It’s AEW All Out featuring Jon Moxley challenging Orange Cassidy for the International Title, Kenny Omega facing Konosuke Takeshita and more.
John: For the second Sunday in a row, AEW presents another pay-per-view event. All In London was last Sunday and now it’s All Out, which feels like a vastly inferior show. With that said, the match quality should be strong because we know AEW will always give their talent plenty of time to have great matches. In terms of stories, a lot of this card barely has any storylines and that’s the weak point of the promotion in general. I’m really not that excited about it, but it’s my job to write reviews of this stuff, so of course I’ll do it to the best of my ability. My preview for some of this will be brief because I’m so busy these days.
If you need info on how to order AEW All Out on PPV, check out AEW’s website for info on how to watch it in your country. There are different options depending on where you live.
Joining me for the preview are Alex Podgorski, Kristian Thompson and Gino Lewis.
Alex: I’m genuinely curious how this show will go down, especially given the fallout from recent events. All Out will emanate from Chicago and CM Punk is not scheduled to be there. And while the crowd was largely normal during this week’s episode of Dynamite, I’m not so sure they’ll behave themselves as much on PPV. I can see the crowd turning on the show and giving these wrestlers a hard time since their hometown hero won’t be there. And since atmosphere plays such a big part in making a show feel big or special, this one might end up being less successful than previous iterations of the same show…especially since the card is looking okay at best.
Kristian: Two straight Sundays with an AEW PPV! And two straight Sundays where the lineup is not overly interesting! This one feels as slapped together as WWE’s Payback but at least AEW are coming off the roaring success of 80,000 fans from All In which was a solid, if unspectacular show. My interest for this show is fairly low. The World Championship is not on the line and I am going to assume that Omega vs Takeshita is the main event which is fine but nothing amazing. The only two matches that have decent build, in the TNT Championship match and Hobbs vs. Miro hold my attention the most.
Gino: I have no problem admitting I love AEW. If you called me an AEW mark, I’d happily agree. This show should be a celebration of what was the best week in AEW history. Well, it’s not. I’m sure I don’t need to recap the reasons for anyone reading this. I gushed about the buildup to All In and thought it was the best job AEW ever did using their TV time to build a Pay Per View. All Out is the complete opposite of that. Some of the circumstances were out of Tony Khan’s control. Having only three undercard matches announced a week before the show certainly was.
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PLEASE NOTE: The following matches were added to the card on AEW Collision. We wrote this before Collision, so we will not preview these matches:
* Strap Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks
ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW
* AEW Trios Championship: The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn (c) (w/ Dennis Rodman) vs. Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal
* Athena, Mercedes Martinez & Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale, Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue
* Over Budget Charity Battle Royal
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ROH TV Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor
Alex: Unless Taylor does something monstrous and significant on Rampage or Collision, I don’t see him beating Joe, especially since Joe just lost against CM Punk at All In. That said, I do expect this to be a stiff hossfest filled with punishing strikes and an overall sense of aggression and malice. Taylor will come close but I think Joe will eke out a narrow victory by choking Taylor out in about ten minutes.
Winner and STILL ROH TV Champion: Samoa Joe
Kristian: I don’t watch the ROH weekly show very often (just the PPVs), but I am going to safely assume Joe wins here. I have never heard of Taylor so for that reason he’s not winning.
Winner and STILL ROH TV Champion: Samoa Joe
Gino: From what little I know about Taylor, I actually think this match will be fine. That said, Shane Taylor is not an AEW wrestler and does not belong on an AEW PPV. I think I’ve only seen him wrestle once. If Tony Khan wants me to care, he has to do better than this.
Winner – Samoa Joe
John: My interest in this is extremely low. Joe lost to CM Punk at All In, so they are feeding him a guy that Joe should beat. Taylor is a hard hitter like Joe is, which means they’ll have some fun moments in the match. I don’t think there’s any doubt about the result.
Winner: Samoa Joe
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Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
Alex: I still don’t know exactly why Kingston hates Claudio so much and at this point I don’t really care. That said, I expect those two to have a very intense exchange and will beat each other senseless. Unfortunately, this isn’t a singles match and both of them have partners that might not contribute all that much. Wheeler wins on smaller indy shows but loses on AEW programming more often than not and Shibata is still limited in what he can do. So unless Claudio or Wheeler can somehow isolate Shibata from Kingston, I expect the NJPW Strong Champion to win for his side after pulling off more of his King’s Road tribute act.
