10 ALL IN Impulse Reactions
The Long And Winding Rhodes
Once a month (or more, when WWE were fancifully farting out two shows a month during the super-service hedonism of the relaunched Brand Extension), a pay-per-view goes off the air and leaves audiences with much to ponder from what they've just witnessed.
Questions aren't all answered because the next day, week or month needs a hook too. Few cards boast utter perfection, leaving gripes ranging from reasonable to raging or praise from gentle to glowing dependent on all the usual factors.
The one constant - almost to the point of irritation, at times - is the big finish. Roman Reigns defeating Samoa Joe sent people darting for the exits in April, so Vince McMahon let his 'Big Dog' loose elsewhere in the yeard for a bit before leaving the kennel open permanently at SummerSlam. The copyright watermark is almost always against the backdrop of something truly momentous. At ALL IN, the ending was just about the only thing that failed to deliver.
Plenty occurred after the final bell too, but none of it aired due to the time constraints on the show itself. For a four-hour pay-per-view that that felt half as long and twice as good as WWE's own efforts in the field of late, this was quite the quality undertaking.
It's why it warrants a set of impulse reactions perhaps even more than a common or garden supercard. ALL IN could be anything it wanted to be, but did that freedom actually help or hinder the end result?
10. Flip The Script
YEEEEEES!!!@TheFlipGordon wins the Over the Budget Battle Royal, and will face Jay Lethal for the @ringofhonor World Title later tonight!#ALLIN pic.twitter.com/s9HPhqNsjA
— The New Age Insiders (@NewAgeInsiders) September 1, 2018
The collected adulation of the ALL IN audience following Flip Gordon's unmasking at the climax of the Over Budget Battle Royal immediately justified the hard work Cody had done playing pr*ck tease for so many months.
Though the increasing aura around the event gave each performer at the top table a certain working class gloss, Flip became the human interest story amongst his 'Elite' chums destined for greatness on their big night out. That he made it through using old-fashioned wrestling ingenuity did much for his cause as the forgotten son of the family.
Crucially, it furnished an audience-killing Battle Royal with a vitally-needed killer finish. 17 minutes of banter were (just about) paid off by a final pairing of sentimental favourite Colt Cabana and Bully Ray battling it out, before a long-destroyed (but not previously eliminated) Chico El Luchador unmasked as the plucky friend of the stars.
ALL IN hadn't rocketed out of the blocks in either its Zero Hour pre-show nor opening effort, but the Gordon reveal was at least a sign that those in charge knew exactly what they were doing with the booking.