ALL IN is being titled “The biggest independent wrestling show ever”, and it fully deserves this title. For those of you that aren’t aware by now, ALL IN is a self funded event, funded by Cody and The Young Bucks. These three had a mission to sell out a 10,000 seat arena, after Dave Meltzer said he couldn’t see ROH doing it anytime soon. Cody took this bet, and with a few months of build, but no matches announced… ALL IN sold out the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, IL, in under 30 minutes. ALL IN has become so huge, it will now feature a “pre-show” called Zero Hour broadcasted live on WGN America at 6PM EST. Cody said there’s a match they didn’t announce for the show, but in total there are nine matches for me to preview. Besides one or two, all of these matches have the potential to steal the show.
Zero Hour: The Briscoe’s vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky)
To me, this is the weakest match on the entire card. It feels like a match we could get anytime in ROH, and if anything is just there to preview The Briscoe’s vs. The Addiction on ROH’s upcoming PPV. That aside, The Briscoe’s were revealed to be on this show in a very interesting way. You can find “Table Read” on the Being the Elite YouTube account, which told us there would be nine matches on ALL IN (doesn’t look like it), 3 Title matches (there’s only two announced), and the only wrestlers we saw involved in a match were The Briscoe’s. Speculation arised, as we could see matches like The Briscoe’s vs. Lucha Bros, The Briscoe’s vs. Joey Janela and Penelope Ford, but instead we get this. It should be a fun 10-12 minute match to get the crowd going, and all will be motivated with this being on such a big stage.
Prediction: SCU!
Zero Hour: Over Budget Battle Royale (Winner Gets a shot at the ROH Championship on ALL IN)
Announced participants: Jordynne Grace, Colt Cabana, Moose, Rocky Romero, Ethan Page, Marko Stunt, Billy Gunn, Punishment Martinez, Brandon Cutler, Jimmy Jacobs, and Brian Cage
This has all the potential to be a super fun match, with tons of excitement, drama, and unexpected moments. There should be 4 more participants that haven’t been announced, but Cody has said he isn’t too sure it it’ll be exactly 15 participants or not.The stipulation here is huge, because whoever wins moves onto ALL IN, and will challenge Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship. It’s impossible to have a bad match with Jay Lethal, but the only one that could do so is Billy Gunn. That aside, it’s impossible to predict a winner, but I’m just hoping it’s someone new and unique, unlike a regular ROH guy like Colt Cabana or Punishment. Someone who isn’t announced will more than likely win (FLIP GORDON!), but for prediction purposes here, I’m going with Ethan Page.
Prediction: Ethan Page
Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell
I was really intrigued to see who Stephen Amell would be facing when he was in the first batch of talent announced for ALL IN. I expected some sort of multi-man tag, which would protect him, but also let him thrive in certain moments. Totally unexpected was this match, but there’s been more than enough build to back it up. If you don’t watch Being the Elite, let me recap. Adam Page killed Joey Ryan in a hotel in Japan, and there was security footage to back it up. Adam Page won’t admit to anyone that he killed Joey, so that led to Christopher Daniels FRAMING Stephen Amell, saying he was the one who killed Joey Ryan. Amell and Page have similar looks, so this ultimately worked, and got Amell in jail. Sadly for Daniels, Amell is now out of jail, and he’ll be having his first singles match on the biggest stage possible. Daniels cut some really awesome promos hyping this match, which can be seen on Episode 116 of Being the Elite, and Episode 6 of All Us. I honestly don’t know what to expect from this match, other than Daniels being great, and Amell shining at times.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green
Britt Baker, Chelsea Green, and Tessa Blanchard were all announced for ALL IN, and it seemed obvious they would be squaring off in a three way. In a shocking turn of events, Madison Rayne and MJF defeated Brandi Rhodes and Flip Gordon at a WrestlePro event, which got Rayne and MJF booked onto this show. That left an option for two women’s matches, or one big one, and they went with the four way, which is the right call. Rayne has been in the business since 2005, so will be the perfect veteran to calm down the new and hungry talent. Britt and Chelsea have lots of chemistry together, as they team up in promotions like SHIMMER, where they’re known as Fire and Nice. Finally you have Tessa Blanchard, who is one of the best women’s wrestlers on the independent scene. This should be a great match, and it’s one more people should keep their eye on.
