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Good Morning!
So it’s been tough sitting down to write lately. I don’t think I’ve been down on the products I keep up with -- if anything, I’m more excited for ALL IN than I’ve been for any show in a few months. I think it’s just a matter of the writing itself, you know? When I started things came really easily. I had a lot to say, AEW and WWE were doing interesting stuff, and I quickly found paying work in the field, so I was knocking out listicles for a website while also doing the blog as often as I could.
I don’t think I’m burnt out, per se. I still enjoy writing, and even though the paid work has gone from pro wrestling content to the tech, automotive, and tool articles I now write for SlashGear, I’m still having a good time writing those things since they’re in my wheelhouse. Also, I’m appreciative that ANYONE is willing to pay me to do this -- I’ve got limited experience and even less professional training, much less a degree.
At the end of the day, though, it’s on me to keep doing this or to find something else. I’m incredibly fortunate in my personal life that I’m able to try to make this something, or to keep it what it is as I figure out what to do next. At nearly 45 years old I’m no spring chicken, but I also don’t want to believe that I can’t do anything new. I worked every position there was at an animal hospital for a decade after high school, until we got bought and I was replaced and forced out. Then I decided I’d learn to work on cars, spent an ungodly amount of money going to Lincoln Tech (because of a 3am commercial I watched while living with my dad) and working at four different shops over about 15 years. It was great, but it did a number on my body and really led me to have a different view of hard work -- going from more of an “I got mine” attitude to wanting to teach and help my younger coworkers and clients alike. And when that philosophy didn’t line up with what my last employer believed, I quit. My wife sent me and my best friend to a Royal Rumble, I started a blog, and here we are.
The last several months have been a lot, which also makes it hard for me to settle down and write. My little friend Zelda -- we’ve talked a lot about her lately -- just brought me a tennis ball and is staring up at me as I write while enjoying a cigar in my garage, and keeps looking up hoping I’ll take a break and play. So, I’m gonna do that real quick, and then we’re going to get into the pro wrestling section of the Let’s Watch Some Wrestling blog -- a preview of this weekend’s big All Elite Wrestling show, All In, happening on Sunday in London, meaning a nice midday PPV for us here in the States.
It’s The Let’s Watch Some Wrestling ALL IN Preview!
[Ball was thrown, treats were distributed, Zelda is asleep at my feet.]
This year’s version of the show looks great. The crowd is, expectedly, smaller than last year’s, but that’s okay. AEW has had some smaller crowds and weaker storytelling over the last year, but I really feel like they’ve been on a roll these last few months. It’s still a big stadium show in an incredible venue, and this time around it feels like less of a showcase and more of a real card with long standing feuds coming to a head. As of this writing (an hour before Dynamite) we’ve got NINE matches set, with another one scheduled for the two hour (!) pre-show. I’d be willing to bet we’ll end up with at least 15 total when all is said and done, but that doesn’t preclude us from starting the preview now and adding more before I publish this on Friday…and I guess we’ll just hope Collision doesn’t add much more.
ZERO HOUR: Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway versus Willow Nightingale and Tomohiro Ishii
This is the semi-finale of this long feud -- well, long for an AEW women’s rivalry anyways. The woman on the winning team will get to choose the stipulation for what I assume is the big blowoff match at All Out, the next AEW PPV that is coming in a couple weeks. One of the big complaints about last year’s All In / All Out setup is that there were literally six days between the shows, making ALL IN feel way more like an exhibition than a real fight card. This is the first in a number of rivalries that really feels earned, with Statlander relishing her heel character and Hathaway just leaning into his slimy manager persona.
I think Statlander and Stoke will pick up the win here, because it makes more sense for the baddies to pick the stip and the most lovable face in all of pro wrestling to have to overcome the odds one more time. Ishii will chop the everloving shit out of Hathaway’s chest, and it’s gonna be hilarious/terrifying to watch -- and it’s important to remember that his reaction would be the same one 99% of us watching would have to a single one of those chops from the Stone Pitbull.
A Casino Gauntlet Match for a future AEW World Championship Match
With Orange Cassidy being the only named competitor in this gauntlet, it’s tough to pick a winner. However, AEW CEO Tony Khan made a point to say that there will be a ton of surprises appearing in this match, which always makes for a fun time. Popular opinion seems to be that Ricochet might make his debut for AEW here, and with talent from Mexico and Japan regularly appearing on AEW TV, who’s to say who’ll pop up? Smart money is on “Hangman” Adam Page to get the win and force his way into a match with longtime rival and current AEW champ Swerve Strickland, so I’ll go with him since HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG in his quest for vengeance against a man who literally did a home invasion and threatened his (admittedly unsupervised) baby during their last feud.
