AEW ALL OUT REVIEW

Despite having a massive PPV a week prior, and the dark cloud of CM Punk’s departure looming over The Windy City, Chicago was still rocking for the 5th installment of AEW’s All Out. 

 

OVER BUDGET CHARITY BATTLE ROYAL

 

Before the show, the “Buy-In” started off with the Over Budget Charity Battle Royal, with the winner getting to donate $50,000 to the “charity” of their choice. It started with Tony Nese breaking the cardinal rule of battle royals. Don’t grab a microphone and antagonize the audience/your fellow competitors, it’s a surefire way to guarantee yourself first eliminated. Sure enough, Nese went out quickly and the remaining 19 participants went to work. 

 

This was a fun and fast battle royal which saw some very entertaining spots, including Daniel Garcia and Shawn Spears participating in a dance/”10” off, Dalton Castle’s “boys” saving him and then carrying Angelo Parker to an unceremonious elimination, and Toa Linoa barrelling into Hangman Page and sending him flying across the ring. Ultimately, Hangman Page overcame the two-on-one deficit and eliminated Toa and finally Brian Cage to win the Over Budget Charity Battle Royal

 

A FEEL GOOD TAG MATCH

 

Next, Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale, and Skye Blue defeated Athena, Mercedes Martinez, and Diamante in a short match that saw The Chicago native Skye Blue get the victory for her team, pinning Diamante. This match did its job, which was to highlight some of the talent in AEW and ROH’s women’s division. ROH Women’s champion, Athena was protected with Diamante taking the pin, and the crowd got to cheer for their hometown girl. This match was exactly what it should have been, albeit a bit short. But hey, it’s the pre-show. 

 

TRIOS TITLES ON THE LINE

 

Finally, the World Trios Titles were on the line as The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn (with Dennis Rodman) took on Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal (with Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett). This match was good, silly fun. Sonjay Dutt wore an Isiah Thomas Detroit Pistons jersey which was a beautiful heel choice. Of course, plenty of outside interference and shenanigans went on, as this match was about as “sports entertain-ey” as it gets. The Ballyhoo reached its apex when “The Worm” Dennis Rodman hit Satnam Singh with a guitar, and then just stood in the ring for the rest of the match. I hope for Jarrett’s sake, he gets some kind of bulk discount on those guitars. The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn win and retain their Trios titles. 

 

COLE AND MJF PROVE THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

 

The main card began with ROH tag champions, Adam Cole and MJF successfully defending their titles against John Silver and Alex Reynolds. This match was never really about the ROH tag titles. Everybody was tuned into this to see the next chapter in the best story AEW has told in years: Will Adam Cole and MJF continue their friendship, or will the implosion finally happen? After MJF took a chair shot to the back of the head, things were looking good for the Dark Order members. However, Cole gave a heroic performance and kept his team in the match until MJF could recover and get the hot tag. Following a kangaroo kick and an Ultimate Warrior-esque rope shake, MJF made the tag and he and Cole hit their double clothesline for the win, proving anything can be a finishing move if you commit to it. 

 

It’s strange to see the Dark Order working heel again, but even stranger to see just how enjoyable babyface MJF is. His previous flirts with babyface were very non-committal, as the quick heel turn was always evident. However, this time it’s different. MJF can stretch this babyface run out for a long time, even after his title reign ends. 

 

JOE STAKES HIS CLAIM

 

The second match on the card was Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor for the ROH television title. Samoa Joe made his way to the ring as MJF and Adam Cole were headed back, and Joe gave MJF a little push as they crossed paths. MJF took exception to this and attempted to attack Joe, which proved to be a very costly decision, as Joe went to town on MJF’s injured neck/head area. 

 

Once the actual match got started, Samoa Joe made quick work of Shane Taylor in a hard hitting encounter, ultimately making Taylor tap to the Coquina Clutch. This match was only on the card to help set up a Joe/MJF storyline, a likely pivot due to CM Punk’s departure. Punk and MJF seemed destined for a “title for title” match, but now that that’s out the window, it’s nice to see Joe get the rub, since he was Punk’s opponent a week prior at All-In. 