Winners: Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata
Kristian: Two straight Sundays that I have to watch Eddie Kingston ‘wrestle’? Ugh! The Stadium Stampede from Wembley was over the top (Moxley is a bonafide pin cushion nowadays) and I don’t think we necessarily needed another related tag match on this show. I’m predicting Yuta eats the pin here.
Winners: Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata
Gino: This is a cool match. Shibata is awesome and has an amazing story. Again though, he’s not an AEW wrestler. Wheeler Yuta was basically squashed by Kingston Wednesday. There is a strong story between Kingston and Claudio. With so much talent on the roster, I’m sure there were better options for PPV than Shibata and Yuta. I do think Claudio and Eddie will make this interesting enough. A win for Eddie seems like a good idea to continue his momentum for a title match against Claudio. I expect that to main event the next ROH PPV. Blackpool could use a win too. I’ll go with Eddie’s team.
Winners – Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata
John: The fans love Kingston and I hope he gets a massive main event title push some day soon because sometimes you have to listen to who the people love. Shibata is very skilled as well and always puts on a good showing. When Wheeler Yuta is in a tag team match I usually pick his team to lose and for him to take the pin. I know he won Stadium Stampede for his team, but that was a rare one for him. I’ll go with Kingston beating Yuta so they can build to a Kingston-Claudio since the announcers constantly scream about how much Kingston hates Claudio for some reason.
Winners: Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata
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TBS Championship: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho
Alex: I’m not particularly interested in this title or this feud. The only conclusion I would like to see would be Soho winning the title so that she and Saraya can both be champions in their stable. That could help undo the largely rudderless booking the Outcasts have suffered for the past few months and it would bring more attention to both belts. While it might be a bit too similar to wht WWE’s doing with the Judgment Day, it would at least be a step in the right direction instead of keeping the title on someone who doesn’t get much creative attention.
Winner and NEW TBS Champion: Ruby Soho
Kristian: I assume this is a Rampage feud because I haven’t seen them feuding on Dynamite. Statlander should’ve got a big rub from ending Cargill’s title run by Tony Khan cares less about the women’s division than CM Punk does about his peers so we are left with matches with no build like this. Soho could win but I’m not sure anyone would really care.
Winner and STILL TBS Champion: Kris Statlander
Gino: Three matches in and we have three matches with absolutely no storyline. There was a decent story building for Statlander on Collision with Mercedes Martinez, Diamante and Willow Nightingale. I thought maybe it would be a 4-way or Willow would get the title shot here. Instead, TK flipped the script and built this match in a week. There’s no reason to take the title off Kris in match like this.
Winner and still TBS Champion – Kris Statlander
John: I think Statlander retaining feels pretty obvious. If Soho wins then that would give The Outcasts two titles since Saraya is the AEW Women’s Champion. I just think Statlander hasn’t had much to do as champion and should probably keep the title. Give Kris an interesting feud soon.
Winner: Kris Statlander
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The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn)
Alex: This is somewhat interesting given the history between The Bucks and FTR. This might be positioned as a sort of dream match to help placate the Chicago audience following the CM Punk fiasco. The only way I see FTR & The Bucks losing would be if the BCG focus all of their energy on beating up the tired and exhausted Bucks. But I doubt the Bucks will take two high-profile losses so soon one after another, so I think this’ll be a competitive but predictable match.
Winners: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Kristian: This should be a fun, albeit thrown together, multi-man match I assuming based on the respect between the Bucks and FTR after a pretty good (but not amazing) tag match at All In. Robinson and White are performing at high levels right now and I enjoy them as a team. The Gunns are just there. No reason for the Bucks and FTR to lose this one.
Winners: The Young Bucks and FTR
Gino: If you like matches with no storyline than this is the show for you. We’re now 4 for 4! I don’t mind it as much in this case because it should be an awesome match. I’d be surprised if it’s not 4 stars of higher. The really dumb thing about it is the Bucks didn’t even shake FTR’s hand after their excellent match at All In. Then they decided to team up because 4 meanies made fun of them. Alrighty then. The match would have made more sense if the Bucks accepted the hand shake. I think the heels should win. FTR and the Bucks aren’t a team that should work well together. One good thing about this is it could be leading to an Elite vs Bullet Club Gold feud that could be very good.
Winners – Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn)
John: A two minute locker room chat set this up. Way to go, creative team. Good effort. This should be pure chaos and also one of the better matches on the show because of the guys involved. I’ll go with FTR & The Young Bucks winning a long match although I will say that there could be a miscommunication on their end as well. If you have FTR & Young Bucks screw up then it would be a big win for BCG. That’s certainly a possibility as a finish. I think this will be one of the longer matches that goes over 20 minutes. Maybe FTR can hang out at CM Punk’s house after the show since he won’t be there. What a strange company this is.
