10 Things We Learned From Attending AEW All In 2023
1. Tony Khan Finally Masters Placement And Pacing
And what a night to do it!
Even if one ignores the results, content of the matches and/or potential aftermaths of the stories that are continuing through London and onto Chicago next week, the match placement and placing - two hugely important areas of assembling a big show, and ones Tony Khan's fallen afoul of in the past - were both impeccably handled.
Ingenious, marvel stuff end-to-end. After a full year of backstage drama between CM Punk and The Elite taking much away from many peoples' enjoyment of the front-facing product, all the key players had done their duties by the end of the third match. This was both remarkable restraint and a humongous flex - not only did Khan clearly have belief in his matches to deliver, but he wanted the main event especially to be pulled as far away from any of the tribalism or turf wars that have informed much of 2023.
There's a twist there too - the live experience of this Punk/Elite stuff is a joy. People have fun backing their favourites a la pro wrestling, nobody gets bitten, and the arena becomes a furnace for every second move. To position this all during a giddy first hour minimised drama but came at some significant risk. Khan was richly rewarded for his gamble.