 

A GOTH KID AND A DINOSAUR WALK INTO A RING

 

Next, the TNT Championship was on the line as Darby Allin (with Nick Wayne) faced the greatest dinosaur wrestler of all time (step aside Brodus Clay) TNT Champ Luchasaurus. The story going into the match was Darby’s lower back injury, and they told that story wonderfully throughout the duration of the match, including a nasty spot where the ring steps were placed on Allin’s back and Luchasaurus walked up them. 

 

As Allin attempted to make his comeback, he seemed primed to hit his Coffin Drop and regain his title. However, Christian attacked Nick Wayne on the outside and threatened to hit him with a Con-Chair-To. This provided just enough distraction for Luchasaurus to hit three consecutive tombstones and pin Allin, retaining his TNT Championship. After the match, Christian and Luchasaurus tried to put Allin out of commission for good, but a good chunk of the locker room came out to the aid of Darby, and Cage and Luchasaurus high-tailed it out of the arena. If someone doesn’t step up and stop Luchasaurus soon, he might hold that belt for 65 million years. 

 

BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPING MEAT

 

If you weren’t excited for this match, I don’t know if pro wrestling is for you. Two of the most underutilized big men in the company collided and held absolutely nothing back. Both men hit, and survived, each other’s biggest moves and best shots. The match seemed to be over when Hobbs hit his spinebuster, but Miro found a way to kick out, deliver a spinebuster of his own, and finish it off by making Hobbs tap out to “Game Over”, Miro’s version of the camel clutch.

 

This fifteen minute battle could have easily gone another ten, and nobody in the building would be disappointed. All the “meat” chants alone make this match a “must watch.” Miro and Hobbs need to play bigger parts on Collision moving forward, and they made one hell of a case for themselves in this match. The crowd was electric and everybody was standing on their feet. Tony Khan, GIVE THESE MEN MORE AIRTIME. 

 

THERE’S A STORM A-BREWIN’ 

 

Dissection within the Outcasts has been brewing for weeks, and it all seemed to come to a head during the TBS Championship match, when Kris Statlander successfully defended her title against The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho. The match was an absolute banger, and things seemed to be going Ruby’s way. However, after Storm kicked out of Ruby’s finisher, Destination Unknown, Ruby went to use the infamous green spray paint to finish the job. With Saraya providing the distraction on the apron, things seemed set up perfectly for Soho. However, her fellow Outcast, Toni Storm, emerged from under the ring to take the spray paint from Ruby, and Statlander took advantage and got the win. 

 

It seemed like Saraya was going to be the one to get kicked out of the group, but this newest development now seems to put Storm at odds with Ruby and Saraya. Will two stick together and get rid of the “outcast” of the group? Will they completely implode and go their separate ways? Where things go from here is hard to say, but it’s been a fascinating story to watch. 

 

STRAP MATCH

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Bryan Danielson’s return was a welcome surprise to all wrestling fans, and you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who wasn’t excited at the prospect of him going one-on-one with Ricky Starks. However, much like battle royals, strap matches can be polarizing for fans. Some love them, some hate them. However, even if strap matches aren’t your cup of tea, this match definitely had something for everybody. Want some old school nostalgia? Ricky Steamboat is on commentary. Want some hardcore spots? Danielson was bleeding out like Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13. Like some good old fashioned sports entertainment? Ricky Starks played air guitar on the strap. 

 

Toward the end of the match, Stark’s temporary “client”, Big Bill came out and attempted to attack Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, but was thwarted by Danielson. After kicking out of a nasty looking spear from Starks, Danielson was able to apply the Labell Lock, with extra leverage coming from the strap, and eventually Starks passed out. Danielson got the win and the crowd went nuts, but the bigger question remains if he will remain with the Blackpool Combat Club, as the rest of them are working heel and Danielson seems to clearly be back as a babyface. 

