AEW All In 2026 is in the books, and as expected it was a helluva wrestling show with all the trappings of a great WrestleMania (back when WWE used to do those). We were treated to a slew of good-to-great matches, lots of memorable moments, a huge debut, and some of the best video packages they've ever done. A few of the bouts underachieved for me, but the key matches got the job done and then some. Oh, and the main event was one of the best start-to-finish pro wrestling segments you'll ever see in this life.
Regardless of all the shortcomings in the Kenny Omega-Will Ospreay build, AEW presented the entrances, match and aftermath to perfection. And I'm not a guy who generally cares that much about entrances or video packages. But when it's done right, man does it add flavor.
After a career highlight reel narrated by Ospreay's mum, we saw Ospreay himself make his way through the backstage area, walking past notable colleagues and rivals from his past (Ricochet, Zack Sabre Jr. Michael Oku, Swerve Strickland, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis), as his United Empire friends joined him. Finally just at the entrance curtain he ran into Jon Moxley, who handed him a Union Jack. Kenny's video package was done New Japan-style, with a famous Japanese anime voicover actor providing the narration.
The match itself was a 34-minute masterpiece, with Kenny playing the babyface-playing-heel champion/mentor and Will as the valiant babyface challenger/protégé. Will bled fairly early after a monitor shot, and Kenny bled hardway later on after a Hidden Blade. We got every big move under the sun, befitting the third act of their NJPW/AEW trilogy. Omega put Ospreay "through" a ringside table, by which I mean he set the table up vertically on its side and suplexed him into it, knocking the table down. Kenny hit the top-rope dropkick, the avalanch Snapdragon suplex, a Tiger Driver '91 (which was actually pretty safe). Ospreay hit a Styles Clash, a poison rana, a clunking headbutt (Jesus guys, stop doing that!) and his own Tiger Driver '91 (which did not look safe but apparently Kenny was fine). Maybe the most significant moment occurred when Kenny hit the One-Winged Angel, and Will Ospreay became the first guy to kick out of it (for real this time, not like when MJF kicked out after a visual 15-count or whatever it was). Ospreay made a comeback and hit his own OWA, and Kenny kicked out at one to a massive pop. Ospreay hit a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker, and Kenny kicked out at one again. Finally Ospreay took off the elbow pad for one final Hidden Blade to put Kenny away and win his first AEW World Championship. Post-match Kenny asked Ospreay to help him up so he could present Ospreay with the title.
The action in this was everything you'd expect and more from these two, but the blood and drama, Ospreay's gallantry, Kenny's heel mannerisms (heel Kenny absolutely rules), and above all Kenny's selling (This guy is in a class by himself on this front - watch as he struggles to move his left arm after the TD'91) elevated this match so far above just a great showcase of state-of-the-art wrestling moves. Omega-Ospreay III (I guess technically IV but their first meeting in PWG was so long ago) is one of the best matches AEW has ever done. Hell, it's one of the best matches anyone's ever done. I think we have the 2026 Match of the Year decided. ******
Alright, let's loop back around to the beginning. After a few just-there pre-show bouts we got the first significant moment of the Buy-In as Maya World faced Persephone for the TBS Title. This went eleven minutes and was pretty solid, though the crowd was clearly saving their energy for the main card. Persephone really has something - really crisp wrestling coupled with a fantastic look and palpable charisma. She's a star in the making. Anyway, Maya seemed to have things in hand after an avalanche fallaway slam and a bridging one where Persephone made the ropes to avoid the loss before rolling outside. Maya sent her back in and scaled the ropes, but a masked figure appeared out of nowhere and shoved her off, allowing Persephone to hit the Razor's Edge for the win and the title. Bryan Danielson on commentary implied the masked person was probably Hikaru Shida, but suddenly the mystery attacker slapped the Lockjaw on Maya, to a huge pop, before pulling off the mask to reveal the returning Dr. Britt Baker! After nearly two years the company's first female breakout star is finally back on TV. ***1/4 for the match.
