On August 30th 2016, myself (a professional wrestling fan for most of my life) attended All Elite Wrestling’s All In Pay Per View at Wembley Stadium. It was my 3rd of 4 shows in a 4 day spell, and my 3rd of 3 All In shows to take place at the iconic home of English football.
It was also… the best wrestling show I have EVER attended!
So I decided to watch it back, something I don’t tend to do with shows I’ve attended live, so I can keep the magic alive. But I had to see if this show was all I thought it was, and well… here I am writing about it. I’m genuinely excited to share with you all my thoughts on this show. I will make it a combo of a review of the show, and my thoughts and experiences from actually being at the show in person. What an honour and a privilege to be able to be there for such a historic event and an incredible show.
This… this was wrestling! I had been with some friends in a pub before the show, and was introduced to someone who was attending the show, having it been to a wrestling show before. Myself and a friend of mine explained to him that if he didn’t enjoy the show, then pro wrestling simply wasn’t for him. We could not have been more right. It’s not just something they say, AEW truly is WHERE THE BEST WRESTLE! (shout out to Dom, JCH, Oscar, Lewis, and everybody else I got to experience shows with across that 4 day spell, legitimately the time of my life). So let me get into it then, having been at the show in person and now having watched it back (I ended up watching the show back in the company of my mother, and she’s about as casual a wrestling fan as you could get. And she’s found herself engrossed by the show, and she even commented “I could see myself getting in to this again”… I don’t know if the show can be given a bigger compliment than that!
Here is my review of AEW All In, coming to you from Wembley Stadium in London!
The Buy In
Me and my friend Lewis only got to our seats by the time the first match of the buy in was underway. I can’t say I’m in favour of FOUR matches and a TWO HOUR pre show, but whatever. Each match was fun and harmless enough. We also got entrances from Thekla (who cut a promo saying she’d be watching on when Willow defends the title she took from her against Mercedes later), and also of Bryan Danielson (who joined commentary). Here’s how those four matches went…
Lio Rush and The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Myron Reed & Zachary Wentz) defeated The Opps (Hook, Katsuyori Shibata, Anthony Bowens & Action Andretti)
I was pretty gutted I missed most of this one. Lio’s “Blackheart” gimmick has really captured me, and The Rascalz are a great team. And very fitting indeed that THE RAIN came down as Lio made his way out for the match.
Harley Cameron & Kris Statlander defeated Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue)
The first full match I got to see in the stadium was a really fun women’s tag. Harley has improved leaps and bounds, and Statlander has been one of AEW’s top women almost since the company’s inception. I can’t speak highly enough of the representives of the Triangle of Madness here, I think both Skye Blue and Julia Hart have incredible potential to reach even greater heights, particularly with Blue’s hardcore wrestling exploits away from AEW…
Boom & Doom (“Big Boom!” A.J. and Q. T. Marshall) and The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) (with Big Justice) defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Carlie Bravo, and Capt. Shawn Dean) (with Christyan XO and Trish Adora)
I will most remember this match for the guy on my row who was a HUGE Bobby Lashley fan… Lashley who I’ve liked since 2007… too one bump in this match, and got the pin at the end too. What a guy…
Persephone defeated Maya World (C) to win the TBS Championship
Persephone has had quite the buzz around here since first appearing in AEW, and the rise and rise of Maya World has been fantastic to see. But as solid as this match was, the main headline was always going to be about the lady that interfered… I’m sure plenty will be speculated about why Britt Baker, an absolute cornerstone of the AEW’s women’s division, the first female wrestler signed to AEW in fact, was absent from tv for 2 YEARS… but she appears to be back, she looks great, and I think AEW can only benefit from the return of The Doctor!
We also had the wonderful Thekla make an entrance during the Buy In. I still feel she was mistreated somewhat by AEW’s recent booking, given she was the best women on their roster for some time, off the back of a wonderful reign as the Women’s Champion. And then she is left off the biggest show of the year? Yes I get Willow had been a great servant to AEW, and her against Mercedes is a huge fued, but surely Thekla deserved better? Make it a triple threat maybe? Just a thought, you know?
