ALL IN: Everything you need to know for Saturday's show

So what’s the story? 

ALL IN is a live professional wrestling event (and now pay-per-view). It technically has nothing to do with WWE — because while WWE is professional wrestling, not all professional wrestling is WWE — despite the fact it’s partially the brainchild of a former WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes (son of the late, great Dusty Rhodes). ALL IN is an independent wrestling event. In fact, it’s the biggest independent wrestling event ever produced, and it’s the first professional wrestling event not under the WWE or WCW banner to sell 10,000 tickets in 25 years. The show actually sold out in less than 30 minutes back when tickets went on sale in May. While Cody Rhodes may have had the idea in his mind already, it was a tweet from esteemed wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer saying that Ring of Honor (ROH) — the Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks' home wrestling promotion and one of the bigger names in professional wrestling outside of WWE — couldn’t sell out a 10,000-seat arena that kicked things into gear. To that claim, Cody replied: “I’ll take that bet Dave.” 

A year later, Cody, alongside fellow independent wrestlers The Young Bucks (the tag team of brothers Matt and Nick Jackson), has proved himself to be a man of his word. Self-funding the show themselves, ALL IN is more than just a wrestling event. It’s another brand in their already impressive empire. The empire has been slightly chronicled — and made only bigger — by their "Being The Elite" web series (alongside their fellow Bullet Club and The Elite stable members), which is a large reason for the success of their particular brands as wrestlers. Inside the ring, they already had all the tools. They’ve just impressed even more by showing they also have all the tools outside the ring. And in the last couple of months before ALL IN, they’ve created a new web series, in the form of ALL US, on Cody’s YouTube channel. As Matt Jackson mentioned in the first ALL US video, “We’re selling a feeling.” The hope is that it’s a never-before-felt feeling to go with the fact that this is a never-before-seen type of show. 

As for the type of professional wrestling you’re going to see on this card, Cody says it will have a variety, especially since he and the Bucks have wildly different outlooks on professional wrestling — except for when it comes to the actual act of making money, it would seem. When speaking to Cody about this, Rhodes made it clear that no biases about certain wrestling styles were going to come into play here: "If people wanted you, we were gonna get you." 

Without any major spoilers for talent who will or won’t appear on the card, Cody also admits his disappointment that they couldn’t book PCO — Pierre Carl Ouellet, a 50-year-old wrestlers who’s currently having a shockingly impressive career resurgence and is appropriately in demand because of it — for ALL IN, because he’s booked for the CHIKARA promotion’s King of Trios tournament on the same weekend. 

So, when is it? 

ALL IN is happening on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. 

Where is it being held? 

That 10,000-seat arena that Cody and the Bucks sold out is the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago. 

If I’m going to watch this, will I have to know the stories? The wrestlers? 

The other great thing about ALL IN is that it, for the most part, is an event based on just seeing some cool wrestling matchups between even cooler wrestlers. So while being in the know is slightly important to ALL IN and perhaps full enjoyment of the show, there’s not really a typical wrestling necessity to know the backstory of a feud or matchup. Plus, you now have this cheat sheet. 

“We definitely don’t exclude anybody,” said Cody. “And when we built the card, we wanted the card to appeal to everybody.” 

While ALL IN is very much a show built for the fan base of the Bullet Club wrestling empire — for lack of a better term — it’s not saying newcomers can’t or even shouldn’t enjoy the show. Bullet Club is for everyone, after all, and that mentality extends to ALL IN. 

You should also know that, while the initial tweet that sparked this event was specifically ROH-based, this is not an ROH show. Instead — in an impressive and kind of taboo move — the talent is a combination of ROH, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), as well as independent wrestlers from around the world who aren’t signed to any of those companies. It’s essentially a huge comic book movie crossover in professional wrestling form, and to properly capture just how atypical it is, it’s like a crossover between Marvel and DC properties (assuming WWE is neither of these major properties in this analogy), as well as Archie Comics, Peanuts and maybe even some other niche publishers. It’s really a big no-no. 

