TJRWrestling AEW All Out 2022 Preview
AEW All Out 2022 will see Jon Moxley defend the AEW World Title against the former champion CM Punk along with several other huge matches on the show as well.
John: Welcome to the TJRWrestling AEW All Out 2022 preview. There are 15 matches advertised for the show including four pre-show matches. I really have no interest in watching the Kickoff Show match and writing for four hours straight while covering the main show will be more than enough for me. Since there are so many matches on the show I’m going to keep this intro short and also be very brief on some of my thoughts on the matches.
If you need info on how to order Double or Nothing on PPV, check out AEW’s website for info on how to watch it in your country. It’s different depending on where you live. I’ll be using FITE TV in Canada.
Joining me for the preview are Joel McIntyre, Matthew Fowler, Alex Podgorski, and Kristian Thompson.
Alex: I’ve got to be honest, AEW isn’t as white-hot now as it was last year. I’ve tried watching and following along but the company’s regular shows and week-to-week booking is all over the place. I know this might sound like regurgitated Jim Cornette speak, but the fact is he’s right. Take this show: it has fifteen matches announced! Fifteen! And since AEW likes to give their guys time to be competitive, this is going to be LONG! Even though most matches look great on paper, you’d best be prepared to sit through a lot. Have your snacks and drinks ready. AEW is really going to make sure this show lives up to its name. It’s going to be intense, memorable, and, well, likely exhausting. Whether those are all good things in this case remains to be seen.
Kristian: I have been an AEW fan since its inception. I have found them to be a decent competitor with WWE since, definitely in terms of star power, match quality and the overall quality of their PPVs. Whilst the shows have still been very good this year, I have found 2022 to be their weakest year so far and I think there are a number of reasons for that, for me personally. These include the World Championship situation where CM Punk was injured (then replaced with Jon Moxley and then squashed on return), my thoughts that Moxley is a really overrated and over-pushed wrestler and the AEW roster being so packed. Tony Khan has the right idea of trying to put on the best show possible, but so many of his stars get lost in the shuffle or receive limited TV time (especially the women). And I don’t watch the YouTube stuff so I probably miss a bit there. There’s a lot of wrestling to cover in 2022! Despite that critique, All Out is shaping up to be another exciting extravaganza of wrestling or sports entertainment (whichever side of Jericho’s faction you sit on) and I thank John for allowing me to share my thoughts.
(Note: All graphics are from AEW.)
AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Pac (c) vs. Kip Sabian (ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW MATCH)
Joel: They waited 15 months. Had Kip Sabian sit in the crowd with a box over his head for nearly a year. Just to bring him back for the pre-show. I don’t think I need to say more.
Winner: PAC
Matthew: Kip Sabian finally made his return a few weeks back, after spending a year with a bag on his head. Due to this one would think that he would not lose his first match back. However, Pac just recently lost the title and therefore should not lose either. This makes predicting a winner difficult here. I will go with Pac winning, but Sabian attacking after the match to get his heat back.
Winner: Pac
Alex: This title is brand new. PAC is the first champion. If he and AEW want this title to mean anything, it shouldn’t change hands on its first defense. This match (and post-match beatdown) should go ten minutes combined with PAC brutalizing Sabian and sending a message afterwards.
Winner and STILL AEW All-Atlantic Champion: PAC
Kristian: For me, this is certainly a case of getting everyone and every title on the show to keep the talent happy. I can’t recall the last time that this title was defended, or when either of them were on weekly TV competing, and that’s a real shame because Pac is excellent in the ring. This should be an easy win for him, just to get his face on the show as I stated before.
Winner and STILL AEW All-Atlantic Champion: Pac
John: Pac used to be featured heavily in AEW’s first year. Now he barely gets TV time and is on the pre-show on a card with 15 matches. What happened? AEW brought in more ex-WWE guys that are bigger names than him. That sucks. I don’t know why Kip Sabian had a box on his head for over a year. It was stupid and one cheap attack earns him a title shot? Try harder, creative team. If there is a team.
