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For the second time AEW hit the UK and Wembley Stadium and because I enjoyed myself so much last year I thought “why not go again” and because so many enjoyed my travel log of that weekend, why not do another.
Well, I wasn’t planning to do a travel log this year, instead talking about the state of AEW and comparing the company from this year to last because Rev Pro really wasn’t in my plans this time round but FOMO happened but more on that later.
If I was to have one regret from my time in London, it was that I didn’t go out and enjoy the city of London. I know the words enjoy and London are an oxymoron but last year, my 48 hours in London were spent travelling on the tube (or bus) at wrestling or in my hotel sleeping (or watching Columbo) bar one stint of walking the Thames near my hotel. So, this I booked an extra night in my hotel (my bank account hates me)
Friday night was spent with friends from America who had travelled over for the event and especially in Emi’s case to see Hangman Page win a match under the Wembley arch. So, what better place to take two American women than Acton Tenpin
Look, it was a 10 minute walk from their hotel.
We won’t talk about who won and lost because wins and losses aren’t that important (Emi is screaming she won by two games to my one as she’s reading this isn't she?) but what I will comment on is how good the food was in the Italian restaurant round the corner from the hotel Emi and Mel were in. Paolo’s was the best food I’ve had in a long long time. The Spaghetti alla Carbonara was *****
Saturday morning was looking round London time. With Emi and Mel also on the trip, Piccadilly Circus made people stand in awe even in the rubbish rain. Hatchards, Britain’s oldest bookshop was toured even if it had been Waterstones’d in this Brit’s eyes. We went next door to Fortnum and Mason and f**k me everything was expensive.
A trip to Covent Garden saw us tour the markets, go to the Transport Museum Gift Shop (where the hope than I could pick up a tfl notebook to make up my 2025 star ratings notebook was dashed with none in stock) and then go to Floozies Cookies which itself was fine ***¼
A walk to Westminster and Buckingham Palace had us on the verge of our energy bars running out but as the morning went on, the conversations of whether we should go to Rev Pro’s Anniversary Show at the Copper Box continued and at 2pm as we stood at Green Park Station I asked “You going to Rev Pro?” and with FOMO levels at its highest, the impulse buys of all impulse buys took place.
One train journey to Turnham Green (via North Acton) a walk back to the hotel, a shower, change into my TDMK shirt (ok, maybe I was always destined to go the Copper Box) and a hop onto a train to Whitechapel to hit the Jubilee Line to go to the QEII Park where the Copper Box lives later and I was at Rev Pro and it's 12 Year Anniversary Show.
REV PRO
The pre-show match was a chance to sing Grado’s theme and Grado’s introduction was amusing and accurate when he took one look at Goldenboy Santos and went “he looks good” Then the bell rang **1/2
Ethan Allan vs Connor Mills felt like it went 14 minutes so imagine my surprise when it went 8:31 **½
Ricky Knight Jr. vs Zozoya was alright once it got going mainly to Zozoya. He has something. He needs to figure out the verses in between the chorus’ but he feels like someone that will be on American cable (or streaming) tv down the line. Ricky Knight Jr will never figure it out. The attempt at the Finn Balor Demon cosplay got the contempt it deserved ***½
The Cruiserweight Scramble Match was a Cruiserweight Scramble match. It was nice to see ELP, Neon, Dante Martin. It’s also funny that the Rev Pro Cruiserweight champ hasn’t got a Cagematch profile ***¾
JJ Gale is the heart and soul of Rev Pro my arse. Tomohiro Ishii is awesome. JJ Gale is not awesome. Tomohiro Ishii is so good he dragged JJ Gale to a ****¼ match
The 10 woman street fight was great It overcame the audible “really” when it was Gisele Shaw announced as the TBA as a lot of people thought it was going to an AEW wrestler (I thought it was going to be Thunder Rosa/Nyla Rose) and live it was really fun and after the debacle of last year's women's match, coupled with the reaction to the women's title match it was good to the women of Rev Pro get love from the people ****1/4
Gabe Kidd vs Donovan Dijak sucked. The £400 plane ticket for Dijak could have been better spent on live production **
Mina Shirakawa vs Dani Luna was the ultimate Rev Pro regulars vs non Rev Pro fans battle in noise volume. A lot of people loved Mina, some liked Dani. While Mina isn't the best worker to come from Japan right now, her levels of charisma shine through when in the ring and so much more so when on a Britwres show. Dani forgetting the moment she needed to tap out and tapping early in the match wasn't a good advertisement of his abilities. ***
Sunshine Machine Vs Grizzled Young Veterans was what you expected a 13 minute tag match to be. The heels cut the ring in half in their heat section, hot tag happened and then the finish. The “if Machine loses they split stipulation” was all well and good but the fact they have booking in Germany this coming fortnight tells you what the result was always going to be even if the teased walk out from TK Cooper was a good sleight of hand in the story of their possible break up ***¼
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Hechicero was everything that the motivation to impulse buy my ticket for the show was. A genuine contender for my top spot of MOTY, the tekkers on show were beautiful to watch and being 8 rows back gave the perfect vantage point. This was the best match I have ever watched live *****
Michael Oku vs Luke Jacobs was a Michael Oku match ****¼
Sorry you want more? Live in the building, being 8 rows from the barricade, this was a very fun match. But it wasn't for everyone especially judging by the reaction of Emi when we met outside the Copper Box
“It was nearly 10:30, I just wanted it to be over” to paraphrase her.
