A Look at Some of the Best Moments from AEW's All In

The highly anticipated All In event has come and gone, and it was definitely a show to remember. It was the second All In event under All Elite Wrestling, and just like last year's event, London's Wembley Stadium hosted the big extravaganza. For me, living in the West Coast, that meant an early start time--the pre-show (Zero Hour) started at 8AM Pacific Standard Time, and featured three matches, with one of them being unannounced until that day. The main show started at 10AM Pacific Standard Time, and it's why I really love that these companies are taking their PPVs to Europe, because it means an early start time for us American fans--just like the NFL's games in London and Germany.

Nine matches took place on the main show, but I only want to focus on the best moments; the ones that stood out for me. They are as follows:

We all loved this angle between Toni Storm and Mariah May, didn't we? It was amazing storytelling. When Toni Storm took on the vintage Hollywood glamour girl gimmick, we saw Mariah May as her right hand woman for so long. Even in spite of this, Mariah entered the women's Owen Hart Cup Tournament, and won it! And then, the ultimate betrayal. A brutal and bloody beat down from Mariah towards Toni, with the centerpiece being one of Mariah's high heels. So while this was not a heel turn because Toni and Mariah were heels together, it was a "high heel" turn.

The weeks that followed saw Mariah unleash her inner Lifetime movie psycho, leading up to the big match in her home country. It was a brutal affair between both women, and it even saw Mariah actually slap her own mother in the face! If I had to guess, it was done to add more depravity to Mariah's character, but also to keep the crowd from cheering their countrywoman. As we all expected, Mariah got her shining moment in her native land, and she captured the AEW Women's World Championship, becoming the third Englishwoman to hold the title. The first two--Jamie Hayter and Saraya--had a hell of an encounter, with the former of the two returning after being on the shelf for a long time.

I have to mention this. The Casino Gauntlet had a pair of very awesome moments, and the first of the two was Nigel McGuinness actually entering the bout--marking his first bit of in-ring competition since his 2011 retirement. I've never seen Nigel's ROH work, but I do remember him very well in TNA as Desmond Wolfe. I liked Desmond Wolfe--he was half Bond villain/half football hooligan. Of course, Nigel's spent his recent years on commentary in ROH, in WWE, and now currently in AEW.

I should have expected Nigel to actually be a surprise entrant, given that the show was in London, but this was an absolute shocker. The funniest moment was Nigel actually being speared by Christian Cage during the bout; remember, Nigel's heel commentary includes being immensely sycophantic to Christian Cage, so Saturday's Collision should be very interesting.

The other amazing moment was one we all saw coming: Ricochet made his AEW debut as part of the Casino Gauntlet. It was highly expected that Ricochet would be All Elite following his WWE release, and the news did break a few days prior to the event that he signed a multi-year contract with AEW. It fell right on time, as we would see Ricochet appear as the 10th entrant in this Casino Gauntlet. The first thought I had: "Samantha Irvin (Ricochet's fiancee) is watching and is proud."

More on proud significant others later.

Unsurprisingly, MJF vs Will Ospreay ended up being a Match of the Year candidate, and that was a hell of a story. We saw these two literally kill each other for the entire first half of an episode of Dynamite, and it ended with MJF capturing the International Championship, which he would redub the American Championship as part of his version of JBL's old "American Hero" moniker from 2006. The best part of the build was that last Dynamite before the event, which saw MJF inadvertently admit that his whole reason for his anger was the fact that he was hella popular...until Ospreay came into AEW.

I sensed Ospreay winning. After all, that whole "American Championship" thing wasn't going to last. I didn't expect Daniel Garcia to get involved, and again, this was another thing I should have seen coming. Remember: Garcia was the first victim of MJF's reversion to his classic evil ways, and it was only fitting that Garcia appeared and cost MJF at the worst possible time for him. Following Ospreay's win, the American Championship was gone, and the International Championship was brought back.

Now my mind is at ease. My biggest worry was this match: Mercedes Mone vs Britt Baker, and I had every right to be worried. Tony Khan has enabled Britt's bullshit before. He continued to do it when she got into it with MJF. Britt got suspended, yes, but she still remained on the card. She should have been off All In--any other woman would have been. And with Mercedes' past history of being jobbed out to pretty much anyone, I feared the worst--until Kamille appeared as Mercedes' evil henchwoman.

The only thing that calmed my worries, ironically, was the fact that this match was very late in the card. Well, that and Mercedes was holding two belts. Thankfully, the right move was made, Mercedes retained, and as a result, I can put away my proverbial shovel--at least when it comes to wrestling matters. At this point, I'm going to enjoy Mercedes' reign and will be happy for whoever beats her, because I know it won't be Britt.

Finally, the ultimate moment: Bryan Danielson finally capturing the AEW World Championship in the main event. Once the match became Title vs Career, I and everyone else knew this would be Bryan's night. He hadn't won a title at all in all his time in AEW, and once he won the men's Owen Hart Cup Tournament, the chance was there. I was confident that Bryan would get his moment, and once his Blackpool Combat Club pals won the Trios Championship on the main show's opening bout, it further cemented the predictable outcome.

I was immensely elated to see Brie Garcia-Danielson at the event, because that's huge. Seeing one half of the Bella Twins appear at a wrestling event not run by WWE is just epic, and of course, she and those wonderful babies served as the top support system for Bryan's championship attempt and eventual victory. It was a beautiful moment; Bryan celebrating with his family and the BCC. He has a knack for these emotional championship wins. I still remember one from 10 years ago.

So the 2024 All In is in the books, and it won't be long until AEW goes on PPV again, as their All Out event will take place on September 7. That's going to be a fun five-day weekend for me--All Out sandwiched by four days of Opening Week NFL football! I'm very amped for All Out, but right now, I'm just excited for the fallout on Dynamite!