“We broke a ton of rules. We definitely got in a good chunk of trouble, when it comes to mixing talent from companies that typically don’t mix. But I think when they see this event — and most people agree with this — they’ll go, ‘Yeah, it was better to be part of this than not.’” 

If you’re a WWE fan — past or present — you’ll see a few people you may know or recognize, but you’ll also see something you don't regularly see on weekly WWE TV in the form of "RAW" and "SmackDown." 

“We want to please everybody who came along on the ride with us. And I think that coincides [with] new fans as well... I think new fans, to the end [of the show] are gonna be blown away. When they see — you know, if you’re a fan of the WWE and you just checked out SummerSlam, I think if you watch ALL IN and you see someone like Hangman Page, for example, you’re gonna go, ‘How did I not know about this guy? Where have I been?’ And it’s kind of that snowball effect — there’s so many guys like that on this show.” 

But the goal has always been about giving back to the audience that has supported them to this point; they’re not just making ends meet outside of the WWE machine: They’re actively thriving. (And to the other wrestlers who aren’t on that level yet but arguably deserve to be.) 

When and where can I watch it? 

Assuming you’re not talking about getting a ticket to see it live (and surely StubHub could help you out with that one), ALL IN is available to purchase on pay-per-view through your cable provider, FITE TV or through ROH’s Honor Club subscription streaming service. Then, if you miss the live broadcast but want to watch it on-demand, subscribers to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s NJPW World service will also get access the full show once it is over.  

However, if you’re still on the fence and want to simply check ALL IN out before you make your decision, you can watch the live pre-show, ALL IN: ZERO HOUR, on WGN America. That one-hour pre-show starts at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. ET. 

You can follow the ALL IN Twitter account for regular updates. 

What are the matches? 

Over Budget Battle Royale, for a shot at the ROH World Championship on/at ALL IN

If you’re on the fence about purchasing ALL IN, you’ll at least be able to watch this Battle Royale match on the pre-show — ALL IN: ZERO HOUR — only on WGN America. As for the title of the match — "Over Budget Battle Royale” — it’s not a matter of ALL IN being cute: According to Cody, they really did go over budget in getting all the wrestlers they got booked and paying for their travel. And who knows what surprises may come from this match or later in the show: They possibly really broke the damn bank. 

Will there any surprise appearances? Well, yeah, probably. It’s announced that this is a 15-person Battle Royale — with the winner facing Jay Lethal for the ROH Championship on the main show — and some of the participants (such as Moose, Jordynne Grace, Jimmy Jacobs) have already been announced. But since they’re already over budget, don’t be surprised if that number 15 gets bigger as the match happens. 

The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky)

The other ZERO HOUR match on the card should tell you this “pre-show” isn’t just phoning it in. If you want to see something filling that will somehow only just be the appetizer, you’re going to want to see the Briscoes take on SoCal Uncensored (SCU!). 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll

What Okada will we be getting? The Rainmaker or The Quarterlife Crisis? Either way, Marty Scurll is probably screwed. Another thing to know about ALL IN is that it’s populated with a number of people who have a legitimate claim to the title “Best Wrestler in the World.” Kazuchika Okada is one of those people, and Marty Scurll is… well, bless his villainous little heart. 

Joey Janela (with Penelope Ford) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page, in a Chicago Street Fight

Both of these men regularly wrestle like they have something to prove, so that will certainly continue on such a big, uncharted territory. The match gimmick is a bit of a late development, but now what was assumed to be a battle to steal the show is guaranteed. 

Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell

That’s right: The CW’s Green Arrow is in a professional wrestling match, and it will probably be pretty dope. It’s not as though it’s his first match either, as he faced off in a WWE ring in 2015 in a tag team match (in a feud against Cody Rhodes, during Cody’s Stardust gimmick). And in his second match, he teamed with his Bullet Club buddies against a team including his ALL IN opponent Christopher Daniels. Now that question is, how the hell did Cody and the Bucks get permission to book Amell for a match at ALL IN? “We didn’t ask anybody.” Oh. 

According to Cody, “Stephen’s got it in his blood now. He wanted the challenge of a singles match. He’s just someone who competes with himself and a real model for what an entertainer should be.” 

