11 Match Star Ratings From AEW All In
3. Chris Jericho Vs. Will Ospreay
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Chris Jericho said that every person who doubted him ahead of All In was a dipsh*t.
Everybody person who doubted him ahead of All In was a dipsh*t because his match with Will Ospreay was awesome, the stadium was never louder than it was when he sang live his own iconic self-penned entrance theme, and he did the job because it was the right result and he's selfless enough to deliver it. Crucially, they did not muck about.
They didn't step on the toes of the main event by crafting a slow-burn 30 minute epic that transparently chased a five star rating. They beat the piss out of each other in a tight, blistering back-and-forth in which they cared more about winning than forcing a "classic". In doing do, the match was fantastic. Jericho got a little too ambitious down the stretch. Some sequences fell a bit flat when his timing went awry, but he otherwise did a job that was nothing short of outrageous by keeping up with Ospreay, who is so good it's stupid. Impossible.
In one unfathomably awesome spot, Jericho reversed a Stormbreaker with a hurricanrana. He had no right to play his role in it, and Ospreay's timing and agility was not of this realm.
While wavelength issues did threaten to undermine the match, the finish itself was incredible. In a shocker, Jericho kicked out of the Stormbreaker, and in a priceless moment, flipped Ospreay off before Ospreay effectively smashed his face in with the Hidden Blade. A second Stormbreaker won it, and if there's a time to do the big finisher kick-outs, it is at the biggest show in wrestling history.
Extra quarter star for Ospreay's neck-first German suplex bump on the apron. It actually made sense in the context of the story, in that Jericho was telling Ospreay that, if he wasn't going to listen to his plea to tone it down, he'd exact ironic revenge.
Star Rating: ★★★★½