Credit: All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling took over Wembley Stadium in London Sunday for the biggest pay-per-view in company history, All In, headlined by Adam Cole vs. MJF for the AEW World Championship.
That match capped off a card that saw titles at stake, personal vendettas settled and the top stars in the promotion competing before 80,000-plus fans.
What went down, who left with championship gold and how did it set up next Sunday's All Out?
Find out with this recap of the most historically significant PPV in AEW's four-year history.
Match Card
1 OF 13
All In
- AEW World Championship: Adam Cole vs. MJF (c)
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. The Young Bucks
- AEW World Women's Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Britt Baker vs. Saraya vs. Toni Storm
- "Real" World's Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Samoa Joe
- Stadium Stampede: Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Ortiz and Santana
- Coffin Match: Sting and Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland and Christian Cage
- Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page and Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson and Konosuke Takeshita
- Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
All In: Zero Hour
Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship: Cole and MJF vs. Aussie Open (c)
FTW Championship: Hook vs. Jack Perry (c)
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Adam Cole and MJF vs. Aussie Open
2 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling If there wasn't already an abundance of intrigue surrounding the main event of Sunday's show, it was intensified with MJF and Adam Cole's victory over Aussie Open's Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis in the opening match.
The fans in attendance erupted for the finish, which included the teased Kangaroo Kick and the potent double clothesline, and they greeted the outcome with a reaction that matched the enormity of the moment.
The match was solid, played up the story at the heart of it and the fans reacted to every spot accordingly.
The post-match saw Cole stare intently at the AEW World Championship belt, not losing sight of his goal despite the elation of the title win he just experienced.
Result
MJF and Cole defeated Fletcher and Davis to win the titles
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Visually impressive setup that looks and feels like a massive spectacle.
- The enormity of the moment was painted on the faces of Fletcher and Davis as they entered Wembley.
- Cool moment for Bryce Remsburg, who went from appearing for Chikara in Reading, Pennsylvania over a decade ago to refereeing in front of 80,000 fans. It is impossible not to feel good for long-time indie mainstays who gritted through the good, the bad and the ugly to get to this moment.
- The Kangaroo Kick from MJF drew an enormous pop, overshadowed only by the vaunted double clothesline that set up the finish.
- After the match, cameras spotted Mercedes Moné in the crowd, the first official link between the artist formerly known as Sasha Banks and AEW.
- A video package highlighting the women's title match later on in the show saw Britt Baker claim women's wrestling is on the same level as men's. Someone should tell the booker that.
FTW Championship Match: Hook vs. Jack Perry
3 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Hook righted the biggest wrong of his career in the night's second match by defeating Jack Perry in an energetic brawl to regain the FTW Championship.
The match had get heat thanks to the superb heel work of the entitled Perry, and it concluded with the second-generation antihero scoring the submission win with Redrum.
The question now becomes where Perry goes from here.
He is on a roll with his recent attitude change. Does he jump into another program right away or escalate things with Hook? The finish here suggests it won't be the latter, but with such a quick turnaround before All Out next Sunday, it is a possibility.
Result
Hook defeated Perry to regain the FTW Championship
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Perry received a special entrance as he was driven into the arena in a car.
- "Real glass! Cry me a river," Perry said into the camera, an attempted "A-ha!" moment amid reports that CM Punk told him not to use real glass in a promo a few weeks back. Perry bumped on it, but it meant nothing in the grand scheme of the match.
- Perry's heel work is really good. He is going to be a star in this role if he can avoid getting bogged down in pettiness and backstage nonsense.
'Real' World Championship: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
4 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling From armories and high school gyms to Wembley Stadium, CM Punk and Samoa Joe wrote the latest chapter in their rivalry Sunday in the opening contest of the All In pay-per-view.
Punk overcame a focused assault at the hands of Joe that included him being slammed head-first into the commentary table in a spot that left him busted open.
Joe appeared to be the better man, countering everything his opponent threw at him. That was until Punk pulled out a rare Pepsi Plunge to score the pinfall victory.
This was a star-studded bout with competitors fans care about, exactly the type of contest you start a show with. The crowd was hot but decidedly split for Punk, and it rode on the rollercoaster the "Real" World champion and his destructive challenger.
Punk likely moves on to a new opponent, be it Ricky Starks or someone else, at All Out in his hometown of Chicago next Sunday.
Perhaps, he tests that claim to the world title against the man who leaves Wembley with the officially recognized version of it?
Result
Punk defeated Joe to retain his title
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Much respect for Joe from the fans in the arena and a clearly split crowd for Punk.
