TJRWrestling AEW All In London 2023 Preview
It’s AEW All In with MJF-Adam Cole in the main event, plus FTR faces The Young Bucks again, CM Punk battles Samoa Joe and a whole lot more.
John: AEW All In takes place this Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London, England in front of 80,000+ fans. It is by far the biggest wrestling show AEW has ever had and their first event taking place in England as well. I think the crowd will be awesome. It’s an afternoon show for me in Ontario, Canada, which is fine with me. I’m happy for the company and for the talent getting to perform in front of such a big crowd. I hope they crush it. My complaint about the lineup is there are so many tag team matches. While I get that they want to try to get more people on the show, I might be sick of tag team wrestling by the end of this show.
I feel bad for the wrestlers that aren’t on matches on this show, especially the ones that have been in AEW for a long time like Sammy Guevara, Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks to name a few. Sammy was in a World Title match back in May and he’s not even on this show in a match? That’s disappointing. I know Starks has some angle going on, but they should have had him on this card. The guy won the Owen Hart Tournament that is supposed to be meaningful. Miro is another guy that isn’t on this show.
There is also AEW All Out from Chicago next Sunday night, September 3rd. Hobbs faces Miro there, but I’m sure both guys would rather be here. AEW has lots of content. It’s hard to keep up with it all sometimes.
If you need info on how to order AEW All In on PPV, check out AEW’s website for info on how to watch it in your country. There are different options depending on where you live.
Joining me for the preview are Matthew Fowler, Marc Madison, Alex Podgorski, Kristian Thompson and Gino Lewis.
Marc: On Sunday, August 27th, AEW presents All In. On a night that should be one of wonder and awe, it’s been a tough week to be a wrestling fan. The passing of the legendary Terry Funk and, more recently, the ever-creative Windham ‘Bray Wyatt’ Rotunda has had fans, family, and friends in mourning. Its timing could come at a better time. The night has surpassed the most tickets distributed record, and while the company has had its detractors, it’s without question had its fans. It is a time when fans should smile and, in the process, embrace everything that comes with this evening. Are you All In? I know I am.
Alex: I must admit I’m curious about this show but not that excited about the matches on it. Looking at the card this just screams “thrown together” as if it were a glorified house show and not a genuine historic epic. Though I don’t doubt that everyone on this show will work their asses off to make it memorable, as a consumer I don’t see myself getting my money’s worth out of this card. The build for All In has ranged from middling to completely nonexistent and much of the conversation surrounding AEW of late has been about pretty much everything but the wrestling. This show comes off as one giant flex against WWE, as if the show’s mere existence is to prove a point and not put on the best card possible. I expect solid matches here but nothing out of this world, regardless of how much fervor the live audience gives to the wrestlers in Wembley.
Kristian: This is certainly a show that has the wrestling world talking. Tony Khan could’ve played it safe and entered the UK market with a show at Fulham’s stadium, which his family own, but he’s gone All Out (ha) and gone as big as possible for a stadium show. You have to admire his courage, or his ego. There have been complaints about the lack of build for the show or the fact that there wasn’t a match announced until a few weeks before the show. By that point, they had sold almost 75,000 tickets for the show. In my book, if you can prove that you can sell that many tickets in a country that you’ve never had a show at before then it’s clear that the card is secondary for the fans. The UK fans are rabid for wrestling and I hope they’re treated to a spectacle and it’s a great show. The timing of the show is odd because there is another PPV next weekend, All Out. I’d say it’s been a lacklustre 2023 for AEW for a number of reasons, but I am looking forward to this show just to see how they cope on such a grand scale.
Gino: Greetings! This is my first AEW PPV preview here. I wanted to thank John and tjrwrestling.net for allowing me to participate. AEW has called this the biggest show in wrestling history. While that may or may not be true it’s certainly their biggest. There is no reason not to bill it as such. I’ve seen a lot of comments stating the build for All In has been terrible. I don’t see it that way. AEW could have started 2 or 3 weeks earlier, but I think the buildup for the show has been tremendous. Other than the brutally early west coast start time and the hangover I’ll likely have, I couldn’t be more excited for the show!
(Note: All graphics are from AEW.)
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ROH World Tag Team Championships: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) vs. Adam Cole & MJF (ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW)
Matthew: The best storyline in AEW gets two matches on the show. MJF and Adam Cole have been killing it lately with their friendship/rivalry consistently being the highest rated segments of the show. This match is the perfect opportunity to set up something for the main event, and I think that is exactly what will happen. I predict that Aussie Open and Cole will join forces to attack MJF, injuring MJF and turning Cole heel in the process.
Winner: No match
Marc: While having Cole and MJF team together on the same card is a unique way to use them and possibly set up something later in the show, it is met with mixed feelings. With guys like Andrade (who may be going through marital issues/divorce) or Miro or Powerhouse Hobbs not on the show, it’s easy to question how you could fail to include them as well.
There is the argument that there wasn’t a story compelling enough to tell that they should be on the card. And to that, the counter would be, why not? So, for the sake of not going back and forth with this argument, the inclusion of having the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions compete on the card is good to see. Having seen them in the past in person, I couldn’t have imagined they would achieve the success they did because I wasn’t paying enough attention, so shame on me. While I don’t think MJF and Cole walking away with the titles is beyond the realm of being possible, I feel a loss may set up something for later on in the show, and Aussie Open retains.
Winners: AND STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions, Aussie Open
Alex: The only reason this match exists is to further the story between MJF and Cole. Those two won’t be tag champions, especially if most people are predicting a betrayal somewhere soon down the road. As such, this is only a question of how Aussie Open win. My prediction is that MJF gets knocked off the apron, Aussie Open double-team Cole and Cole takes the fall. Then afterwards, MJF reassures Cole for a moment and then hits a low blow to setup his title defense later that night.
