I don't recall a lot about the morning of All In: London (2024). We likely had a lie-in after a latish night following the RevPro 12 Year Anniversary Show, having to wait for the adrenaline to fade before we could get some sleep. Heading out from our hotel around noon, my wife wearing her Toni Storm "Chin up! Tits out!" t-shirt and me in a Will Ospreay t-shirt, we caught the tube to Wembley Park station. There had been the rare wrestling t-shirt sighting in our week leading up to this event, but now they were out in full force; we were an hour away from the venue and already amongst our people.
If you've never been to Wembley Stadium in person, as was the case for my wife and me, the approach from Wembley Park station is the perfect introduction. The arch of the stadium loomed in the sky despite the distance, with the long and straight Olympic Way leading to the entrance. AEW banners hung above the doors, in case there was any doubt we were in the right place. It was already swarming with fans, and we still had two or three hours before the doors opened. They likely had the same ideas as us: turn up early to scout the merchandise stands, grab a snack and a drink, then join the queue hoping to be inside as soon as possible.
We queued for a long while, and it was a warm day, so not the most pleasant of waits. Being so early was mostly a result of our anxieties. Having never attended a show so large before, we didn't know how busy or reliable the trains would be, or how quickly the security would be able to get the crowds inside at the turnstiles, and we certainly didn't want to miss any of the matches on the Zero Hour pre-show.
The scale of the place from the outside was impressive, but from the inside was something else. As we walked through the concourse, and then stood at the top of the steps heading down to our seats, the view was breathtaking. Looking down at the pitch, seeing the ring setup and the ramp, this was certainly a production on a scale beyond that of the show we attended the night before. But looking out to the stands, seeing just how many seats there were, yet to be filled, and how far away they stretched, was hard to explain. The photographs honestly don't capture the feeling.
The first surprise of the night, as we were at pitch level and walking towards our seats, was just casually stumbling upon Jeff Jarrett, the beautiful Renee Paquette, and the equally beautiful RJ City, preparing to host Zero Hour. RJ looked straight at us and gave us a little smile, and I felt butterflies in my stomach, more than making up for missing Mina Shirakawa's entrance dance the night before.
The view from our seats was, as predicted, not great. When the crowd were on their feet, which happened often, we could only really see from the second rope upwards. This meant that most matwork, and certainly any action outside of the ring, wasn't really visible to us. A lack of tiered seating at this level dampened the experience; being tall helped, my wife struggled more than I did, and I suspect there were many others in worse situations. The ramp was elevated, so we could see the entrances, though we were sat directly opposite and it was very far away. There were a few screens scattered around, which helped, but the main one in our line of sight was above the entrance ramp, so the distance limited its ability to make any major improvements to the experience.
Zero Hour began with a 16-man tag, and there were a few names that we were happy to see. The stadium was still filling up and the reactions were somewhat lukewarm, through no real fault of the wrestlers. I suppose that's just the nature of a pre-show, and I'm sure having a spot on the card at all meant a lot to many of these guys. I've mentioned previously that we were viewers of BTE and fans of The Dark Order, so it was awesome to see Evil Uno, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds. They'd been pushing a "Get Dark Order to Wembley" campaign in the lead up to the show, and it was heartwarming to see them accomplish their goals. Another big name for me in this match was Jay Lethal; I loved him in TNA, especially as Black Machismo, and the chance to see him performing live was very cool.
A short mixed tag match gave us the opportunity to see Tomohiro Ishii for the second time that weekend, alongside Willow Nightingale, who is one of my wife's favourites. I enjoy comedy wrestling, and Stokely Hathaway certainly added a few moments that were hilarious; unfortunately, it probably detracted from the main purpose of the match, which should have been to advance the feud between Willow and Kris Statlander. The 10-man tag match was another good excuse to throw a lot of wrestlers into the ring at once, fine for its position on the card. Seeing Katsuyori Shibata live, another NJPW legend, was the highlight for me.
Saraya came to the ring with Harley Cameron and an entourage of family and friends, protesting not having a match after winning the Women's World Championship at All In: London the year before. A fair point. Jamie Hayter made a surprise return, laying waste to the entourage on the way to the ring, leaving Saraya to flee. A decent enough segment to close Zero Hour. We spotted that Ricky Knight Jr. was part of the entourage, repaying the favour of Saraya showing up for him the night before at RevPro. What we didn't realise until much later, rewatching the show on TV, was that we recognised many of the entourage as RevPro regulars: Rhio, Mercedez Blaze, Lizzy Evo, Cameron Khai, and Harry Milligan.
