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Hello and welcome to a preview for AEW's biggest show of the year, All In. AEW's return to Wembley has matches with a lot of anticipation, along with matches that people feel confused why they rate being on this card. But the execution is another thing entirely, as we've seen from big AEW shows in the past that have proved doubters wrong.
But, at the risk of looking foolish, our writers have put down on paper in advance their expectations. making their best call on two aspects:
Predicting each match's star rating. &
Predicting the winner of each match.
In anticipation of the big show tomorrow night, here are our thoughts on the event, broken down match by match.
CASINO GAUNTLET MATCH FOR A FUTURE AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE SHOT
by Peter
A couple of months ago, I said on our prestigious #AEWeekly that the Casino Gauntlet Match that determined the No.1 Contender for the AEW World Title for Forbidden Door should be an annual feature for the journey to the AEWxNJPW show in June and it should be an once a year event
How did that work out?
Tony Khan's new favourite match stipulation will be part of the lineage of Wembley Stadium along with World Cup Finals, historic boxing title fights and Live Aid and while this match has the hallmarks of just getting people onto the "stadium PPV" which to be fair isn't a bad idea— as the effects on locker room morale when such a select number made the journey to London last year was while a minor headache considering what else happened that Sunday was a problem TK had to deal with— the stakes in this match makes this more important than any other Memorial battle royale.
For those that will be on the entry sheet, this is a chance at getting an opportunity at the World Title. The staggered start nature of this match lends to the element of surprise that hasn't been seen by British fans who have perhaps never travelled to a Royal Rumble and also, who doesn't like counting down from 10. But also with the element of surprise comes another Tony Khan booking staple, the surprise entrant.
With Rev Pro having an event the day before, there are many a pro wrestler in London this weekend. Also, there are free agents around the wrestling world and maybe we'll get a nostalgia moment in there too. Hey, maybe Jeff Jarrett will turn up and this time around I won't be the only one in Wembley cheering on the Last Outlaw.
As of this writing, the Casino Gauntlet will be the only match on the main card that doesn't have a championship on the line but with the aforementioned World Title shot up for grabs, the stakes are high and for someone triple gold bars is going to show up, and while the journey there is going be tough, for the fans in Wembley it's going to feel like London's biggest party this weekend.
Winner Prediction: Hangman Page
Star Rating Prediction: ****1/4
FTW TITLE
CHRIS JERICHO ( C ) vs HOOK
by Trish
You could be forgiven for thinking this feud had been going on for years quite honestly, or perhaps it just feels that it has taken that long to get to this point. It began just as winter was seeping into spring. Back in those emerging days in March, Joe Biden was still running for the White House, the Tories were still making up the UK government and wrestlers wearing bracelets were confined to Orange Cassidy alone.
Time is an interesting thing when it comes to Chris Jericho; the king of reinvention has found a new gimmick during this period, an overly-enthusiastic but dangerous man in the shape of the Learning Tree. He has filled out his group with the additions of Bryan Keith and Big Bill and got yet another catchphrase over along with an unserious wave.
His biggest acquisition though, has been the FTW Championship, beating HOOK not long after their tag team run fell to pieces. Mentor shortly became the enemy for HOOK to chase for much of the summer. What better place to finally chop down the tree than Wembley Stadium?
I would be lying if I said that there are high expectations for this matchup, but there may be life in the old oak yet. Chris Jericho managed to somewhat steal All In last year, from his run in at Rev Pro to the Ospreay match itself. Even the Judas sing-a-long was a real memorable moment.
Can he find something with HOOK to justify this being on the card? Can HOOK show signs of what has been missing in recent months? Can you ever really count out Chris Jericho?
We are about to find out.
Star Rating Prediction ***
Winner Prediction HOOK
SPOILER FOR COLLISION THAT AIRS TONIGHT!!
LADDER MATCH FOR THE AEW TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP
THE PATRIARCHY (C) vs BANG BANG GANG vs HOUSE OF BLACK vs PAC/CLAUDIO/YUTA
by Tim
Let me start by saying I am so very done with ladder matches. They’ve been used so much over the last few years that they’ve lost any novelty for me. Add in an increased risk of injury to the performers and I’d be perfectly ok not seeing another ladder match until next year’s All In. There could have been an alternative stipulation with these same teams. Four Corner Elimination, Captain’s Fall Match (with Team Captains needing to be pinned), Tables and Stables (Elimination match with tables), just something different.