“Timeless” Toni Storm © versus “The Glamour” Mariah May for the AEW Women’s World Championship
This might be the biggest storyline in All Elite Wrestling right now, Danielson’s retirement match notwithstanding. Toni Storm took a kinda dumb premise and transformed it into a heel you couldn’t help but love, a movie star from the silent era that somehow decided to become a pro wrestler. When Mariah May was folded into that story as Storm’s protege, we all knew the turn was coming, we just didn’t know who would do it or when. Mariah attacking Storm as May celebrated her victory (and the title shot that went with it) left Storm a bloody mess, and instantly elevated that partnership into a rivalry that these two earned. This match should be incredible, as both women are great wrestlers and storytellers.
I think Mariah May almost has to win, as she’s a London native and deserving up-and-coming star. She’s also a legit star everywhere else she’s been, and while her promo work has been a little shaky she’s also not been given a lot of time to hone that skill in front of American crowds. I know folks more knowledgeable than me who followed her in Stardom, a Japanese women’s wrestling promotion, have more insight than me on her history, but as an AEW fan I think she’s just getting started, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next as her own superstar, rather than just Storm’s understudy.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman © versus Will Ospreay for the AEW American Championship
MJF won the former AEW International Championship in a surprisingly (to me, anyway) divisive hour-long match on Dynamite’s 500th show. The problem is that there are a number of fans that don’t like MJF OR Ospreay for a number of reasons, some personal and some professional. For someone who writes about this stuff on the internet, I guess I’m in the minority in that I don’t follow a whole lot of what these folks do outside of the TV shows. Which, while making me slightly uninformed on these behind-the-scenes goings-on, does mean I get to enjoy things without the specter of the performers being bastards in real life affecting my opinion.
MJF has renamed the International Championship and, in the process, has become a jingoistic, thinly-veiled MAGA stereotype. Will Ospreay, a true generational talent in the ring, has been a baby-kissing, fan-loving good guy ever since he signed on to AEW’s full time roster. And even though Max just won the title a few weeks ago, the whole time-crunched storyline seems to be leading to our UK hero getting his win and his title back. The match will have a lot to live up to, and I can’t imagine they go another hour, so MJF and Ospreay will have to come up with a violent, hard-hitting affair that shows off both men’s strengths while also realizing that they aren’t the main event of this show. Given the pedigrees of both wrestlers, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Jack Perry © versus Darby Allin in a Coffin Match for the TNT Championship
I predicted Jack Perry bringing out a “real glass” coffin for this match, despite my general disdain for the Young Bucks’ insider jokes that seem to have leaked into most of AEW. But I like the Bucks aside from that. I like the Elite. I like Jack Perry, and this heel run has been incredible for him. Darby Allin is gonna get super murdered in this match, I think. After all, Perry just introduced a new title that he forged himself, reminiscent of that one guy we all know who learned how to make knives during the pandemic.
The match itself is probably going to be the most violent of the night, as these two have built up a healthy hatred of one another since Perry’s return. Darby doesn’t need a win here, and Perry is a great baddie who should hang on to gold (or whatever that belt is now) for a while.
Mercedes Moné versus Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. for the TBS Championship
You know, it’s okay to admit when you’re wrong. It’s also okay to change your opinions on stuff. I was VERY down on this match from the start, but the last couple weeks reminded me of a couple things. One, Mercedes is great in the ring, and that’s where the match takes place on Sunday. Her unending, insufferable promos will come to an end and we’ll see her in a real match against a real opponent with a real chance of winning, something we haven’t really had since Willow Nightingale lost the TBS Championship to Mercedes. And Britt Baker is doing her part to keep this interesting as well, carrying that contract signing on Dynamite and generally letting Mercedes heel it up and play to her strengths. I love the Diesel/HBK dynamic between Moné and Kamille too, and I’m really hoping Baker gets her muscle back in a returning Jamie Hayter, in Wembley Stadium, to a huge pop.
All that being said, is it too soon for Moné to lose? I don’t think so. I don’t think it tarnishes her in any way to lose to the best homegrown performer in her division, and I think she’ll have a lot of fun blaming anyone and anything other than herself for her loss. So I’m going with Dr. Britt Baker for the win here, with a returning Jamie Hayter to boot. One last note -- on her graphic, it says “Hayter Hits Hard,” but “Hayter Hits Harder” just rolls off the tongue better! But I digress…
Chris Jericho © versus HOOK in a Last Chance Match for the FTW Championship
Full disclosure: I jump around a lot when I write these previews. Sometimes I just have an idea of what I want to say, other times I just don’t want to write about a match. This one falls squarely in the latter category, and it’s the last entry for me. I do not like this version of Chris Jericho. And it’s not that I don’t “get” what he’s trying to do with the character, I just think it’s shitty to take a natural fan reaction to a real problem with a performer, and to decide the best way to address it is to just let said performer hang around and eat up TV time while acknowledging the fans’ dislike.
