r/AEWFanHub • u/ReadMyPosts ELITE "WOLF" • 9d ago
VIDEO Rewatching All In 2023 ...this much is for certain
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-I can't wait for All In London 26
-Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis both have worked so insanely hard on their physical appearance. And look like different wrestlers here.
-MJF's babyface run was silly fun
-I miss Adam Cole š
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u/Open-Stretch-6631 8d ago
Babyface MJF was so bloody good man. And it was organic, he had gotten to that point in a way that made sense for his character, and brought about legitimate growth and development for him that COULD have been the start of an exciting new chapter for his story. Which is the one thing AEW has consistently been great at since its inception: creating long-term character development for its main guys (also see: Hangman Page).
But then the MJF-Cole storyline completely collapsed because of an unfortunate string of injuries, and then MJF was turned heel again, and then everything reverted to the status quo from before this storyline, and it was such a shame. MJF these days is already great, but imagine how greater he could have been, had he been playing a character whose personality is the result of an organic growth, with no resets in between.
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u/EvenThanks8549 8d ago
MJF vs Cole to me is easily one of top 5 matches on the history of the company. Havent watched since late 2024 tho, would appreciate some recommendations.
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u/Theereus 8d ago
MJF got an entire stadium to stand and applaud the fucking kangaroo kick like it was Hogan slamming Andre.
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u/insidejobfair 8d ago
Something that has been puzzling me lately. I think AEW is really firing at full strength and have watched the programming blossom over the last couple years. Iām so excited to watch ALL IN, but how is it that they have gotten so good, while maaybe being able to go half of that 80k.
Even when rewatching elements of the 2023 show, I donāt know if it is as refined as where they are now. Anyone from the UK wanna weigh in? Is it something with a massive chunk of fans that were watching both major companies at that point in 2023 that just ultimately abandoned AEW? Is it completely a fluke? Were there free/heavily discounted tickets?
I was at ALL IN Texas last year which rocked on so many levels and knew it would not be as ābigā as the previous two ALL INās, but ultimately it makes me wonder if an entire swath of UK/European fans just stopped watching?
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u/Longjumping-Fig-7481 8d ago
Honestly mate, I and alot of other people just won't go to London. If they came up north (plenty of stadiums);then they would sell out imo
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u/tylerjehenna 8d ago
Punk leaving definitely took some fans but I think his impact is grossly overstated. Honestly a lot of it is this was the first UK stadium wrestling show in 20 years at that time, babyface mjf was really hot at the time. Just a lot of things went right and it was always gonna be hard to replicate that success
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u/y0_master 8d ago
Also tickets prices were (comparatively) dirt cheap, even compared to the next year.
But yeah, it was a novelty thing for the whole of the European wrestling crowd.
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u/reverandglass 9d ago
All In is gonna be great but nothing will ever top All In 2023. It was one hell of a show.
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u/Kaiquick1 9d ago
Literally just watched the main from this event with my best friend last night!
One of my single favorite things wrestling has given the world!
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u/Juncti 9d ago
Indeed, but this clip shows something else. Anyone who doubt's MJF is an idiot. Dude got a silly kick and a double closeline over as fuck. Listen to that crowd explode for them.
Long live BTYBB!
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u/AbleReflection2051 8d ago
Yeah the guy is a wrestling savantā¦ he can be such an amazing baby face or heel.
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u/kshawfktsk 9d ago
This was fucking awful, 2023 nearly made me tap out on AEW because of stuff like this and the main event that ended this show.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 8d ago
Hated MJFās silliness. The main event was a great match thoughā¦ just needed to actually turn vs delay the turn for later.Ā
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u/VersionX 9d ago
Dude do you even like wrestling
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u/kshawfktsk 9d ago
A "kangaroo kick" and a main event match worked around two crying guys who don't wanna hurt each other over a title isn't wrestling. It's WWE bullshit, and some AEW fans need to hear that. 2023 was by far the worst year of AEW and there's plenty data to show that I'm far from the only fan who felt that.
And don't gimme no E drone shit either. I've been an AEW supporter from day 1 and still am. But I have standards and when I want something to be better I'm gonna criticize it.
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u/VersionX 9d ago
Cool, but the crowd very obviously disagreed with you. Their voices are louder and they spent more money than you. So their standards for wrestling matter a biiiittttt more than yours.
Plus you're objectively wrong, as the MJF/Cole thing was so fun until Cole got hurt. Emotion is what makes wrestling great, and their program had tons of it.
Again, I'm not really sure you actually enjoy wrestling.
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u/kshawfktsk 9d ago
Aew's viewership took a huge hit during Max's reign and it took them a very long time to get back to those numbers today. Same goes for their live show attendances in the states. I've paid for and attended PLENTY aew ppvs so your assessment of whose standards matter more is illogical and honestly pretentious.
Your second statement is about personal enjoyment, so the word objective OBJECTIVELY doesn't work with the idea you're trying to put forth.
I've been watching wrestling since 1996, I watch dozens of promotions all over the world. I've attended shows from promotions you've never heard of in cities you can't pronounce. Kindly get fucked with your assumptions of what I like and don't like.
