12 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW All In 2023

4. Coffin Match Chaos

There was a temptation to give this match a Down due to how you could audibly hear so many 'calls' during the bout, but hey, it's Sting, at Wembley Stadium, in front of 80,000 fans, being, well, Sting.

It's not all about the Stinger, though, for Christian Cage is an all-time favourite of your writer, and he was on his best sh*thouse behaviour here. Then there's Darby Allin, who performed some genuinely insane - but not insane, because it's Darby - attacks and bumps while having his hands tied together. As for Swerve Strickland, that fella may have been the one to lose the match, but he's such a top, top star in waiting.

It wasn't entirely smooth, but Sting & Darby vs. Christian & Swerve was another match that was just fun as a spectacle. As someone who grew up on Surfer Sting, how could I ever give this a Down? Especially when Metallica's Seek and Destroy song was brought back for the the Stinger?

When thinking of the most brutal matches of All In, the Stadium Stampede will jump out, but that's not to say this match didn't have some nasty bumps for those involved.

It was Darby technically getting the win for his team, trapping Strickland in the coffin after Sting had done his best to put Swerve away.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.