 

THE COOL KIDS CLUB

 

Man, the Blackpool Combat Club is just plain cool. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta just look like the kind of guys you want to hang out and learn from. It’s hard to root against them, but Tony Khan tried his hardest by putting them against AEW darling Eddie Kingston and ROH Pure champion Katsuyori Shibata. To their credit, the crowd did their part, cheering the good guys and booing the bad guys, but this match just seemed destined to go in the favor of the Blackpool Combat Club. The match ended when Claudio Castignoli hit a rather routine european uppercut on Eddie Kingston and got the 1-2-3. It was a very anticlimactic finish to the match, but I suspect this will play into a story later on. Perhaps a ROH title match between Claudio and Eddie where Claudio can't use the uppercut?  

 

DON HAS KENNY’S NUMBER

 

Kenny Omega has been on a bit of a downward spiral ever since Don Callis betrayed The Cleaner (Or Kenny turned on Don, depending on who you ask). This was an opportunity for Omega to exact a bit of revenge on Konosuke Takeshita, Callis’ newest protege, after losing a six man tag team match at the prior week’s All In Pay Per View. However, it wasn’t meant to be as Callis and Takeshita got the best of Kenny once again. Bringing the infamous screwdriver back into the fold was a nice throughline for the Callis/Omega feud, but ultimately it didn’t come into play, and Takeshita was able to score a clean pin over one of AEW’s founding members. Kenny clearly has no problem doing the job to get people over, but this had to be considered a pretty major upset, especially considering he just ate a loss seven days prior. It will be interesting to see how Omega rebuilds, but for now, Callis has bested his former pupil once again. 

 

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD

 

Perhaps the match with the most intrigue on the card, FTR & The Young Bucks took on Bullet Club Gold in an eight man tag team match. It was your typical “can these two rivals get along and be a team to take down a common enemy” storyline. The problem here is we are in Chicago, coming off of the firing of CM Punk, and we want the crowd to cheer for two members of The Elite. Trying to get the crowd to cheer for the Bucks was a monumental task in the first place, then coupled with that with the story of the match (FTR not wanting to tag in The Bucks) made it even harder. 

 

As is typical with any eight man tag match (or any Young Bucks match for that matter), there was plenty of bedlam and lawlessness, at times making you wonder why they even have a referee in the ring at all. Action was hot and heavy, and The Bucks made sure to get in their minimum requirement of 837 spots per match, but in the end, Bullet Club Gold got the victory. This was the right decision as BCG, specifically Jay White, has been a punching bag way too long for a group that is supposed to be a serious threat to the roster. If you had FTR & The Bucks be able to immediately put aside their distrust of each other and beat a cohesive group, nobody would have looked better for it, and the crowd would have only half cheered anyway. Given all of the external dark clouds hanging over this match, it went as well as one could hope for. 

 

 BLEEDIN’ ALL OVER THE WORLD

 

Orange Cassidy entered the main event as the defending AEW International Champion, a title he’s held and successfully defended 31 times in 326 days. Given the “hot potato” treatment the TNT title has been given, and the murkiness of the AEW championship lineage, one could argue that this has been the most prestigious title in AEW for the past year. The man attempting to end that reign was Jon Moxley, perhaps one of the only people in AEW more universally loved than Orange Cassidy. 

 

Like any good Jon Moxley match, it took about 5 minutes for someone to bleed. However, this time, Mox’s forehead got the night off! The crimson mask was on Orange Cassidy, and boy did he wear it well! The Great Muta would be proud. 

 

Mox dominated the action through most of the match, including biting at Cassidy’s open forehead wound several times. To quote the iconic Karen Smith, “Eww.” Cassidy made a valiant comeback, but ultimately Mox’s two Death Rider DDT’s were too much, and OC’s historic title reign came to an end. After the match, the Blackpool Combat Club came out with Mox, and after he exited the arena, Cassidy was left alone in the middle of the ring. The Chicago crowd gave him a standing ovation and a “Thank you, Orange” chant. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful night of pro wrestling.