AEW All In 2025 predictions roundtable: 5 biggest questions for the loaded wrestling weekend

As we head into one of the most stacked wrestling weekends of the year, it's full steam ahead into the second half of 2025. In the world of sports entertainment, the dog days of summer are nonexistent. Thanks, Paul Levesque and Tony Khan.

After offering up their takes on what has already transpired in the wrestling world this year, the Uncrowned Horsemen — Robert Jackman, Raj Prashad, Drake Riggs and Anthony Sulla-Heffinger — are gathering once again to examine what is yet to come, particularly AEW’s All-In Texas event and WWE’s Atlanta doubleheader with Saturday Night’s Main Event and Evolution.

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Let’s ride!

1. After Double or Nothing, AEW has undeniable momentum. Is it an overstatement or understatement to say Tony Khan’s company can win 2025 with another excellent PPV this weekend?

Jackman: That's certainly my assessment. Obviously we should preface this with the obligatory reminder of what an uneven year that AEW had in 2024 and also the inescapable fact that WWE is by far the bigger and more important product as a cultural phenomenon. But if you’re looking at who has the momentum in terms of their overall product right now, then AEW has the edge.

Obviously there’s still half of the year to go, and there’s the very real possibility that WWE puts the whole John Cena heel turn to bed and delivers the kind of retirement run that has us giving them a misty-eyed standing ovation come December. If they can get that right then AEW is going to need a spectacular run to maintain their edge in the second half of 2025.

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Sulla-Heffinger: I am going to go with understatement here, with the caveat that it all depends on how you define “win” for 2025.

Look, WWE is an absolute juggernaut, a force of nature across sports, entertainment and any medium that intersects with it, so just because AEW might “win” 2025, doesn’t mean WWE necessarily “lost.” Tony Khan and AEW are coming off of perhaps the best show in the company’s history with Double or Nothing and you have a card for All In Texas that could surpass even that. All of that has contributed to a palpable excitement around the promotion, and its shows that was missing for a little while before eventually finding its footing again midway through last year.

As much as we love to compare the promotions — we’re all guilty of it — what this boils down to for me goes beyond pure financials. I’m looking at this from a perspective of asking what will fans and wrestling/combat sports media be talking about not just on Monday, but five months or a year from now when we look back. If All In Texas delivers like it should, it’s going to be AEW.

Prashad: Overstatement. AEW has had an outstanding first half of 2025. WWE had a fast start, retaining an element of shocking moments throughout the first few months of the year. But what followed has been a mixed bag for sure, especially when it comes to both of the men’s major championships.

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AEW feels like it found its footing throughout 2024 and launched into 2025 with a blend of the right stories, top talent hitting their stride, and leaning on its exceptional in-ring product. AEW has all the momentum heading into its biggest show of the year, but that’s half the battle. To me, it’s more about whether Tony Khan’s promotion can continue to build off the success of its largest North American show to date rather than what WWE can do to recover ground.

Riggs: Understatement. AEW won the first half of 2025 and has a solid lead regarding overall quality. Additionally, WWE has put more pressure on itself by scheduling multiple events this weekend against "AEW's WrestleMania." There's a very real possibility that both WWE PLEs combined fall short against AEW All In. That would be a tough look, depending on how much better one is over the other, considering, again, AEW All-In is the company's biggest show of the year.

However, because this is midway point of the year, with the way both companies' calendars are aligned, the fallout that can come down from AEW All In may only give fans even more to look forward to.

2. Which match on the All-In Texas card are you most excited for?

Riggs: The obvious answer here for most will — and probably should be — Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. Why?

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The feels, man.

The moments.

These are the types of settings fans live for, and what you hope to see out of a show this big. It's one of those matches where even if it doesn't feel quite the same at this moment in time, or like it's possible to live up to the history Okada and Omega share, none of that will matter once they're in the ring together, soaking in the atmosphere. It's going to be electric.

Prashad: From a purely wrestling standpoint, Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada is going to be surreal to see under the AEW umbrella. But I’m a sucker for exceptional stories, and watching “Hangman” Adam Page navigate the ups and downs of the past few years and find himself in the main event feels poetic. Jon Moxley, whether fans have agreed with his current championship run alongside the Death Riders or not, has been a glue guy since essentially All In last year.

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Their showdown in Texas has all the feels, drama, a great story, and should be a vicious Texas Deathmatch. It’s going to be bloody, brutal — and potentially another defining moment on AEW’s biggest stage.

Jackman: Omega vs. Okada for sure. That’s both for the obvious reasons — the fact that the competitors are generational talents and just happen to be the closest thing we’ve seen to wrestling soulmates — but also some of the more sentimental vibes surrounding this match. Kenny Omega’s return after his horrendous health battle has been one of those genuinely uplifting moments in pro-wrestling, and this feels like the perfect way to cap off that particular story.

