Will Ospreay made his dream come true on AEW’s biggest show of the year. The Aerial Assassin won the world championship from Kenny Omega on home soil at Wembley Stadium in London, England. All In (Aug. 30, 2026) was an excellent PPV with Mercedes Moné versus Willow Nightingale stealing the show, Adam Copeland & Christian Cage versus the Young Bucks in a dream match, the surprise debut of Austin Creed (aka Xavier Woods) and Kofi, the return of Dr. Britt Baker DMD, and so much more.
Let’s break down
All In from top to bottom emanating from Wembley Stadium in London, England. Get full play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
AEW World Championship: Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega (c) to win the title. This match was an epic war of attrition. This was the type of match where the longer it went, the more that the flow engaged me. Midway through, blood was gushing from action outside to Ospreay. Later, Omega was busted above the eye on a Hidden Blade. Omega tested Ospreay’s neck with several V-Triggers, dragon suplexes, and even a Tiger Driver ’91. Ospreay would not be denied his moment of glory. He kicked out of a One Winged Angel for crying out loud. The stadium erupted with emotion.
Ospreay went from fighting to survive into wrestling in overdrive. Ospreay’s mojo kept increasing. In the end, he poured on the punishment for a One Winged Angel of his own. Omega also wasn’t going down easy. He kicked out at 1. Ospreay kept on the pressure for a Hidden Blade and the Stormbreaker. Omega kicked out at 1 again. Say what you want about the AEW style kicking out of finishers. Those kick outs from Omega earned a huge reaction. I shouted expletives of disbelief myself.
Ospreay sized up one more Hidden Blade. He pulled the trigger so Omega could see it coming. Boom! 1, 2, 3. New world champion.
The action followed the overall storyline to a T. Omega wrestled with desperation, in a clean sense (no cheating), to keep his world championship. He put Ospreay through the ringer, and his maniacal side was evident. Ospareay passed all the tests. His neck was strong, his will was stronger, and his determination was unbreakable. In terms of the story, Ospreay is now the best in the world. The victory was even sweeter as the first English world champion to win at home. The dream came true in Wembley.
AEW Women’s World Championship: Mercedes Moné defeated Willow Nightingale (c) to win the title. Yo, check out Willow’s entrance gear. At 1:45 if you want to skip ahead.
In the lead up to the PPV, I noticed some Cagesiders chatting how this should be the main event, if not for Ospreay’s crowning moment in England. On any other PPV, the match Mercedes and Willow put on would have been worthy of the honor. The action was vicious. Mercedes mangled Willow’s injured hand, and Willow mangled Mercedes’ nose to flow blood. I wondered if Willow’s injury would prevent the gutwrench powerbomb. That question came into play. Willow was unable to get her grip to execute the first attempt. Mercedes countered to send Willow face-first into an exposed turnbuckle. Moné Maker by Mercedes, huge kick out by Willow. Next came a ref bump when Willow pounced Mercedes into Aubrey Edwards. This was relevant, because Willow did hit her gutwrench finisher. Edwards was slow and too late to start the count. Mercedes kicked out. Willow upped the ante for an avalanche gutwrench bomb. Mercedes countered for an avalanche rana. In the end, Willow went back to that finisher one more time. Mercedes had a slick counter into the Statement Maker submission. She grabbed Willow’s arm for a triangle choke. The champ passed out, and a new champ was crowned.
Damn, that match was excellent. It was the type of match where I could feel their energy through the screen. I’m exhausted from their effort. Mercedes and Willow left it all in the ring. They wrestled with the perfect attitude for the story, and the action flowed smartly in line with Willow’s injury. Mercedes’ busted nose wasn’t part of the plan, but it sure added a visual element of danger. Mercedes was ferocious with the will to finally win the world title. Willow’s power attacks were amusing to see the villain get pummeled around the ring. As time moves on, I think this match will have a high replay value for satisfaction.
TNT Championship: Darby Allin defeated Kevin Knight (c) to win the title in Falls Count Anywhere. Aggression was unleashed from the opening bell. The Callis Family interfered, so Steven Borden and Sting made the save. Sting passed the torch for Sting Jr. to land a flying crossbody from a tall ladder onto Brian Cage and Jake Doyle.
