I probably don’t have a lot to say about ALL IN that hasn’t already been said. It can be challenging to write about something that has had so many takes thrown at it, on one hand because my viewpoint is diluted by all those takes and on the other hand because every take has been given to death.
It’s also kind of challenging to comment on these matches in a vacuum, as the wrestling wasn’t really the focus. It’s going to sound crazy, but this felt a lot like the first WrestleMania – this was not simply a wrestling show, but a moment in time.
Did I love watching a Frankie Kazarian match? Not really. Do I get why he got to be on the show? Of course.
Am I into the dick jokes? Not really. Do I understand they scratch the itch of a wrestling fan who wants their itch scratched? Yes.
When talking about wrestling on The Internet, there’s a ton of different schools of thought, but it can usually be boiled down to this: sometimes the conversation is about what wrestling should be, sometimes it’s about what wrestling is.
ALL IN, for better or worse, is what wrestling is now. And I think we are going to see a lot more like this. I just hope that this approach doesn’t became THE alternative to WWE, both because it personally isn’t my thing and because I don’t think it’s a thing that has a ton of legs.
The conversation around ALL IN, what it represents, whether it’s anti-WWE, whether it’s simply an extension of WWE, blah blah blah can get very obnoxious. It’s honestly kind of like American politics sometimes – what we’re all really talking about isn’t really what we’re talking about.
What are the implications? What is actually happening here? Is it good? Is it bad? I don’t know. I just thought it was an OK show that had to be a blast for folks really into this stuff. Is it a positive that this is what was presented during the biggest independent show in the continental U.S? That we had a bunch of Very OK matches and dick jokes? Is it a negative? Does it even matter?? I don’t know.
It sure is nice to have a ton of buzz around something in wrestling that isn’t WWE-produced though.
Most wrestling is best discussed with the benefit of hindsight – where it went, how it was built on, what it resulted in, if it was topped. And maybe that’ll be the best way to talk about ALL IN.
I enjoyed seeing some of the more hyped wrestlers I hadn’t seen before: MJF, Penta El Zero, Marko Stunt, Joey Janela, Bandido and Rey Fenix all delivered. I also dug Excalibur on commentary – the guy is good at talking, but the visual of a guy in a mask on commentary is even better.
Also: Justin Roberts and Sean Mooney!
I also loved the variety – the wrestling and angles might not have been high-level, but it was a fun show that stayed mostly interesting, from the wacky Battle Royal to celebrity wrestling to table bumps to comedy to serious wrestling to crazy dives.
Where do they go from here? I don’t know. I like wrestling with forward momentum. So that may be why I am not completely… All In. But maybe it’s not up to me. Maybe the people in charge of this pro wrestling show know more about wrestling than I could ever know. Maybe they are delivering exactly what they should. Maybe they know what they are going to do moving forward. They can do whatever they want – they’ve got the god damn Internet.
0. The Briscoe Brothers vs. SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
Herein lie the guys that stayed around and never moved up to the great gig in the sky, plus Scorpio Sky for some reason. The re-introduction of him into the wrestling zeitgeist over the last year has been a strange thing to see happen, let me tell you. This match was fine as far as the thing that started off the show before anybody in the crowd really truly locked in. All these guys can pull off some stuff, and it’s god damn insane that Kazarian is doing slingshot ranas to the floor as a 41-year-old man, but as always seems to happen for me with these guys it just wasn’t very interesting. **
0. Over Budget Battle Royal (Featuring: Billy Gunn, The Hurricane, Tommy Dreamer, Bully Ray, Colt Cabana, Jimmy Jacobs, Moose, Chuck Taylor, Trent Baretta, Flip Gordon, Rocky Romero, Brian Cage, Jordynne Grace, Ethan Page, Cheeseburger, Marko Stunt, Punishment Martinez, Brandon Cutler and Austin Gunn)
Love a well-booked Battle Royal. Bully Ray nearly flubbing a powerbomb 30 seconds in aside, this was a blast. Great cast of characters, fun moments and eliminations, and a tremendous finish that had the Bullet Folks going crazy. Highlights were the old guys (Gunn and Dreamer) teasing planchas, Marko Stunt being Marko Stunt, the build to and delivery of the Best Friends hug, Colt Cabana getting in his spots, and Jimmy Jacobs trolling the crowd with WWE spots. Bully Ray as top heel wasn’t great, but the Flip Gordon reveal was phenomenal. ***1/2
1. Matt Cross vs. MJF
MJF is a throwback heel who doesn’t feel like he’s doing cosplay and I find that really impressive. This probably could’ve been shorter and more to the point, but was a perfectly solid opener. Cross did all the cool stuff he’s known for and MJF working over the arm gave the match a thread. **1/2 match but a **** opener.