I also think it’s significant that Omega vs. Okada 5 will be their first outing under the AEW umbrella. Tony Khan’s fanboy tendencies can be pretty transparent at times (hey, that’s no bad thing) and it’s visible from outer space how highly he thinks of these two. By giving them both big roles in AEW, he’s helped introduce their work to a whole new strata of more casual wrestling fans, so it’s fitting that their biggest match yet will take place under his patronage.

Sulla-Heffinger: All due respect to Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada, but the answer here for me is "Timeless" Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Moné.

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These two women are at the peak of their respective careers, with the top women’s prize in AEW on the line in one of the biggest matches — men’s or women’s — in the company’s history. The stakes here are immense.

The character and storytelling that Storm brings into this build and match are perhaps the only thing that overshadows her in-ring ability and reigns as AEW Women’s Champion. On the other side, there’s an argument that Moné is the best women’s wrestler on the planet right now and she hasn’t missed on a major AEW show since her in-ring debut at Double or Nothing 2024.

I genuinely believe these two will deliver a Match of the Year performance on Saturday.

3. We’ve been collectively wrong about this before, but why is it time for Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship reign to end?

Prashad: Ok, seriously this is the time. I felt it with Swerve Strickland and almost every time Moxley has defended the belt this year. But there’s no better story than Hangman Page’s redemption arc leading to this moment. Each time Moxley was faced with a challenge, the timing to swap the title never quite felt as justified as this one.

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Like Bryan Danielson last year at Wembley, the moment has been built almost to a level where anything other than Page riding off with the title over his shoulder feels like blatantly ignoring what the collective audience is yearning for.

Riggs: Let me start with maybe a low-key reason it's time: For the sake of Moxley. There have been moments throughout this Deathriders era of Mox that have been good, of course. But his work as a fearless, solo madman before the alliance is what has made him special, and where he's his very best. He also no longer needs the title (which has been hidden away), and this version of himself has suffered for it. Simultaneously, he's become AEW's ultra-villain, almost Roman Reigns-like, who will elevate his successor. He's hit the ceiling of that villainhood and did so a while ago. It's overdue in every sense.

Jackman: Yes, absolutely. There’s a lot of performative anger towards Moxley out there (which is odd — do you really think a guy who willingly takes metal spikes into his spine is going to be thin-skinned?) but that doesn’t change the fact that this big title run just hasn’t really worked for AEW. I was rewatching his title victory against Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream the other day and you just felt all of the air go out of the room the minute that Moxley won.

I still think there’s a big role for the man in AEW but this latest run just hasn’t been it. We all know there’s a fine balance between having a heel champion and someone that the audiences actively dislike (what they used to call “go home heat”). At times, Moxley’s title run has felt like a scientific experiment to see how far Tony Khan can push that line.

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Sulla-Heffinger: Is it too easy to just say we need to see the championship belt on television again?

All kidding aside, Moxley’s reign has been polarizing and a completely different direction from anything we’ve seen in recent memory in pro wrestling. Has it been the best? No. Has it been as awful as some people think? Also no, but it’s time for Mox and the Death Riders to shake things up. Everyone involved becomes far more compelling with a major loss, as we’ve seen cracks begin to sprout in the foundation of the group’s dominance recently.

For Page to be the one to dethrone Moxley would be incredibly fitting, because he’s shown a tendency for violence that matches Mox’s and he’ll always have a bit of that anti-hero charm, even as the babyface and an AEW OG entering the match.

Jackman: Neither. Having Trish Stratus win would totally pull the rug from underneath the upcoming Women’s Championship match at WWE SummerSlam (Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill), which currently looks like one of the most exciting title matches on the horizon.

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In all honesty, I just can’t see any plausible reason why Stratus should even be considered as a top-level champion right now. Yes, her feud with Becky Lynch in 2023 was great, but she had zero chemistry with Stratton when they appeared together at Elimination Chamber. I cannot for the life of me see how anyone looked at that match and thought they needed to go one-on-one.

As for Goldberg, I just don’t see it happening. The match has had minimal buildup (despite all those excited reports a few weeks ago about how Goldberg would be appearing on “WWE Raw” every week) and all signs point to this being a predictable passing of the torch rather than a serious contest.

Prashad: Oof, this one is difficult. In theory, the answer is neither. Saturday’s match against Gunther has been billed as Goldberg’s final match. There’s no positive momentum I can draw from Goldberg taking the belt off Gunther, who was at one time an absolute monster but has since been relegated to getting choked out at WrestleMania and putting on a competitive match against WWE commentator Pat McAfee. As a character, having Gunther drop the title to Goldberg feels almost inexcusable.

The Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus dilemma is interesting. SummerSlam is right around the corner and what happens with the WWE Women’s Championship could be fascinating. Jade Cargill is in line for a shot at the title, and Naomi holds the Money in the Bank briefcase, almost certainly lining up for a title change (or two) at the two-night show. If one legend was going to take a title, my pick would be Stratus as a way to feed Cargill as her star continues to rise.

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Riggs: Nope. Nope, nope, no and nope again. I understand the Trish Stratus utilization purely to the extent of the event it's a part of. And Goldberg going against Gunther is totally fine, considering they laid that foundation earlier this year, regardless of how loosely. But the title being on the line is completely ridiculous, especially when you consider that freaking pre-release R-Truth had a match against the WWE Champion John Cena, also on a Saturday Night's Main Event.

Sulla-Heffinger: Trish Stratus should beat Tiffany Stratton at Evolution on Sunday. I don’t want to overlook the PLE, but it’s hard not to with SummerSlam less than a month away and the big-money match of Naomi vs. Jade Cargill kind of staring us in the face for MetLife Stadium. After her No Holds Barred match against Cargill earlier in the night, Naomi should threaten a cash-in, distracting Stratton and allowing Stratus to pick up the win and an abbreviated celebration as the only woman to hold the old WWE Women’s Championship and the current iteration. As Stratus celebrates, then Naomi cashes in and walks out as champion with nuclear heat.

A loss to Stratus, especially with outside interference, won’t hurt Stratton’s character as much as it seems and it puts us on a collision course for the trilogy Naomi vs. Cargill match with the title at stake at SummerSlam.

On the men’s side, a Goldberg win doesn’t really advance anything in terms of the World Heavyweight Championship, but a loss adds a major — if unnecessary — notch on the belt of Gunther, who should insufferably bring up “I retired Goldberg” any time he needs instant heat.

5. It’s been almost seven years since WWE held an all-women's PLE. Do you expect the second edition of Evolution to be better, worse or about the same as the first one? Should this PLE happen annually?

Riggs: First of all, it's insane that the first Evolution PLE was in 2018. Somewhat spring-boarding off of that, the only memorable match from that event was Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. I'm not sure whether that's a personal issue or an event-quality issue. Still, with that in mind, and considering the upcoming lineup and current landscape, Evolution 2025 will be better.

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As for an annual affair, I'm not sure how I feel about that. Maybe biannually, but it shouldn't feel like something forced, right? Think akin to the Hell In a Cell PLE, or any that is titled after a match stipulation. My philosophy has always been that if it's named after that, every match should be under that stipulation. Otherwise, don't force it for the sake of doing it. Put on those match types when it makes sense for the story. I'm looking at you, Hell In a Cell 2019.

Sulla-Heffinger: I’m going to say Evolution 2025 will be a better show than the inaugural one from 2018. Echoing Riggs, Lynch and Flair’s match was an instant classic, but the rest of the show was somewhat run-of-the-mill.

This year we’ll have a Women’s World Championship match between Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley, a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match between Lynch, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, and don’t sleep on the NXT title match between Jacy Jayne and Jordynne Grace.

All of that said, I do think there are a few factors working against this year’s installment. First, it’s tucked into an absolutely loaded weekend on not just the WWE front, but it’s running quasi-against AEW All In as well. Second, the injury to Liv Morgan appears to have definitely altered some plans for the event, leading to some scrambling and stalled hype. Finally, there has to be a little PLE fatigue at this point. Once Evolution airs Sunday, it will be the ninth PLE WWE has held since WrestleMania 41 in April.

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As far as Evolution becoming an annual occurrence, I would like to see it happen, maybe later in the year around where Survivor Series/War Games is the only true WWE tentpole.

Jackman: I don’t want to sound too kumbaya here, but I think the ultimate proof of the success of women’s wrestling is the fact that it has become completely integrated into the product. The likes of Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Becky Lynch, Naomi, etc., aren’t “women wrestlers”; they’re top-tier wrestlers who have consistently proven their ability to steal the show on your typical card. Ring-fencing their big matches on a separate PLE arguably undermines them, rather than helps them.

To state the obvious, 2018 was a very different time to now. While the Divas era was practically dead by that point, Evolution served as the most visible milestone in the transition away from Vince McMahon's titillation stuff to a much more professional product. In that way, Evolution was very much a product of its time.

