Review: AEW All In Texas 2025
All In! Texas! All In Texas!
Live from Globe Life Field in Arlington!
Zero Hour
Sons of Texas vs Shane Taylor Promotions: It’s Dustin and Sammy and the Von Erich kids against Taylor and Moriarty and the Infantry! Dustin and Sammy will be pulling double-duty tonight as Adam Cole is out and it’s now a TNT title four-way with them, Fletcher, and Dan Garcia. So double Sammy Guevara! …..yay! Sons of Texas all wear cowboy hats except for Ross, the little one with the kayfabe height of 6’1”.
Possibly because Dustin and Sammy are working again later, and also possibly just because it’s a pre-show match, this isn’t much, but everyone’s out there in the stadium with a spot on the show (kinda). Kevin Von Erich is in the babyface corner and does get the Iron Claw on Anthony Ogogo, which is probably a hoot for both of them and got the “pop” from yours truly. Not a crossover of people from my overall radar that I’d have ever expected 13 years ago, I can tell you that. Not gonna “star rate” this, not worth bothering. Babyfaces win.
Big Boom AJ, Kyle O’Reilly, Hologram & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hechicero, Lance Archer & RPG Vice: Just had a braineurysm typing out that match listing, I think. And then I got Vince Voice in my head, “TEAM CAPTAINS Big Boom AJ and Hechicero along with…”
Hologram has PPV gear! Good for him. This is your standard nonsense but then right as I start to think about how funny it is that “Big Justice” and “The Rizzler (Cowboy Remix)” are just sitting on chairs all the way on the other side of the ring from Big Boom AJ and friends, Beretta comes over and piefaces Big Justice. I laugh at that, I laugh at Rizzler manspreading in his cowboy boots and dungarees, I laugh at Big Botox AJ running over and chasing after them when his large son points at Beretta to cry about who did it, I laugh at Hechicero reacting in fear to AJ.
Eventually, Cookie Fellow does the bit that he can do, and Archer does his best to make it all look as good as it’s gonna. Then we get Hechicero vs Big Boom AJ. I don’t know what to tell you, watching Hechicero hit that dude with a high knee in the corner is getting me.
Big Boom AJ and Ishii both can’t be hurt by conventional junior heavyweight forearm strikes. O’Reilly is out here having a blast. Hologram is Hologram. The match is doing what it’s supposed to do, and lacks the self-seriousness of “Logan Paul is actually good, you guys!” Big Justice gets revenge on Trent with a spear. Good guys win. ***
The Outrunners vs FTR: Now, listen, part of me thinks you’re going back to the well way too soon, but another and bigger part of me thinks these guys beat so much ass on Collision 100 that they all truly deserve to turn it around into a stadium rematch, even if it’s just the pre-show.
The Outrunners have Newport trousers on. We’re starting at 4* and going from there. Outrunners get a good start in this one, you get the sense they’re wrestling with lessons learned from the Collison meeting, and have a sharp game plan to open, but Floyd gets his knee dinged again early, too, and that’s FTR working off of the last match. Go to his weakness.
Truth’s hot tag is good, overhand chops and dropkicks, this guy has, like, flipped a switch. Once again, though, he’s basically left to his own devices, as Floyd’s knee has all but taken him out of the match. Magnum’s gonna barber shop window that guy if this keeps up much longer.
God. This is really good. Again. Beautifully timed spot where Dax tackles Magnum right when he’s about to tag Floyd, and Magnum has to go ass over elbows to make not tagging anyway make sense.
Once Magnum FINALLY gets the tag, it’s still not allowed, because Stoke is distract the referee. But not long after, hobbled Turbo DOES get the tag, and here he comes, doing what he can, and what he can is scoop slams, fighting through the pain. It’s gameday, baby.
Nigel sounds almost snarky pointing out that Floyd’s knee seems to be fine after all.
Outrunners hit the double elbow and Dax, who is an absolute king of near-fall kick-outs, has it timed just right at 2.9997. FTR try for Shatter Machine, don’t get it. Stokely saves them from losing, then helps Dax double-cheat on a roll-up for the win. This wasn’t anywhere near as far off of the Collision match as I expected it to be. It lacked the bigger drama and freshness of that one, but that’s it. This was, again, truly outstanding tag team pro wrestling. ****¼
And now for the real program!