We also had a special entrance for one of the commentary team for the show… He used to wrestle too…
And then of course it was the Trios Battle Royal match. I’ll talk more about this when I get on to the main card, as this match BEGAN on the Buy In, and something I spoke about all weekend leading up to this to everyone I could, did indeed come to pass. All the teams in the ring, apart from the “wildcard” team… And this was with about 10 minutes until the top of the hour (when the main show of the Pay Per View was to begin), and then after a flurry of entrances in relatively quick succession up to this point, when then had 10 minutes (I think it was more 7 or 8 but you get the idea) of them REALLY stretching it out so they could get to the PPV start time, and go on the air live with the wildcard team coming out shortly after, which of course was who we all wanted it to be. And of course, it then all made sense why they did it this way. I was pretty smug to be honest, but it wasn’t exactly me going out on a limb either! Then again, sometimes in wrestling booking, the obvious choice IS the choice to make!
AEW ALL IN LONDON 2026
After a great cold open video package, and an obscene amount of pyro and fireworks (this was a theme all show, it was pretty spectacular to be their in person to see it all I must admit), the PPV began with all the Trios in the ring, and they all proceeded to brawl, as we joined in progress what was a ‘Trios Roulette Royal’. Not sure about anyone else, but the people I was sat with didn’t know the format or the rules of the match going in; was it pinfall? Was it one member of the team is gone, and that’s the whole team out? It was eventually announced that it was over the top rope eliminations, which we thought was odd… Until a brainwave hit me like a lightning bolt, and I made another claim, that the match was formatted this way so that a… certain someone… could do a certain type of spot…
And so minutes in to the show beginning, we had one of the biggest WWE to AEW debuts we have ever had. And it was… FUCKING BRILLIANT!
I LOVE everything about this with all my heart! Kofi and Creed are two wrestlers very close to my heart, especially after the legendary podcast they had with Big E, but to see them thriving, happy and coming out to that song, with an ingenuous new team name. And they got the superstar reaction they deserve too… Magic!
Swerve Strickland and The New Level (Kofi and Austin Creed) (with Prince Nana) defeated “Hangman” Adam Page and Brodido (Bandido & Brody King) (C), Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn), The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong), Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Pac & Wheeler Yuta) (with Marina Shafir), The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) and The Dogs (David Finlay, Clark Connors & Gabe Kidd) in a Trios Roulette Royale match to win the AEW World Trios Championship
As I said before, this match was fine enough, lots of good workers in the ring (and around it), but the ten minutes or so spell before the main show did kill the match’s momentum somewhat. They more than picked it up though once the wildcard team entered, we had so many cool interactions (to me, seeing New Level interact with Claudio, somebody who Kofi and Creed have said is essentially an honorary member of their group, was very cool), but I must give special mention to a spot from the Buy In, which showed us all that even LOVE itself has to take second fiddle to pro wrestling…
But in the end, it came down to Swerve and New Level, up against Gabe Kidd (of The Dogs) and the Death Riders’ PAC and Claudio… And AEW did then do what had to be done… No I’m not talking about the finish, I am talking about the fact they GAVE KOFI HIS “RUMBLE SPOT”… I was overjoyed! Kofi was typically close to elimination, but held on to the bottom rope by his TOES. then he was left flat on his back on the floor outside of the ring, and then with an assist from Prince Nana, he was almost wheel-barrowed onto the steps, and then he made his way back into the ring. After various near eliminations, and a great spot with Swerve hitting the House Call kick to eliminate Gabe Kidd from off the ring apron, Kofi and Austin Creed then sent out PAC and Claudio to give this new SUPER TEAM the win and the titles!
***3/4
With new champions already crowned, it was soon time to see if we would crown more? And our first of the Brits going for glory in the home of English football!