So engrossed I was in the conversation with her and a couple of her Finnish friends about the event and the match that I didn't notice that Bryan Alvarez was 50 metres from me and that Dave Meltzer was behind me taking pictures. On a weekend where I didn't have many regrets, that was the only one. Then again it would have looked unseemly if I started begging Dave for a Hall of Fame ballot
On the 45 minute overground journey back, in conversation with our American travellers (which includes a couple of minutes diatribe to why Andy Quildan might actually be the Promoter of the Year) my conclusion coming out of the show is that I don't know what this sicko what's to see more in the name of science. Either, Oku joins AEW and gets heat quicker than MJF as he goes 20 minutes over his allotted time every week or he joins WWE and he gets put into the Speed Title Division.
One last thing before moving onto Sunday. Andy Quildan, based on the fact that the final attendance number of the Anniversary Show according to Fightful was 3927 just 150 less than last year, is my pick for the Observer Awards Promoter of the Year.
I said in last year's Observer Awards piece that the Promoter of the Year should be based on who achieved the most spectacular feat in ticket sales (which was Tony Khan and his promoting of a show of 70,000+ people in 2023) This year it has to be Quildan. For all his faults as a booker, the number of 3927 on this weekend with the reduced number of wrestling fans in London compared to last year is an unbelievable achievement and in my eyes is deserving of a Promoter of the Year Award
Still don't know why he insists on pushing JJ Gale though
Those who remember my writings on All In Weekend last year might recall my anxiety attack as I realised that the buses of London are not as good as those in Birmingham (which is saying something) and my mental abilities being tested to the extreme trying to figure out where the hell I should go with some help from a friend. This year there was none of that as I figured out the train station to go to and the afternoon before we headed to the queue sitting with friends in the wind and sometimes sun and just enjoying the day with good people. I also found out that I’m the Shingo Takagi of our group. Which I’ll take
The queuing outside Wembley was way better than last year. It was organised. Everyone knew where to go. Maybe Purple Zone people are just better behaved than the other zones around Wembley? The queuing was so long however that once we got into the second level otherwise known as Club Wembley, you have never seen so many people go to the toilet at the same time.
The feeling of walking into the stadium and seeing a wrestling ring in Wembley Stadium wasn’t the same as last year but it was never going to be. The first time feeling was never going to be the same the second time around but the anticipation was still there even if the company doesn’t feel as hot as last year and even then AEW wasn’t exactly molten.
But as the time counted down the feeling was there as we the fans were anticipating the second All In at Wembley
Zero Hour
The 16 man tag in which I won’t name all the people involved because I’m on a self imposed word limit of 3,500 was an ultimate “get everyone on the card” match which was lacking last year which led to some backstage annoyance and it was fine ***
The Tomohiro ishii/Willow Nightingale vs Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander was fun. While on rewatch on tv the work with Willow and Kris was a little sloppy, the Ishii/Kris spot was great and made Kris looked strong and the stadium popped for Stokely’s spinebuster on Ishii ***
The 10 man tag wasn’t as good as the 16-man tag. It was nice to see Kevin von Erich. I would have filmed the claw and sent it to a friend but there’s a reason I didn’t **
Martha Hart failed to read the room by talking about how great Canada is (we as a country still haven’t forgiven Jacques Villenueve for passing Damon Hill on the last lap of the 1997 Hungarian GP) and how great the USA is (she’s obviously not following the MJF storyline) and then talking about how great the British Commonwealth is made her sound like a Reform MP
Saraya came out because she’s British. Flanked by her family, Joe and Rich from VOW speculated that the Knight family grows bigger by the year, to be fair half the population of Norwich is related to each other so that makes sense. I almost made this a point to grab a drink but halfway up the stairs I realised that this was when Jamie Hayter was going to be back and I was correct on this thought. Jamie got a great reaction even if her banger of a theme got muffled by the PA which had teething problems early doors.
