Review of Saturday’s wrestling events – AEW All In, NXT Great American Bash, and Saturday Night’s Main Event

I wanted to wait until tomorrow to include Evolution 2 in this column, but let’s face it—Evolution is already an afterthought after some of the stuff that happened yesterday, and the event hasn’t even aired yet. So if something big happens on tonight’s shows, I might do a recap column on Evolution, but for now, this is just about my thoughts on some of what happened in both WWE and AEW yesterday.

AEW All In

I wanted to start with All In because, to be honest, I didn’t watch the show and only followed what happened through the results. But I have to say, this show will be talked about for a few things—and not all of them are positive.

First, while it’s sad to see Adam Cole out again, I really hope he considers retirement at this point. Clearly, he has some health issues that are making it hard for him to continue being a full-time wrestler. That said, fans still got a happy moment when Dustin Rhodes won the TNT title, which is well deserved.

Secondly, Toni Storm defeating Mercedes Moné was a shocker, but again, a strong move from AEW. It shows that they’re fully behind Toni Storm. My only issue is with the IWC’s obsession over backstage politics. I feel like fans will focus too much on the creative control narrative around Mercedes, and assume she lost just to “prove” she doesn’t have creative control.

Third, the reign of Jon Moxley is finally over. I’m not sure if putting the title back on Adam Page is the right move—his first run wasn’t great—but I’m just glad Moxley lost the belt. Fans won’t have to sit through the same chaotic nonsense he’s been doing for almost a year. The match itself was such a mess that I probably would’ve turned it off after five minutes if I’d been watching live. Still, it’s nice to see a new champion.

Finally, the show was way too long. That’s probably going to be the biggest talking point. Which is unfortunate, because it sounds like the matches delivered, but seven hours is way too much.

Unless you’re a hardcore AEW fan, there’s no way you’re sitting through a seven-hour show, no matter how good the wrestling is. That’s why New Japan started doing two-night events, and why WWE does the same for WrestleMania and now SummerSlam. They understand that once you hit the four-hour mark, fans—both in the arena and at home—start feeling fatigue, and those big moments don’t land the way they should.

I get Tony Khan’s motivation here. He wanted to go head-to-head not only with NXT but also with WWE, so he made sure All In was still running during the first hour of Saturday Night’s Main Event. But I think that move backfired. A lot of fans who bought the PPV probably chose to watch it in chunks—and just tuned in live to WWE instead.

Plus, instead of people talking about how great the show was, everyone’s talking about how long it was—which is a negative. It’s like Tony doesn’t understand that less is more. You don’t need marathon shows to win fans’ approval, and honestly, it hurts your product when you do that. Even people in his own locker room have said as much, but he still doesn’t listen.

NXT Great American Bash

This show felt more like an extended 2-hour, 30-minute episode of NXT than a proper PLE. I also got the sense that it was really just a hype show for Evolution more than anything else.

Nothing against the performers—many of the matches delivered—but the overall vibe felt flat and uninspired. And while Center Stage is an iconic venue for TV wrestling, the way they mic the crowd always makes it sound like no one cares, and this show was no different.

Ending with the women’s tag match didn’t help either. It was a very generic bout that would’ve felt more at home on a regular episode of NXT rather than headlining a big event. Honestly, the highlight of the night for me was the opening video package showcasing the history of the event. It brought back a lot of memories. But overall, this show won’t go down as one of the greats. It did what it needed to—plug Evolution and set up next week’s NXT—but not much more.

Saturday Night’s Main Event

You could tell this was the show WWE really wanted people to talk about. They stacked it with four PPV-level matches, and quite frankly, it worked—at least for me.

The opener between McIntyre and Orton was a strong way to kick things off and did a great job setting up the tag match for SummerSlam. Jelly Roll might not be the greatest athlete in the world, but he’s solid with the basics, and I think he’ll hold his own when the big match comes.

The second match, Jimmy Uso vs. Solo Sikoa, was just okay. They both delivered in the ring, but we all knew Jimmy wasn’t going to win. Honestly, I’m getting tired of seeing him fight Solo and his crew. This was the low point of the show for me.

Third was LA Knight vs. Seth Rollins, and this was a barnburner. The crowd was into it the whole time. It’s a shame Rollins got injured near the end and they had to rush the finish, because this was shaping up to be a great match. Now the big question is how serious the injury is, and what that means for Seth’s storyline and the Money in the Bank briefcase.

I really hope the injury isn’t long-term. I was just getting into his feud with Punk, and now it might have to be put on ice. As for the briefcase: if Seth is out for more than a year, just strip him of it and hold a MITB match at SummerSlam. But if he can return before the deadline, let him keep it and cash in as a huge surprise down the line.

Then came the main event. With 30 minutes left on the clock, I was surprised they jumped into it so quickly—but credit where credit’s due: Gunther made Goldberg look good, and Goldberg held up his end of the bargain. They even had me believing for a moment that Goldberg might win the title. That’s how good Triple H is at booking false finishes. But in the end, Gunther retained, and that was the final match of Goldberg’s career.

It was a great way for Goldberg to go out—strong match, hometown crowd, and he looked like a million bucks on the way out.

My only complaint? The final commercial break was terribly timed. They ended the show during Goldberg’s retirement speech. If you know you’re not going to air the full speech on TV, don’t show the beginning of it. I’m guessing the full version will be on YouTube and social media. I did catch a fan video of it, and it showed what a great human being Goldberg is. While he may not be everyone’s favorite wrestler, for the short time he had, he’ll still be remembered as one of the biggest draws in wrestling history. I’m glad WWE let him go out on his own terms.

Conclusion

All in all, yesterday was a great day for wrestling fans. We’ll be talking about a lot of what happened for a while—both the good and the bad. I’m happy that WWE continues to counter-program AEW, because I think it makes both products better.

Now, I just hope AEW doesn’t respond by booking more marathon shows. That would be counterproductive and could hurt their chances of growing their fanbase.

But outside of that, nothing but positives from last night—and let’s hope Evolution delivers just as much as the other three shows did.