Yet here we are with a ladder match. I'm sure it will be good, Christian Cage is one of the best ladder match competitors in wrestling history. If he’s taking the lead in plotting out the match there will at least be a cool spot or two, Luchasaurus had a torn bicep he was dealing with a few weeks ago so I think he’ll be limited in this (also delaying his turn against Christian). The Bang Bang Gang have improved tremendously over their career, bonus points if we get a returning Jay White. House of Black could really just send in Brody King and he’ll lay waste to half the other competitors.
Then we have the makeshift team of PAC/Claudio/Yuta. I was hoping that PAC would be higher on the card for his Wembley debut, but at least he’s on the card. It does strike me as odd that Blackpool Combat Club would align with PAC after he walked out on them at last year’s Blood and Guts but this may play into this year's match. You could do something cool if this team wins, in that maybe PAC starts trying a takeover of the BCC while Mox is away and Danielson is possibly retired. Newcastle Upon Tyne Club anyone?
I know I’m sounding down on the ladder match, it’s not due to the talent involved, just the stipulation. I do expect the Patriarchy to retain as Christian Cage needs to attempt a belt collector run.
Star Rating Prediction ***
Winner Prediction The Patriarchy
AEW TNT TITLE
JACK PERRY ( C ) vs DARBY ALLIN
by Abdullah
Last year’s coffin match scored ****1/4 on Cagematch. It would be Sting’s first and final overseas AEW PPV as the curtain closed on his career earlier this year.
Since then, Darby has had to forge his path into singles wrestling once more. This is his first shot at a championship since vacating them after Revolution 2024, and perhaps most importantly it is a championship that he has previously held across 2 reigns for 186 days and 28 days.
This is his chance to deliver a signature at All In, featuring in back-to-back Coffin Match… but this time against the Scapegoat Jack Perry. But can he make it 2 wins out of 2?
What a difference a year makes. In the eyes of Jack, it’s an anniversary to celebrate as it will mark one year since the ‘Real Glass’ saga. Despite drama, suspensions, an exodus to Japan and a return to AEW, it has been a 12 months that has really characterised one of AEW’s originals.
The recent video on social media that showed Perry making his own TNT Championship gives no reason to expect him to give the title up so soon after unveiling it. With the help of The Elite in a stipulation match, will Darby be screwed over?
Star Rating Prediction - ****
Winner Prediction - Jack Perry
AEW AMERICAN TITLE
MJF ( C ) vs WILL OSPREAY
by Abdullah
In 2024, the International Championship, currently known as the American Championship, has felt like the second most prestigious title in the company after the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
As the cliché goes, it is not the title that makes the man… it is the man who makes the title. For much of his reign, that is exactly what Will Ospreay had done. He had elevated (mind the pun) a mid-card title and held it proud in the upper-card as long as he had it. Technically, that title remains there with MJF as the current champion albeit with a different plate.
There is much to be said about the patriotic American schtick that MJF has stuck with since his heel turn. It is lazy and unnecessary for this feud giving the seismic friction already built from this narrative.
For Ospreay, Sunday is a second homecoming but this time with much more at stake and a lot of expectation. The Brit will draw a thunderous reaction at Wembley and will predictably thrive under that exact pressure since he has been one of, if not the best wrestler of the year.
For MJF, it is perhaps a mark of redemption to get back to the most despicable version of MJF without being corny. A fat new contract won’t take that fact away, but a 5 star performance at All In could be the start of that.
Star Rating Prediction - ****1/4
Winner Prediction - Will Ospreay
AEW TBS TITLE
MERCEDES MONÉ (C) vs BRITT BAKER
by Peter
It's funny what difference twelve months makes.
12 months ago, the obligatory women's match on a AEW card saw Saraya win a Fatal Fourway with no real story, no real emotion, to win the AEW Women's World Title in a match which—for it's just-over-5-minutes to qualify it for a Cagematch rating—was quite decent, it was still just over 5 minutes. One year later, not only do we have a Women's World Title match with a story and with emotion, but a second contest with stakes and animosity associated with it.