Winners: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
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Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Miro
Alex: Miro has been on a tear on Collision lately and losing now wouldn’t help him in any way. AEW needs to have more dominant wrestlers that are hard to beat and Miro has proven in the past that he can excel in such a role. I expect him to have a somewhat competitive match with Hobbs here but he’ll still come out victorious.
Winner: Miro
Kristian: Miro on PPV! Yes! I am actually excited for this match. Hobbs is great and Miro finally gets a chance on the main card, after his debut on Collision a few months back. I am expecting a back and forth fight with lots of power moves and Miro coming out on top. Should be great.
Winner: Miro
Gino: This match has the best build of any so far, but it’s still not great. If this was the worst match on the card it would be fine. It’s just that this is an upper mid-card match compared to the others. That’s just not good enough to spend $50 on a week after spending $50. I think the match could be fun. I like big man matches. Miro winning seems obvious.
Winner – Miro
John: Two guys that are among the most poorly used wrestlers in AEW. I know Powerhouse Hobbs was TNT Champion, but it was not an impactful title reign. What the hell happened to Wardlow, by the way? Anyway, at least they get to wrestle eachother in what should be an interesting meshing of styles. Both guys should be pushed a lot more than they are. Of the two, it makes more sense to give Miro a big win in a match like this. I hope for better things in the future for both guys.
Winner: Miro
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ROH World Tag Team Championships: Adam Cole & Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. The Dark Order – John Silver & Alex Reynolds
Alex: An easy win for the champions. Cole will probably do most of the heavy lifting since he’ll want his friend to take it easy following their match at All In. The Dark Order are perpetual jobbers and will remain that way…that is, unless some shenanigans ensue involving interference or betrayal and I just don’t see AEW pulling the trigger on that just yet.
Winners and STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions: Adam Cole & MJF
Kristian: I hear that Silver and Reynolds won a battle royal to earn this shot. Could they have not picked a bigger named team for this match? Who on earth would think that Cole or MJF are taking a loss to the Dark Order? Aussie Open should’ve been given their rematch here. This is very predictable.
Winners and STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions: Adam Cole & MJF
Gino: Another meaningless match. I think Tony Khan’s flaws as a booker shows up the most here. It would help him if he could get over how amazing he thinks everything he books is and realize no one cares about Dark Order or a match like this. That’s not even a knock on Dark Order. They’re talented, they just haven’t been meaningful on TV in over 2 years if ever. This is Rampage caliber. I realize Punk being suspended has hurt the build up for this show. TK still had 5 hours of television to build a legitimate main event and just punted on that concept.
Putting your World Champion in a match like this when you have no main event is ridiculous. Why not come up with a reason to have someone like Hangman Adam Page, Wardlow, Sammy Guevara, Ricky Starks, Andrade or Malakai Black challenge for the AEW title? That would have been a hell of a lot better than this. All of those wrestlers belong on this show more than ROH wrestlers Shane Taylor, Shibata and more than Dark Order. MJF and Cole could lose the titles at anytime but them being champions is just a back story to their title program. Would anyone care if they dropped the coveted ROH Tag Team Titles here? I wouldn’t and don’t think it will happen.
Winners and still ROH World Tag Team Champions – Adam Cole and MJF
John: It should be an easy win for Cole & MJF as the new ROH Tag Team Champions. I like Silver & Reynolds, but they rarely appear on the main AEW TV shows. It’s not like the ROH Tag Team Titles are the main titles in the company anyway. It’s on the B show, but at least Cole & MJF carrying the titles give them more of a spotlight. I still think Cole is turning heel on MJF at some point although it’s probably not happening yet.
Winners: Adam Cole & MJF
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TNT Championship: Luchasaurus vs. Darby Allin
Alex: This will be a token demolition derby match that’ll satisfy those fans that get a kick out of seeing Allin throw himself around like a man with a perpetual death wish. Allin will bounce around and be is daredevil self but I don’t see Luchasaurus losing here. His relationship with Christian still has legs and I think he needs to keep winning for a bit longer. Allin is above the TNT title at this point and winning it again won’t do him any favors.
Winner and STILL TNT Champion: Luchasaurus
Kristian: This is another match that I’m looking forward to. Allin is slowly winning me over although his insane missed Coffin Drop at All In literally had me wincing in pain for him. That looked awful. Sometimes he just goes too much and I fear he won’t be wrestling in another 5 years because of his style. The best part of the Luchasaurus title reign has been Christian claiming to be the champ. Allin already beat Christian, so he steps up to the champion. Luchasaurus needs to cement himself as the man of the division here, so I’ll select him as the winner.