Winners and STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
Kristian: I have watched many of Aussie Open’s matches this year, either on Impact or other promotions, and am always entertained every time. They have such great chemistry and their double-team offense is really impressive. This is a really interesting way to open the show. AEW won’t want Cole or MJF taking a loss and I think there will be a turn coming later on in the show from one of them so I doubt that they win the titles. I’m thinking a DQ win for the face team.
Winners by disqualification: Adam Cole & MJF
Gino: This is a really interesting matchup for me. I don’t remember a main event where the combatants also challenged for tag team gold earlier in the show. It could go a few different ways. AEW has done a good job building tension between the teams in recent weeks. Even if there is a turn coming in the main event it doesn’t make much sense to have the participants of your main event lose on the pre-show and there isn’t any additional drama needed a loss here would add.
Winners: Better Than You BAY BAY (MJF & Adam Cole)
John: I think it’s certainly possible that MJF & Cole win, but do they really need to become ROH Tag Team Champions? I say no. I think that’s more likely is that MJF & Cole make a mistake to cost them the match. I’m going to go with Cole as the guy that gets pinned here because it sets up my prediction for later.
Winners: Aussie Open
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FTW Championship: Jack Perry vs. Hook (ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW)
Matthew: Pointless match for a pointless title. I will pick Perry to win and hopefully retire the FTW Championship for good.
Winner: Jack Perry
Marc: As of this writing, Jack Perry said he would retire the FTW Championship but hadn’t. It was slated for Dynamite and then was supposed to be on Collison (and he may still attempt to), but with it having ties to ECW, it feels like Perry feuding with ECW alums the likes of Jerry Lynn and Rob Van Dam wouldn’t having Taz in some way involved in this match make sense?
Hook is slated to be going after Perry after losing the title. A battle between them should have hardcore rules tied to it so it embraces the spirit of Extreme Championship Wrestling. So, with Hook likely coming to fight for the title honor, he may very well be looking to do it to defend his father, too.
This could very well be the storyline they use here, as Perry is jealous of Taz being there for Hook while Perry doesn’t have that same support. It could very well infuriate Perry, but it is something this feud could use. In any event, Perry’s retaining feels like a foregone conclusion.
Winner: AND STILL FTW Champion, ‘Hollywood’ Jack Perry
Alex: I want Hook to win because he’s the kind of rising star AEW needs right now but I think that AEW has more invested in Jack Perry right now. He has actually had some upward momentum since changing gimmick and cutting that now wouldn’t do him any favors. Better to have him win via cheating here than for him to lose when he’s the most interesting he has ever been.
Winner and STILL FTW Champion: Jack Perry
Kristian: I have enjoyed Perry’s heel turn, even though he does have some awkward moments on the mic. The little ECW angle over the last few weeks has been well done and the story is there with Perry holding Hook’s dad’s championship. Even though the title doesn’t mean much, I feel Perry needs more victories and should get the job done here.
Winner AND STILL FTW Champion: Jack Perry
Gino: I haven’t read spoilers so I’m not sure how they set this up. It’s not hard to imagine how it might go. The storyline is solid. However, I might have waited to do the match again and think the angle with the FTW title and ECW legends is a bit more interesting. I really like Jack Perry’s heel character. It seems too soon to end his title run. This also doesn’t seem like the end of the storyline with Perry, Hook, Taz and ECW. I’ll go with Jack to retain over Hook by crook.
Winner: Jack Perry
John: I really don’t have much interest in this match or the future of the FTW Title. The thing existed about 25 years ago, it was sitting in Taz’s basement literally for decades and now we have to act like it’s meaningful. Hook winning it back to prevent Jack from retiring the title seems like it makes sense as a finish. I like heel Jack Perry more than the face version because at least he gets to show some personality. However, I don’t care that much about this title or if it goes away.
Winner AND NEW FTW Champion: Hook
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AEW World Trios Championship: House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn
Matthew: This match at least kind of has a story revolving around the 59 year old Billy Gunn’s wrestling boots. Billy Gunn’s “retirement” only lasted a month, and now will be trying to capture his first gold in AEW. I will predict that is exactly what will happen, with Gunn and The Acclaimed defeating House of Black to capture the titles.
Winners and New Champions: Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed
Marc: On this past week’s edition of Dynamite, we saw a three-on-two beatdown at the hands of the House of Black turn into the odds being evened out by the Bad Ass. The returning Billy Gunn came to the aid of Caster and Bowens and, in the process, laid down the challenge for an AEW World Trios Championship match at All In.
It’s remarkable that Gunn is returning more motivated than ever in hopes of capturing another multi-man championship. It could very well be a triumphant return in the process. While I don’t want to count out the House of Black, the story of Gunn returning looking to become a champion once again at his age and how the group is still over, I don’t see it as out of the realm of possibility. The redemption story is here, as we may have new champions.
Winners: AND NEW AEW Trios Champions, The Acclaimed and ‘Bad Ass’ Billy Gunn
Alex: Coin flip.
Winners: House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews)
Kristian: I don’t have a lot of interest in this or seeing Billy Gunn wrestle, as ripped as he is. Give the HoB a feud they can sink their teeth into soon please.
Winners AND STILL AEW World Trios Champions: House of Black
Gino: There could and probably should be a few title changes on the show. This is one of them. It’s another match with a good story and a result that isn’t obvious to me. It seems like Acclaimed will win based on the storyline. AEW has done poorly to keep the momentum of The Acclaimed after they dropped the titles. They could get some back here. AEW crowds love Daddy Ass/Bad Ass Billy Gunn and Scissoring. It would make sense to give the record-breaking crowd the finish they want in this one. House of Black doesn’t have anything more to gain being Trios Champions, they are already the longest reigning champs. A rivalry with Blackpool Combat Club seems like a good direction for them.
