ALL IN 2018: Star Ratings For All 9 Major Matches

1. The Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi Vs. Rey Mysterio, Bandido & Fénix

Hangman Page Stars II
FiteTV

F*cking hell.

This wasn't a sprint. Sprints are slogs compared to this.

Independent wrestling is frowned upon for its supposed spot fests. Filtered through the myopic lens of WWE and its associated veterans, we are told that these guys can't do "psychology" and "storytelling". This was an unashamed spot fest, and it was amazing because of it. A preposterous amount of moves were spammed into a rushed run-time, but the actual moves...f*cking hell.

Rey Mysterio wrestled like he hadn't yet stepped foot in WCW, never mind WWE. Fénix defied gravity by somehow managing to run across the top rope before delivering a kick to Kota Ibushi's face. Bandido defied normal human physiology in a breathtaking breakthrough performance that left everybody watching dizzy (and reduced the Great Men of WhatCulture Towers into fits of involuntary screaming). Even Rip Rogers would have marvelled at the ridiculous rotations of the ...dives on display, not that he'd admit it. The Bucks and Ibushi meanwhile overcame these awesome aerial assaults with their own Elite-level offence.

These were athletes taking the p*ss with how good they are. They wrestled the match they get demonised for, and it was still just unreal.

Star Rating: ****1/2

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!