AEW All In Review - August 27, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Zero Hour: Powerhouse Hobbs and Miro Signed the Contract for Their Match at All Out

The pre-show started earlier than advertised and you could tell there was barely anyone in the building by this point, so this was better than doing the actual match between the two. It's smart that they're saving it for All Out instead. This was a fairly basic contract signing with Miro standing tall over Hobbs and the security guards, but at least it hyped their upcoming clash and added to the bad blood between the two.

Zero Hour: Paul Wight, Antony Ogogo and Grado Attacked Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt

Reportedly, the heels were supposed to take part in a match on this show against Grado and The Hardys I believe, but Jeff Hardy not being able to travel prevented that from happening. I'm glad this was relegated to just a segment and not a match because it would have been a waste of time. The crowd was going to go nuts for Grado regardless, so this didn't need to be longer than it was. We haven't seen Ogogo in ages, but good for him for getting a moment in his home country.

Zero Hour: Better Than You BayBay def. Aussie Open to Win the ROH World Tag Team Championship

There's no doubt that doing this match was a risk with MJF and Adam Cole competing in the main event of the biggest wrestling show ever mere hours later. That said, it was fun and the crowd ate up everything MJF and Cole did. They didn't go all out to have a barn burner and they shouldn't have. MJF and Cole getting hurt would have been a very bad situation. Cool that Aussie Open got to compete on such a stage, too. MJF and Cole won clean without any shenanigans (those were saved for when they went one-on-one) and they kicked off the evening on a high note.

Zero Hour: Hook def. Jack Perry in an FTW Rules Match to Win the FTW Championship

This was along the same lines as their FTW Rules match from the Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite, except here they were able to brawl around the stadium and it made for a fun brawl. I'm just surprised Hook got the belt back so quickly. They could have gotten a bit more mileage out of the feud since Hook just returned on Collision and kept him in chase mode, but oh well. I'm not a fan of Hook being back in the same spot he was in before as FTW Champion. Ditch the belt and move on, please.

"Real World Champion" CM Punk def. Samoa Joe

Punk and Joe obviously aren't capable of what they used to be two decades ago, but they still have wonderful chemistry and this was a very enjoyable opener. You'd never know Punk reportedly got into it with Perry right backstage before this bout took place (which is embarrassing in itself, but that's not related to this review). Joe was never going to win the "Real World Championship", but I'm happy these two had the chance to mix it up on the biggest stage after wrestling in front of a few hundred people (if that) in the beginning of their respective careers.

Konosuke Takeshita and Bullet Club Gold (Jay White and Juice Robinson) def. The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page and Kota Ibushi)

Given all of the talent involved, you had to know this would be a fast-paced, exciting affair and that's exactly what it was. White and Ibushi got to run it back from their days in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and everyone played their roles well. The heels going over, specifically with Takeshita pinning Omega, was the right call. I wish it was more decisive, but at least he has some momentum before he and Omega go one-on-one at All Out.

AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR def. The Young Bucks

Of the three matches these teams have had dating back to 2020, I might put this second behind their Dynamite match last year, but it was terrific, nonetheless. They're two of the very best teams in the world today and thus there was no doubt they'd deliver. The kickouts of the finishers made every nearfall suspenseful and I was genuinely surprised FTR retainined. I wanted them to win, but I figured Cash Wheeler's recent legal trouble would guarantee new champs. Thankfully, I was wrong.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo def. Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta), Mike Santana and Ortiz in a Stadium Stampede Match

I was wondering how this would be handled since the first two installments of Stadium Stampede took place during the pandemic (there were fans in the building for the second one but it had a lot of cinematic elements). It was essentially a slightly-toned-down version of Anarchy in the Arena and an improvement in my opinion. It had plenty of hardcore wrestling and some stupid spots, but I applaud their effort and thought they put together quite the chaotic spectacle (which won't be for everyone). Fingers crossed they don't do Anarchy in the Arena or Stadium Stampede for a while because I'm personally burned out on them.

Saraya def. Toni Storm, Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker in a Four-Way Match to Win the AEW Women's World Championship

Say what you will about Saraya's AEW run so far (and it hasn't been stellar), but between the Queen entrance and the title win, I can't complain about her getting the feel-good moment in her home country after having to retire from the ring five years ago. I'm not saying she should have a lengthy title run, though, and it could end as soon as next Sunday at All Out. Above all else, The Outcasts appear to be over and we can all rejoice. This was a well-worked four-way, but the only women's match on the card getting under 10 minutes isn't a great look for AEW.

Darby Allin and Sting def. Swerve Strickland and Christian Cage in a Coffin Match

Sting was in full-on Joker Sting mode here, complete with "Seek and Destroy" by Metallica as his entrance theme. That was pretty awesome. We already got two Street Fight-style matches on this show, so it was wise to make this a bit different than those two. Anything involving Sting at this point is a treat because we don't know how much longer he has left. He took enough risks here without doing anything too dumb. This was entertaining and Allin finally got a measure of revenge over Strickland with the win.

IWGP United Kingdom Champion Will Ospreay def. Chris Jericho (Non-Title)

Jericho walking down to the ring while singing his own entrance theme with the rest of Fozzy playing above the stage was a sweet visual (though I'm biased as a Fozzy fan). Jericho wasn't going to give Ospreay his best match of the year, but a case can be made for Ospreay giving Jericho his best match of 2023. That's not to say Ospreay completely carried Jericho, either. Jericho more than held his own and proved he can still go at a high level with the right opponent. I also appreciated that this didn't overstay its welcome. Ospreay going over was the only acceptable outcome.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn def. House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews) to Win the AEW World Trios Championship

The endgame with Gunn finally winning gold has been apparent since the storyline started. As a result, I haven't been invested in it, but the crowd was behind them here and popped for the title change. The match itself was solid, though I could've done without Gunn kicking out of Black's finisher. Here's hoping this means Black will be transitioning back into the singles ranks soon. There's only so much they can do in the trios division.

AEW World Champion and ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF def. ROH World Tag Team Champion Adam Cole

Normally, I'd hate so much overbooking in a pay-per-view main event, especially on such a stage as this one, but it was logical in this case because of the story that's been told with them. There were a number of potential directions they could have gone in, but I was satisfied with what we got because it ensures that the story isn't over yet and they can remain friends for at least a little longer. Anyone hoping for a heel turn from either guy should wait until All Out because I get the feeling that will be where we get our next major development. The action was top-notch, but this was more about the drama and if one of them would turn on the other. AEW has captured lightning in a bottle with Cole and MJF and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

Overall Show

It's worth noting that Mercedes Mone was shown in the crowd multiple times, both during the pre-show and the main broadcast. I don't think she's going to sign full-time with AEW once she's cleared to compete, but it's clear she'll be making at least a few appearances and that's fantastic news. On the whole, All In was an excellent event that lived up to the hype, if only because of the electric atmosphere at Wembley Stadium. None of the matches will go down as being the best of the year, but the pacing was perfect and it had its fair share of memorable moments. It was announced at the very end that All In will be back at Wembley in exactly one year from now, so there's a real chance AEW can make this event their WrestleMania going forward.

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