- Punk sported a ring jacket similar to the one he wore throughout his Ring of Honor career and specifically during the original trilogy with Joe.
- Arthur Ashe, Wembley...you bring Punk in so that shows of this size are possible.
The Golden Elite vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson and Konosuke Takeshita
5 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Kenny Omega, Hangman Page and Kota Ibushi may have a richer history as tag team partners, but it was Konosuke Takeshita who earned the win alongside Bullet Club's Jay White and Juice Robinson in a high-energy trios match.
Takeshita took advantage of Omega as he fired off V-Triggers to White and Robinson, sneaking in at the last moment to score a cheap roll-up win over The Cleaner.
This was constant all-action stuff with little time for rest holds or slowdowns. The crowd ate it up, red-hot for Page and Omega particularly.
There were moments of disjointed action and the occasional sloppy spot, and a lot of that can be attributed to trying to include as much as possible in the time allotted.
The obvious direction following this will see Omega square off with Takeshita, continuing his rivalry with his former protege and Don Callis, presumably as soon as next Sunday.
Result
Takeshita, Robinson and White defeated Omega, Page and Ibushi
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- A big pop accompanied the babyface trio.
- Robinson may be the most underrated guy in AEW. He has an enormous personality that lights up any match he is in. He is also a vastly improved wrestler than he was when he first embarked on his journey to New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
- Don Callis selling the near-fall on Takeshita by Page was a great touch and put over how important the Japanese star is to him and his expansion of the Don Callis Family as its founding competitor.
- White saved Takeshita from a V-Trigger, and the heel responded by rolling Omega up for the win.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR vs. The Young Bucks
6 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling FTR and The Young Bucks built on spots from their previous two encounters to deliver another superb encounter that concluded with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler countering a Meltzer Driver into the Shatter Machine for the win and successful defense of the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
The two teams threw everything they had at each other, putting each other down with their own finishers in an attempt to add insult to injury.
When it did not work, the Bucks went back to old-faithful Meltzer Driver but a momentary hesitation based on exhaustion allowed an alert Harwood to put Cash in position to claim the win.
The crowd was split down the middle with dueling chants for the teams, the commentary enhanced the presentation, and the sense of urgency from the competitors themselves helped heighten the stakes.
This was great professional wrestling and regardless of one's opinions of the Bucks and their style, they have always meshed well with FTR.
Result
FTR defeated The Young Bucks to retain
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Matt Jackson super-kicked Harwood off the apron, preventing a hot tag in a perfectly timed spot.
- Harwood stacked up Nick Jackson in an ode to the finish of British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart at Wembley at WWE SummerSlam 1992. A great spot and an even better false finish.
- Wheeler ate it on a 450 splash attempt, a callback to the teams' Full Gear 2020 match. Unlike that night, it was not enough to cost him the match.
- The finish was perfectly timed and an excellent exclamation point on the contest.
- The Bucks refused a post-match handshake to acknowledge the victors and show them respect.
Stadium Stampede
7 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor, Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Santana and Ortiz
Orange Cassidy proved his toughness Sunday, wrapping his hand in glass-covered duct tape and rocking Claudio Castagnoli with an Orange Punch to score the win in a brutal Stadium Stampede match.
This contest won't mean much a month from now when the next uber-violent contest is trotted out on television or PPV.
Sunday's bout was wild and chaotic and would have meant so much more as a feud-ender had we not had Anarchy in the Arena, Blood & Guts, a parking lot brawl all in short order.
None of the spots were particularly memorable outside of the momentary reaction they garnered on social media, mostly because there has been a desensitization to it in the last three months.
Cassidy breaking out of his lackadaisical shell and pulling out all the stops as he earned the win should have meant so much more. Instead, it was another violent brawl that felt like more of the same rather than the defining match it should have been for those involved.
Result
Cassidy, Best Friends, Kingston and Penta defeated Moxley, Castagnoli, Yuta, Santana and Ortiz
Grade
D
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Moxley endured cooking skewers to the forehead, stumbling around to sell the imagery of violence.
- Santana powerbombed Penta through chairs, leaving the former tag champion unable to continue.
- Moxley stabbed Cassidy in the forehead with a fork.
- Berreta's mom, Sue, drove her trademark white van into the stadium, drawing a big pop.
- Penta reemerged later as Penta Oscuro, the darker version of the luchador. Whatever.
- Kingston made another dramatic, late-match return, this time with a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire. He attacked Castagnoli in a moment of continuity in his hatred for the ROH world champion and then set aside his friendship with Moxley to do battle with him.