London Ladder Match for the AEW Trios Title
The introductions for the Trios Match were on the pre-show. The spectacle of the All In intro, the necessary helicopter shot of Wembley and then a bell ringing with 12 men colliding was unique yet something that I hope is a thing in the future.
Highlights of the match include me trying to explain to a kid that Shayna Wayne was a legal participant in the match, me singing “Nick Wayne's mom has got it going on”, me actually getting the amount of swings Claudio does correctly (wrestling fans really can't count properly) Nick Wayne showing out and this being Juice’s best performance since his return from injury ***¾
Toni Storm vs Mariah May
One of the biggest success stories of the period between both All In’s at Wembley, Toni Storm got the love more than home country girl Mariah and the match got love from the Wembley masses and rightfully so. While people didn’t like the hesitation spot with the shoe, everything else worked. Really fun match ****
HOOK vs Chris Jericho
“Hi guys” was over. So was Taz’s run in but in a match where cricket balls and bats were a part of the contest, watching a match of the Hundred was preferable to this **¼
Young Bucks vs Acclaimed vs FTR
In a scene that shows that the tag division hasn’t moved on since 12 months ago, FTR and The Young Bucks were in the tag team title match with the inclusion of The Acclaimed whose last 12 months have been as memorable as anything a Mr. Beast YouTube video. So over where the challengers that Wembley was louder during the 2020 FA Cup Final than it was when FTR and Acclaimed faced off.
The Bucks winning was fun for me and my mate who was two sections across from me and were the only people in our sections who were Bucks fans so the moment was ever so sweet and the defiant raising of my arms felt so sweet ***½
Casino Gauntlet Match
We all know Tony Khan likes a gambling metaphor to the point that we might need to have a conversation about it but of all the Casino ……. matches that TK has booked, the Casino Gauntlet is the best one.
With a simple rule set, the ability to book surprises and to have interactions with people that make for interesting storybeats, the Casino Gauntlet Match is the one. Hopefully this gimmick match won’t end up being overused but also hopefully the terrible ending of this match doesn’t cause problems for this match like the end of the Casino Ladder Match at All Out 22 did for that match.
Even taking away the reaction to the finish making the reaction to the FTR/Acclaimed face off sound like the pop for Nigel McGuinness’ entrance in this match, Christian was the wrong winner. In a field where more interesting matches and beats lay elsewhere, Christian getting the title shot just 3 months after being Swerve’s first PPV challenger feels like the booking of a man who has run out of ideas.
But on a positive note on a match that I did like, the action was flawless, the surprises were great. Seeing and hearing Jeff Jarrett get a huge pop was awesome for this writer who has always had a soft spot for Double J. I also got to see Kazuchika Okada live even if he is showing off the fun doofus character that has always been trapped in his body and not THAT Okada****¼
Will Ospreay vs MJF
When you watch the Will Ospreay entrance back, you know that Ospreay is a man whose star is obvious. When you are in the stadium, it’s obvious what a star Will Ospreay is. The entrance from this night will be always on my phone. The live experience for an Ospreay entrance where you part of worshipping at the church of Ospreay is something else in wrestling right now.
The match itself was better than the 60 minute match on Dynamite. Ospreay was Ospreay. Getting a chance to boo MJF this time around was great. A man has never been a better prick to hate than Maxwell Jacob Freidman, well except my non-wrestling fan friend's non-fun doofus boyfriend but that's a story for another time.
The Garcia comeback got a great reaction and the Tiger Driver story got a big pop. ****1/2
The first sign that time was needing to be shaved due to the Wembley curfew which was at 10pm was the lack of stretcher job for MJF to sell the danger of the Tiger Driver 91 which seemed the obvious ploy.
Britt Baker vs Mercedes Mone
With a crowd who were emotionally invested in the match before, the next match was always to struggle to connect with the fans and it did.
