Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Robert DeFelice, Tony Mango, and Callum Wiggins will be giving their thoughts on what may happen at the first ever ALL IN spectacular!

It's the biggest independent wrestling show ever. There's no real precedent, so why don't we just boldly go where no smark has gone before? Let's discuss…


WIGGINS: The match I'm looking forward to the most is Marty Scurll vs Kazuchika Okada, for a wide variety of reasons. I think it's a match with some of the best build-up leading into it, with them playing up the Heavyweight against Junior angle, and Scurll's umbrella prop being an excellent counter to 'stop the rain'. Plus, it feels like a match I'm not likely to see anywhere else, and Okada is the greatest wrestler on the planet right now, so you can't really go wrong with one of his matches.

Most of the people on the card I'm familiar with in one form or another, but this will be my first encounter with Joey Janela and Penelope Ford. I've heard a lot about both, as wrestlers and as promoters so it will be interesting to see Janela wrestle for the first time. Especially because he's against Hangman Page, who has been one of the underrated stars in wrestling for all of 2018.

MANGO: I'm going in not 100% blind, but certainly with horrible vision, as I'm only knowledgeable about a handful of names, and some of them are people I've only seen a couple of times. With that being said, Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon is probably the one that seems like it will be the best, to me. If not that, then perhaps Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes. Forgive me, Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada.

DeFELICE: Definitely the match with the most potential in my eyes is Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon. Kenny Omega is undoubtedly the hottest non-WWE Professional Wrestler on the planet today. Pentagon is a guy who has taken the world by storm thanks to Lucha Underground and has soared to new heights thanks to his work with Impact Wrestling. I'm very curious as to how much time they'll get and how much leeway there will be with the rules because they can create something really magical for that Chicago crowd with the right circumstances and this is one show that deserves a match of Kenny's caliber. That being said, the one issue I have with this show is the lack of any real personal issue going into the matches. For that reason, I'm probably most intrigued by the NWA Championship match but more on that below.


DeFELICE: Cody Rhodes needs to win this match. In my opinion, this is the pivotal moment of the ALL IN spectacular, The one match that has had quite a lot of build and hype surrounding it. The championship on the line is so closely associated with Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes, the structure of this event and how it all came to be is so strikingly similar to Dusty's brainchild of Starrcade, it's going to be such a great wrestling moment to see Cody win this championship and I hope that he recreates his father's famous speech from when he experienced first championship win.

Do I think it will revitalize the NWA? I hope so. Billy Corgan has also put a lot of work into this show and the hype videos on YouTube. The NWA has long been considered a dead brand but if there's ever a shot at a rebirth it starts here and it starts with Cody Rhodes winning the championship.

WIGGINS: I think the NWA brand has revitalized itself well already during the reign of Nick Aldis, with the influence of Billy Corgan and their 'Ten Pounds of Gold' YouTube series. But certainly having Cody Rhodes hold this title considering his lineage and the reputation he's built since leaving WWE will be a huge shot in the arm of the whole NWA brand.

I don't doubt that this will be the main event of the evening and should be a solid match calling back to the psychology and showmanship of a bygone era. Rhodes winning the championship immediately adds fresh eyes onto the NWA, building them up into being another viable alternative out there for wrestling fans, but I can't say it would be completely restored with just this change, regardless of Rhodes' reputation.

MANGO: I certainly hope he wins the title. I think this could be the start of a great cohesion between different indie feds and if they all unite under the NWA again, that could be a means to an end. Plus, it will make it seem like something even more historic happened, instead of just being "a fun show" for fans.


MANGO: I'm so sick of WWE lately, especially with this Braun Strowman heel turn. Clearly, they just keep beating the same drum, and I'm burned out having to write and talk about the same shit nonstop. Thankfully, All In is going to showcase brand new talent for me to see for the first time, in a different environment, with a different style, so it might freshen up my attitude. As far as for historical purposes, this is going to go down as an example that WWE does have competition, and while it isn't one brand like WCW, it's "the entirety of pro wrestling in general" that could oppose the empire.

DeFELICE: In short, this show means everything. There's never been anything like this in our lifetime. An independent wrestling collective coming together for a show that is going to celebrate the growth of the independent wrestling industry over the last several years. Yeah, WWE will always be untouchable, but for the first time in what feels like our entire lifetime, we have a real alternative. I want to show to succeed. I want wrestling to be great again. I want options, and alternatives, and intrigue. I genuinely believe that this show is the beginning of all of it happening for our generation.

WIGGINS: All In is a significant moment for true alternatives to WWE to gain some mainstream exposure and show there are options beyond the big company up north. While I am excited and deeply impressed by the marketing, effort, development and balls of Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks for pulling off this frankly monumental feat in modern times, I'm mainly just walking into this hoping for a great show. I don't think I'll let the ramifications or the moment itself sink in until I'm actually watching All In unfold.

Ramifications? It's too early to say, as so many factors are up in the air. What if the show fails to deliver on quality? Will WWE's financial strength lure away Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks? How big a venue can they find for All In 2? One thing that is for certain though is this event will go down in history for all the right reasons, and it could (emphasis on could) be the launching pad for true competition in worldwide wrestling for the first time in two decades.