I Worked the Original ALL IN: Inside the Night Wrestling Changed Forever

I didn’t just attend the original ALL IN in 2018 — I worked it. On September 1, 2018, Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks bet on themselves and drew 11,263 fans to the Sears Centre for a show that would help change the trajectory of professional wrestling. And somehow, your Handicaptivating Host wound up right in the middle of it. In this episode, I tell the story of how I went from working the short-lived Bullet Proof Wrestling with Cody Rhodes & Joey Mercury to sitting in a hotel room helping take notes while Bully Ray, Joey & BJ Whitmer booked the Over Budget Battle Royal — and eventually landing behind the commentary desk for Cody Rhodes vs. Nick Aldis for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. We get into the rise of Being The Elite, Cody’s infamous “I’ll take that bet” response to Dave Meltzer, the 10,000-seat gamble, what Cody was saying privately about wrestling’s next era, Joey Mercury’s shocking arrest the night before the show, MJF secretly marking out for Chris Jericho, the Okada/Marty Scurll time controversy, and what it actually felt like to be inside the building when wrestling history was being made. Plus, the story behind the greatest call I ever pulled out of my ass: “Blood streaming. Ten thousand screaming. This is ALL IN, Cody. This is the rest of your life. You’d better get to your feet.” The original ALL IN wasn’t just the precursor to AEW. It proved that wrestlers could build their own audience, take that audience with them — and eventually become the promoters themselves. Timmy Baltimore | LiMPiN AiNT EASY Subscribe on YouTube and follow the podcast wherever you listen. 00:00 - ALL IN-TRO 03:20 - The Impact of ALL IN on the Art & Enterprise of Wrestling 06:38 - I'll Take That Bet, Dave 10:16 - Bullet Proof Wrestling 15:26 - "I'm Going to Kill the Attitude Era" 20:20 - You Can't Buy the American Dream 23:23 - Booking the Over Budget Battle Royal 28:55 - "I've Been Arrested. Come Get Me." 35:39 - Early Backstage at Sears Centre Arena 36:33 - "You're Gonna Do the NWA Worlds Title Match" 37:42 - "Just Be Real" 44:05 - Mangum TA & Eight Giant D**ks 48:23 - "Blood Streaming... 10,000 Screaming" 52:10 - MJF Marks Out for Jericho? 54:47 - 12 Minutes Over Their Time! 55:47 - To Be Even a Small Part of Wrestling History #ALLIN, #ALLIN2018, #AEW, #CodyRhodes, #YoungBucks, #NickAldis, #NWA, #BeingTheElite, #KennyOmega, #MJF, #ChrisJericho, #ProWrestling, #WrestlingHistory, #TimmyBaltimore. #bulletclub  =========== SHOW LINKS🔗 https://linktr.ee/LiMPiNAiNTEASY YouTube📺 🔗https://youtube.com/@limpinainteasy?si=3TYQv34fNCZmZNeF  Podcast🎧  🔗https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/limpin-aint-easy-with-timmy-baltimore/id1800272596  Twitter/X: @timmybaltimore 🔗https://x.com/timmybaltimore?s=21  Instagram: @timmybaltimore 🔗https://www.instagram.com/timmybaltimore?igsh=MXE3ZXRzMmg5MmYxYg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr TikTok: @timmybaltimore 🔗https://www.tiktok.com/@timmybaltimore?_t=ZT-8vUTC4uvKTS&_r=1 Facebook: “Timmy Baltimore” 🔗https://www.facebook.com/BrentTarring/ ========== LiMPiN AiNT EASY CREDiTS: Created, Written, Produced, & Hosted by: Brent “Timmy Baltimore” Tarring