Bryan Danielson did not retire at AEW All In, defeating Swerve Strickland for the world title in one of the best AEW main events in recent memory.
Emotions were high as Danielson overcame the odds in front of his daughter and son, with over 45,000 fans screaming his chant as he finally won the title that had evaded him for his whole AEW run.
There were a lot of legitimate fears amongst his supporters that this could be the final outing for Danielson, especially after he revealed that his daughter wanted him to lose ”so I can come home and just be a dad”.
However Danielson said winning the title was the crowning moment in his career because he was able to perform in front of his family.
He said: “I feel pretty great, people ask me all the time what my favourite moment is in wrestling, and I can never give them one answer because I’ve loved all of it.
“But this is the first time she (his daughter Birdie) remembers seeing me wrestle live. This is the first time my son has seen me wrestle live.
“And without a doubt, this was my favourite moment in my entire career.”
The show, held at Wembley Stadium, is an annual event from American wrestling company All Elite Wrestling.
The Wembley shows from AEW are by far the biggest the company has ever put on.
Last year’s event in particular was a massive success, with an attendance of 72,000. While this year had fewer fans in the stadium, it is still a huge accomplishment for a five year-old company to be able to run Wembley Stadium in back-to-back years.
Away from the main event, hometown hero Will Ospreay and the villainous MJF had a phenomenal match, going for just under half an hour as Ospreay picked up the international title in front of adoring fans.
The Casino Gauntlet was also a clear highlight, which saw the return of London’s own Nigel McGuinness to professional wrestling and the AEW debut of Ricochet, an exciting talent who had unfairly languished in the lower midcard in WWE.
As for the negatives, there are not many, although Mercedes Mone and Britt Baker had a less than stellar match, with the crowd disinterested.
Whilst Mone remains acclaimed, it does leave many questioning Baker’s placement in the company.
Furthermore Mariah May and Toni Storm should have perhaps had a better positioning on the card.
After months and months of slow build-up, culminating in a top star vs understudy story that saw Mariah May emerge as a star, to end their epic storyline in a match that is just second on the card felt unfair.
It is perhaps a missed opportunity not just for the two stars, but also for the AEW women’s division altogether.
Nonetheless, they pulled it out of the bag with a great match where Londoner May picked up the win.
There was also time cut in the otherwise good Jack Perry and Darby Allin clash, which felt like it was starting to hit its stride when it ended at the ten-minute mark.
But then again, this was followed by the epic return of the recently-retired Sting, so frankly all is forgiven.
As you may be able to tell, the negatives are mostly nitpicking – this was a very strong show for the second year in a row.
Onwards to Forbidden Door in London next year.
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