As expected the Trios Roulette match kicked off on the pre-show. Essentially a trios Royal Rumble, this went a total of thirty-nine minutes, with over twenty minutes elapsing before the main card started. Oddly, the mystery team's entrance was held back until the actual PPV, which meant they had to stall for a good five-to-six minutes before said entrance (No official time was cited for these intervals). The action was pretty forgettable during the pre-show but once some eliminations happened and then the final team entered the fray, the energy picked up big. As expected the mystery team consisted of Swerve Strickland and the debuting "Awesome" Austin Creed and Kofi, now known as The New Level, and the crowd went wild for this. From there we got a lot of fun action, a few moments between Swerve and Hangman (though not as many as I'd have liked), and some creative eliminations. Ricochet in particular played the spoiler, tossing out Orange Cassidy and Hangman, before Swerve ejected him. It came down to the Swerve team and Claudio and Pac, plus Gabe Kidd. Team Swerve then made short work of those three to win the Trios Titles. A fun match that really should've been ten minutes shorter, but a great debut for the former WWE tandem. ***1/4
The proper PPV lineup kicked off with the Women's Tag Titles, as Divine Dominion and Brawling Birds had a hard-hitting, if a little messy, eleven-minute bout. Lots of chaotic blunt-force moves here with the Birds fighting from behind but gutting it out. Near the end the champs went for their double chokeslam on Jamie Hayter, but Hayter countered with an awkward-looking double DDT, which the champs kinda no-sold. They hit it again but Alex Windsor pulled Lena Kross off Jamie. Alex suplexed Megan Bayne on the apron before the Birds hit their Hart Attack finish on Kross to win the titles. I'd say this was the weakest match on the show but it was still solid. ***
Next up was Jon Moxley vs. Nigel McGuinness for the Continental Title, in a classic-style grapple-fest. These two meshed beautifully, with a ton of submissions and counter-wrestling. Mox of course targeted Nigel's injured foot throughout, and Nigel sold like a champ, and really made the crowd believe he might pull off the upset. They had a few nice moments where Mox tried to do Nigel's rebound lariat but Nigel kept either evading or beating Mox to the punch. Nigel locked Mox in the London Dungeon, and Mox panicked and almost tapped, but countered into the ankle lock. Nigel managed to escape and got a nearfall with the Davey Boy-Bret Hart finish, which was a nice homage to the match that inspired him to become a wrestler. After a curb stomp Mox got a sitting ankle lock and they built to a great finish, as Nigel inched closer and closer to the ropes but came up an inch short. The camera angle made it look even closer as Nigel wiggled his fingers to try and close the gap. But finally he had to tap out. Excellent match. At age 50, Nigel McGuinness still has it and I'll never complain about seeing him wrestle. ****1/4
The first Match of the Night candidate was third, as Kyle Fletcher defended the International Title against former friend Konosuke Takeshita, and soon-to-be former friend Kazuchika Okada. This match was fantastic; all three worked perfectly together, and the ongoing tension between Okada and Fletcher, and mutual respect between Fletcher and Takeshita, added both a great story and some hilarious moments. Okada's comedic timing since joining AEW has become one of the great surprises we didn't even know we needed; his unabashed glee in being a total dick is so much fun. Kyle started the match by kicking Okada in the face and sending him outside so he and Konosuke could get down to business. Midway through the match Okada tried to bring in a screwdriver but Kyle caught him and Okada had to pretend he brought it in for Kyle. Ultimately the screwdriver was abandoned and they went back to wrestling. They all traded a ton of big moves and nearfalls (the most creative was Takeshita German suplexing Fletcher while executing an O'Connor Roll on Okada for a double nearfall), and finally Takeshita seemed to have it won with a Blue Thunder Bomb on Fletcher, but Fletcher came back with a Helluva Kick and corner brainbuster. Okada then hit Fletcher with a Rainmaker and, of his two downed opponents, opted to cover his friend Fletcher for the pin and the title. What a prick move. Post-match Don Callis came in to celebrate with Okada, and Okada demanded Fletcher raise his hand in victory. Fletcher hesitated, teasing a babyface turn, but ultimately obliged. This is one of the best stories in AEW right now and this match was great. Another five minutes would've earned it the full monty, but at 17 it gets ****1/2.