The AEW World Trios Titles were defended in a London Ladder Match to kick off the main All In: London (2024) show. One of my favourite moments from this match was before it had even begun, but requires a little context. During the Covid-19 era of AEW, when they were running shows at Daily's Place without public attendance, the Gunn Club were often, if not always, sat in the front row and hyping up the matches. Austin in particular was a one-man crowd, delivering a level of energy that made these shows feel as normal as they possibly could, considering the circumstances. So, when Austin and Colten Gunn stood in the corners of the ring at Wembley Stadium making their Gunns Up gesture, looking out to a crowd that returned it, I think it brought a genuine smile to their faces. Perhaps sticking a finger in the air like a fake gun shouldn't have a deep meaning, but to me it was a show of appreciation for these boys, because they deserved that moment.
The match itself was a good way to kick off the show proper. Ladders added verticality that certainly helped with the view from our seats. The crowd seemed to be fully seated by this point too, and the energy seemed to be growing. The attendance that year fell significantly short of the year before, but from where we were sat, I wouldn't have been able to tell that the stadium wasn't at capacity.
"Timeless" Toni Storm and Mariah May had been building one of the best, if not the best, long-term storylines in AEW history. My wife and I were both fans of Toni, and her character's evolution over the previous year had been incredible. This match was the perfect start to what became a memorable trilogy between these ladies, emotional, psychological, and gloriously theatrical. The crowd were into it from start to finish, and the result felt satisfying whichever of the two you were cheering for; it was clear this wasn't the end of the story.
In stark contrast, Chris Jericho's Learning Tree storyline was one of the worst in my memory. I know that he was trying to be self-aware and lean into the criticism he received online, but I don't feel like this character did anything for him, and certainly didn't do much to elevate those around him. The match didn't stick in memory, other than the crowd being behind Big Bill, and I did enjoy Taz getting involved in the finish.
The Three-Way Match for the AEW World Tag Team Titles did a great job of reigniting the energy of the crowd. I was happy to see The Young Bucks live for the first time, though their power-abusing EVP personas certainly had the crowd booing them. As I mentioned in Part 1, my wife once thought wrestling was too silly; when The Acclaimed made their special entrance, starting with a chorus of "Oh, scissor me, daddy!", I can assure you that she sang along with the other 50,000 people in the stadium. It wasn't the best match of the night by any means, and the participants were certainly capable of more, but it was enjoyable nevertheless.
After the match finished, the Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) slid into the ring to confront The Young Bucks, then to attack FTR. More RevPro representation on the big stage.
AEW's Casino Gauntlet Match is one of their stronger creations, combining the element of surprise from the unknown entrants, or order of appearance, with the excitement of a sudden death finish. For me, it was one of the most anticipated matches of the night, and lived up to expectations even if I'm not quite sure what they were. I'll try to restrain myself from just listing names, but Kazuchika Okada is legendary and I never expected to have the chance to see him live, Ricochet made his debut, and Mark Briscoe received a huge reaction from the crowd, internationally loved at this point in his career.
The highlight of the match for me, if not the night, was the surprise return of Nigel McGuinness to a wrestling ring. The crowd, myself included, exploded. McGuinness is British wrestling royalty, known mostly for his time with ROH, but also with TNA as Desmond Wolfe. If you can find a way to watch The Last of McGuinness documentary, I encourage you to do so. It's heartbreaking. That's exactly why it was so cathartic to see McGuinness return after 13 years of retirement in front of over 50,000 fans chanting his name at Wembley fucking Stadium.
And then, the music of Zack Sabre Jr. plays and the crowd erupts again. He has spoken of coming to terms with never having had the opportunity to wrestle McGuinness, a man with a similar style, who likely inspired ZSJ's career as a young British wrestler. ZSJ hits the ring and quickly clears out Orange Cassidy and Kyle O'Reilly, leaving a moment for just him and McGuinness. There's a smile on both their faces as they make the most of their chance to live a dream neither of them ever thought would happen.
Great match overall, though we weren't particularly impressed with the finish, with so many better options on the table.
As a wrestling fan, you'll often develop a conditioned response without realising it at first. I don't recall when it first happened, but my wife and I would chant "Ospreay! Ospreay" at the TV during his entrances. Since buying the tickets, we'd been looking forward to doing the same at Wembley Stadium alongside a huge crowd. As cool as it was for Will to have the special Assassin's Creed introduction, we were really just waiting for "Elevated" to start playing.
I may have criticised our seats, but couldn't help comparing the view to the night before on the third row in the Copper Box Arena. However, a fair comparison has to account for the atmosphere. It's a very different experience; RevPro at the Copper Box Arena obviously cannot compete with AEW at Wembley Stadium in terms of scale and production value. But the biggest benefit, in my opinion, is the size of the crowd and the energy it brings. We might not have been able to see all of the action clearly, but we could feel it in the reactions, as they would ripple and reverberate throughout the stadium.
A very good match by two of the best in the world at the time, elevated by the crowd.
Mercedes Moné vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. for the AEW TBS Title was honestly not the best showing for either of these ladies, who seemed to lack chemistry together. It probably suffered from its position on the card; following Ospreay and MJF is a difficult task for anyone, and it ran longer than it needed to.
