Ex-WWE star Ricochet makes his debut for AEW at All In at London’s Wembley Stadium – and joins the rival firmly. It’s not the only surprise appearance of the night.
In a whirlwind night of wrestling packed with spectacular matches, surprise comebacks and debuts, his was the biggest: WWE rival AEW unveiled Ricochet as its latest signing at the mega-show All In at Wembley!
RICOCHET IS HERE IN AEW!
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https://t.co/JlBXZPLNGj@KingRicochet pic.twitter.com/MhY5p5R3lH– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 25, 2024
As had been foreshadowed, Ricochet made his AEW debut in London, confirming months of rumors of a move from WWE to the competitor: The Highflyer was an unannounced participant in the Casino Gauntlet match for a shot at the World Title – and, as expected, performed numerous acrobatic moves.
AEW confirmed the obvious via social media: The 35-year-old – considered by many to have fallen short of his potential in WWE – has signed a permanent contract with Tony Khan’s league.
Legend Nigel McGuinness back
Another surprise participant in the match was the British local hero Nigel McGuinness, who had previously only been active as an AEW commentator. The 48-year-old once had a high-class feud with the young Danielson at ROH – before he had to end his career early due to injury and seemed to be deprived of a career on a bigger stage.
WHAT?! NIGEL MCGUINNES IS IN THE CASINO GAUNTLET MATCH!
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https://t.co/JlBXZPLNGj@McGuinnessNigel pic.twitter.com/XhLkAJwgtm– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 25, 2024
Now he ran in like before to “Fucking in the Bushes” by Oasis, had an acclaimed exchange of blows with fellow countryman Zack Sabre Jr. and nurtured hopes of a late revival of the rivalry with Danielson – which, however, is yet to come: somewhat surprisingly, former champion Christian Cage won the match instead of Ricochet, McGuinness or top stars Kazuchika Okada and Hangman Page (WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett knocked out his rival with a guitar).
Cage also entered unannounced after losing the Trios Title to Pac, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta in the opener with his Patriarchy (Killswitch and Nick Wayne). The title loss appeared to result in a split between Cage and the masked giant Killswitch – but this proved to be a deception: Killswitch instead helped Cage to victory in the Gauntlet by giving competitor Kyle O’Reilly a Chokeslam and then laying Cage on top of him.
Sting makes a nostalgic appearance – Brit duo hits bigger
Another surprise appearance was made by retired legend Sting, who stood by old companion Darby Allin: After losing a Coffin Match against TNT Champion Jack Perry, Perry and the Young Bucks allied with him hinted at lighting the coffin Allin had landed in – the WCW icon stopped it and gave the Bucks a Double Scorpion Death Drop.
IT’S STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
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https://t.co/JlBXZPLNGj@boy_myth_legend @DarbyAllin @YoungBucks @Sting pic. twitter.com/lzESlWeEco– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 25, 2024
The Bucks had previously retained their tag team titles in a three-way match against FTR and The Acclaimed before another duo entered the fray: former WWE Brit scene greats The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) from Liverpool, who stood menacingly in front of the Bucks – and then attacked FTR when the Bucks eluded them.
