ALL IN: the most significant wrestling event in the last 15 years

A lot of words have already been written about ALL IN, the Young Bucks and Cody-produced mega-show. It sold an unprecedented 10,000+ tickets, unheard of for an indie show up until this point in history. It continues Nick, Matt and Cody's slow change of how wrestling storytelling works. And its card has been named incredibly underwhelming by a ton of critics.

I'm not going to break down the card too much, because I am not sure I will even be watching the show live on the 1st as I have a bunch of other Labor Day weekend plans. But all the critics that have ran down the card have missed the point. ALL IN sold out its entire ticket base without a single match announced. Just the roster of talent managed to do that. Being the Elite, the weekly show the Young Bucks produce every week, scores over 200,000 views every week from a subcriber list of approximately the same size. All it took was one twentieth of that base to make this event a rousing success.

Of course, those same people might decry that the same feat can't be repeated if ALL IN doesn't produce the biggest card possible. This of course ignores the fact that ROH and NJPW have just repeated the over 10,000 number for yet another show without a single announced talent. That show will come Wrestlemania weekend and will be at a venue that served as a WWE stronghold for four decades, Madison Square Garden. Times are changing, folks.

I question how many of these critics actually pay that much attention to the work the Young Bucks have put into the build on their weekly show. It always seemed likely the card would be built around matches for every member of the show's cast. Hence Cody fighting Nick Aldis for the NWA title, Hangman Page fighting Joey Janela, Marty Scurll getting a match against former IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada, the Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi teaming to take on a lucha trio consisting of Bandido, Rey Mysterio and Rey Fenix, and of course the once in a life time bout between Penta El Zero Miedo and Kenny Omega. They even built a storyline to give Stephen Amell his first singles match ever against a true ring general, Christopher Daniels. Jay Lethal has become a Being the Elite regular of late as well, so his ROH title defense doesn't come as a surprise, nor does the pre-show appearance of ROH stalwarts, the Briscoe Brothers. They built the show around people they know having battles with people fans want to see. And that's just what they're delivering, which is why all the talk of a lackluster card makes little sense.

My pick for match of the night on September 1st.

The measure of success for ALL IN was accomplished way back in July when they sold the show out. By any stretch of the imagination, it has become an important point in the history of the business. It drew interest from Chicago area cable station WGN America, and now has a network broadcast preshow, something no other wrestling company has been able to boast since Heat left Spike TV in 2005. It already looks capable of shattering independent wrestling pay-per-view records as well and ROH has already talked about an uptick in new subscribers for their own streaming channel, which will also air the event.

The show is a success by any metric before a single wrestler steps into the ring at the Sears Centre. Cody and the Young Bucks took a huge gamble, one that looks to pay off in major dividends come September 1st. And they have likely created the possibility of an independent super show for years ahead.

Independent wrestling has never been stronger in the United States. One way or the other, every fan that travels to a bingo hall or community center or armory to see their favorite stars needs to realize what this means for the industry they love enough to support on the smallest level. The sport of kings has a future even without WWE. And we should all be proud of that.

The American Nightmare is living his dream at #5!

I predicted huge things for the former Stardust when he left WWE in mid-2016. His run as that character went nowhere as WWE refused to use him in any sort of positive light. His decision to leave the company opened up a ton of new doors for him. Much like Sami Callihan and Juice Robinson, Cody has started a career renaissance since leaving WWE.

Image credit: NJPW.

He ended 2016 and started 2017 with debuts at the two promotions he now calls home. Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have both invited Cody in with open arms. As the newest member of the Bullet Club, he comes with a pre-arranged entourage as well. Alongside the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page, he is also featured in the "Being the Elite" webseries.

The early months of the year ended his run with Impact Wrestling and left the Global Force NEX*GEN title he held in limbo. And while he does make a few other independent appearances, his focus since that time has been on ROH and NJPW. He won multiple matches in New Japan leading up to a title shot against Kazuchika Okada at the NJPW G1 Special from California. He would take his first loss to Okada and would later lose a tag title shot alongside Hangman Page. But even as his success waned in New Japan, his star rose to the top of Ring of Honor.

Just before his loss to Okada, he took the ROH World title from Christopher Daniels at Best in the World. He'd retain the title in a rematch the very next day in a 2 out of 3 falls match before embarking on a world tour that saw him defend the title successfully thirteen times. The likes of Michael Elgin, Willie Mack, Minoru Suzuki, Sanada, Frankie Kazarian and Jay Lethal fell to him in his six month reign. Ultimately, it would be Dalton Castle that surprisingly unseated him at Final Battle to take the title.

In the last year, Cody has reinvigorated himself as an ultra-smarmy heel. The American Nightmare is the polar opposite to his hard-hitting babyface father, the American Dream. Vain and petty, his demands for everyone to "kiss the ring" made him reviled even as most of the Bullet Club received cheers from American audiences.

While Cody's loss at the end of the year was a bittersweet moment, his 2017 was nothing short of a phenomenal rise for a man the WWE would barely let off of Main Event and Superstars. At only 32, he still has the best years of his career ahead of him and a long term deal with ROH means he should have several more years with both them and New Japan ahead. It's easy to see him developing into a gaijin ace for New Japan even as he continues to dominate Ring of Honor.

Check out one of the most unique matches of the year, as current WWE UK Champion and #6 entry on this list Pete Dunne takes on Cody from a Southside Wrestling show!


Tomorrow, we finish off the week with one of the most dominant talents in professional wrestling at #4. Find out who on Friday!