#270: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage, AEW All In: London (8/27/2023).
This is a Tag Team Coffin Match.
Darby Allin and Swerve Strickland had been feuding for weeks, with Swerve and AR Fox attacking Darby’s friend Nick Wayne while he was training. This match was later signed for All In, however it would see a line up change just before the show. After getting pinned in a tag team match by Wayne, Swerve kicked Fox out of his Mogul Embassy faction, and Fox’s replacement for this match was Christian Cage, whose own ally Luchasaurus was set to defend the TNT Championship against Allin a week after this at All Out.
In reality, Fox had a passport issue preventing him from traveling to London, and it garnered him some heat backstage for not letting management know in advance. Cage was then announced as his replacement.
In a nice touch, Sting and Allin enter to Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy,” which was his theme song in the final days of WCW.
All four men brawl to start out, with Sting going at Swerve, while Cage and Darby fight briefly. Darby and Swerve get sent to the outside, leaving Christian and Sting to face off. Good throwback to the TNA days. Clothesline by Sting to Swerve, as Darby goes for the Coffin first. Sting attacks Prince Nana with the baseball bat, and then joins Darby in wearing a jacket covered in thumb tacks. Stinger Splash to Swerve and Nana in the corner by Sting and Darby.
Christian gauges Darby’s eyes, while Swerve kicks Sting in the leg. Spear to Sting by Swerve, and Christian with a spear to Darby. Swerve beats up on Sting by the timekeeper’s table, while Christian is in the ring, taping Darby’s wrists behind his back. Swerve has a cricket bat, and he’s driving it into the throat of Sting. Darby avoids a spear by Christian, and springboards off the ropes with a moonsault. He then cannonballs to the outside onto Christian. Sting undoes the tape.
Darby grabs the coffin, and places it on the floor. Sting goes to spinebuster Swerve into it, but Christian kicks the lid shut. He sends Sting into the steel steps, then tosses Darby into the ring. Swerve and Nana set up a table on the outside. Christian drills a chair into the spine of Darby repeatedly. He sets up for the Conchairto, but Darby moves out of the way just in time. Shotgun dropkick to Christian, and he gets dropped head first across the top turnbuckle by Swerve.
Swerve gets hit with the Stundog Millionaire on the apron by Darby. Sting flies off the apron with a splash to Swerve on the table, which doesn’t budge. The fans want another try, so Sting hits a leg drop from the apron, sending Swerve through it this time. Darby sets a chair up, and places Christian on it. Darby goes to the top rope, and hits a shotgun dropkick on him. Sting and Darby toss Christian into the coffin, and he’s fighting off the lid being shut.
Here comes Luchasaurus, who sends Sting into the barricade, and then lawn darts Darby into the coffin. Nick Wayne is here, attacking Luchasaurus with a skateboard. He eats a headbutt for his troubles. Luchasaurus gives him a chokeslam on the board. Wayne has come so far since the days of GCW. He carries Wayne backstage, as Sting sends Swerve head first into the coffin. Sting places Swerve on the lid, and Darby comes off the top rope with the Coffin Drop. Swerve avoids it at the last second, and Darby’s back collides with the coffin.
Sting goes 2 on 1 against Swerve and Christian in the ring, hitting dueling Stinger Splashes to both. He applies the Scorpion Deathlock to Christian, and eats a chair shot to the back by Swerve. Sting simply stands up, and pounds his chest. He punches the chair into Swerve’s face, and punches him in the corner. Christian lands a low blow, and a baseball shot. Swerve connects with the Double Stomp from the top. Christian brings the coffin into the ring.
Christian tosses Darby into the barricade repeatedly, while Swerve tosses Sting and the bat into the coffin. Swerve shuts the lid, but Sting uses the bat to block it from completely shutting. Swerve with the House Call kick to Sting, followed by a power slam on the coffin. Christian is choking Darby at ringside. Swerve is on the top rope, and misses a 450 splash, landing right on the coffin. Darby takes the TNT Championship and decks Christian in the head.
Sting grabs Swerve and hits the Scorpion Deathdrop on the coffin! Sting places him in the coffin, and Swerve is using his hands to block the lid from shutting. Sting uses the lid on Swerve’s back, and Darby hits the Coffin Drop to the lid, crushing Swerve. They shut the lid, and the match is over. That was every Sting match in AEW – a wild brawl, and thoroughly entertaining. What I found interesting about watching this match back is that this took place right before Swerve’s feud with Hangman Page – where he’d become the hottest wrestler in the company. So, that was interesting.
But yeah, this was a fun brawl, and it was always nice to see Sting just compete in AEW at all. Nothing to write home about, though. Just good fun.