Wanna hear a first-person view of the ins and outs of last weekend’s AEW All In 24 London? Well, in doing so, I’ll also tell you a story of how a wrestling show strengthened the bond between a father and a wingman…
Date – Sunday August 25th 2024.
Place – Wembley Stadium, London, UK
Event – AEW All 24 In London
This was a show that I have been looking forward to for an entire year. In normal circumstances this would have been my second time attending an All In event.
But in August 2023, I was in Canada visiting Pro Wrestling Post’s very own head honcho, Marc Madison, eating Beavertails (not a euphemism), watching Edge say goodbye to WWE, and other such Canadian-isms.
I made a promise to myself after watching All In with Marc at his house, but more importantly to my wingman, that we would attend All In ‘24. We would have the best day and walk away from the show even bigger fans than before it started.
Some might say that’s a bold statement. A statement that a father shouldn’t say to his son (yes my wingman is my 12yr old son). But I was confident in AEW’s ability to put on an amazing show.
That the year between All In 1 and 2, would make the companies booking even stronger. Little did I know at the time of what would take place in that year…I see you Mr Brooks!
So let’s start at the beginning. My wife, wingman and myself at Wembley Stadium 3 hours before doors open.
We spent…OK I spent…an extortionate amount of money on merch (I have no regrets, I have a signed Bryan Danielson AEW All In turnbuckle) and played the T-shirt game. What I hear you ask?
You don’t know the T-shirt game? Let me inform you…You look around the crowds and you try to spot the most unique tee you can see.
We played for 90mins and I won with, what looked like a Jeff Jarrett Slap Nuts hockey jersey from the late 90s. Oh and if that guy is reading this, well played sir, DM me for your prize.
Doors open, and the crush begins. 50 thousand people are entering the hallowed grounds of Wembley.
As a proud Englishman it would take too long to explain the history and memories of why Wembley Stadium is so revered, so just trust me. It just is 😉 We get to our seats and drink it maaaan!
The set up of the ring and stage looked great, fellow wrestling fans were chatting and making friends.
It was honestly one of the best wrestling fan atmospheres I’ve ever been around. So if you were there, give yourself a Barry Horowitz pack on the back, you deserve it!
We see RJ City and the amazing Renee Paquette begin their stellar work on the Zero Hour preshow, I baulk at paying £22 for four, yes FOUR, donuts, and settle in for 6 hours of wrestling action.
ZERO HOUR
Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, Anthony Ogogo, Ariya Daivari, Private Party, John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Tommy Billington, Kip Sabian, Rocky Romero, Kyle Fletcher, Action Andretti, Top Flight & Lio Rush
Ok real talk here. This is NJPW booking at it’s finest. There were no storylines between any of the competitors, no beef as my wingman said.
Tony Khan wanted to give the fans as much as he could, and to his credit, he wanted to give his talent as much exposure as possible. Hence, this match. But that didn’t stop a nice little spot-filled match at all.
It was great seeing Tommy Billington in front of the biggest crowd he’s ever performed in front of. It wasn’t that long ago that I watched him and his brother wrestle a great match in a nightclub for Genesis Professional Wrestling!
The ending, in which everyone involved hit their finishers and led to Dante Martin making the biggest frog splash in history (wingman’s words, not mine), was great.
He actually asked me if this was a hint of things to come. I playfully winked back and hoped that TK wouldn’t let me down. But seeing him keenly interested in the pre-show was a good sign for me.
AEW All In 24
Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway vs Willow Nightingale & Tomohiro Ishii
Now, I’m not the biggest Michael Jackson fan, but even I knew what Stokely was trying to recreate in his entrance here. And boy, did he impress my wingman with an impressive spinebuster to Ishii during this match.
Ok, Tomohiro absolutely no sold it but it was an unexpected show of skill from Stokely. Enough of him, our attention turned to Willow and Kris. Now, the wingman was engaged and enjoying their rivalry.
I on the other hand, was left feeling meh. Kris has been the one for the last few years with the “potential” tag. I’m still waiting for her to break through. And Willow? Well, that’s a story for another time…
AEW All In 2024
Dustin Rhodes, Sammy Guevara, the Von Erichs & Katsuyori Shibata vs Cage of Agony & Undisputed Kingdom
Dustin received a well deserved ovation from the Wembley crowd. The guy is a bone-fide legend and is now leading the charge with bringing youngsters through the system like the Von Erichs.
I include Sammy in that too. Yes he’s a Pillar, but he needs a guiding hand too, ala Chris Jericho. Brawl to start, naturally, and then my wingman sees Cage do his thing live. He too can’t understand how a dude that jacked can be so athletic.
One of life’s mysteries I exclaimed. Talking of athletic, Sammy hitting the Shooting Star to the outside was insane to see live! Usual 10 man tag antics ensue (see 16 man tag above for more details) until Sammy picks up the W with a Senton Atomico. Crowd is warming up nicely.
Until some idiot from production gave Saraya a live mic. What were they thinking?!? Yes I know she used it to gain heat but my ears were bleeding within seconds of her talking. Ouchie indeed!
But be still my beating heart…JAMIE HAYTER! She’s back to save the day by taking away that mic and giving a good ol’ fashioned beat down to Harley Cameron and the lackies. Hayter’s gonna hate you know.
All In London 2024
London Ladders Match
AEW Trios Championship
House of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. BCC/PAC vs The Patriarchy (c)
When the mystery team was announced as BCC/PAC I asked my wingman if he wanted to change his pick of the winner.
He chose the mystery team on the most recent episode of the Pro Wrestling Post Podcast (available to download from your podcast provider of choice) before they were announced.
He said no as he had faith in PAC. His faith bled into me as the match went on. PAC looked great. Corkscrew moonsault anyone? I said that this match would be hard to keep an eye on and I was right.
Carnage everywhere, but in an awesome controlled way. Oh, one thing…Nick Wayne is going to be a star as long as he keeps away from injury. That kid is insanely talented. With him and Hook, AEW’s future looks bright!
The pop that PAC got for winning the match and grabbing that Trio’s belt was one of the loudest of the day. And it’s only match one! My voice at this point was around 50%, as I had spent the day so far chanting.
So losing my mind here and screaming for PAC to “climb that damn ladder” was a mistake. Only 8 more matches for my voice to hold out for.