Britt Baker was destined to be the face of AEW's women's division on the launch of the company. The fireworks she received at Double or Nothing 2019 told you that when the 5 year anniversary hit, that Britt was going to be the flag bearer for the women's side of the roster and while the road to Britt's World Title didn't go the way people thought it would, the fact that Britt got the biggest pop of the four combatants of the Four Way at last year's All In tells you that Baker's role as the leader of the division was justified.
But then Britt got injured and then she had a mini-stroke and then Mercedes Moné became the CEO, and five years after Britt's entrance, it was Moné leaving Double or Nothing as the TBS Champ.
The TBS Championship feels just as prestigious as the Women's World Title thanks to not just Mercedes, but the title holders before her, but as I write this Moné feels like the biggest star in the women's division and that distinction along with the TBS Title is what Britt Baker is after. And in the same stadium that Britt came across as the biggest female star in AEW last year, but also the the place where AEW fans laid eyes on Moné for the first time, Britt will be desperate to reclaim her crown… but does the crown fit better on the CEO?
Star Rating Prediction: ****
Winner Prediction: Mercedes Moné
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE
YOUNG BUCKS ( C ) vs FTR vs ACCLAIMED
by Samuel P
The Young Bucks enter Wembley as the reigning Tag Team Champions, in their third reign, having defeated FTR at AEW Dynasty earlier this year after Sting and Darby Allin vacated the title. But since then, there has been a sense of meandering and disappointment to some degree, as the Tag Team Titles have taken a back seat to the New Elite, as Matt and Nick Jackson cemented themselves as the corrupt EVPs alongside Jack Perry and Kazuchika Okada. During this time, their war has been against Tony Khan and the AEW brand itself, leading to a Blood ‘n’ Guts war against those who have adopted AEW as their home. But interestingly, this war introduced two separate tag teams who both had their sights on the titles.
Firstly, there were Young Bucks’ perennial rivals, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler as FTR, who were determined to avenge their loss as AEW Dynasty and also gain back the titles for their third reign as champions. FTR were originally outsiders who have come to love AEW as the home of Tag Team Wrestling, where they’ve had classic matches with Page and Omega, the Briscoe Brothers, Bullet Club Gold, Aussie Open, and of course, the Jacksons.
But secondly, you have the homegrown talents of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens, who 2022-23 rode a tidal wave of organic, authentic love and appreciation to defeat Keith Lee and the current World Champion Swerve Strickland for the Tag Team Titles. The latter half of 2023 and beginning of 2024 saw them meander slightly as they celebrated being AEW Trios Champions at a time where the division was weaker than expected, with fans beginning to turn slightly. But in the lead up to Blood ‘n’ Guts, a new attitude was developing, their mentor Billy Gunn instructing them to start getting serious, as they were preparing for war. The expected Wembley match was to be FTR vs Young Bucks V, but the Acclaimed refused to be moved aside, and pushed for their opportunity, culminating in this three way match for the tag team titles.
Despite the slight disappointment of the same three teams returning to the apex of the tag team division, it can be easy to forget that the reason for that being, that they are three of the best teams in the division. FTR and Young Bucks have helped redefine tag team wrestling for the last ten years, alongside other mainstays like the Usos, New Day, Motor City Machine Guns, and of course, the Briscoe Brothers. Pick five AEW tag team matches from either team’s career, and they are likely to be some of the best of the last five years. And the Acclaimed, while not yet the same level, have emotionally connected with an audience who cheered them on, including 70,000+ people all chanting “Scissor Me, Daddy Ass” and scissoring complete strangers last year at Wembley (I know, I was one of them). This match is a great opportunity for the six men to remind fans why they have this opportunity, and possibly steal the show, and for that, the winners may not even matter…unless we get a surprise appearance from a fourth tag team?
Star Rating Prediction: ****
Winner Prediction: The Young Bucks.