2. Stephen Amell w/ Josh Segarra vs. Christopher Daniels w/ Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky (Special Guest Referee: Jerry Lynn)
All the big stuff they had planned didn’t hit so well because Amell is new at this and Daniels is kind of old, but this was fine for what it was. Liked the first few minutes the best actually with Amell taking chops to prove himself and the payback spot with him stepping over Daniels. Could’ve probably shaved off a few minutes, which ended up being a running theme for this show. **
3. Four Corner Survival: Chelsea Green vs. Dr. Britt Baker DMD vs. Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard
Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A. giving their love to Tessa on the way to the ring was awesome. This was a total showcase match and awkward finish count aside it delivered. There isn’t much to say about Four Corner Survivals sometimes, it’s just silly fun – everybody hit their best stuff and built it to a big finish that had the crowd going wild. ***1/4
4. NWA World Heavyweight Title: Nick Aldis [c] w/ Jeff Jarrett, Shawn Daivari, Tim Storm and Samuel Shaw vs. Cody w/ Brandi Rhodes, Diamond Dallas Page, Glacier and Tommy Dreamer
The entourages (plus Pharaoh the Dog!) were AWESOME. Wrestling needs so many more entourages. Dug the aesthetic of the guys in track suits vs. traditional suits too.
This is such a weird match because it wasn’t good at all but still felt important and buzzworthy. Nick Aldis is just (Jean-Ralphio voice) the WOOOORST but they had the benefit of, to quote a certain participants’ old theme music, smoke and mirrors: DDP hitting a Diamond Cutter, Cody blading, and the crowd 100% behind Cody. Still though: a blown Alabama Slam? A Texas Cloverleaf barely synched in? The biggest spot of your life and you’re just working like you’re in some dark match? Step it up, Nick Aldis. Christ. Liked the cradle finish, felt very NWA. Way to go, Cody. You did IT, in more ways than one. *1/2
5. Chicago Street Fight: Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela w/ Penelope Ford
Just a fun stupid gimmick match, with both guys brawling and taking big bumps and doing Great Muta running lariats on the ramp and Cracker Barrel-assisted dives. Both guys did some crazy stuff but Penelope Ford was honestly probably the star here – she made her moments count. The Rite of Passage off the ladder through a table was a suitably insane finish. ***
I don’t really have anything to say about the dicks.
6. ROH World Title: Jay Lethal [c] w/ Lanny Poffo vs. Flip Gordon w/ Brandi Rhodes
Macho Man impersonation and Lanny Poffo aside, there wasn’t much to this. You can probably find better flips AND 80s WWF cosplay in the WWE right now. Flip Gordon is a guy who’s vaguely athletic but starting to think he’s just in this spot because he pops Cody backstage. *
Just cannot get into Bully Ray in 2018, but Colt Cabana getting some love post-match was neat. Full Disclosure: I am biased as a guy who grew up on mid-2000s Chicago Ridge Ring of Honor, and also a guy who thinks Bully Ray is an overrated prick.
7. Kenny Omega vs. Penta El Zero
My first impression of Penta El Zero is that he is a guy who makes a lot of hand gestures, but he is also a pretty good wrestler. This was Kenny Omega having His Match with a unique and capable opponent, and as a cold Dream Match it mostly delivered. I don’t know if I ever was genuinely invested in anything happening, but it seemed to work for everybody and both guys are individually interesting wrestlers. The package piledriver on the apron felt more WHYYY than WHOAAA though. ***1/4
8. Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Here’s a take: best match of the show. Probably not a good call to go to this long at this point with this match on this show, but Scurll trying to prove he can go with a heavyweight vs. Okada looking like THE ACE for the first time since the Omega match was a great dynamic. This felt less going long for the sake of going long like some matches on this show and New Japan main events, and more something that went long to actually give it time to breathe and deliver a payoff.
It dragged a little, but had the most meat to it of anything on this show. Marty managing to hit the brainbuster was a tremendous spot that they built to well and was sold perfectly by everybody involved, from Marty to Okada to the crowd.
Marty, 20 minutes in, using every way he could to counter the Rainmaker was very good, as was Marty eventually resorting to use his umbrella when the ref got bumped. They set out to make Marty credible against The Rainmaker and crazily enough it worked and made for a compelling match.
Also – Okada was #OVER. I thought Cody and Kenny and The Bucks were the stars of the show, but here’s Okada. Tiger Hattori as referee was a nice touch too. ***3/4
9. Kota Ibushi & The Young Bucks vs. Rey Mysterio, Rey Fénix & Bandido w/ Theo Rossi
There’s some lore now around Okada/Marty going too long and this match getting cut way short, but I’m completely fine with the trade-off: Okada/Marty was better and had a payoff to taking time, while this was better for having to get right to the insanity.
This match was as promised, a bunch of crazy rope-running and armdragging and diving from six guys very good at that… plus REY MYSTERIO VS. KOTA IBUSHI for probably the first and last time. And that was awesome. ***1/2
This was a fun show. No match outside of Okada/Scurll is something I’d say is must-see, and then again for the historical implications the whole show is must-see. It wasn’t something that felt like it kicked off something special or screamed THIS is a group of wrestlers you should be watching, and maybe that would’ve been cool for a show with this much interest. Regardless, it met expectations. And monetarily, it worked. Artistically? I dunno. Decent. 7/10
