ALL IN 2018: Star Ratings For All 9 Major Matches
6. Nick Aldis Vs. Cody - NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
ALL IN felt oddly small time in the opening hour.
Maybe it was the muted mics in the crowd, the sloppy/anonymous in-ring work that lived down to the warped "Indy guys don't know how to work" reputation, or the very broad comedy of the Over Budget Battle Royale, but the show felt very much like an Independent wrestling show in a major arena for reasons more dubious than the paradigm-shifting hype suggested.
Enter Cody...
...with a bloody entourage, and his beloved pet dog, putting himself over as a vanguard of the old school. The guy was hugely over in the Sears Centre, so much so that his presence and psychology carried a physically limited pairing to something that strived for old school magic and, by the end, delivered it. Though defiantly basic in content, this wasn't all smoke and mirrors. Aldis didn't wear down Cody with tiresome rest holds, nor did either man stall or mug to an enchanted crowd. They delivered a classic pro wrestling match structure, if not a classic pro wrestling match, blade job, interferences and all.
It was heavy going and somewhat flawed - it's not as if DDP and Shawn Daivari (!) tapped into a legacy rivalry, or anything - but contrast the tepid reaction Aldis received during his entrance with the booming chants of "a**hole!" when he delivered an elbow to Brandi as the finishing sequence sparked into life.
At worst overwrought but gloriously cheesy at its best, it took big time work to generate that loud a reaction.
Star Rating: ***3/4