AEW All In Preview & Predictions
Despite lackluster build, atmosphere is a major drawing factor for this show, and Tony Khan and Company should be proud of what they've built.
We’re here.
After months and months of anticipation, debate about the card, and yammering on about whether or not this truly is the “biggest wrestling show ever,” AEW All In is here.
If you’ve watched or listen to my work, you know that I’m not thrilled with how the card has been built up. There is money left on the table everywhere you look, but when the clock strikes 1pm EST and the bell rings for the first match, that won’t matter — at least for the next four and half hours or so.
A lot of what this AEW All In show is all about is the audience. The crowd. The fans. 81,000 people packed into Wembley Stadium for a wrestling show that isn’t WrestleMania was unthinkable just five years ago and yet, we’re here.
As a company, AEW should be proud of this show. Regardless of the build. This is a big deal. AEW isn’t going anywhere, of course, but 81,000 people for a PPV event is a quick way to remind yourself just how huge AEW has gotten in such little time. Major props to Tony Khan and company for seeing an opening in the industry and taking it in a major way. Yes, having billions of dollars helps an effort like that, but of course it does.
So, on to the show.
The main event between Adam Cole and MJF for the AEW World Championship is the most intriguing. These are two best friends colliding over the richest prize in AEW and more than the match itself, I’m looking forward to seeing where they go on the finish.
All signs point to a turn of some kind by either Adam Cole or MJF. MJF can’t go back to being a heel after this match. That doesn’t mean he won’t, though. Which is why I’m picking that scenario. MJF wins, turns heel on Cole, and then gets confronted by CM Punk — setting up a title match next week at All Out in Chicago.
MJF vs. Cole has suffered from simply being not serious enough for a major title match on the biggest show in company history. I’d like to have seen a little more lip service paid to the stakes of the match and the title that’ll be on the line.
Moving on. The fatal four-way match between Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, Toni Storm, and Saraya for the AEW Women’s World Championship. I’m going Baker. Nothing else is happing in the division right now, so getting the belt back on the biggest star in it is a smart move. Plus, IF someone like Mercedes Mone shows up, a staredown between her and Baker is — forgive me — Money.
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe. This match is limping across the finish line. They’ve put an old school build behind it, but with Punk beating Joe in the Owen Hart Tournament, the story is pretty much over. Punk wins again.
I’m fully expecting Stadium Stampede to be complete and utter madness. Just madness around Wembley Stadium, Moxley bleeds a lot, but then he and his Blackpool Combat Club brethren win.
The Young Bucks vs. FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championships is my match of the night pick. Look, The Bucks cannot under any circumstances be allowed to dismiss the gravity of this match like they did on television Wednesday night. A highly bizarre road for even them to go down that hurt the match. The fact that this match can and will be so good despite the nonsensical build is a true testament to just how talented these guys are. The Bucks win thanks to Cash Wheeler’s run-in with the law.
Who wants to bet that Chris Jericho will raise the hand of Will Ospreay by the time their match is over? Any takers? We’ll see a basic match here, but the audience will turn up the volume. Ospreay wins, as its his hometown and he’s by far the more important star for Tony Khan to worry about right now.
The trios match between The Elite and The Callis Family is kinda just “eh” for me. This is what Kenny Omega is doing on the show? Alright then. Seeing as All Out is next weekend, I’ll take Callis family here, so that Omega and Takeshita can go one-on-one with each other on that show.
How crazy is it that Billy Gunn is playing pivotal roles in wrestling stories in 2023. Two ways to look at that. One, good for Billy Gunn. Two, what is the issue with the younger talent in AEW that they can’t bump this guy out of the television time he gets, so that they can be featured instead. The House of Black need this win and to retain their World Trios Championship. They will get it. Gunn does the job and then retires for real in front of 81,000.
There we go. Everyone ready for this? Have a blast today.
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