The Brawling Birds (Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter) defeated Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) (C) to win the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship
Something that… the other place… had often struggled with is legitimately good storylines with their women’s tag titles, and AEW had been a little of the same, until we got to this feud. Two unbeaten teams, both of them very different type of characters; Lena Kross and the Megasus very much come off as the god-like queens they portray, and Jamie and Alex couldn’t be a better fit if they tried. ‘The Brawling Birds’ is such a perfect team name too! I really did like this match, it was booked and paced really well that kept the heel team strong, while getting the babyface team over as ultra tough and the never say die attitude. I had hoped the result would go the way it did, so was extra pleased when our girls got the big W. Regardless of the main event result, at least one of the Ospreay’s will be happy enough after the show!
***1/2
One down, 2 more to go, can it be a good night for ALL of our fellow brits? Well…
Jon Moxley (C) defeated Nigel McGuinness to win the Continental Challenge Cup and to retain the AEW Continental Championship
If this was the last dance for Nigel, then what a place to go out. The fact that he’s even able to wrestle still after everything he has been though is amazing to me, and he played his part in what was another fairly good match on this show. This version of Jon Moxley (the angry, scary, caring even with a very aggressive way of showing it) is by far my fave of him we have seen in AEW, and while I love Nigel, there was only one correct winner in this one. I really liked the uniqueness of both guys offence in this one, the spots with the wrist tape, and then Mox twisting Nigel’s foot in all kind of ways was great stuff. Add to that the fact that Mox won all his matches in this tournament by submission was a really good touch for me, gets Mox over as the big, tough, ‘final boss’ type of AEW, plus nobody really suffers too much by tapping to him or even passing out, as it’s how he beats everyone these days (a guy who has won MANY WORLD TITLE MAIN EVENTS by pinfall, can now do so by submission too, because Mox needed to be even MORE menacing and viscous in the ring… ). I was talking with people over All In weekend, and I made the claim that if AEW ever do a Hall of Fame, Jon Moxley is one of the first names that would go in. He really is The Ace of All Elite Wrestling, and as much as I got bored very quick of his most recent run as World Champion, I can’t say that I don’t always like to watch him wrestle. He’s one of the few performers I have seen wrestle live for BOTH top American promotions, but I can safely say that JON MOXLEY is well and truly who this man is and was always supposed to be. Another solid showing from Mox here, and cool to see Nigel get his flowers from the crowd after the victorious Death Riders made their exit.
****
And now it’s time for a match booked purely FOR THE SICKOS!!!
Kazuchika Okada defeated Kyle Fletcher (C) and Konosuke Takehsita in a three-way match to win the AEW International Championship
I thought this would be excellent… and… it WAS in fact excellent! Just from the entrances each guy made I just knew we were in for something special. All 3 came across as huge stars, and while the wrestling was as great as expected, the match really centred around the comedy genius of Okada. Who knew one of the all-time best wrestlers was so fucking funny? When he went to get the screwdriver, got caught by Fletcher, and then exclaimed that the screwdriver was in fact FOR Kyle to use himself, comedy GOLD! And the best compliment I can give this match in terms of how it was booked, was that I had no idea who was going to win all along! The finish itself was perfect, with Okada being his dickish self to steal the belt from his fellow Don Callis Family member. And then as much as we ALL wanted The Protostar to see sense, he did indeed raise Okada’s hand as the winner and hand over his title to him, reluctantly so… but he did it. The title STAYS in the family, it just now belongs to The Rainmaker! If you ever want an excellent match that went (sadly) less than 15 minutes, this is the one. A FANTASTIC pro-wrestling match!
****1/2
There were two things I booked my ticket initially for this show to see, one of them was the BILLY GOAT in the main event for the title, and the other… was to sing Metalingus.
Christian Cage & Adam Copeland (C) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship
A DREAM MATCH if ever there was one. It’s amazing that both Cage and Copeland are even wrestling in 2026, let alone at the level they are. And as for the brothers Jackson, they don’t ever seem to slow down or to have lost a step. This was a really good and fun back and forth tag match, the Bucks did some pretty wild spots, and it was a fun match-up with the cunning of the champions (particularly, my father, Christian). There was also a tonne of really good nearfalls, and as it was going on I really had no idea who would end up with the twin. And in the end, maybe not the cleanest of ways, but it was ultimately the more experienced team that walked out of Wembley with the tag team gold STILL around their waists!