Winners: The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn
John: I think Billy Gunn’s fake retirement about a month ago was a prelude to his actual retirement coming in this match. It would make for a great story for The Acclaimed and Billy to win this match, but I’d rather see House of Black retain their titles as dominant champions that put an end to a man’s career. After the match, have Billy do a promo saying he is really retiring and he hugs The Acclaimed to call it a career.
Winners: House of Black
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The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) and Konosuke Takeshita
Matthew: All six of these guys are great athletes, and I have no doubt this match will be filled with incredible spots and athleticism. The problem is that the actual match lacks a story, and feels pointless and thrown together. As for who will win, I will go with The Golden Elite getting the win after ignoring the referee and rules for 20 minutes.
Winners: The Golden Elite
Marc: The early rumors of this match involved Kenny Omega one-on-one with Konosuke Takeshita. But it’s become something greater as it also affects the Golden Elite and Bullet Club Gold. A Jay White and Kenny Omega confrontation is something to be excited about. The Hangman Page and Kota Ibushi, who have ties to Bullet Club and Japan, are also a part of this match.
While something one-on-one would have been an idea with such a deep roster, it’s easily a match to get excited about. The match is as much about Omega’s issues with Callis as it is anything else. Will Don finally get his?
Winners: The Golden Elite
Alex: This might end up being the craziest match on the card simply because everyone involved has wrestled in Japan. And while the match might be taking place in a different country, it’s important to note that all six of these men have extensive training in Japanese wrestling styles and some of them have made it a point to focus on that style experience in their matches. Both Omega and Jay White’s best work was in NJPW, Ibushi and Takeshita were DDT mainstays, and both Juice and Hangman had decent midcard careers in NJPW as well. Because of that, this might be the most physical and intense match on the card. I’m going into this match expecting lots of intense and stiff exchanges, high-flying insanity, and vicious head-spikes. After all, four of the six men here learned their craft in that sort of environment. I’m also hoping that Ibushi redeems himself after his disappointing appearance in the Blood and Guts match. He’s capable of better and I hope he brings much more effort into whatever he does here.
Winners: The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page)
Kristian: If I was one of those whiny Internet fans I’d complain that we should be see Omega vs Ospreay III here, but Tony Khan is smart and can hold some big matches back because he had so much interest in this show even before building the card. White and Robinson have been much better utilised on Collision after just looking lost in the shuffle on Dynamite. This will probably be a win for Omega and friends to pop the crowd.
Winners: The Golden Elite
Gino: If there is one match that I’ve been disappointed in the build it’s this one. Kenny Omega especially deserves so much better. Jay White and Kenny both being former leaders of Bullet Club is such an organic story, it seems like a waste to have them face each other in a thrown together match like this. They could main event a PPV. There is a story between Omega and Takeshita but it hasn’t been pushed. The biggest story to come out of this was Hangman not being allowed to enter Collision. That said, I think it will be an awesome match. I’m excited to see it despite the lack of a story. I wouldn’t be surprised if it leads to a feud between Bullet Club Gold and The Elite. One of the more obvious results of the day seems to be Juice Robinson taking the pin here.
Winners: The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page)
John: I think it’s a miss by AEW to not have one of their biggest stars Kenny Omega in a singles match on this show. I’m sure this will be a very good match and the build has been decent, but you want to create a memory on a show like this. I just think AEW should have put Omega in a singles match here. I’m sure we’ll get Omega-Takeshita in singles soon perhaps at All Out next week. Frankly, they should be doing that here. I get why it’s not because they want other wrestlers on this show as well. Anyway, I’ll go with Omega’s team getting the with Hangman pinning Juice. By the way, Hangman Page really needs an interesting storyline or rivalry soon.
Winners: The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Adam Page)
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Coffin Match: Darby Allin & Sting vs. Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage
Matthew: The 64-year-old Sting is having the best run of his career (just ask Tony Khan), by defeating all the young talent that he faces. I do not see that changing here, with Sting and Allin literally burying Swerve Strickland to get the win.
Winners: Sting and Darby Allin
Marc: In front of 80,000 people, THIS IS STING. The last major event where this many people were in attendance where the icon was part of was a loss to Triple H at WrestleMania. He deserved a better fate than that and likely will get that here. While his standing in the ring across from a former champion in the WWE in Christian is something to admire, it will also be another first ever in the career of the Stinger.
As fans saw this past week, AR Fox was kicked out of the fold and replaced with Christian Cage going into this match. We immediately caught a glimpse of Cage cutting into Nick Wayne and the passing of his father, Buddy Wayne. And in the process, disparaging him as well. Do we get one final Stiner splash and send it off here? We think so.
Winners: Darby Allin and Sting
Alex: This match just screams “thrown together” and I’m going to treat it that way. Sting hasn’t announced his retirement, Christian is just moving around from person to person, Allin is someone that AEW appears to be pushing, and Strickland is just…there. Expect decent midcard action here but again, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for this if I were you.
Winners: Darby Allin & Sting
Kristian: AR Fox is out and Christian Cage is in. Good, he deserves a spot on the card. I find his current angle of carrying the TNT title whilst Luchasaurus does the heavy lifting, an entertaining storyline. I enjoyed the recent match between Allin and Cage which got a lot of time on Collision. Sting gets another big stadium moment (I saw him live at WM31 and he should’ve beat HHH!) and I’m sure the crowd will love him. Will this be his swan song? It would be fitting but I think they would announce it ahead of time. Allin and Sting will win because….it’s Allin and Sting and they don’t lose.