As for his opponent, Christopher Daniels is one of the biggest and best independent wrestling names to never (at least, not yet) make it to WWE. (Although, if you do watch WWE, you might recognize a couple of his opponents in this terrific match.) While it may still seem strange that Stephen Amell has a singles match on a wrestling card, the honorary Bullet Club member couldn’t have a better opponent. 

Madison Rayne vs. Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green vs. Tessa Blanchard

This is the sole women’s match on the card — although, women are allowed to participate in the Over Budget Battle Royale, so the ROH World Championship could technically become an intergender match. This match perhaps has the least amount of story behind its existence — other than “it’s the women’s match,” unfortunately. Also, if you’re wondering: Yes, Tessa Blanchard is from the Blanchard wrestling family. Her father is Four Horseman Tully Blanchard, and her stepfather is Magnum T.A. And don’t worry, her in-ring ability lives up to the expected level of greatness. (You can watch her amazing match against Brian Cage here.) All four of these women have mixed it up before in promotions like Impact Wrestling, WrestleCircus and PCW ULTRA, so with all these eyes on them now, this match — much like the Janela/Page match — is probably going to be a lot of having something to prove. 

Jay Lethal (c) vs. Over Budget Battle Royale winner, for the ROH World Championship

Of the people so far announced in the Battle Royale, the most interesting challenger for the ROH Championship would be either Jordynne Grace — as the sole announced woman in that match, it would also be nice to have another match with a woman on the card, and Grace is a badass — or Brian Cage — as people who see this man/machine in the Battle Royale for the first time will quickly consider him their favorite wrestler while they try to wrap their minds around how his body exists and he’s able to function with it. Plus, neither are signed to ROH, and while neither person would probably win the championship, the rest of the known competitors have either already had shots at ROH gold (and probably against Lethal, when he was champion on two other occasions), are so unknown it would feel like a waste of a match (Marko Stunt) or are Billy Gunn. All of this logic will probably fly out the window once a surprise Battle Royale entrant comes in and wins everything though. 

Nick Aldis (c) vs. Cody Rhodes (with Brandi Rhodes), for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship

This was the first match announced on the card, and it was the only match known when tickets went on sale (and for a long time even after that). This match is a personal one for Cody Rhodes, not because he has anything with Nick Aldis but because the NWA Championship was THE championship for Dusty Rhodes. The history and lineage of this championship is something Cody Rhodes understands and respects. NWA’s video series "Ten Pounds of Gold" goes into detail about this, and NWA has chronicled the entire road to this match (so if you want a story, you’ve definitely got one... including a bit with a wrestler named Flip Gordon who will NOT be booked on the show). Cody winning would also bring a bigger buzz to the newly rebooted NWA that is much needed for it to be taken seriously, as much as Nick Aldis looks like the type of wrestler you take seriously. "Ten Pounds of Gold" is coming home, baby. 

Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr.

This is an insane first-time ever match, as the two have previously only worked against each other in a six-man tag team setting (at last year’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament, with The Elite — Omega and the Bucks — against Flamita and the Lucha Bros — Pentagon and Fénix). This is the match Cody Rhodes is looking forward to most (not including his own), as according to Cody (and even Pro Wrestling Illustrated), Kenny Omega is THE best wrestler in the world, and it’s not even a matter up for debate. Pentagon Jr. could be in the nonexistent debate, but he’s honestly more concerned with beating the crap out of his opponents and breaking their arms. He’s awesome, by the way. And in Cody’s words, Pentagon has “the thing” that you just know when a certain wrestler has.

Rey Mysterio, Fénix, and Bandido vs. The Golden Elite (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kota Ibushi)

This is reportedly the main event. This is also a match where some insane — yes, “insane” — things will go down, on all sides. Some might say this match definitely has no story, but wanting to flip and superkick your opponent and even yourself to death is one hell of a story. Three of the best luchadors in the world today — with Rey Mysterio also still being one of the best of all time — against arguably the best tag team in the world today (the Bucks) and another one of those “Best Wrestler in the World” options (Ibushi) should be absolutely, well, I said “insane” already and for good reason.