5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (May 18)
2. All In
No criticism here whatsoever. None.
Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and others have inexplicably earned enough grief over the past few days as various outsiders look for something - anything - to strip away one of the most remarkable achievements in professional wrestling history. All In, and just about everything else associated isn't just insane, it's f*cking fantastic.
Only Rhodes' NWA Heavyweight Title match with Nick Aldis was even in the frame as tickets flew out in astonishingly quick time for the Chicago supercard, and that could modestly be considered something of a moribund match for the cynically ebullient 'American Nightmare'.
All In was and is a victory for pro wrestling as an art-form. The art of the 'work' of pro wrestling - the idea that you provide services often related as much to the anticipation as the outcome in return for money, creating enough stars in the process to convince folk to continue to pay for a peek. It's a victory for graft - Being The Elite spent over 100 episodes crafting a world around Bullet Club's key players in sweet synchronisation with their angles in both New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor. Most importantly, it's a victory for talent having tangible financial value outside of WWE - there are names attached to the card that can now classify themselves as draws with 10,000 donating dollars to watch them without knowing yet what they'll even do.
All In is all the way awesome. Cheers to whatever happens on the night - they can now justify doing whatever the f*ck they like after all.