Winners: Darby Allin & Sting
Gino: I really liked the storyline in this one. Removing AR Fox for Christian hurts that for me but I definitely see why they did it. I just really liked how Fox came out of nowhere to make the biggest show in AEW history. The beating of 18-year-old Nick Wayne in his own garage was intense. Adding Christian to the match seems like some of the random booking we often get on AEW PPV’s. The crowd in London will far prefer booing the crap out of Christian so I get it. As for the match, it should be fun but has a more obvious result than Juice getting pinned. I don’t see this being Sting’s first loss in AEW. After I wrote this, I read that Fox is most likely off the show due to travel issues he may have hidden from management.
Winners: Darby Allin & Sting
John: We know Sting never loses in AEW, so it’s an easy match to predict. Putting Chrisitan in AR Fox’s spot hurts the match in terms of a story although Christian is a great worker even at this stage of his career. I’m sure the thrill of watching Sting in front of 80,000 will make the crowd go crazy and make this match feel better than it is. I really like Allin & Swerve too. They should put on an entertaining match.
Winners: Darby Allin & Sting
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AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Toni Storm vs. Saraya vs. Britt Baker
Matthew: The only women’s match on the show, and it is a thrown together 4-way match for the horribly booked AEW Women’s Championship. All four of these women will work hard and have a good match, but in the end no one will care until AEW actually does. As for who wins, I will go with Saraya to at least excite the hometown crowd.
Winner And New Champion: Saraya
Marc: Four corners, with two-fourths of those corners belonging to The Outcasts. It says a lot about how much these four women are valued on the roster and where they rank amongst the other females on the card. The biggest tell here and story that could be told is Saraya winning in front of her home crowd and a crowd of over 80,000 today.
The story of a near career-ending moment taking place years ago and replaced with one where she can have a moment as champion and soak it in at a history-making event. Will it happen? We don’t know, but having it happen is a moment wrestling could surely use this week, so let’s take that leap and think it happens.
Winner: AND NEW AEW Women’s World Champion, Saraya
Alex: The build for this has been alright but I don’t have sky-high hopes for this. Saraya will probably get a big pop as the local girl but I don’t think she’ll win here…that is unless Toni Storm spends the entire match helping her out and then lies down for her so that the Outcasts can get some sort of momentum. But if that doesn’t happen then this will be just another chaotic match without much substance to it. Personally I’m hoping that my prediction comes true and Saraya and Storm work together to make this into something we haven’t seen in quite some time. But if they don’t, then this will be just another average match that won’t stand out that much come year’s end.
Winner and NEW AEW Women’s World Champion: Saraya
Kristian: This match is all set up for Saraya to win in her home country. It feels glaringly obvious, but I enjoyed the fact that the women here had to earn a spot in the match. Storm lost the title to Shida, so that she didn’t have to drop it to Saraya since they are in the same group. Saraya is the least talented performer here, but she will get the biggest moment of her career. There has been a lot of conjecture around the women’s division as of late. It needs to be given more time consistently. Hopefully they have a great outing here.
Winner AND NEW AEW Women’s Champion: Saraya
Gino: AEW does too many tournaments and didn’t need one to set up this match. They could have booked the same match based on these 4 women being the main players in the biggest storyline in the women’s division this year. Not that it was a good storyline. I’m OK with the tournament in this case. At least it was somewhat of a story where the wrestlers had to earn their spot. I’m looking forward to this in hoping the women get a chance to shine on the big stage. I’m not sure it will happen. I can see them being limited to 10 minutes or less. I’m picking Saraya to win. She will probably be more over with the crowd than any wrestler on the show. Her winning could be the shot in the arm the women’s division needs. The post-match celebration is what I’m looking forward to most.
Winner: Saraya
John: The popular pick is Saraya with good reason because it’s an England PPV and she’s from England. I think the only reason Hikaru Shida beat Toni Storm for the title a few weeks ago is because AEW didn’t want Saraya to take the title from her Outcasts teammate and would rather have her win from somebody else. Britt Baker deserves to be on this show due to her status in AEW from day one. I don’t like four-way matches that much, but I get why they did it. I’m going with Saraya too. It should be cool to see her celebrating with family and friends considering all that Saraya has gone through in her life.
Winner AND NEW AEW Women’s Champion: Saraya
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Stadium Stampede 5-on-5 Tag Team Match: Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz
Matthew: They booked the participants to this match literally this week, with it feeling like another thrown together mess. This will likely be a wild and out of control, and will be entertaining to people who like these kind of matches. I am not one of those people, and could not care less about this match. As for who wins, I will go with a bloody Jon Moxley getting the win for the BCC.
Winner: BCC, Santana & Ortiz
Marc: It was revealed this past week who the last two men that would be filling out the Blackpool Combat’s team going into Stadium Stampede. Initially slated to be a six-on-six match-up, it was later changed to a five-on-five. Who would have been the sixth member of the BCC team had been if Fenix wasn’t injured? Some have speculated it would have been Homicide. If that was the case, Eddie Kingston would face his close friends and bitter enemies.
Could you imagine Kingston standing across from Moxley, Santana, Ortiz, and Homicide? My heart would ache for him. But instead, he battles alongside the Best Friends against BCC, Ortiz, and the returning Santana. Kingston needs allies, but is Cassidy and the Best Friends enough? Thankfully, he has Penta there, too, to watch his back. It is going to be a wild ride in Wembley. But it will be a ride that Kingston won’t soon forget.
Winners: Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz
Alex: Another big AEW show, another senseless ten-man match with chaos and shenanigans. Expect 20 minutes of hard-to-follow madness, bleeding, weapons shots, and all that sort of mayhem. I’m sure some people in the crowd will cheer, but I don’t know if this will accomplish that much, aside from serving as a big welcome back to Santana and Ortiz.
