AEW All In 2023: 3 Biggest Losers And 3 Biggest Winners
AEW's first show at Wembley Stadium (but not its last) is All In the books. While questions about whether or not it was actually the biggest wrestling show of all time will almost certainly continue to linger, and its overall historic impact remains to be seen, it can't be denied that as the show went off the air in London, some people walked out of Wembley in a better position than others, while some concepts or ideas seem like they may have taken a hit.
But which ones are which? Wrestling events are always about winners and losers, but who and what were on opposite sides of those two extremes? If this is the kind of thing you were wondering about as All In came to a close, Wrestling Inc. editor Billy Donnelly has you covered. Here are the three biggest losers and the three biggest winners from AEW All In 2023.
Winner: Death match fans
If you enjoy blood and extreme violence in your professional wrestling, then you were in luck with All In. The crimson masks started making their appearances pretty early in the night, with CM Punk sporting some color in the very first match, but that was just an appetizer.
The main course was served up during the Stadium Stampede, where the death match influences were on major display. What can I say? There are some wrestling fans who derive pleasure from watching one man stab another in the head with a fork. I don't get it, but they sure as hell seem to be into it. Oh, and then there were the skewers. Because actually seeing a piece of wood lodged into someone's skull is — yeah, I'm not really sure how to explain the desire for that.
We've gotten to the point now where barbed wire almost seems tame, like yesterday's news. So if you're someone with such a point of view, and you like watching the violence get ratcheted up by newer and grosser ways to tear into someone's flesh for your entertainment, then congratulations! You got plenty of what you dig at All In.
Loser: Women's wrestling fans
AEW still can't get its women's division together. Regardless of what talent is brought in, or even teased to be on the horizon (Hello, Mercedes Mone) the women are constantly treated as an afterthought.
On the biggest show in AEW history, only six women in total made the card (shoutout to Ruby Soho and Julia Hart for making their presence felt during the women's title match and the mess of a trios title match, respectively). How is that the women continue to be treated as so little of a priority for AEW, getting less than nine minutes of ring time for one match during a four-hour show?
We've seen what the women of AEW are capable of doing in the ring. In some instances, they've been the highlight of the night, delivering more compelling matches than anything the men have delivered. But for some reason, the creative minds of AEW don't see it that way, and they relegate them to impossible situations — like giving them the spot after the wild Stadium Stampede — where they face an uphill battle to get emotionally spent fans invested agai.
AEW has long had this issue and have continued to deny that there's a problem. Well, I'm here to tell you: There's a problem. It's past time for AEW to get serious about its women's division, finding ways to factor in its talent to tell more stories than just who's going after a particular championship. Because this tiny sampling of the all the talented women you have while eyes on were on Wembley is embarrassing. And on such a night of success, this was one glaring failure.
Winners: MJF and Adam Cole
Better Than You Bay Bay has been AEW's hottest act since the makeshift tag team was put together. The unlikely pair of friends have captivated the AEW audience,= and honestly made for some pretty compelling television. A babyface-leaning MJF — one who's vulnerable, a little goofy, and far less predictable — has been the most interesting direction for the AEW World Champion in some time, and Adam Cole — who is better suited for being a sleazy heel that an earnest babyface — has found excellent chemistry with his counterpart.
Their main event match was one of the few fully-cooked angles AEW had on its hands heading into AEW, and while there was plenty of speculation and guesswork about which one would turn on the other, somehow AEW managed to find more mileage on the duo's collective tires and keep things going between them. And that's even after an incredibly entertaining Zero Hour match where they captured the ROH World Tag Team Titles from Aussie Open and then, hours later, turned out an excellent main event that had fans on the edge of their seats with uncertainty.
I'll admit to being one that wanted to see the double turn with Adam Cole fully embracing his heelish tendencies and MJF being let down by the power of friendship. But good things come to those who wait, and I'm sure we'll get there eventually. But I am glad this will go on a bit longer, building more emotional investment into their partnership, so they can crush all of us later when it inevitably falls apart.
Plus, if you can manage to garner a pop from me on my couch with the execution of the Kangaroo Kick (an idea I had previously thought was beyond dumb), then you're clearly doing something right. This doesn't need to come to an end — yet.
Losers: The House of Black
No one knows what to do with this group, do they?
The trio of Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews should be absolute killers in AEW, running through and destroying everyone who stands in their way while employing psychological terror to any and all they target. Julia Hart should be a conniving witch, fully dedicated to their dark cause, employing whatever tactics needed in order for the House to always win.
Except the House doesn't always win. In fact, for a stretch, they seemed to be losing all the time before they disappeared from AEW programming, only to resurface again in recent months. Upon their re-arrival, they managed to capture the AEW World Trios Championship — and then they basically sat around while they collected dust. That's because the House of Black barely defended those titles during this recent reign. The trios belts never been treated as a worthwhile prize in AEW in their short life, and I've often found myself forgetting they have even existed at times. And that hardly changed when they were around the waists of the House of Black.
And so, rather than figure out a way to get the House more involved and make those belts more meaningful, we're just moving on. The Acclaimed are your new AEW World Trios Champions, and the House feels more lost than ever. They have never quite found an equal to what they do, and they have been missing any significant feud in AEW that'd showcase what they're really good at. Looks like it's back to the drawing board with this crew one more time.
Winner: AEW
AEW continues to defy expectations. Time after time, when Tony Khan's company has been met with skepticism and told that it can't possibly do something, AEW turns right around and sticks such negativity right back in our collective faces. All In was a success, however you choose to slice it.
No matter what you thought of the overall show, the matches themselves, the assembled card, or the build leading in, you've got to give credit where credit is indeed due. AEW did something incredible in pulling off a wrestling event that drew a shade over 81,000 fans from all over the globe to London's Wembley Stadium. Attendance numbers of those sorts are rarified air, reserved solely for the biggest WWE events over the years. So for a baby of a wrestling company — less than 5 years running since its founding — to enter into that stratosphere is a tremendous feat.
Tony Khan, his locker room, and everyone involved with AEW should be incredibly proud of what they achieved with All In. It was a huge risk to play such a massive venue, but AEW bet on itself — and it paid off in spades. Years from now, All In 2023 should be seen as a special building block for AEW, one that helped it rise to a new level, much like the first one did with the launch of the company.
Loser: AEW
Here we go again.
AEW puts on yet another crowd-pleasing affair with this year's All In, and the attention paid to it winds up being short-lived — because everyone wants to know the gritty details of yet more backstage drama. Seriously, when will it end, and will this company ever learn to get out of its own damn way? They had finally crossed the finish line and opened up one of the biggest shows in professional wrestling history, and yet, 14 minutes into the PPV, there were already reports leaking out about another backstage confrontation — this time involving Jack Perry — likely fueled by targeted (and passive-aggressive) comments made during the Zero Hour pre-show in the direction of CM Punk.
Who, exactly, is looking out for the best interests of the company by leaking stories that quickly form behind the scenes? AEW should have wanted everyone's focus on what was transpiring in the ring at All In. What good comes from diverting attention from that to more speculative nonsense about who did what to whom? Oh, that's right. None.
AEW is aiming to make huge strides as a wrestling company, and All In was a big step in such a direction. But it's again become clear that there are those on the roster who are not on-board with such goals. Instead of celebrating the biggest night AEW has ever had, they chose this as the moment for petty grievances. Until some of AEW's adult children decide to grow up and remember that they have a business to run, AEW will continue finding new ways to put a damper on even its biggest successes.