Allin climbed even higher up the scaffolding for a Coffin Drop on Knight through the stage. Allin added one more Coffin Drop for good measure to Knight on the stretcher to win via pin on the floor.
First off, if you wanted this to be focused on Allin versus Knight in the ring, then I can understand any disappointment. However, it’s Sting! And Sting Jr.! Once this match turned into a stunt fest, the site of Sting was a glorious surprise. Borden took his lumps being powerbombed through a table, then he showed his father’s spirit with that ladder dive. Allin’s huge Coffin Drop was nuts. I’m so confused how Knight ended up on the stretcher on the other side of the stage. That was a straight-up magic trick. I like how Allin won off the stretcher for this story to go full circle. Recall that Knight’s heel turn was a dive onto Allin on a stretcher. So, in terms of a wrestling match, it’s too crazy to qualify. In terms of entertainment for a spectacle of stunts, watch this match right away.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) defeated Young Bucks to retain the titles. Two of the all-time great tag teams putting on a great tag team match. The end was bonkers with wild false finishes and cheating. Christian was victim to two BTE Triggers in a short span. Cope broke the first pin, and Christian kicked out on the second pin. The second one had me believing it could be the finish. The Bucks went for the Meltzer Driver, and Cope speared Nick Jackson out of the air. Christian executed the Killswitch on Matt Jackson then popped him up for a spear from Cope. Matt kicked out. That was another one where I jumped out of my seat. These moments were back to back. Christian played dirty setting a trap to load his cast with a wrench. After playing the referee for a fool, Christian walloped Matt with the loaded cast. Spear by Cope, and pin by Christian to win.
Afterward, the ring filled with the Motor City Machine Guns, FTR, and the New Level (more on the debut of Austin Creed and Kofi below in the Trios Roulette Royale) created a great visual of all these dream matches. The tag team division will be rocking.
That finish was a bonanza of excitement to leave me satisfied that the dream match lived up to expectations. Plotting that finish was pretty smart. Since the Bucks lost from Christian’s cheating, it allows them to save face in the conversation of greatest tag teams. A clean loss would put a clear tier between teams. As far as I can tell, I don’t think Cope was aware that Christian was up to no good. I love how Cope and Christian stay true to their current characters. Cope is the pure babyface with an asshole as a partner. Christian doesn’t shy away from that just because his partner is a babyface. It’s an entertaining dynamic that keeps delivering.
Casino Gauntlet: Andrade wins world title shot. The action was fast and furious. The entrance times were screwy to create fun moments, such as one rival entering immediately after the other rival to fight on stage. I’m looking at Chris Jericho and Tommaso Ciampa. The only story that mattered was between Andrade and MJF. They started the match, and they were involved in the finish. MJF suckered Nick Wayne into a partnership, then he betrayed the gullible lad with a low blow kick and a Heatseeker piledriver. Andrade came out of nowhere with a back elbow strike to knock MJF out of the ring. Andrade covered Wayne for the win.
There was a subplot of MJF taking nuts to the face. Andrade pulled his pants down to bop MJF in the face with his package. Later, Daniel Garcia danced in MJF’s face bouncing his groin of the chin. That was the type of comedy in this one. I have no shame in admitting I laughed.
With Ospreay as the new world champion, it is an interesting call for Andrade to win his shot. With AEW avoiding babyface versus babyface in the All In main event, I wonder if they’ll just let Ospreay and Andrade tear the house down in a great match without much added storyline angles. I suspect MJF tries to finagle a way to steal Andrade’s prize, or at least a singles match for it.
The full field included Andrade, MJF, Wayne, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Ciampa, Jericho, Mark Davis, Komander, Mistico, Garcia, and Jack Perry.
AEW International Championship: Kazuchika Okada defeated Kyle Fletcher (c) and Konosuke Takeshita to win the title. The question was if Fletcher could trust Okada. He didn’t wait to find out. Fletcher blindsided Okada with a superkick in the first strike of the match. It was every man for himself. There was a hilarious moment with Okada pulled out the screwdriver with his devious smile. Fletcher caught him in the act, so Okada immediately handed over the object. Okada then went for a cheap shot Rainmaker lariat.