The Casino Gauntlet was next, and as expected it was a ton of fun. They really played with the "random interval" format here, as some guys appeared out of nowhere without a proper entrance, while others entered just as the previous guy was traversing the ramp. Announcer Justin Roberts accidentally announced Komander as "Mistico," spoiling Mistico's surprise inclusion, but when Mistico appeared next, Roberts covered by announcing "Entrant number nine...you guessed it, Mistico!" Everyone here got a good amount of time to shine except Tommaso Ciampa, who mostly got his ass beat. MJF and Nick Wayne had a shaky alliance which of course MJF violated in the end, kicking him low and hitting the Heatseeker. But Andrade swooped in out of nowhere and knocked MJF out of the ring with the spinning back elbow and then covered Nick for the win. This went just over twenty minutes which is the right length for this type of match. No surprise debuts but that's okay - Baker's return and New Level's debut were enough for one show. ***3/4
Probably the most disappointing match, though it was still very good, was Cope & Cage vs. The Young Bucks for the tag belts. This felt more like a Cope & Cage match than a Bucks match, which hurt it a bit. The champs dominated most of the action while the Bucks sold a neck injury and a foot injury respectively. Nick Jackson did a great bit of selling when he went for the Meltzer Driver but his foot gave out and he tumbled from the top rope. The match built to a strong climax as Cage kicked out of a BTE Trigger and Cope countered another Meltzer Driver attempt with a mid-air spear. Cage hit Matt with the Killswitch and threw him into another Cope spear for a nearfall, after which Christian yelled "FUCK!" Cage then grabbed a title belt and a wrench, used the belt as a red herring for the referee, and used the wrench, before tossing Matt into another Cope spear for the pin. I couldn't believe my eyes upon seeing Cope & Cage retain. Post-match, FTR, the Motor City Machine Guns, and The New Level all came to the ring to set up some kind of multi-team feud for the titles. Not sure where they're going with it, but the Bucks obviously have a case for a rematch since Cage had to cheat. Very good match but not the classic I hoped for. ****
The other match that fell a little short of my expectations, though it was certainly fun, was Kevin Knight vs. Darby Allin. Being a Falls Count Anywhere match, this ended up with a ton of interference which made for spectacle but hurt it as a wrestling match. Funnily enough, early in the show I noticed how sprawling the ringside area was and thought to myself "No one's gonna even attempt the post-to-announce-table dive....except maybe Kevin Knight." Lo and behold, Knight did that exact spot. Brian Cage and Jake Doyle showed up only minutes in, and the heels triple-teamed Darby for a while, taping his hands behind his back (after which Darby did some insane bumps without being able to use his hands). Finally Steven Borden ran down, followed by his father Sting, and this turned into a trios match effectively. There was a great passing of the torch from father to son as they set up a tall ladder, Sting teased diving off of it, and Borden Jr. stopped him and did the move himself. Young Steven is shockingly 34 years old but if he can pick up the fundamentals quickly he could be a big star - dude has all the physical gifts you could want as a wrestler. The action moved up to the entrance stage, where Darby choked out Knight before climbing the trusses to about the 20-foot mark and hitting a Coffin Drop through the stage, a la Shane McMahon. After a minute or so of replays, Kevin Knight was somehow being stretchered out from the opposite end of the stage, and Darby hit another Coffin Drop onto the gurney (echoing the moment Knight turned on Darby), before pinning him for the TNT Title. This was a fun car wreck but both guys are capable of much more. ***3/4
And finally we had the semi-main, Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Moné for the Women's World Title. This was maybe the most brutal match of the entire show, despite just being a standard bout. These two beat the shit out of each other and it felt ugly in all the right ways. Like, if two people who really hated each other were to attempt a legitimate fight using pro wrestling moves, this is what it would look like. Willow worked with a wrapped up broken hand, but wrestled the match like she wasn't injured. Early in the match she hit Mercedes with a cannonball, which broke Mercedes' nose and caused a gusher. This of course just added to the drama. Mercedes pulled one of the turnbuckle pads off and we got multiple spots into the exposed steel throughout the match. There was a great spot where Mercedes went for the triple suplex, but on the third one rolled Willow out to the apron, where Willow countered with a suplex to the floor. Willow accidentally pounced Mercedes into referee Aubrey Edwards, knocking her out. This came back to bite her when she hit the Doctor Bomb but Aubrey took too long to make the count. Willow got a nearfall with a backslide, the move that won her the title, and the crowd bought the nearfall. Finally Mercedes locked in the Statement Maker, fish-hooking both sides of Willow's mouth to make her smile, and then wrapping Willow's own arm around her neck. Aubrey called for the bell prematurely, as Willow was visibly still conscious but was about to pass out as Mercedes began stomping her broken hand. A bloodied Mercedes celebrated with the one title that had eluded her. Great, unruly, messy match between two women who made you believe they despise each other. ****1/2
At just over four hours this show flew by. I'd rate All In 2026 a bit below last year's edition, which was basically a perfect epic, but this undercard had plenty of good-to-excellent stuff, and the main event was stupendous. We have a new star tag team in the mix, one of AEW's OG women's stars is finally back, and we have a host of new champions to carry the company into the fall season. If I'm putting AEW's PPVs into a tier breakdown I think this show probably falls into the A-tier as opposed to the S-tier. But Omega vs. Ospreay was truly an all-timer.
Best Match: Omega vs. Ospreay
Worst Match: Divine Dominion vs. Brawling Birds - still good though
What I'd Change: If the trios match was designed to get last-minute buys, how do you not have Team Swerve show up on the pre-show? Also, give the International Title match five more minutes.
Most Disappointing Match: Cope & Cage vs. The Bucks was really good but not a classic.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Everything I expected to deliver did.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
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