All In (2018)

The 2018 All In was an independent professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in association with the American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). At the time, Rhodes and the Jacksons had been a part of the Bullet Club of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and ROH. The event took place during Labor Day weekend on Saturday, September 1, 2018, at the Sears Centre Arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The event aired live on traditional PPV outlets, FITE TV, and Honor Club, but it was later made available for on-demand viewing on the NJPW World streaming service. The event included Zero Hour, an hour-long pre-show that aired on WGN America. While independently produced, the event featured wrestlers from ROH, NJPW, Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Major League Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

The event had 11 matches, with two being on the pre-show. The show's main event was a six-man tag team match which saw The Golden Elite (Kota Ibushi, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) defeat Rey Fénix, Bandido, and Rey Mysterio. In the penultimate match, Kazuchika Okada defeated Marty Scurll. On the undercard, Cody defeated Nick Aldis to win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, Jay Lethal successfully defended the ROH World Championship against Flip Gordon, and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defeated Penta El Zero in a non-title match.

The event was notable for being the first non-WWE or World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promoted professional wrestling event in the United States to sell 10,000 tickets since 1993. The success of the event inspired the formation of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in January 2019, with The Elite (Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Omega) becoming executive vice presidents of the company. AEW would subsequently establish a spiritual successor to All In entitled All Out, which was also held during Labor Day weekend (until 2024) and considered one of AEW's "big four" annual PPV events. After AEW president Tony Khan acquired ROH in 2022, obtaining the rights to All In, AEW revived the event in 2023, with All In becoming an annual summer PPV for AEW and their marquee event, similar in comparison to WWE's WrestleMania, joining AEW's "big four" as the "big five".

In May 2017, a fan asked Wrestling Observer Newsletter journalist Dave Meltzer on Twitter if Ring of Honor (ROH) could sell 10,000 tickets and Meltzer responded: "Not any time soon." Cody Rhodes took Meltzer's remark as a challenge and responded: "I'll take that bet Dave." Eventually, the idea evolved from an ROH show to a self-funded event (with ROH's official sanctioning), promoted by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). It was later announced that Kenny Omega, Brandi Rhodes, and actor Stephen Amell would be participating in the event.

On December 31, 2017, Cody and The Young Bucks announced on the Bucks' YouTube channel, Being The Elite, that they were looking at different venues to hold the event. It was later reported by Pro Wrestling Insider that the event was set to be held in Chicago. On January 10, 2018, it was announced that the event would take place on September 1, titled All In. On March 5, All In's venue was revealed as the Sears Centre Arena located in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Over the coming weeks, independent wrestlers would be announced to take part in the show, including Penta El Zero, Rey Fénix, Kazuchika Okada, Deonna Purrazzo (though she would later be removed after signing with WWE), Tessa Blanchard, Jay Lethal, Chelsea Green, Marty Scurll, and Hangman Page. Additionally, it was announced that to coincide with the event, Conrad Thompson would hold Starrcast, a fan convention which would feature numerous wrestlers and wrestling and podcast personalities including Jeff Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard, Diamond Dallas Page, and Macaulay Culkin. During the All In press conference on May 13, it was announced that Rey Mysterio and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis would be taking part in the event.

Tickets for the show were put on sale on May 13 and sold out in less than 30 minutes despite Cody and The Young Bucks announcing only one match for the show. In the months leading up to the event, more wrestlers were announced to be "all in", including Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Madison Rayne, Kota Ibushi, SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky), Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Barreta), and The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe). During this time, Cody and The Young Bucks started a YouTube series called All Us, chronicling the lead-up to the event. On July 13, it was announced that Alicia Atout, Bobby Cruise, Don Callis, Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Justin Roberts, and Sean Mooney would serve as All In's broadcast team, with Brent Tarring being announced as a commentator on August 27. Bandido was announced for the show on July 25. On August 6, it was announced on Being The Elite that All In's main card would broadcast on pay-per-view and Fite TV, with an hour-long pre-show called Zero Hour airing on WGN America at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time. Later that day, it was announced that the event's main card would also broadcast on ROH's streaming service Honor Club. Additionally on August 6, Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, and Ethan Page were announced for the show. From August 15 until August 18, Brian Cage, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Jacobs, and Marko Stunt were announced for the show. On August 23, Brandon Cutler was announced for the show. Punishment Martinez was announced for the show on August 27. On August 29, it was announced that All In would be available for on demand viewing on NJPW World, after being broadcast live. On August 31, Austin Gunn, son of Billy Gunn, was announced for the show. On September 1, Tim Storm was announced for the show. Wrestler Adam Birch was scheduled to be a producer on the show, but in the early morning hours of September 1 he was arrested in Schaumburg, Illinois after police noticed him sleeping in his car and discovered he had an outstanding warrant in Florida.

All In comprised 11 professional wrestling matches, including two on the Zero Hour pre-show, that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Storylines were produced on The Young Bucks' YouTube series Being The Elite, the NWA's Ten Pounds of Gold documentary series, Cody's Nightmare Family YouTube series ALL US – The All In Story, and at various shows produced by the promotions involved.

On April 10, Joey Ryan was (kayfabe) killed on Being The Elite by a mystery assailant in a Japanese hotel room. On June 4 on Being The Elite, Japanese police arrested Arrow star Stephen Amell for Ryan's murder. On July 16, it was revealed that Christopher Daniels had framed Amell for the murder. On August 6 on Being The Elite, it was announced that Amell, who had recently been released from prison, would face Daniels at All In. On August 27 on Being The Elite, Daniels and Amell would have their final confrontation before the event, with Amell warning Daniels that he would put him through a table just like he did during his debut in Ring of Honor.