In the end, Okada was in the right place at the right time to take the win. Fletcher busted Takeshita’s brain on the turnbuckles. Okada grabbed Fletcher for the Rainmaker, and he made sure to pin the champ to win. Afterward, Don Callis convinced Fletcher to suck it up and hand over the belt. Okada rubbed it in with the demand for Fletcher to raise his hand as winner. Callis eased that tension to convince Fletcher to acquiesce.
With these three men involved, you knew the action would be great. They rose to the call. The three-way pace flowed like fine wine. The character interactions elevated the entertainment. It was funny seeing Okada take the gold. Since Fletcher is a hated heel in his own right, there was no feeling bad for him. That said, the crowd was behind Fletcher when Okada had the audacity to demand his hand be raised. If that was Fletcher’s breaking point, the fans would have popped hard. All’s fair in love and the Callis Family, so Fletcher remains with Don.
AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Nigel McGuinness to retain the title in the Continental Challenge Cup. There were two angles in play through the action. One was Nigel’s injured ankle. The other was Nigel only needing three seconds to pull out a win. Nigel was crafty with counters and roll-ups in that regard. It truly felt at times like he could sneak out with the win. On the submission tip, they had me on the edge of my seat twice. When Nigel applied the London Dungeon hold to Moxley’s arm, Mox made me believe he might tap out to give Nigel the upset victory. That rope break was tense. When Moxley had the ankle lock, Nigel made me believe his time was up. Then just like that, he reversed for a roll-up. Once again, I thought it could be an upset on that pin. Nigel’s childhood dream was not meant to be. Moxley kept on the pressure and eventually forced Nigel to tap out to the ankle lock. The drama was high as Nigel was a fingertip away from reaching the ropes. I wasn’t expecting to be hooked so much by this match, but they got me good. Applause.
AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship: Brawling Birds defeated Divine Dominion (c) to win the titles. The champs had victory within grasp on a double chokeslam to Jamie Hayter, but Alex Windsor pulled Lena Kross off the pin for the save. A German suplex from Windsor to Megan Bayne took the Megasus out of the finish. The Birds double-teamed Kross for a clothesline sandwich and the Two Birds, One Stone finisher. Hayter was the legal pin, but Windsor piled on top too for extra weight to prevent the kick out.
I wanted two things from this match. Power offense and brawling. They served it up in spades. I was happy for either team to prevail, because I enjoy Divine Dominion’s style and I don’t want the Birds to pass up the feel-good moment of victory on their home turf. The strategy of the finish was smart to divide and conquer. The tag team division turns the page with the Birds as champs. Bayne and Kross are both future world champions, so it will be interesting to see their development in singles action while remaining a duo.
AEW World Trios Championship: Swerve Strickland & New Level win titles in Trios Roulette Royale. Rules are like the Royal Rumble with the whole team entering at the same time. Over the top rope elimination. Last man standing wins for his team. The order was Bang Bang Gang, The Dogs, The Demand, Conglomeration, Death Riders, and The Good, the Bad, & the Guapo as champions. The pre-show ended, then Swerve, Austin Creed, and Kofi arrived on the PPV as the wild card team. The reaction was huge.
The nitty gritty came down Swerve, Creed, Kofi, Gabe Kidd, Claudio Catsagnoli, and PAC. Swerve’s House Call kick knocked Kidd off the apron, and the New Level clotheslined the Death Riders over the ropes to win. This match was all about the New Level debuting in AEW, and it rocked. It is great to see them given the amount of fresh matchups to be had. There is work to be done from a story perspective to explain why Swerve teams with them. His character doesn’t fit as a team player at all.
My favorite moment was between Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir. She chopped and spit at her husband, so he responded with a backbreaker to his wife.
The dumbest ass goes to Hangman Page. He stood on the apron for too long eyeing a Buckshot Lariat. Ricochet kicked him out for an elimination. Frankly, the champs had such a poor performance that they don’t deserve a rematch. Hangman was a dumbass. Brody King was dumped pretty quickly when bodies teamed up on him. Bandido injured his shoulder, so he wasn’t that effective either. It’s interesting that they didn’t even make the final six. I don’t think fans would have booed had the New Level eliminated them last, but who knows. I guess AEW was playing it safe. And that makes me wonder if Austin and Kofi will be babyfaces moving forward, aside from the obvious happy debut reaction from the fans. That brings up the question again of how they align with Swerve.