Winner AND STILL TNT Champion: Luchasaurus
Gino: There is a decent storyline behind this match. Christian Cage has been brilliant as the faux TNT Champion with the evil dinosaur doing his dirty work. AEW has given us good reason to want to see Darby win the title and kick Christian’s ass along the way. Unfortunately, Luchasaurus is one of the worst workers in AEW so I’m not sure how great the match will be. I expect Allin to do something insane like always so we’ll at least get one crazy spot. I’m picking Darby to win but this could go either way.
Winner and new TNT Champion – Darby Allin
John: Luchasaurus is the champion but his “friend” Christian Cage acts like he is. It’s an interesting pairing while Christian also loves doing promos mocking anybody that has a dead father. Allin will bump his ass off and sell a lot for Luchasaurus in the match. I don’t really have a preference for who is the champion because this TNT Title gets passed around a lot compared to some other titles in AEW. I think Allin regaining it makes for a good story for him, so I’m going with Allin finding a way to beat the big guy. Maybe Christian tries to interfere, makes a mistake and Allin capitalizes to win. This show needs a title change, so here’s a good spot for it.
Winner AND NEW TNT Champion: Darby Allin
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Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Alex: Given the names involved I won’t be surprised if Dave Meltzer awards this 5-Stars. Though I doubt it’ll be THAT good, I can see this being the match of the night if these guys are given enough time to tell a decent story. Takeshita has done a decent job of making himself look like a villain by targeting Omega’s weaknesses and exploiting Omega’s history with Don Callis for his own benefit. This past week we saw both of them showing where Omega’s biggest vulnerabilities are, so there’s a good chance those will be a big part of this match. At the same time, does anyone expect Omega to take time off or to disappear for a few weeks to sell the damage Takeshita does to him? For all his work inside the ring, Omega has been somewhat hit-or-miss outside the ring and between shows, so I’m not sure we’ll get anything more substantive out of this. Expect a solid performance from both men, but little follow-up in the weeks and months ahead.
Winner: Konosuke Takeshita
Kristian: I’m not sure if I’m correct but this is probably main eventing the show, which is fine but not a headlining match that I’d hoped for. On a positive note, it does get Omega back into a singles feud. I think he gets revenge on Don Callis here and propels himself back into the title picture.
Winner: Kenny Omega
Gino: Now this one I am excited for. There is a storyline but even that took a back seat. Don Callis’ storyline with Chris Jericho and even Kenny Omega’s story with Bullet Club Gold were pushed more than this in recent weeks. The match has still been in the works for a couple months now. I’ve been wanting to see it so I guess you could say the storyline is fairly strong. This should be over 4 stars and possibly even close to 5 (especially to Meltzer). It’s awesome to see Kenny back in a singles match on PPV. It probably should have happened last week but I get that AEW wanted to get Hangman Page and Bullet Club Gold on All In. Had this happened last week, the winner could have challenged MJF for the World Title. Omega should start to be pushed back to the World Title picture and desperately needs a win.
Winner – Kenny Omega
John: Kenny Omega singles matches on a PPV rarely disappoint. They put him in way too many tags for my liking, but I get that it gives his body a rest. At least there’s a storyline here going back several months and they are finally doing this as a singles match. I think it should have happened at All In, which was the much bigger show. This match would have stood out on that show a lot more. Anyway, a win for Takeshita would be huge for him as a rising star. It also makes sense for Omega to win since Don Callis turned on Kenny to support Takeshita, so Kenny deserves his revenge too. I think Kenny wins here, but if he loses then it’s probably the first match in a series.
Winner: Kenny Omega
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AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley
Alex: This will be a styles clash in the worst possible way. Cassidy is largely a polished comedy wrestler with a cult following while Moxley is a gritty brawler driven by bloodlust and a third for violence. I don’t see these two meshing well, though they will probably get a solid reaction from the crowd because both of them have an almost hypnotic effect on AEW’s core audience.
I just don’t see Cassidy bleeding for Moxley given his gimmick, nor do I see Moxley letting himself take Cassidy’s silly shtick in the match. This will be a bizarre match, one that I think will only get good responses from the diehard AEW crowd and no-one else.
As for a winner, I see no reason for Cassidy to lose since Moxley gains nothing from winning.