AEW World Women's Championship
8 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Saraya completed her comeback Sunday at Wembley, defeating Toni Storm, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida to win the AEW World Women's Championship.
The match had a lot going on, including the apparent demise of The Outcasts amid explosive tension between the winner and Storm, but it also felt rushed at points. There were a lot of spots piled on top of each other, and the important ones were not given much time at all.
The potential breakup of The Outcasts is for the best as Storm is a star in her own right and does not need to be bogged down by a faction that lost sight of its purpose long ago.
The question is where the division goes from here.
Saraya has wrestled a limited number of matches since her comeback and the last thing the women's division in AEW needs right now is a champion who does not compete. Her win was a great moment for her and her family, but it leaves more questions than answers.
Of course, all of that can be rectified next week if Storm, Baker, Shida or anyone else dethrones her in Chicago at All Out.
Result
Saraya defeated Storm, Baker and Shida to win the title
Grade
C
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Saraya got the big, hometown entrance to Queen's "We Will Rock You." She was accompanied to the squared circle by her family.
- Excalibur put over Shida's previous reign as champion and how it took place in front of an empty arena during the pandemic era.
- Saraya's mother held Baker while Storm chopped her. An errant second blow knocked mom out and resulted in a physical confrontation between the Outcasts teammates.
- Soho hit the ring and tried to talk Storm out of damaging Saraya's neck. Storm rocked her with a forearm as The Outcasts appeared to be in disarray, much like the match.
- Saraya celebrated with her family in a moment that was nice but does little to inspire faith or excitement in the women's division moving forward.
Coffin Match: Sting and Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland and Christian Cage
9 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Sting and Darby Allin again proved to be a formidable team, defeating Christian Cage and Swerve Strickland in a Coffin match.
The bout was a fun, hardcore brawl that did not descend into excessiveness but did hit its marks.
Sting had the opportunity to shine in what may be his last major stadium show, Allin was his typical daredevil self, Strickland and Cage were both the cerebral villains we know them to be, and Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus made late appearances.
The match did not break new ground, and it's unlikely to be remembered far beyond Sunday's show.
What it was, though, was an inoffensive culmination of one feud (Allin vs. Strickland) and the latest chapter in another that will continue at All Out, when Allin challenges Luchasaurus for the TNT Championship.
Result
Sting and Allin defeated Strickland and Cage
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Sting and Allin entered the arena amid the former's final WCW theme, "Seek & Destroy" by Metallica.
- With his hands restrained, Allin flew threw the air and wiped out Strickland at ringside.
- If at first you don't succeed, throw yourself on top of Strickland and break the table anyway.
- All of what these four attempted was overshadowed by the chaos of the Stadium Stampede nonsense earlier.
- "Don't do it! That man is a father!" Nigel McGuinness hilariously said on commentary moments after Tony Schiavone recalled Cage kicking his own daughter out of the arena a few weeks back.
- Allin took a nasty bump after dropping on the coffin.
- Sting used the baseball bat to prevent the lid from closing on the coffin, thus saving him and Allin from defeat.
Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
10 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Don Callis recruiting Chris Jericho only to shun him in the name of Will Ospreay may have led to one of the marquee bouts of the All In card, but it did not play into the contest at all.
Instead, Jericho and Ospreay worked a mostly straightforward match with minimal interference from Sammy Guevara and a clean finish as the IWGP United States champion defeated The Ocho with two Stormbreakers.
The lack of interaction between Jericho and Callis suggests that story is over and, if the post-match is any indication, attention may turn to a mentor-protege battle between The Ocho and Guevara.
With frustration mounting and the veteran enduring his most frustrating year between the ropes, a loss to The Spanish God may be what sends him over the edge.
A good match that was never quite great, it was a return to form for a show that hit a speedbump or two in its midsection.
Result
Ospreay defeated Jericho
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Jericho and Fozzy performed "Judas" while Ospreay entered to "Elevate" and a beautiful display of pyro from the roof of the stadium.
- Perhaps booking Ospreay with Callis was the wrong call given his status as the hometown hero here. The crowd was solidly behind him.
- Ospreay delivered a shooting star press from the top rope to Jericho, who was draped over the ropes.
- Guevara rocked Ospreay with a baseball bat to the head while trapped in the Walls of Jericho, but The Aerial Assassin fought back into the match and out of the submission hold.
- A defiant Jericho taunted Ospreay, who delivered a second Stormbreaker to score the win.