But whatever. Jericho remains, as always. I love Big Bill and Brian Keith in their roles, and the inevitable breakup of yet another Jericho stable will hopefully lead to some great pushes for both of those guys.
One-eyed HOOK hasn’t been super great either, but we already knew he wasn’t great on the mic. He’s a silent killer, a man so confident in his abilities that he turns his back on his opponents before his matches. His character has betrayed that lately, and it’s suffered for it. Give the kid an eyepatch, let these two have a short, hard-hitting match with the usual Jericho hijinks, interference, and creative weaponry. Get Taz’s title back in the family with a HOOK victory. Maybe bring Shibata and Samoa Joe back (if possible) to even the odds.
The Young Bucks © versus FTR versus The Acclaimed in a Three Way Tag Team Match for the AEW Tag Team Championship
I want to care about this match, since AEW was built on the importance of the tag team division when it was born. But with the cartoonishly evil corporate Bucks only popping up part-time, the unending FTR push, and the Acclaimed just not doing it for me lately I can’t. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the match, as all three teams can go in the ring. But does it matter if the Bucks keep the gold? They’ll still be EVPs, with all the rules-bending that allows. FTR holding the titles again means more of the same matches they’ve had before. And the Acclaimed seem closer to a breakup than a championship run. So I’ll go with the Young Bucks retaining, and hope I have some fun while watching this one.
The Patriarchy © versus Bang Bang Gang versus House of Black versus TBD in a Four Way London Ladder Match for the AEW World Trios Championship
This one is gonna rip. I know a lot of folks say they’re over ladder matches but this collection of talent is perfect for this format. Christian and sons are gonna have their hands full with teams consisting of *checks notes* a cocaine-addled gremlin and Billy Gunn’s kids, a literal death cult, and whatever other trio is pulled from the aforementioned gauntlet match to toss themselves around for this.
I don’t feel like there’s any straight-up good guys in this fight, although recently the Bang Bang Gang has been the closest to “morally upstanding.” I would rather the Patriarchy retain here, and save the big face pops for big face wins.
Swerve Strickland © versus Bryan Danielson in a Title Versus Career Match for the AEW World Championship
I love that I have no idea what’s gonna happen here. We’ve been told Bryan Danielson’s family will be at ringside, and this whole year has put the American Dragon’s work in the looming shadow of his impending retirement from full-time work. (Speaking of, I thought it was great of Swerve to mention that little caveat by promising to hunt Danielson down on the indies or internationally if he ever decides to set foot in a wrestling ring again.) I respect the hell out of this obsessed professional wrestler who promised his daughter that he would call it quits when she reached a certain age, and I hope he’s able to do so.
That being said, maybe now isn’t the time. Maybe Danielson, so well known for wanting to put his opponents over and refusing to win a championship time and time again, deserves to have a run as AEW World Champion before he’s done, both for the fans and for his own legacy. Maybe a few months as champ before dropping the title and calling it a career closer to home at Wrestle Dream is the move.
I don’t feel like any of this would affect Swerve Strickland in the slightest. He’s got an angry cowboy hellbent on revenge nipping at his heels. He’s never been a truly upstanding champ, more of the “shades of gray” type of character that AEW loves to push. And Hangman Page, who has done nothing wrong, deserves his pound of flesh after this man literally invaded his home and threatened his child! Strickland has had a strong title run, albeit one that had a rocky start as (mostly bad-faith) arguments said he was booked weakly by not opening and closing every show immediately after winning the title from Samoa Joe. He’s looked like a true champ every time he cuts a promo, his matches are entertaining, and he rarely resorts to the cheap wins that many a heel champion relies on to retain their titles.
I keep going back and forth on this one. Danielson’s passionate promo after Swerve once again brought up Danielson’s family didn’t help matters -- I was locked in on Strickland prior to that. Now, I see Danielson winning clean in front of his family. Or the Hangman somehow costing Strickland his championship, keeping his promise to take everything Swerve cares about, no matter the cost. AEW often has a problem with its TV matches in that we can guess the winner pretty easily. Their pay-per-views, this one in particular, have been more nuanced, leaving people who write or fantasy book a ton of wiggle room to argue about plausible outcomes.
But, in the name of accountability, I’ll say Bryan Danielson wins the AEW World Championship to close out ALL IN with the biggest YES! chant in recent memory.
And that’s it!
Enjoy the weekend, and I hope you’re as successful avoiding spoilers for Rampage and Collision as I’ve been. I’m really looking forward to ALL IN and I hope I see some of you liveskeeting on BlueSky. I tend to be quieter for PPVs because I have my buddy Adam over for them, but I’ll still pop in. And if you’ve got predictions, post them in the comments or mention me on social media with yours!
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram (although I rarely use that one) using the links on the right.
Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a good one, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!
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