Winners: Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz
Kristian: This will be ridiculous and possibly a complete disaster because there will be 80,000 fans in the arena. I hope it’s done safely. Mox will probably bleed on someone. I don’t like a lot of wrestlers in the match, especially Kingston and Moxley, so I won’t have much interest in it. Hopefully the ending is worthy of a hardcore-style match like this. As for a winner, Kingston’s team will probably win because there’s nothing on the line.
Winners: Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Best Friends (Chuck & Trent) & Penta El Zero Miedo
Gino: Chaos. Utter Chaos. That’s what this will be. And I love it! You couldn’t really book the biggest show in AEW history without a match like this. I liked the storyline in that I really didn’t know where they were going. Blackpool Combat Club was feuding against both Best Friends and Lucha Brothers. They ended up booking a wild brawl the crowd will absolutely love. I’ve seen a match like this in person. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. It was like a rock concert meeting a wrestling match in an arena. Or stadium in this case. Eddie Kingston’s inclusion really helps. He’s one of the most over performers in AEW and deserves to be on the show. There is an interesting dynamic between him and Santana & Ortiz as they teamed with BCC in Blood and Guts last year. It doesn’t really matter who wins a match like this. Blackpool does somewhat need it after recently losing Blood and Guts.
Winners: Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz
John: This will be a chaotic, wild match where they fight all around the ringside area and then it spills into the crowd. Maybe they fight by the concession stand area. I’m sure they will set up some kind of crazy spot in the match. The heels have more star power because Moxley is involved. However, I think AEW is going to want to put Eddie Kingston over and maybe set up his rivalry with Claudio for the ROH World Title, so this could be the spot to give Eddie a big win.
On another note, I find it strange that Orange Cassidy has been booked so well as the International Champion and here we are at an international show, yet he’s not defending that title. Strange. It’s like the name of the title is meaningless. Shocking.
Winners: Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) & Penta El Zero Miedo
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Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
Matthew: They tried to create a reason for this match this week on Dynamite, but like much of this card it feels a little to late. I have no doubt Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay is a dream match for some fans, but more of a story of why these two are actually fighting would have been nice. Nevertheless, I am sure they will have a great match, that will get many stars from Dave Meltzer. As for who will win, I will go with Jericho putting the much younger Ospreay over.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Marc: Despite it appearing as though Chris Jericho would have joined the Don Callis family, what ultimately took place was betrayal and a match against the Aerial Assassin Will Ospreay. At 51 years of age, fans realize this isn’t the same Chris Jericho that he was a few years ago. While there have been things he can and can’t do, he has been steadfast in being relevant.
A match against Ospreay in itself is applicable. In easily the biggest show in AEW, if not wrestling history, Jericho will do what fellow Canadian Bret Hart did and battle an English star in front of a massive gate. Much like that match was about the relationship between The Harts and Davey Boy Smith, it is the relationship between Jericho and Callis that has shaped this match.
We won’t see a match like Omega and Ospreay here simply because there are things physically Omega can do that Jericho can’t. But we will see a show that will excite a crowd and tell a story. Anything other than an Ospreay win in the UK seems unlikely. But stranger things have happened. If Ospreay won without a crowd he was connected in, like Canada, will he lose in front of his home crowd? Possibly. But let’s sway for the sake of Saraya having her moment to go in a different direction.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Alex: I’m sure this’ll be fine but nothing out of this world. A better-than-expected midcard match between a man north of 50 and a 30-year old with the body of a man north of 50. It will go fifteen minutes and the crowd will be more into Jericho’s entrance than the actual match. Both men will try to make a story out of who throws a stronger elbow. And since neither of these men is Misawa but Ospreay kinda looks up to that man, I gotta give it to him.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Kristian: This was rumoured well before the event and probably hand-picked by Jericho, who has been in a bit of limbo lately after the breakup of his crew. Ospreay is a tremendous performer and I’m still confident that Jericho can bring it to the big matches. This should be very good.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Gino: I’ll admit I can see why people aren’t excited for this match. I am. I don’t think it’s as big of a mismatch as others. I’m not positive Will will win either. I’ve said a few times I think Jericho has one classic match left in him and Ospreay is exactly the wrestler to get it out of him. The story between Jericho and Don Callis has been excellent. If you read the internet like I do, you’ve known they were doing this match for about a month. It was just a matter of how they would get there. Ospreay didn’t show up until late but it’s not like this was thrown together. Chris Jericho means a lot to New Japan wrestling fans. If he didn’t go there to wrestle Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom in 2018, AEW may not exist. Will Ospreay is the biggest star currently wrestling full time in the company. It is a dream match for many even if a lot of American wrestling fans don’t appreciate the significance. I am picking Will Ospreay to win. It wouldn’t shock me if Jericho did. He’s just starting a face run and would be a natural opponent for either MJF or Adam Cole if either were to turn heel.
Winner: Will Ospreay
John: The younger guy Will Ospreay beating the veteran Chris Jericho makes a lot of sense here. There’s only about two weeks of build to this match. It seems like Jericho is a babyface going forward, but the fans will be cheering their countryman Ospreay, who is arguably the best British wrestler alive right now, so of course they should support a guy like that. It should be a back and forth match with Don Callis perhaps trying to cheat for Ospreay, but maybe we see Sammy Guevera neutralize that. Ospreay should win.
Winner: Will Ospreay
===
“Real” AEW World Championship: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
Matthew: CM Punk and FTR vs. Omega and The Young Bucks should be the main event of this show. Since the two sides apparently can’t play together nicely however, this is a nice consolation prize. Punk and Joe always have great matches, and this one will be no different. I think the future is going to be Punk defending his “real” world championship against whomever is the AEW World Championship. Therefore, I don’t see Punk losing here.
