The development of Cody and The Young Bucks‘ All In show has been one of pro wrestling’s most interesting recent stories outside of the ring. The trio from Bullet Club and the Being The Elite webseries announced their goal to self-fund a show that would sell out a 10,000 seat arena back in November. Since then it’s looked more and more likely they will achieve that goal, which would be a huge achievement for independent wrestling.
At a press conference at the Pro Wrestling Tees retail store in Chicago today, the All In talent was set to make another big announcement about the show. Given that CM Punk was recently announced to be doing a meet and greet at this store the day before All In, many speculated they might be announcing his involvement. We know the Bucks were trying to get Punk to come back to wrestling about the time they started planning All In. Punk was ultimately not announced, but we did get more details about the show and who will be performing there.
First, Cody took the podium and said he wants to move beyond “good wrestling” and “great wrestling,” and move to the era of “elite wrestling.” He thanked Cracker Barrel, Hot Topic, One Hour Tees, and Ring of Honor, with whom Cody and the Bucks were exclusively contracted at the time they announced All In.
He welcomed Billy Corgan, owner of the NWA brand and a Chicago native, to the stage, who announced that the NWA championship will be defended at All In. After Corgan left the stage, Cody announced that he will be challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (currently held by Nick Aldis) at All In.
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Another highlight of the press conference was a man from “Flat Earth Press” asking Marty Scurll and Hangman Page if Flip Gordon would be booked for the show. The Bullet Club members called the “reporter” to the front, where he was revealed to be clearly Flip Gordon in a hat and mustache.
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A brawl ensued, after which Gordon was left in the fetal position on the floor. As Gordon was removed from the building by security, the Young Bucks informed him that he was still not booked.
The Young Bucks then announced another big name talent for the All In who is sure to put some butts in seats: Rey Mysterio. Mysterio has been appearing all over the wrestling world this year. He has appeared in WWE, indie gigs, and is scheduled to face a TBD opponent at NJPW’s Dominion show on June 9.
All In will take place at the Sears Centre Arena (capacity: 11,218) on September 1, 2018. The show has already been covered by non-wrestling media like the Chicago Tribune, been putting up billboards in the Chicago arena, and already has lineup stacked with top notch talent from ROH, NJPW, Impact, and the indie wrestling world. Before today, here’s everyone we knew to be All In:
- Cody
- The Young Bucks
- Stephen Amell
- Kenny Omega
- Hangman Adam Page
- Marty Scurll
- Tessa Blanchard
- Brandi Rhodes
- Fenix
- Pentagon Jr.
- Kazuchika Okada
- Chelsea Green
- Joey Janela
- Penelope Ford
- Jay Lethal
- Son Of Havoc
- Britt Baker
- Deonna Purrazzo
- NOT Flip Gordon
Starrcast, the official convention partner for All In, will take place from 8/30 to 9/2, and will feature many other guests including Terry Funk, Jeff Jarrett, Lex Luger, Tully Blanchard, Diamond Dallas Page, Billy Gunn, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Ron Simmons, Jerry Lawler, and celebrity wrestling enthusiasts Ron Funches and Macaulay Culkin.
Obviously, there’s still plenty of time for more All In announcements, and one of them could be CM Punk! (Heck, maybe they’ll finally get Hulk Hogan to join Bullet Club and get him back in wrestling before WWE does, which would certainly get them some press.) But given that tickets go on sale today at 4 PM ET, it seems like they would have announced Punk at this press conference if he was performing. However, Cody and the Bucks may be confident they can sell out quickly without him, which would help silence critics of their achievement.