- After the match, Jericho shoved Guevara away and appeared to be frustrated as he made his way up the ramp.
Trios Championship: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs. House of Black
11 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling So much effort went into rebuilding the House of Black's Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews and Brody King as a legitimate threat in AEW after a year of questionable booking that to see them drop the trios titles to The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn felt anticlimactic.
Max Caster and Anthony Bowens delivered two Arrivals and two Mic Drops to a seemingly unstoppable King to put him down and secure the titles.
The finish made King look vulnerable, but the story as a whole focused more on the rejuvenation of Gunn rather than the strengthening of any of the other competitors.
Why that decision was made instead is a question only Tony Khan can answer. It also makes it nearly impossible for Caster and Bowens to establish themselves beyond Gunn.
Perhaps there are plans for House of Black to win the titles back next Sunday after paying off the story here, but why even bother weakening them at all if that is the case?
At least the match was an entertaining sprint if nothing else.
Result
The Acclaimed and Gunn defeated The House of Black
Grade
C
Top Moments and Takeaways
- House of Black paid tribute to the late Bray Wyatt during their entrance, with Matthews carrying a lantern.
- Caster included a line about Prince Andrew in his prematch rap that drew a big pop.
- The babyfaces delivered Scissor Me Timbers to Julia Hart, taking her out of the equation.
- King errantly leveled Black, setting up the babyface comeback.
- Hart pulled referee Aubrey Edwards out of the ring, breaking up the count. Black took advantage, blasted Gunn with The End, but the veteran kicked out at two.
- King kicked out of The Arrival and The Mic Drop at one. The babyfaces fired off second versions of each move and won the titles.
AEW World Championship: Adam Cole vs. MJF
12 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling Entering Sunday's event, fans asked the question: Would it be MJF or Adam Cole who betrayed the other, for the AEW World Championship?
The answer? Neither of them.
Despite several teases throughout the course of the clash, including a false draw finish, neither Cole nor MJF turned on the other.
Despite attempts by Roderick Strong to get his former friend to do what was necessary to take the title away from The Devil, Cole did the right thing and succumbed to a small package roll-up as the champion retained.
This was a strong main event that hit all of the right story notes and had a finish that created doubt MJF would have won was it not for Strong, but it also ensured the most entertaining story in the company will continue, most likely in the form of Cole and MJF battling The Kingdom and Strong with the ROH Tag Team Championship at stake.
Result
MJF defeated Cole to retain the title
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- This had a big-match feel from the get-go, thanks in large part to a fantastic entrance from MJF.
- The ROH tag champions grabbed their new T-shirts from under the ring and put them on in a sign of unity.
- "We may be friends, but I'm better than you!" Cole said.
- MJF could not bring himself to tombstone Cole on the announce table. The challenger did not have the same hesitation.
- A teased draw was negated by MJF declaring they would go until there was a winner at Wembley, a nice callback to Cole asking for five more minutes and being denied in their first clash.
- Both guys tried their best to emulate Eddie Guerrero, with MJF grabbing the steel chair and placing it around his head in time for referee Bryce Remsburg to get back to his feet. It was fun.
- Cole accidentally turned Remsburg inside out with a Panama Sunrise. MJF refused to use his Dynamite Diamond Ring and Roderick Strong appeared and delivered a low blow.
- Cole capitalized on the Panama Sunrise and the Boom, but Remsburg was unconscious. When Strong tried to get him to use the AEW world title and Cole refused, MJF capitalized on the distraction with a small package roll-up for the win.
- After a few tense moments in which it appeared Cole may betray MJF, the friends hugged it out to close out the show.
Overall Grade
13 OF 13
Credit: All Elite Wrestling On the biggest stage it had appeared on, AEW delivered an All In PPV that was more good than bad, heavily featured its best storyline and felt like the enormous production it sold it as.
After a hot start that included Punk-Joe, the trios match featuring The Golden Elite and the tag title bout, there was a noticeable speed bump in the form of the Stadium Stampede nonsense and a women's title match that was more rushed than it should have been.
The show recovered, though, and ended with an exclamation point with the superb continuation of the Cole-MJF saga.
It would have been nice for AEW to put some effort into building toward next Sunday's All Out, but that's only a minor gripe. The show was a major feat for the company, a massive accomplishment by Tony Khan and Co.
The announcement regarding the return to Wembley next year seems a bit ambitious, but time will tell if they can replicate the success of Sunday's show.
One thing is for certain: AEW comes out of All In hotter than it went in. Whether momentum can be sustained will be the question.