Winner: CM Punk
Marc: Their trilogy of matches in Ring of Honor will stand the test of time. But it wasn’t the same when we sped forward all these later to see them face one another as part of the Owen Hart Invitational. While better than what many could do today, the magic that these two had against one another just wasn’t the same. And while the two will now face each other for the ‘Real’ AEW World Championship, it will give them an opportunity to show everyone what they are capable of doing.
It’s a match that both Punk and Joe need. It is a match that we hope will also give fans a reason to be nostalgic and appreciate what they have done. The only concern is whether Punk can sustain the punishment after enduring as many injuries since his return to wrestling. At this point, it is a match fans are likely to look on, wondering what is next, but certainly a match where Punk continues his reign as the ‘real’ AEW world champion.
Winner: AND STILL ‘Real’ AEW World Champion, CM Punk
Alex: Does anyone expect Joe to win here? Anyone at all? No? OK then.
If this were a non-title singles match then I’d be more excited because that would give Joe a chance to win. But since this feud appears to exist solely to setup Punk vs MJF, Joe will be nothing more than a warm body here as far as story goes. I’m sure there are some diehard fans out there excited to see another chapter in the Punk vs. Joe story that began (and, let’s be honest, peaked) in 2004, but I don’t have high hopes for this being anything more than above average. Both men are older, both have other commitments, and Joe simply doesn’t get as much focus as a wrestler compared to Punk.
Given all of this, I expect a 15-18 minute match ROH-style match filled with callbacks to previous matches. By no means will this be bad; I mean, look at the names involved. But I certainly don’t see this stealing the show or setting the world on fire.
Winner and STILL “REAL” AEW World Champion: CM Punk
Kristian: This has been a recent feud on Collision, during the Owen Hart tournament and afterwards, but it’s been a little underwhelming for the quality of wrestlers here. I don’t mind the angle Punk is running- he didn’t lose the title so he’s right in that regard. It also allows him to be in high-profile feuds without going on Dynamite because no one there can get along. I hope this is hard-hitting and the GTS looks a lot better than what we saw on last week’s Collision. Yikes.
Winner: CM Punk
Gino: CM Punk may be more polarizing than he’s ever been. It will be very interesting to see how the ginormous English crowd reacts to him. I think there is a very good chance the crowd strongly supports Samoa Joe. He just seems like the type of wrestler fans in England will connect with. Punk may be the type of personality they turn on. It’s another match with a very strong story going in. Not only do they have the backstory form ROH but AEW has put a decent amount of time into building the match. Joe has looked like an absolute monster. It’s been glorious to see. I don’t think Joe has much of a chance to win but I think the crowd will be on fire and I can see both performers stepping their game up on the big stage!
Winner: CM Punk
John: I am not sure if I have CM Punk’s permission to write this prediction, but if I do have his permission then I’ll pick CM Punk to win. I find the Real World Championship story to be very lame and somebody should have told Punk that before he came up with it on television. Joe will work hard, get a lot of offense and Punk will sell most of the match. I’m going with a Punk win while hoping that if he tries the GTS on Joe this time that it looks better than it did on last week’s Collision because that was weak. I’ll be shocked if Punk loses on this show.
Winner: CM Punk
===
AEW World Tag Team Championships: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
Matthew: This is a rubber match between two of the best tag teams in the world, and honestly should have happened a year ago. In a perfect world, CM Punk would interfere and cost the Bucks the match. This could lead to Punk and FTR vs. The Bucks and Kenny Omega next week at AEW All Out. This isn’t a perfect world however, and I don’t see all sides putting there differences aside to work with each other here. Taking that into account along with Cash Wheeler’s recent arrest, and I only see one finish here. I will predict the Bucks winning and once again becoming AEW Champions.
Winners and New Champions: The Young Bucks
Marc: It is the final match between these two. A match that has had as slow a build as any is happening is finally here. Regardless of what took so long or the rumors about why it didn’t happen previously, it is happening now. Unfortunately, with the recent situation with Cash Wheeler being questioned over a firearms incident, will AEW pull the trigger and pull the titles as a ‘cautionary tale’? It could play out well, and he is not guilty, and nothing more comes from it.
But if it does come about, AEW likely doesn’t want the titles tied up because of what is happening outside the ring. The only way the company avoids criticism is if they retain in Wembley. But the biggest complaint here is whether or not the EVPs are fine with the booking in losing. A loss does undermine all they’ve worked to achieve since their return on this night, but we’ll see.
Winners: AND STILL AEW World Tag Team Championships, FTR
Alex: This match probably has the most hype out of any on the card but it’s for all the wrong reasons. Instead of having any good storylines/in-universe build for this match, most of its hype has come from outside sources, namely Wheeler’s legal troubles and the continued backstage friction from both sides. These issues have cast a cloud over this match, especially since people will watch this just to see if FTR will be “buried” for Wheeler’s actions. It’s a case of real-life overshadowing storyline build and no amount of editing or ignorance on AEW’s part will pull this match from underneath that cloud.
As for the match, I wouldn’t be surprised if it went around 30 minutes and was filled with all the trappings of a Bucks match: random tandem moves, flips and dives, plenty of flash and a decent-at-best amount of substance. In other words, a typical Bucks match but longer.
But who’s going to win? I’m assuming my TJR colleagues will go with FTR since they’re trying to claim they’re down to do business with the Collision wrestlers. But what if they don’t? What if both sides conclude that current circumstances are clouding this match so much that they would rather have a fair match when the heat has died down? After all, if FTR win the belts and Wheeler is convicted, what then? That’s why I think this will be a Dusty finish, either a double count-out, time limit draw, or double-DQ to necessitate another match in the future. I’m sure few people want such an indecisive finish, but given the circumstances here I think it makes sense for a few people to expect such a thing as a possibility, however remote it night be.