Then there’s the more cynical reason why WWE might have held an all-women’s event. Let’s not forget that, back in 2018, they’d just held their first major Saudi Arabia event in which (back then) women were not allowed to appear on the show. I suspect that having a U.S.-based show in which the female talents were front and center was a way of trying to blunt the edge of that particular PR nightmare.

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Prashad: The card certainly looks significantly better this time around than the first Evolution. As much as this event feels thrown together, there’s plenty of stories to be invested in. Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are certified stars, with huge performances almost a given. The Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus match provides the WWE Women’s Champion another chance for the future to test an all-time great. Jade Cargill and Naomi could be a show-stealer, and the triple-threat match between Bayley, Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria has the chance to set the tone for the entire women’s division.

I’m not against Evolution being an annual show, but I feel like WWE should lean further into partnerships for this event in a way AEW currently thrives. It’s not that WWE’s women’s roster is lacking, it’s just the matches feel relatively recycled and not special in a way the Evolution card could be built.

Bonus: We’ll get into the picks later on, but what is your one slam-dunk prediction for this weekend?

Sulla-Heffinger: I alluded to this earlier, but I am doubling down on Trish Stratus beating Tiffany Stratton and winning the WWE Women’s Championship. Stratus is such an important figure in the history of WWE women’s wrestling that she deserves this moment, as fleeting as it may be, assuming Naomi cashes in.

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Jackman: Becky Lynch walks out of Atlanta still holding that Intercontinental Championship. I’d bet the house on it. Why the confidence? Well, I actually rewatched the original Evolution this weekend, and Michael Cole makes an explicit reference to Lynch making her WWE debut on July 13, 2015 — meaning that WWE Evolution 2025 will come 10 years after that very day.

Given those circumstances, do we really think they’re going to have her drop the belt? That’s before we get to the fact that Lynch vs. Valkyria 3 (tagline: Triumph of the Babyface) has to be one of the most anticipated likely matches for this year’s SummerSlam. Why make the switch now when it will have a way bigger impact in a trilogy closing match in New Jersey?

Prashad: Kenny Omega against Kazuchika Okada will be head and shoulders above every match of the weekend. As two guys who have unbelievable chemistry, Omega and Okada are going to pull out all the stops in Arlington on arguably the promotion’s most stacked card.

After a year on the shelf, Omega’s return to AEW All In certainly has all the makings of a match that should be great — and with the right environment, could be an all-timer. The expectations for this one are sky high.

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Riggs: Hangman one million percent has to dethrone Moxley. He has to. The AEW World Championship cannot go unseen at that event. If you want to single-handedly ruin the entire event, the one way to do it would be to end without that high note. Everyone would remember that more than anything that comes before it.

For an honorable mention, I do believe the late "no world title match for a year" stipulation added to Swerve and Ospreay vs. The Young Bucks gives away the outcome of that one. It would be promotional malpractice to keep either of Strickland or Ospreay out of the world title picture for any period of time.

Predictions

All-In Texas

• AEW World Championship match: Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Adam Page (Jackman, Prashad, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger)

• AEW Women’s Championship match: Timeless Toni Storm (Jackman, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Mercedes Moné (Prashad)

• AEW Unified Championship match: Kazuchika Okada (Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Kenny Omega (Jackman, Prashad)

• TNT Championship match: Adam Cole (Prashad) vs. Kyle Fletcher (Jackman, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger)

• AEW World Tag Team Championship match: The Hurt Syndicate (Jackman, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Jet Speed, The Patriarchy (Prashad)

• The Young Bucks (Jackman) vs. Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay (Prashad, Riggs)

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WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event

• World Heavyweight Championship match: Gunther (Jackman, Prashad, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) def. Goldberg

• U.S. Championship match: Solo Sikoa (Jackman, Prashad, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Jimmy Uso

• Seth Rollins (Jackman, Prashad) vs. LA Knight (Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger)

• Randy Orton (Riggs) vs. Drew McIntyre (Jackman, Prashad, Sulla-Heffinger)

WWE Evolution

• Women’s World Championship match: Iyo Sky (Prashad, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Rhea Ripley (Jackman, Riggs)

• WWE Women’s Championship match: Tiffany Stratton (Jackman, Riggs) vs. Trish Stratus (Prashad, Sulla-Heffinger)

• Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Becky Lynch (Jackman, Prashad, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Lyra Valkyria (Riggs) vs. Bayley

• NXT Women’s Championship match: Jacy Jayne (Jackman) vs. Jordynne Grace (Prashad, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger)

• WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (Jackman) vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (Prashad, Riggs) vs. ZaRuca vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Sulla-Heffinger)

• No Holds Barred match: Jade Cargill (Jackman, Riggs) vs. Naomi (Prashad, Sulla-Heffinger)