Winner and STILL AEW International Champion: Orange Cassidy
Kristian: Two of my least favourite AEW wrestlers face off in this match. It will probably be a decent match but I don’t see Mox doing the job to Cassidy here. Moxley has been without a title for a while now and, even though it is only a secondary one, it might be the time for him to elevate the International Championship.
Winner AND NEW AEW International Champion: Jon Moxley
Gino: This seems like the likely “Main Event”. If this were Dynamite or Collision it would be a heck of a main event. I like the storyline. I’ve thought we’d see this match for about a month. This is another match that should have happened last week but again I get wanting to treat the live crowd with the mayhem that is Stadium Stampede. Ricky Starks is challenging Ricky the Dragon Steamboat to a Strap Match on Collision. Dennis Rodman will also be on the show. Perhaps AEW has another big match involving Starks in mind (not against The Dragon or Rodman). Either way, unless Punk is somehow magically cleared from suspension Orange and Mox is the big-ticket match.
I don’t mind the match at all. It should be very good but it’s really a mid-card match on a show that once upon a time was your first or second biggest show of the year. I do want to say I can see why TK thinks this is a main event caliber match. Honestly, Cassidy has been booked like a main eventer for a while. I have a lot more respect for Orange as a performer because of this run. I just don’t think most people see him that way. Myself included. A title change seems fitting. Like Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley could really use a win and a rise back towards the top of the card as a singles star.
Winner and new AEW International Champion – Jon Moxley
John: It could go either way. I think they’ll have a bloody match where they get a lot of time and ultimately I’m going to with Jon Moxley as the guy to give Orange Cassidy his first loss of 2023 as well as a title change. It should be a very good match.
Winner AND NEW International Champion: Jon Moxley
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BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Alex: Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita.
Kristian: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Miro.
Gino: Kenny Omega vs Konosuke Takeshita.
John: Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita.
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The Match I Care About The Least
Alex: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Miro.
Kristian: Many. Probably Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho.
Gino: Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor.
John: Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor.
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Longest Match
Alex: Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita (20-25 minutes).
Kristian: Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita easily.
Gino: Young Bucks & FTR vs Bullet Club Gold or Kenny Omega vs Konosuke Takeshita by a good margin over the others.
John: FTR & Young Bucks vs. Bullet Club Gold (25 minutes).
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Shortest Match
Alex: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Miro (8-10 minutes).
Kristian: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho.
Gino: Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor.
John: Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor around eight minutes.
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Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
Alex: 4.5 – This just doesn’t look like an impressive line-up despite the company’s and the wrestlers’ best attempts at making it one. I think the matches here will be alright but nothing will stand out that much. Such is a pitfall of booking too much wrestling in such short order: overexposure leads to familiar and familiarity breeds contempt.
Kristian: 4. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t excited for an AEW PPV. The 3 wrestling companies I watch the most (WWE, AEW and Impact) have all given less than stellar PPV lineups over the last week. In this case, AEW booked a PPV two weekends in a row so All Out never really stood a chance. They did book a few matches in advance though and they are the two that stand out for me. Hopefully by Sunday I am a bit more excited for the show and I’m sure I will be when the bell sounds!
Gino: I know I was very harsh in my thoughts for this PPV. My excitement level about shelling out another $50 for a card like this is 0. Tony Khan clearly didn’t care about this show so why should I? He thought having CM Punk in the main event would be good enough for the Chicago crowd and now can’t even deliver that. That said, AEW has never really put on a bad PPV and I don’t think it will happen here. I think the matches should be fine. Omega and Takeshita could end up making it worth it on their own. I would rate my excitement level a 7 if I was going to watch it for sure. I have plans Sunday and won’t be able to watch live. If All Out had a card like All In, I would make it a point to watch. My plans would take a back seat. I’m not sure if this show is worth paying $50 back-to-back weeks. I never thought I would say that about AEW. It’s almost guaranteed I’ll see spoilers too. I don’t know if I’m going to pony up the money to watch a replay on Monday. I’d say it’s a little less than 50/50 so that should reflect in my score. I’ll go with a 4.5.
John: 5.5 – The lack of stories hurt this show. I don’t think it’s a good idea to have PPVs on back to back weekends while asking fans to pay $40 or $50 to buy each of them. This is a company that also puts five hours of weekly TV as well. It’s so much content. It’s tough to consume it. I’m looking forward to some matches and a few of them will probably be excellent. Generally speaking, this is one of the least anticipated AEW PPVs ever.
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In Closing
John: I’ll be back with a review of AEW All Out on TJRWrestling.net on Sunday or it’s more likely to be on Monday morning.
You can also tweet me @johnreport. If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com as well. Thanks for reading.
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