Winners: No-Contest due to shenanigans (FTR remain champions)
Kristian: There is a lot of excitement around this match and it’s probably the match I’m most keen to see. FTR need to win here to cement themselves as THE team in AEW and I’m hoping they get the win. Don’t be surprised if this goes 25 minutes plus.
Winners AND STILL AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR
Gino: For me there are a lot of matches on the card that are near 50/50 as far as the result. I think this as 50/50 as it gets. Before Cash Wheeler’s legal trouble, I would have picked FTR to win. Now I’m going with the Bucks but it’s far from a lock. I prefer the Bucks to FTR. I like their flippy crazy style better than how FTR follows the rules. That said, the Bucks haven’t been close to FTR’s level in a long time. Especially recently. Of all the matches on the card, this makes the most sense. Without a doubt these are the 2 best tag teams in AEW history. I would have liked Lucha Brothers involved for a triple threat. That’s probably because I am a big fan of theirs.
The story has been easy to tell. FTR wants to prove they are the best and need to beat The Young Bucks to do that. AEW has dedicated a lot of TV time building this up. The best part of that was the sit-down interview on Dynamite Wednesday. FTR wants the win more. I personally think The Young Bucks need it a lot more. They had lost momentum before Brawl Out and haven’t recovered from that. This will be a good chance for that to happen. Considering Cash’s recent legal issues, I think the Bucks will and should win.
Winners: The Young Bucks
John: They always have great matches together and this should be another one. I think if they have a traditional tag team match where FTR convinces The Young Bucks that it would be a better match if they actually tried to tell a story then it really can be an all-time classic tag team match. However, if it descends into typical Young Bucks matches where they randomly run into the ring to do double team spots and have no sense of psychology then it will frustrate me.
The Young Bucks winning this match has been my prediction since it was announced. The fact that Cash Wheeler was arrested for taunting another driver with a gun makes me want to pick The Young Bucks even more. I’m not saying Cash is guilty, but it’s still a bad look for him and for AEW that the incident happened. I think this will be the longest match of the show or close to it around 30 minutes. They’ll get all the time they want and it should be outstanding. I’m going with a Young Bucks win.
Winners AND NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks
===
AEW World Championship: MJF vs. Adam Cole
Matthew: Finally, we get to the main event, and the match I am most excited to see. As I predicted earlier, I think the pre-show tag team match will have huge implications on this match. I think Cole, Aussie Open and Roderick Strong will form a new faction here. This new faction will have injured MJF earlier in the night, causing him to be weakened for this match. A new babyface MJF will try his hardest to compete, but will not be able to overcome the odds and numbers game.
Winner and New Champion: Adam Cole
Marc: #BetterThanYouBayBay has been a unique pairing. We have seen teases that something bigger is at play here, and regardless of what happens in the match, it is after the match where we will see something come about. The Kingdom and Roderick Strong are outside forces that are likely to play a part in this match as well. But the question is how?
MJF has shown little in the means of betraying Adam Cole (which many expect) but has seen more teases at the hand of Adam Cole betraying MJF all to be the champion. Fans aren’t expecting a betrayal at the hands of Roderick Strong. We could anticipate something not as much talked about, but rather a return of Kyle O’Reilly combined with a Kingdom betrayal of Roderick Strong aligning with MJF in the process.
All these moving parts set up a six-man tag feud between the (Undisputed) Era Strong, O’Reilly, and Cole against MJF and The Kingdom. But MJF holding the title moving into 2024 is still very much going to be a thing.
Winner: AND STILL AEW World Champion, MJF
Alex: While some have found the story between these two entertaining, I haven’t. Adam Cole might be a solid hand but I don’t see him winning on Sunday. Even if he doesn’t wrestle as often, MJF needs the main-event position and the world title more than Cole does, especially since rumors are going around suggesting Cole will be reuniting with Roderick Strong and possibly forming yet another faction. If Cole goes in that direction, then the title becomes a secondary matter, and would go against what AEW appear to be planning with MJF and CM Punk.
I don’t think this’ll go more than 20 minutes but I think it’ll be a fun little story. MJF will do whatever he can to rile Cole up and anger the crowd and that will help him win in the end. The crowd won’t go home happy because their guy didn’t win. But this isn’t WWE where every show needs a happy ending. If AEW want to ride this wave of momentum, especially going into All Out next week, it makes the most sense for MJF to win and face Punk in Chicago the following week.
Winner and STILL AEW World Champion: MJF
Kristian: I would guess that I am in the minority of fans that really have not enjoyed this feud. Sure, there’s been some entertaining parts, but for a World Championship feud it’s been too goofy (double clothesline). This is the danger of these face vs face championship feuds. You have to try something different to invest the fans. AEW have put Cole and MJF as a team, teasing MJF turning a couple of times, which has eventually led to lots of hugging which had the fans rejoicing. MJF turning seems too obvious, so I am going to predict that Cole wins with assistance from Roddy Strong and turns on MJF. I’m still not set on MJF as a believable face (he’s too crude and condescending) but a big swerve on a major show will get the Internet talking.