That wasn’t quite all though, as AEW then proceeded to flex their tag team division for the world to see. And, in all fairness, it is quite the collection of amazing duos they now have on their roster!
Really good match and afters. Can’t wait for what promises to be a dramatic tag title match at All Out…!
****1/4
Before the show began, I set eyes on the ring stage set-up (which was great by the way), and a thought that came to mind was “I wonder what part of that Darby is gonna jump off?”… and well…
Darby Allin defeated Kevin Knight (C) in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win the TNT Championship
I think this was a fitting match for both of these. It may have come across as odd that Knight challenged Omega for the world title, but let that not take away from what has been a brilliant reign as the TNT Champion. As for Darby, for me he is the man most synonymous with this title, so it made sense to me that he would get the win here. But this match was everything I had hoped for; Kevin Knight being great, and Darby Allin being a fucking LUNATIC! It was a fairly good hardcore style match, and then the run ins began, and the match went to another stratosphere! Members of the Don Callis Family came out to help out Knight, until STEEEEEEEEEEEEVE (Steven Borden) came out to try and help his trainer, and former tag team partner of his legendary father. And while Borden was brave, the two heroes were still outnumbered. Eventually with Borden taken down, Darby was left at the mercy of what was about to be Kevin Knight coming off the top and smashing a chair into his face (as if he needed anymore damage, given the back of Darby’s head exploded seconds into the match, because OF COURSE it did)… and then… it happened…
I have never been so scared at a wrestling show before in my LIFE as when I saw STIIIIIIIIIIING at the top of a ladder and looking like he may well dive outside the ring to try and assist his friend Darby… I was relieved when the younger Borden convinced him otherwise and did the dive instead (great dive by the way). And as if that wasn’t mad enough, we then got THE spot, a spot I will never forget for as long as I live…
Just an AMAZING spot! Knight was placed on a stretcher not long after, but Allin wasn’t satisfied, and so proceeded to leap off the ramp with a Coffin Drop to Knight below on a stretcher, get the pin, and to once more become the TNT Champion!
****
Next up was the women’s title. And while I standby what I said earlier in the blog, regarding Thekla, I will say that the entrances, Willow’s pre-match hype video, and everything around it, made this match really have that ‘big fight feel’. So credit to AEW for that, and the match itself, naturally, was excellent!
Mercedes Mone defeated Willow Nightingale (C) to win the AEW Women’s World Championship
And just like that, she’s FINALLY one the big one! I think this match just further cements the view that Mercedes Mone might be the greatest women’s wrestler of ALL TIME! She is now the first woman to ever hold the top women’s title in CMLL, WWE, New Japan and now AEW, truly remarkable. And credit to Willow, she’s been a super-trooper and one of the most consistent performers on the whole roster for some time, so it was good to see her have a big match at Wembley, and for that match to be pretty fucking great! I loved the theme of the match with Mercedes attempting to take Willow’s smile from her, putting her fingers either side of the inside of her mouth to make her smile in a very different way. As well as that, the (supposedly real life) hand injury of Nightingale was a big factor in the match, with Mone really going to town on it after growing frustrated at another nearfall. The ref did try and get Mercedes to stop, which as you can imagine only irked the challenger. A Willow pounce ended up taking Aubrey Edwards out of action, and with no ref; we had Mone smash Willow’s hand on the announce table, batter her with the women’s title belt, until Nightingale regained the advantage and then dished out her own beatdown with the title belt. And finally after a big exchange of moves, Mone got the submission locked in, and then as Willow fought and fought, the bell was rung. Upon closer viewing it looks like they rang the bell a few seconds too early to match the action in the ring, as by the time Mone’s music was playing, Willow appeared to be passed out. But I’m not letting a slightly messed finish take anything away from what was an excellent match! Going on before the main event match of any show, and particularly THE main event match that followed this one, was never going to be easy, but credit to both women, they kept the crowd interested and on the edge of their seats the entire time. Mone finally sits on top of the AEW Women’s division, and what a way and what a place to do it at! Even what looks like a broken nose couldn’t take away the shine of our CEO!