Winner: Tessa Blanchard
ROH Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs. ?? (Over Budget Battle Royale Winner)
Jay Lethal is ready for ALL IN, and he’ll be defending against the winner of the Over Budget Battle Royale. The stipulation is a lot of fun, as it leaves some uncertainty going into the event, and really anything can happen. Jay Lethal could be facing someone who’s been announced like Ethan Page, or they go a different route and Lethal could be facing Flip Gordon or PAC. No one has a clue! Lethal never disappoints, so whoever he faces, it’ll be great. I don’t expect Lethal to lose the title, but wouldn’t it be such a great story for Flip to win the Battle Royale and then beat Lethal to become the new ROH Champion on this show? Imagine how much the crowd would lose their mind…
Prediction: Jay Lethal
Chicago Street Fight: Joey Janela w/Penelope Ford vs. Adam Page
This is a match that no one saw coming, but is a total blessing in disguise. There aren’t many places (if any) where we could get Page/Janela, but it will be absolutely crazy, and the added stipulation will only make it ten times better. The story here is Adam Page is a “Joey Killer”, and the name came from him murdering Joey Ryan, which I explained above. Janela thrives in gimmick matches, and the Chicago Street Fight stipulation was just added a few days ago. Awhile back in an interview, Matt Jackson talked about “having a type of wrestling for everyone” on the show, and this gimmick match is a perfect addition to the card. Expect a brutal, violent, and bloody brawl throughout the Sears Centre, and it’ll probably feature Page doing a mega moonsault.
Winner: Adam Page
Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada
Kazuchika Okada is one of the biggest names on this entire card, if not the biggest. It was a huge get for Cody and the Bucks to book Okada, but there are a good number of people who have complained about this match. To me, this is one of the matches I’m most looking forward to. Obviously, something like Okada/Rey or Okada/Pentagon would’ve been INSANE, but this one could steal match of the night, and how dare I say that on such a loaded show. When Marty Scurll joined the Bullet Club, his wrestling style changed a little, as he seemed to focus a bit more on the comedy and wasn’t “The Villain” he used to be. There has been some great build to this match on Being the Elite, most notably Marty’s friend, Nick Aldis laughing at the fact Scurll thinks he has a shot. The main thing with Scurll is he’s too small, and there’s no way he could beat Okada. Okada even took a shot at Scurll, saying he’ll go to 205 Live once Okada defeats him. To me, an Okada win seems obvious, which is why I’m going with the upset, which would be totally unexpected, and it’ll blow the roof off of the Sears Centre.
Winner: Marty Scurll
NWA Championship: Cody w/Brandi Rhodes vs. Nick Aldis
During the ALL IN press conference, NWA President, Billy Corgan spoke about the history of the NWA, how it relates to Cody, past champions, the prestige of the Ten Pounds of Gold, but the most interesting thing was him announcing a NWA Championship match on ALL IN. Immediately after Corgan left the podium, Cody said he will be challenging for the Ten Pounds of Gold, no matter who is champion at the time. At the time of the press conference, Nick Aldis was defending the Ten Pounds of Gold all over the world, against opponents like Colt Cabana and David Starr, in what was called “The Aldis Crusade”. Nick Aldis made it out of his crusade as NWA Champion, and the build to his match with Cody has been phenomenal. Whether it is the subtle things they do on ROH, or the Ten Pounds of Gold series on the NWA’s YouTube channel, there’s so much riding on this match, I would be shocked if Cody didn’t walk out as champion. Nick Aldis has been a perfectly acceptable champion, but he isn’t the greatest in ring worker. Put the title on Cody, and he can defend it on ROH PPV’s, in New Japan, and pretty much wherever he wants. Plus with the NWA having their big 70th Anniversary event being on FITE TV in October, there would be no better headliner than Cody as the Champion.
Winner: Cody
Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr.
One match I was really pulling for on this show was The Golden Elite (The Young Bucks, Kota Ibushi, and Kenny Omega) vs. Fenix, Pentagon, Flamita, and Bandido. Sadly that didn’t happen, but I think we got two better matches out of it. First you have Kenny Omega, who will be in the CO-main event, and that has to be made clear. It was a fun little gimmick on Being the Elite, where Omega just went through the grueling G1, only suffering loses to Ishii, Yano, and Ibushi, but he has to get right back into the ring for ALL IN. Omega dind’t want to be in the main event, because his body isn’t ready for it. Instead, he’ll be on the card against one of the top independent wrestlers currently, Pentagon Jr. This is one of those matches you never knew you wanted, until it’s actually about to happen. Give these dudes 20 minutes with no limits, and it’ll be an absolute classic. Nothing can go wrong here, and it could easily be match of the night.
Winner: Kenny Omega
Fenix, Rey Mysterio, and Bandido vs. The Golden Elite (Kota Ibushi and The Young Bucks)
Many questioned what match had the capability of main eventing this show, but there’s no doubt in my mind this was the right call. In one corner, you have a Lucha dream team. Bandido is making his name known in Dragon Gate, mostly for his teaming with Flamita (who sadly didn’t make the card). Fenix, one half of the Lucha Bros, is one of the best in-ring workers today, and he just doesn’t get enough credit. Then you have REY MYSTERIO, and the name says it all. This could very likely be Rey’s final independent match before he goes back to WWE, and this is definitely a match you can be happy to go out on. Nick Jackson says this is his dream match, and it was announced on his birthday. Also, this will be the first time The Young Bucks team with Kota Ibushi. I can’t say enough good things about this match, and I can’t even begin to imagine what they’re planning for this.
Winners: Bandido, Fenix, and Rey Mysterio
You can purchase ALL IN through your PPV provider for $39.99, or purchase it through the FITE TV App!