If the previous match ran too long, Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin in a Coffin Match had the opposite problem. It delivered a few crazy spots as you'd expect from these guys, and we were into it, but I think most of us were surprised that it ended as soon as it did. The lights going out after the match, for Sting to appear and save Darby, was a nice moment for the fans. I feel that it redeemed the match from an abrupt finish, but you could argue that the time would have been better spent in the match itself.
The main event. Swerve Strickland defending the AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson, in a title vs. career match. It was a believable premise; we knew Danielson was at the later stages of his career, and he'd spoken of wanting to spend more time with his wife Brianna Danielson a.k.a. Brie Bella, and children Buddy and Birdie, who were all in attendance.
"The Final Countdown" by Europe begins to play to a huge cheer from the crowd, who then start to sing along:
"duh duh duh duh ... duh duh duh duh duh ..."
Danielson makes his entrance and looks to be enjoying every moment, breaking into laughter as he encourages over 50,000 fans to sing.
"... it's the FINAL COUNTDOWN!"
Swerve makes his entrance with Prince Nana, to a live rendition of his theme, "Big Pressure". The crowd enjoy dancing along, then responding to Nana's "Who's house?" call with "Swerve's house!" chants.
The storyline and quality of participants more than justified the position on the card. Perhaps the greatest compliment that I think I can pay this match is that my wife and I took no photos of the action, from bell to bell. We were engrossed. The crowd were the loudest they'd been all night, especially in moments where "Yes!" chants broke out. It was an admittedly clichéd combination of storytelling and emotion. Swerve played his role perfectly, taunting Danielson's wife and kids with their bloodied husband and father.
Late in the match, "Hangman" Adam Page appeared from the crowd, at this point in an intense feud with Swerve. My wife and I had been invested in Hangman's storylines and character development since the early days of AEW, loving his interactions with The Dark Order on BTE, and once staying up until the early hours to watch Full Gear (2021) live, so that we could see him win his first AEW World Championship from Kenny Omega. I didn't want his appearance to end an awesome match in disqualification, or to cheapen a potential Danielson victory, but seeing him get his hands on Swerve might have been worth it. Security quickly swarmed Hangman and escorted him away. I think this was the right call; it was enough to show the level of obsession and insanity that Hangman had reached, without ruining the main event.
Hangman's distraction had given Danielson time to get back to his feet. The crowd reached fever pitch for the last few minutes until he applied the LeBell Lock and made Swerve tap for the first time in his AEW career.
The Blackpool Combat Club, Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta arrived to join Danielson, all of them champions. They helped Brie, Buddy, and Birdie into the ring to celebrate together. We, as fans, know that we're seeing characters and personas, but there's often truth and authenticity just below the surface. We were watching a man who was likely reaching the end of his career, holding what was possibly his last title, standing with his friends and family. The celebration felt real because it probably was.
There was still a buzz in the air as the crowd left Wembley Stadium, a mixture of adrenaline and dopamine coursing through our veins from what we'd all just experienced, and likely a little alcohol too. Olympic Way was a sea of bodies, more than I'd ever seen in such a small space. We were fairly certain that we walked past Dante Martin, standing in the crowd talking to fans, likely trying to prolong the feeling he'd had from being part of the show. Honestly, we'd been dreading this moment a little; the cramped crowd was overwhelming and the risk of a crush with such a mass of humanity was very real. But the staff were well trained and clearly well-practised at coordinating the exit, so we made it back to the tube safely for the journey back to our hotel.
We'd had a great night, keeping our promise to ourselves, and finally making it to an AEW show. The views may not have been brilliant, but the atmosphere absolutely was, and we'd seen a few people live who meant a lot to us. Back at the hotel, over a slice of pizza, my wife and I discussed the obvious question: did we prefer AEW All In: London (2024) or RevPro 12 Year Anniversary Show?
AEW delivered a star-studded event with high production values, and the crowd atmosphere was incredible. If I had a bucket list of wrestlers I'd like to see perform live while I have the chance, I'd have ticked off quite a few that night.
RevPro obviously don't have the same budget, so their production value leaves something to be desired. Most of their wrestlers I'd never heard of before, though many of them proved to be immensely talented and entertaining. They still secured some appearances from huge names such as Zack Sabre Jr. and Tomohiro Ishii, and I think this is a testament to the mentality of many wrestlers; even though they may already be making decent money for a major promotion, they love their profession, and they're just as willing to entertain 4,000 fans at the Copper Box Arena as they are 50,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
We agreed that while we'd enjoyed both shows, we honestly preferred the RevPro experience. They serve different purposes, and there's room for each, but there was a level of intimacy at RevPro that we loved. The availability and affordability of tickets factor into this, giving us the opportunity to be closer, sometimes feeling like we were part of the action, sometimes literally being part of the action.
What was originally just the opener had stolen the show from what was meant to be the main event. This was only the start of our new obsession.