotionally confusing. I think they had something really neat with his Death Riders involvement, but it didn't pay off in Moxley being his final hurdle before Wembley. Mox should've said "Alright I've prepared you for greatness as much as I can, now you have to get past me as your final test and prove you're ready to do all that is necessary," like a Ra's Al Ghul-type mentor. Then Ospreay could've instead proven he can beat Mox without needing to cripple him, a la Superman choosing the path of good over the easier route (Yes I know I'm mixing Superman and Batman mythos but work with me). That would've made the crowd rally behind him much more than a half-assed (and apparently abandoned) Kenny heel turn. Now I'm not sure the Wembley audience will choose Will over Kenny, whose redemption story has been connecting with the audience more strongly than Will's. I hope they figure all this out; I want to see Ospreay really move numbers as the AEW Champion. But we needed someone with Hangman Page's acute attention to storyline detail in crafting this build to make it really special.
Pick: Ospreay
So yeah, not the best built All In show but it'll be a helluva PPV anyway. Hey, sometimes even poorly built shows can end up all-timers, just look at WrestleMania 19.
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