ALL IN: An Honest Review
history was made when some of the biggest and best stars took part in -a trust must-see event known as “All- In” with the likes of Kenny Omega, Okada, Pentagon JR, Cody Rhodes, Tessa Blanchard and so many more scheduled to take part in one of the most anticipated wrestling shows of the year the community was on fire as true wrestling perfection was presented. The night saw several match of the year candidates take place but was also an excellent celebration of wrestling as a whole and in today’s blog post we are going to be looking back at this star-studded event in a very honesty full review!
The Kick Off… “Kick Off”
Let’s be honest, kick off show matches over in the WWE are often ones we don’t mind missing. Shown in front of half the crowd many times and a lack of strong build and interest makes these matches much weaker and less interesting, however, this was not the case this past Saturday. Jam packed full of amazing wrestling this was exactly how you get a crowd and fans at home excited for the rest of the night. It perfectly set the tone, was completely star-studded and had bouts that went down as some of the best of the night. I will be taking a much bigger look at my fave matches and single performances of the night later in the week so keep an eye out for that! Let this section of today's blog post, however, highlight just how well kick off shows can be done and what the effect truly should be.
Broken Arrow?
A match that did impress me quite a bit came from Arrow star Stephen Amell who took on wrestling legend in the making that is Christopher Daniels. Originally having a great interest in this match I was intrigued to see just what the performance from Amell would look like and I have to say I was generally really impressed. The match was of course not the standout of the night, but we had some strong storytelling, excellent character work at the hands of Daniels and impressive performance from a big-time rookie. Amell did struggle with selling but aside from that he really did come across as though he belonged. The crowd were invested, the involvement of the table spot was brilliant, and the placement of this match on the night was smart!
The Women of the Indies
I will admit that I wasn’t a fan of the idea to only have one women’s match on the ALL IN card but the one bout we did get sure did stand as a highlight of the night. With Tessa Blanchard, Madison Rayne, Chelsea Green, and Dr. Britt Baker fans were promised a damn good women’s wrestling contest and that is exactly what we got! From start to finish there was never a feeling of one of these women not belonging in the match and they all made their presence felt. The action was fast-paced, intense, and while there was a lack of storytelling what this bout truly was was an excellent showing of what women can do in this industry and how amazingly talented each of these women are. Every single competitor stood out and come the end Blanchard had earned her win and all four women had left the WWE and its female talent under a lot of pressure to up their game!
New Champion
The NWA Championship contest between Nick Aldis and Cody Rhodes was very interesting. Placing this bout in the middle of the show was smart considering the huge matches coming up later in the night that would evidently be tough to top. Placement of matches was extremely smart and well done this Saturday and it must be said. Now, if I’m being honest this match wasn’t the biggest standout out of the night for me. The storytelling was strong and I was totally invested but the end result didn’t surprise me and I did feel as though the match wasn’t as strong as so many more on the night. Brandi and her role was a good little addition to the contest but of course, the in-ring work from Cody and Nick was great just not as a strong as so many other performances on the night.
The Chicago Street Fight
Adam Page vs Joey Janela was by far one of my personal favourite matches of the night. We have been treated to some brilliant street fights this year including Gargano vs Ciampa, but this matchup we saw on Saturday may just top the list. Strong chemistry, brilliant storytelling, and fantastic wrestling and use of surroundings, this was exactly how a street fight should be done. The involvement of Penelope Ford was excellent and gave this match the edge and extra dose of excitement that really had fans in attendance speechless and up on their feet. One of the most intense and action-packed matches of the night I struggle to say a bad word about this bout. The storytelling was strong, the booking made sense, and the overall involvement of everyone was sensible and entertaining
My Match of the Night
For me, the match of the night came from Pentagon JR vs Kenny Omega. If you know me you know that these two are two of my current favourite wrestlers in the world and so seeing them collide on such a big stage is simply a dream! With fans of both these names expecting this to be a major standout, the two did not disappoint. Now I could be biased but this was my personal favourite match and will most certainly go down as one of the best of the year for me. Pentagon really did prove to be one of the best in the world today and gave Kenny Omega a true run for his money pushing one of the best of the best to his limits.
Chris freaking Jericho
Chris Jericho’s surprise appearance at the All In show this past Saturday was interesting, revealing, and damn entertaining. With the lights going out, Jericho stood dressed as Pentagon waiting for his perfect moment to attack a tired and worn out Kenny Omega and both the timing and the attack itself was simply fantastic!
The Main Event and General Thoughts
As I mentioned, I will be discussing the actual matches on this card in more depth at a later date so do check that out when it is uploaded, however, for now, what I will say is this was a damn strong show. Every single match delivered, the event was totally star-studded and while it lacked the element of surprise to a level many wanted or at least expected the over show was extremely strong and there was plenty to enjoy both entertainment wise and the quality of the in-ring performances from each wrestler who took part.
This was most certainly a huge success and really did prove a big point and send an even bigger message. There is a world outside of the WWE, Wrestlers can make it big without being a part of World Wrestling Entertainment, and this is a completely different industry in twenty eighteen. One of the best wrestling shows of the year so far and a big lesson learned.
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