*****
AND THEN… FINALLY IT WAS TIME… and at this point this is where my excitement turned into nerves…
We had a great video package to tell the story of how we got here… before we got… well… One of the all-time GREAT wrestling entrances…
I don’t have the words to do that justice. Perfect!
And then, as if the match didn’t feel like the biggest thing in the world already, then it was time for the entrance of our champion…
Will Ospreay (with Callum Newman, Franciso Akira & Henare) defeated Kenny Omega (C) (with Matt & Nick Jackson, Brandon Cutler & Michael Nakazawa) to win the AEW World Championship
I watched a lot of Kenny Omega’s big matches in New Japan, and this match was the closest stylistically to one of those, and this one may have been better than almost ALL of those! The crowd were absolutely electric, and while hugely behind Ospreay, were still impressed by the excellence and majesty of ‘The God of Pro Wrestling’. We even had a proper New Japan homage with an unbreakable table, the spot were the match really seemed to take a turn. Omega didn’t hit Ospreay through a table, he in fact hit him ON to one, as the table gave no give! The next period of the match was the brave (and VERY bloodied) Ospreay taking a BEATING from Omega; after Ospreay got back in the ring at a VERY close 9, Omega immediately hit a BRUTAL v-trigger, followed by a nasty looking snap dragon onto the ring apron! Omega then hit the big dive after the terminator claps, and the doctor was forced to see to the beaten Ospreay. This drew the ire of Omega, who demanded the doctor doesn’t dare stop the match! Omega continued a beat down to Ospreay, although our hero did get a big shot in with a Hidden Blade looking like it was the cause of a big cut just above Omega’s eye! Both exchanged strikes and kicks, and we even had Omega being the one who fell out of exhaustion, the ref pulled Ospreay away from the beating he was dishing out, which us fans DID NOT like… Omega was almost out for the count, so Ospreay hit another Hidden Blade and got a nearfall. Ospreay later hit a STYLES CLASH for a nearfall, but Kenny eventually got another big knee and then Tiger Driver 91 to stun Wembley. Another huge V Trigger followed, and I was starting to wonder if all our hopes and reams were about to come crashing down, and then came one of the all-time great kick outs in the history of our sport…
The men who have kicked out of Kenny Omega’s One Winged Angel: Kota Ibushi, Will Ospreay. That is IT! Surely it was coming home now right? Or were they gonna give Ospreay the OWA kick out as a consolation prize? Omega hit another knee, went for the OWA again, and I thought this might be it, until Ospreay countered and hit an absolutely SICKENING-looking Tiger Driver 91! Ospreay was exhausted, Kenny looked to be having big issues with his left arm, but he still then proved why he is the GOD of this shit… Ospreay hits his own OWA, Omega kicks out at ONE! Ospreay hit another Hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker, another kick out from Omega at ONE! And then Ospreay lowered his elbow pad, did a gunshot at Omega with his hand, hit another Hidden Blade. And to use a football fan term, absolute LIMBS at Wembley Stadium followed!
I am not sure how much was shown live on PPV, but is in person at the show got to see Opsreay then help Omega up. After a brief exchange, Omega asked Opsreay to help him lift the world title belt up, so he could give it to Will himself, and then two of the best I have ever seen do it, hugged it out. I can’t even imagine the emotion both men felt, but I know I was away with the clouds emotionally at this point, as were the other 40,000 odd in the stadium.
The main event of the best wrestling show I have ever attended (maybe the best I have ever seen full stop) was by far the best match I have ever seen live. This was one of the greatest matches in the history of professional wrestling.
******
Having watched it live, and in full back on the AEW subscription app, I am still kind of in shock that I got to be there to witness it. I have been to many shows, and I am also someone who at one point in my life, wasn’t sure if my interests could make me happy anymore. But as I write this we are two weeks since All In 2026, and I am still thinking about it, still on an emotional high from it. The Billy Goat did it, AEW did it AGAIN, and I got to be there to witness it. If you watch one wrestling show in your life, maybe go for this one. My own MUM watched it with me, in FULL, and her words after it were “I could see myself getting in to wrestling again”. I don’t know if a show can be given a bigger compliment than that.
Josh.