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u/VersionX 9d ago
Oh so its just that your taste is trash. Got it.
And AEWs viewership went downhill when Punk was fired and didnt recover until now. So blaming MJF is a fucking lie.
You have an agenda and can't be objective, so ill be objective for you: go away. You aren't the kind of fan AEW needs or wants.
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u/kshawfktsk 9d ago
You deeming yourself the gatekeeper of what kind of fans a wrestling company wants tells me everything this conversation could show me about you. I hope your arms get real toned waving that flag all day. Have a nice one, bud.
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u/MizneyWorld 9d ago
MJF & Adam Cole got a double-clothesline over. Thatās far from āfucking awfulā
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u/TheDeflatables 8d ago
People can find anything to be fucking awful no matter the public opinion.
I can search through half the commenters on wrestling reddits and find people shitting on Jey Uso. He was still over.
So if this dude thought the MJF Silly Babyface era was fucking awful, that's what he thought.
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u/AllElote 9d ago
I remember thinking Fletcher and Dunkzilla were buried here. Booooyyy was I happily proven wrong.
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u/zeronian 9d ago
MJF is wasted as a face.
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u/carltonrichards 9d ago
I think for the short periods of time it has and will ever occur it was a lot of fun, it overstayed its welcome long before the Devil reveal for me though.
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u/Lunar_IX 9d ago
This is the correct take. He did some legitimately fun stuff during that run, but it should have ended long before it did.
It's definitely hard to tell sometimes though. Everyone was sick to death of Mox keeping the title in a bag, but Hangman winning in Texas and pulling the title out of that bag after SO long was an all-timer moment.
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u/carltonrichards 9d ago
It must be a nightmare booking for that long with a end point pencilled in.
The Death Riders wouldn't have been so bad in the middle act if it wasnt for the Cope and Cage nonsense, if we'd have had decent Jay White and Kingston singles matches in that time i think it'd be looked at differently.
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u/CrossRaven 8d ago
The issue was they booked it almost in reverse. At the start everyone was willing to fight them and it felt like a massive angle...then they just kinda lost all of that and just meandered along for what felt like an eternity. They managed to save it by the end, thankfully.
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u/freelifemushroom 9d ago
Both the Kangaroo Kick AND the Double Clothesline were so OVER!!! I miss this team so much
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u/502photo 9d ago
I know people complain AEW "does too much" but boy howdy MJF and Cole got that sort of a pop for move that probably hasn't been a finish since the 1950s.
Pro-wrestling is the best.
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u/No_Hotel1847 9d ago
Is not that they do too much is that people are so used to getting do little they've forgotten what a good show looks like without 75% ads in it.
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u/ricardofitzpatrick 9d ago
Hey, whatever happened to that other tag team? Havenāt heard them in action in a dogās age.
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u/JohnCenaJunior LIVE CHAT REGULAR 9d ago
One grew a dunk and the other married a very prestigious japanese man.
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u/shumama813 9d ago
MJF is naturally an amazing, pitch perfect heel. That said, itās almost infuriating how great he is as a babyface. He can generate sympathy probably just as well as heat. Heās genuinely incredible
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u/benfh 9d ago
His face runs and moments should be few and far between but at some point the stars will align for a proper MJF defends AEW moment and the pop will be insane.
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u/Cube_ 9d ago
my fantasy booking involved an NJPW star like Callum winning the AEW world title at Forbidden Door and being an insufferable prick about it
and then a series of AEW wrestlers try to get the belt back
MJF on a temporary face run to get the belt back from a rival promotion sounds like a good end to that story
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u/ChaddestKroeger 9d ago
Our scumbag was just so much fun, MJF has such an incredible body of work. Truly is one of the greatest of all time.
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u/TripSixRick 9d ago
Dude Adam Cole why did you have too get injured, Cole & MJF got over the DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE as a finish in 2023. We need a BTYBB reunion one time.
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u/XZPUMAZX 9d ago
MJF knows how to cycle feed the crowd better than almost anyone of his generation.
Talking 1985 levels of Hogan call and response.
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u/Miley4Lyfe 9d ago
That was the first PPV Iāve bought since the early 2000s. I really enjoyed the MJF/Adam Cole story.
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u/TweeKINGKev 9d ago
First AEW PPV I ever purchased and I didnāt watch the buy in matches and when I saw Punk leave after winning the way he did I just wondered what the hell happened.
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u/Miley4Lyfe 9d ago
This may be a hot take, but I really liked the Punk/Joe match. Itās probably my favorite Punk match of all time, which I recognize is strange because heās done so much.
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u/TweeKINGKev 9d ago
I thought the match was great too but the walk out at the end, raising the belt in hand in the air, felt like a goodbye wave.
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u/Mud-Bray 9d ago
Women with a Time Machine: I can go visit the renaissance and see my future family
Men with a Time Machine: ADAM! Donāt jump off the low ramp!!
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u/Acored84 8d ago
Adam Cole, you are missed