AEW WOMENS’ WORLD TITLE
TIMELESS TONI STORM vs MARIAH MAY
by Abdullah
Last year, Toni Storm’s All In appearance was based on throwing a Fatal Fourway together alongside Saraya, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida. It was rushed and put together as the headline match for women’s wrestling despite making little sense other than a homecoming coronation for Saraya.
Yet one year on, that same Toni Storm has been embroiled in a 8 month-long story with superfan, best friend and arch nemesis Mariah May.
It has been incredible to watch the feud unfold over the last few months. Many found it anti-climactic than Mariah debuted on AEW TV in a short backstage interview but it felt like the correct decision given the fans were naturally allowed to get to know Mariah the AEW wrestler, as opposed to Mariah May the Foreign Ace.
This feud has had everything that you want leading up to a final showdown. Blood, tears and shoes.
Can Mariah complete the transition from superfan to super-champ? Can Toni exact her bloody revenge on the betrayal? Whatever way this goes, it will go down as one of AEW’s best feuds and should steal the night.
Star Rating Prediction - *****
Winner Prediction - Mariah May
AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
SWERVE STRICKLAND ( c ) vs BRYAN DANIELSON
by Samuel
Each year of AEW’s existence can often be defined by the main event scene and specifically its World Champion. 2019 was the inaugural reign of Chris Jericho as Le Championne, 2020 was the gritty survivalist of Jon Moxley during the pandemic and lockdown, 2021 was the year of Kenny Omega and the Belt Collector as AEW expanded its world, 2022 was the crowning of ‘Hangman’ Page and the unfortunate calamity of CM Punk, and finally 2023 was the MJF Year. Despite 2024 kicking off with Samoa Joe as World Champion, it’s almost without argument that this is the year of Swerve’s House, as ‘Swerve’ Strickland completed his rise to the top from last year’s amazing rivalry with Page to this year’s cementing of Swerve as the first African-American AEW World Champion.
Since winning the title at AEW Dynasty over Samoa Joe in April, Swerve has been a charismatic beacon of excellence, proving himself a main event commodity through his performances against Christian Cage, Claudio Castagnoli, Roderick Strong, Will Ospreay and in Blood ‘n’ Guts. In fact, it could easily be agreed that there is no obvious end in sight for a World Champion currently at the top of his game, and arguably the MVP of the Year.
But Swerve isn’t facing just any challenger; while at Forbidden Door he defeated his biggest challenger for MVP of the Year in Will Ospreay, All In features Swerve taking on the MVP of the 21st Century. Commonly referenced as the ‘Best Wrestler In The World’, Bryan Danielson is the ultimate challenge for Swerve, and without question, defeating the ‘American Dragon’ could prove the highlight of Swerve’s reign, just as MJF’s and ‘Hangman’ Page’s battles with Danielson similarly was the highlight of their reign. But what if this time is different.
Danielson has been very open about this being his last year as a full time competitor, wanting to fulfil his promise to spend more time with his wife and daughter outside of wrestling. He’s also been renowned for saying multiple times backstage he had no interest in becoming a champion, and instead just wants to have awesome wrestling matches. One of the biggest hints was Danielson’s recent interview in the lead up to All In, where he wore a familiar shirt reminiscent of his attire when he had to retire from wrestling. It seems almost guaranteed that Danielson will lose, possibly through interference from Nigel McGuinness, and will retire.
Except…that moment of doubt. There are two examples that make me think Danielson could still win as a culmination of his time in AEW. The first is based on just earlier this year, where Sting had his last match at AEW Revolution, and as a thank you for his selfless nature throughout a nearly forty(!) year career, he retired as the AEW Tag Team Champion. It could easily be that Danielson wins and has a brief time in the main event as a thank you, before finally retiring after putting over a new star, and nobody could help add to the legitimacy and grandeur of the title even through a brief reign more than Danielson. But secondly, in 2009, before returning to WWE, Danielson defeated Chris Hero to be PWG World Champion for the final time before vacating it, with a reign lasting just 1 day. So there is precedent for Danielson to still win a World Title before retiring or leaving a company.
The question becomes, will the viciousness and ruthless nature of Swerve Strickland finally retire the American Dragon, or will Wembley be the scene where Danielson’s last true hurrah as World Champion begins? Either way, we may see one of the best matches in AEW history between these two.
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