Winner AND NEW AEW World Champion: Adam Cole (baybay)
Gino: Brilliance. That’s the word that sums up the rivalry/bromance between Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF. It’s easily the best storyline AEW has ever had. I don’t want it to end but think it should. AEW has served up an Adam Cole heel turn on a silver platter and should follow through with it. I’m going with Adam Cole turning on MJF and winning the title. Again, I think it’s far from a lock. The drama in this match should be something we haven’t seen before and thrilling to watch. Who will turn? When will it happen? There should be multiple spots where both wrestlers have a chance to turn but don’t do it. A finish I would like to see would be if neither turn. MJF could have a chance to cheat near the end of the match. Turn it down and lose because of that. That would be a way to continue the story until Adam Cole eventually turns. Maybe at Full Gear in November. I feel this story could still be very hot in the aftermath of All In. It would be better to end the bromance part of the story too soon rather than let it drag on too long. The way Roderick Strong has been booked makes a heel turn from Adam Cole seem like the likely result. It’s a strong enough finish to an amazing storyline that I would pull the trigger on it. MJF would be incredibly over finally being in full babyface mode.
Winner: Adam Cole BAY BAY
John: This match easily has the best story out of anything on the show. That’s because it’s been fun to watch, but also because a lot of AEW matches barely have any stories other than “this guy randomly attacks that guy so let’s have a match” without much substance to it. At least in this case, MJF & Cole went from rivals a few months ago that had a 30-minute match on Dynamite that was outstanding to reluctant tag team partners that bonded and found success. Now we have MJF saying Cole is his best friend, Cole makes MJF a better person and Cole claiming that Max brings out the best in him, so there’s a friendship that has been told really well.
An option that AEW could have is to let these guys go out there for 25-30 minutes, have a very even matchup with nearfalls and great moments leading to the champion MJF retaining. Maybe they hug it out at the end with Cole raising Max’s arm as the winner. No turn or anything. However, I say a turn is coming. I say Adam Cole will turn heel thanks to an assist from Roderick Strong and The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) getting involved. We have seen Cole hug MJF with the stabbing hand gesture on MJF’s back, which Cole did in his NXT past when he turned on multiple people. I just think if you have Cole turn heel, he would get massive heat for it, they could give him a stable right away and MJF would be absolutely on fire as a babyface seeking revenge. MJF is one of my favorite wrestlers in AEW easily, but he’s also held the World Title for nine months at this point. They could take it off him and it would be perfectly fine. Ending the show with a massive heel turn by Cole to win the title might not make the fans happy, but it creates a memorable moment and a new AEW World Champion too…bay bay.
Winner AND NEW AEW World Champion Adam Cole…bay bay
===
BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Matthew: MJF vs. Adam Cole.
Marc: Stadium Stampede and MJF/Adam Cole.
Alex: MJF vs. Adam Cole.
Kristian: FTR vs The Young Bucks.
Gino: MJF vs. Adam Cole.
John: MJF vs. Adam Cole.
===
The Match I Care About The Least
Matthew: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
Marc: AEW Women’s Title.
Alex: House of Black vs. The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn
Kristian: House of Black vs The Ass Clowns.
Gino: Darby Allin & Sting vs. Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage
John: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
===
Longest Match
Matthew: FTR vs. The Young Bucks.
Marc: Golden Elite and Bullet Club Gold/Takeshita
Alex: FTR vs. Young Bucks III (~30 minutes)
Kristian: MJF vs. Adam Cole.
Gino: Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
John: FTR vs. The Young Bucks
===
Shortest Match
Matthew: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
Marc: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
Alex: Jack Perry vs. Hook (if including pre-show), Women’s Four Way if not.
Kristian: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
Gino: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
John: Jack Perry vs. Hook.
===
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
Matthew: 7. Over 80,000 excited British wrestling fans make this show a must watch. My only concern is that the amount of filler matches will wear out the crowd before they get to the main event.
Marc: 7. It would have been higher had there been more singles matches scheduled. To be as dependent on having everyone around ‘get their stuff in’ doesn’t’ give matches enough time to breathe and for us to process all that’s happening. It should still be a fun night of action.
Alex: 6. I’m sure AEW All In will be a fine show but the line-up is a bit weak. They should’ve started hyping this show up months ago to give each feud more substance and give everyone watching a reason to watch the show other than RECORD BREAKING ATTENDANCE. If we compare this show to WWE (because that will never stop happening no matter what), then this show right now comes across less as AEW’s version of WrestleMania and more like its Super Showdown.
Kristian: 8. I am more interested in the spectacle of the arena, the reaction of the fans and the booking than the quality of the matches which sounds strange. It’s a free hit for AEW on a huge night so I hope it goes well for them. It’s a good time for wrestling fans.
Gino: It’s a 10 out of 10 for me. I’ve written a few times that this is the best job AEW has done using their TV time to build a PPV. I believe that to be a true statement. I’d say 8 matches have solid to very good storylines. Even the matches lacking a great story will deliver. Especially in the case of Golden Elite vs Bullet Club Gold & Takeshita. The card isn’t predictable to me. I’d say about half the matches don’t have an obvious winner. MJF and Adam Cole’s amazing story really helps my excitement level. It’s my favorite storyline AEW has pulled off so far. I know there are many wrasslin fans that agree with that. I don’t care if it’s the biggest show in wrestling history or not. It’s definitely the biggest show in AEW history. They have treated it as such and I couldn’t be more excited to watch it!
John: 8. I’m going into it with an optimistic viewpoint. The match quality should be very strong based on the lineup they have although I still think they are missing out on some key people being on the show and there are still too many tag team matches. The atmosphere of watching 80,000+ fans will be incredible especially because we know England wrestling fans are among the loudest and best in the world. The crowd will make certain things feel better for those of us watching at home. I’m hoping for some big angles and memorable moments. You can just go from match to match to match on a show like this. It needs to be a bit different than the usual AEW show. Hopefully Tony Khan and his creative team are smart enough to realize that. Most importantly, I hope the fans at the show have fun. I’m sure they will.
In Closing
John: I’ll be back with a review of AEW All In on TJRWrestling.net on Sunday.
You can also tweet me @johnreport. If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com as well. Thanks for reading.