I like the format of the match with the trios twist on the Royal Rumble. I look forward to another Trios Roulette Royale without it being so manufactured for Swerve and the New Level. Don’t get me wrong. The surprise was great. It’s how they conveniently entered as the final team, how there was a long break between team six then starting the PPV then team seven, how the camera didn’t even pay attention to the ring during the New Level’s entrance, and so forth. I agree that it needed to play out this way given the circumstances. In the future, it will probably be more focused on the match itself.
There were four and a half matches on the free Buy In pre-show. The Trios Roulette Royale split to finish on the PPV. The biggest news from the Buy In is the return of Dr. Britt Baker DMD.
TBS Championship: Persephone defeated Maya World (c) to win the title; Dr. Britt Baker DMD returns! Maya had her chance to win, but it wasn’t enough. After an avalanche fallaway slam, Maya followed up for her bridging fallaway slam finisher. Perse showed ring awareness to reach the ropes with her foot to break the pin. The fix was in after that. Perse distracted the referee, then a masked figure shoved Maya off the turnbuckles. Perse closed with the crucifix bomb to win. The mystery person slapped on the Lockjaw to Maya, and it was clear who this was. Baker pulled off her mask, and the crowd popped.
Backstage, Persephone credited the doctor with teaching her to work smarter, not harder. Baker has been watching AEW, and she has perspective on who is worth her time. Persephone called out Thunder Rosa for sticking her nose in the champ’s business. Thunder’s mutual enemies have created a new bond with Baker in Perse’s corner.
The Baker surprise was cool in the sense that we finally get to see her again on screen. It was completely unexpected by this point. I’m glad they did that extra promo, because it wasn’t clear this would become a partnership when Perse exited alone. It’s unclear how active Baker will be in the ring again. If this is just a manager role, she will be perfect for it. Heel Baker always hits harder with her character work. As for the match, Maya was elevated with her title run. The loss was tainted, so she has options to stay on screen in singles or as a tag team with Hyan. Three cheers for Persephone as TBS champion. She has potential for a breakout reign much like Thekla. Perse is a character with her mannerisms and promos, and she backs it up in the ring.
Speaking of Thekla, the Toxic Spider cut a rowdy promo about drinking spicy margaritas and keeping an eye on the women’s world title bout.
Big Boom AJ, QT Marshall, & Hurt Syndicate defeated Shane Taylor Promotions. The Hurt Syndicate helped AJ on an assisted powerbomb to Taylor, then the mercenaries cleared the ring with suplexes. AJ and Justice speared the Infantry. Bobby Lashley finished Carlie Bravo with the Dominator. AEW always does a good job presenting the Costco Guys matches as a fun time. I mean, in this case, how can you not enjoy the Hurt Syndicate hurting people. Afterward, the Hurt Syndicate were presented with a comically oversized payment to the tune of $50,000 for their services.
Wrathlander defeated Sisters of Sin. Kris Statlander slammed Skye Blue on the floor. Harley Cameron hit a backstabber on Julia Hart, then StatDaddy picked up Hart off Harley’s knees for the Sunday Night Fever píledriver to win. It was fun to see Harley and Statlander back on the same page as pals.
Lio Rush, Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, & Myron Reed defeated Hook, Katsuyori Shibata, Anthony Bowens, & Action Andretti. The Rascalz had the edge as a cohesive unit with teamwork offense. When the dust cleared, Lio surprised Bowens from behind for a stunner and finished with a frog splash. The Opps’ new addition of Andretti did not pay off in success. I wonder what Samoa Joe thinks of the Opps’ results under Hook’s leadership.
Stud of the Show: Will Ospreay
Dream come true. An ordinary man became a hero.
Match of the Night: Mercedes Moné vs. Willow Nightingale
The edge goes to the women’s world title match over the men’s world title match. Mercedes and Willow stole the show. Both bouts were great in their own way, so this is splitting hairs. In my view, the action from the women felt more natural whereas the men’s bout was more of a theatrical production.
Grade: A
The All In PPV delivered entertainment from top to bottom. Great action, dramatic finishes, emotional stories, and a handful of surprises.
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