AEW All In: Texas emanated from Globe Life Field on Saturday and featured the ascension of the two greatest modern wrestlers alive today.
Toni Storm defeats Mercedes Moné
Toni Storm has cemented herself as the greatest women’s wrestler in the world today. And she did in the exact opposite way of Hangman Page.
While Hangman achieved his loyal fan base through vulnerability, openness and bringing fans into his “real-life world,” Toni has done the exact opposite.
Toni’s evolution into being Timeless has seen her strip away everything we have known about the woman behind the character, adding a veil of mystery and the truest sense of “aura” and intrigue we have seen from a wrestler and who they might be since… The Undertaker?
Timeless Toni is generational. Toni Storm has always been one of the chosen ones. But by becoming Timeless, she found herself in her character in a way few have in this sport, even if it meant creating an illusion to the world. She is a master of her craft. She owns this role. And the audience repays her with devout loyalty. She is their conquering hero. Even more than Hangman, because her dominance is also a part of the story, not redemption.
Shout-out to the CEO, Mercedes Moné. This match doesn’t work if there isn’t an equally badass supervillain across from Toni to conquer, and there was no better woman on the planet, or in the sport’s history, to be in this position across from Toni Storm.
They dubbed this “the greatest women’s match of all time”.
I think they might have achieved just that.
Hangman Adam Page defeats Jon Moxley
Hangman Adam Page has cemented himself as the greatest men’s wrestler in the world today. And he did in the exact opposite way of Timeless Toni Storm.
While Toni Storm has turned into the megastar known as “Timeless”, it has not been through her embrace of the audience or because the audience feels they can relate to her. Quite the opposite. She lives in her own world and can’t relate to anyone, for she is timeless.
Adam Page has become the definitive fan favorite of All Elite Wrestling through sheer will, determination, vulnerability, insecurity, openness and being a fucking badass wrestler.
The stage was set. Jon Moxley and the Death Riders have been running roughshod on the promotion for almost a year. They have taken contender after contender, pissing off the entire fanbase in the meantime.
I thought it was great heel work the whole time. The biggest issue was that they didn’t give the Death Riders the main eventers’ attention at first, and the show felt scattered and unfocused.
Once the story became about Hangman, everything fell into place, and every single moment of this match felt earned, from big to small. It paid off years of storytelling for a promotion that has had an up-and-down six years if you ask casual wrestling fans, but diehard AEW fans have always felt this was his story.
I’ll take you all back to the first AEW All Out. 2019. Chicago. Adam Page vs Chris Jericho to be the first ever AEW World Champion.
I was there with my brother, my dad and one of my best friends. My brother’s all-time favorite wrestler is Hangman Page. We all adopted him as our own, much like the AEW fanbase.
On that Sunday, Chris Jericho won. The young Page was incredibly talented but not yet experienced enough to get past one of the greatest of all time. I looked to my brother next to me, and he was obviously not happy. But I knew this was only the beginning for Hangman. This was the start of his story, and his being in this position meant that the promotion believed in him in the highest regard.
Fast forward 6 years later to the biggest American show in AEW history, Page has FINALLY taken his rightful place atop the company. His first reign ended prematurely and was filled with CM Punk related drama.
And now Page, the man who was always destined to be the face of the promotion and faced countless twists and turns that threatened his place amongst the great of this promotion, well…
He achieved his destiny anyways.
We will break down the rest of the show on Trainwreck Tonight, but there are SO MANY unanswered questions.
- How soon will MJF attempt to “cash in” his world title shot against his arch nemesis, Hangman Adam Page? They have been intertwined for months and are on a collision course in the main event.
- As for Hangman’s now…former arch-nemesis? That’s the real question. Swerve Strickland HELPED Hangman win the title on Saturday. Have they truly buried the hatchet or will Swerve start to hunt the Hangman and his title?
- What is next for Mercedes? How desperate does she become?
- Is it time for Athena Elite Wrestling? Are Toni Storm’s days numbered after her most significant victory ever?
- Can we PLEASE get a Women’s Tag Team division started now?
- Will Christian find himself? Will FTR find him first? Will Cope be there to defend Christian again?
- Will the Young Bucks bring back Being The Elite?
- Will Fletcher and Takeshita become jealous of Okada
- When will Ospreay and Samoa Joe return from their attacks at the hands of the Death Riders?
- Speaking of the Death Riders, Darby Allin returned on Saturday, cut a promo on Moxley from Mt. Everest and helped dispatch the crew to clear the way for Hangman. The Death Riders will undoubtedly be looking for Darby Allin this Wednesday.
All In was a historic moment in the history of professional wrestling. The landscape has shifted. How AEW moves forward from this moment could define the sport for the rest of the 2020’s.