From my seat in the middle ring of the permanent seated area, I liked the match. Personally motivated by the fact I had bigged the match up in the preview article on Musings, I took a pointed interest in this contest and despite the stadium not sharing that sentiment, I thought it was fine. The social media reaction I saw in the hours after while riding the train home and back in my hotel was very different. So different that I was expecting to do a bit for this section about how bad it was. I had actually written it in my head. But after watching it on TV, I didn't hate it at all. The problem with the match ended up being that Britt just looked like she was wrestling at 0.75 speed compared to Mercedes and it affected the match big time
So was the lash out due to a narrative put onto Britt’s name? That’s a story for another time but I think a *** is fair in my eyes.
Jack Perry vs Darby Allin
I really needed to go to the toilet to the point when I got back to my seat, Darby and Jack were on the ramp fighting. When rewatching the show on ITV4, the urge to go to the bathroom upstairs overwhelmed me. At least I could pause my Virgin Tivo box this time around.
For a ten minute coffin match it was good. The levels of violence were typical of a Darby Allin match. The call back to a certain moment last All In was nice (I’m obviously talking about Seek and Destroy) and the emphatic conclusion was surprising but necessary for what happens next. ***1/4
Sting’s run in was great live but I do wonder if both this match and the TBS Title match would have been best served by switching places in the running order.
Bryan Danielson vs Swerve Strickland
Let’s start with this. This match was incredible. It was perfect for that building. From Final Countdown to Swerve’s entrance to the big spots it was easily a contender for VoW’s Match of the Year and I don’t need a second watch on ITV4 to make that conclusion (I’m not ordering the show on FITE. I ordered two Ubers in London, I now have no money)
I have gone into detail about Swerve’s performance in our AEWeekly containing the events at Wembley and since then reports of Swerve signing a new contract for an extension of 5 years with S Tier money amongst roster have come out and every day and dollar Swerve has gained is well earned and WWE’s reaction according to Dave Meltzer in his WON is very telling (I can’t wait to do my PWI 500 article next month)
But while the ***** that I will give this in my notebook of 2024 matches is the right decision and I’m presuming the extra ¼ of a star that Dave gave this match is because my dad cried on the finish when watching it on ITV4. But being the critical man I am, I have questions.
Was I the only one that found it interesting that Bryan Danielson shirts were not as prevalent as you expect on a night that was billed as The American Dragon’s most important?
While the buy rate was very good for the time of day that All In falls on so I won’t be that guy pointing out that Sting’s last match got a bigger buy rate than what was billed as Danielson’s potential last match (I’ll save it for my Sting section in the Greatest 100 Wrestlers of All Time series) the lack of a steep rise of ticket sales on the back of Danielson’s Owen Cup win hasn’t been talked about yet. I was told by people that insist that those who have an alternate opinion on the All In main event should take an L on this topic that Danielson’s inclusion in the main event would see a gate of 60,000+ but that didn’t happen
Would the match I would have wanted, especially on the heels of THAT promo by Hangman Page after his semi-final of The Owen, of Swerve vs Hangman got a bigger buyrate and a bigger attendance at Wembley? We’ll never know. It wouldn’t have beaten the emotion of the night in the stadium for sure but the build up to the main event which only got going once Swerve hit a House Call on Danielson should be studied by future generations on how not to build a retirement stipulation match. Just like how the last year of Swerve should be studied on how to build a main event star from almost scratch. Because Swerve deserves a lot of credit for how great the All In main event was.
Yes I’m aware that the All Out numbers will be scrutinised with its main attraction being Hangman vs Swerve.
As for the event itself. I enjoyed myself more this year than last. The feeling that while All In 2023 was good, it was a house show in a stadium until the main event and even then that particular match divided opinion even with yours truly, who spoke positively on that match at the time but now admits that it gets worse with every rewatch (I’ve watched MJF vs Cole II three times)
This year felt more like an actual AEW PPV with a cluster of notebook matches. I read someone say that watching wrestling live is the best experience you can have and on this night, that take was correct even from the Club Wembley near the big screen.
As for next year, the All In brand goes to America and the state of Texas but us Brits will get Forbidden Door next August Bank Holiday weekend and in all likelihood, it'll be in the O2 Arena. Demand will be high and ticket prices high enough that my bank account will dislike me even more, count on me being there and also for All In 2026 at Wembley because for the second year AEW and the United Kingdom have proven to be good bedfellows and with two years extended this relationship can only get better
At least I won't have to deal with Wembley at 10pm at night for another 720 days.
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