Winner: Pac
AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship Match: Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo vs. Ortiz & Ruby Soho (ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW MATCH)
Matthew: “Oh shoot we forgot to put Sammy Guevara on the card! No worries we will just put him in a mixed tag match for yet another set of titles that isn’t even ours.” Thank god Tony did add this match on Rampage though, as I don’t think the card was long enough.
Winner: Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo
Alex: I’m not particularly interested in this feud. All I know is that Guevara is a heat magnet for both good and ill and comes across as a guy you want to see get what he deserves. I don’t expect much here; maybe eight minutes of average tag wrestling and maybe some drama. This is the best example of the ‘get as many people on the card as possible’ mantra in action. And I thought Tony Khan wanted AEW to be an alternative to WWE, not a carbon copy.
Winners: Ruby Soho & Ortiz
Kristian: I don’t have much interest in this, but I’ll go with Sammy & Tay to win.
Winner: Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo
John: They have already done this match and I didn’t care much at that point, so why should I be invested in this again? I’ll go with Sammy & Tay winning to keep their titles while most fans at home wonder why we need a AAA Mixed Tag Team Title match on this show yet the TNT Title that is booked by AEW is not being defended. Weird.
Winners: Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo
FTW Championship: Hook (c) vs. Angelo Parker (ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW MATCH)
Joel: No story. Hook seems to be a Rampage wrestler and nobody actually expects his first loss to be to Angelo Parker.
Winner: HOOK
Matthew: Thrown together match that honestly does not need to be on the card. Hook wins easily.
Winner: Hook
Alex: Based on title history alone, everyone in AEW that wins this title keeps it for at least a full year. I see no reason why that should change here. Hook wins in another under-five-minute match.
Winner and STILL FTW Champion: Hook
Kristian: I could copy and paste my paragraph from the Pac vs. Sabian match and apply it here! Hook is mostly featured on Rampage, so at least he gets on weekly TV, and is certainly popular with the fans for his strong and silent gimmick. Parker is a member of Jericho’s crew so they could certainly be at ringside and begin an assault on the AEW titles but I think the smart decision is continuing to build up Hook, especially seeing as this isn’t really a recognised title.
Winner and STILL FTW Champion: Hook
John: It will probably be a quick match in that goes three minutes or less like most of Hook’s match. Parker is one of the job guys in Jericho’s group, so he’s there to lose. By the way, this is one of the most useless titles in this company that isn’t officially recognized, yet still on the shows. I get that Taz works there, but do we really need this title on the show? Get rid of it.
Winner: Hook
Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii (ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW MATCH)
Joel: Eddie goes from a main card match with Sammy that had a story built in to a pre-show rematch with Ishii. I’m sure it will be hard-hitting but I cannot possibly be less interested in a match.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Matthew: Eddie Kingston has been feuding with Sammy Guevara for quite a while, but instead of facing Guevara at the biggest event of the year, he is now in a meaningless preshow match. Another match that does not need to be here, so Kingston wins.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Alex: ISHII SMASH…AGAIN!
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii
Kristian: I find it interesting after the altercations between Kingston and Sammy Guevara that Kingston gets ‘rewarded’ with a random match on the show (albeit pre-show) whilst Guevara is nowhere to be seen. I’m not a fan of Kingston so I’d love it if Ishii pummelled him all over the ring, which I think will help, but Kingston will walk away with the win because he is the AEW talent.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
John: This is the best match on the pre-show, which isn’t saying much. I find it weird that they bring a Japanese legend like Ishii to the show only to put him on a pre-show. Kingston was being pushed a few months, then he didn’t like Sammy Guevara mocking his weight and now Kingston is on the pre-show. At least Eddie will enjoy working with Ishii since Eddie loves Japanese wrestling. I’ll go with Eddie to win.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Casino Ladder Match: Andrade El Idolo vs. ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dante Martin vs. Penta vs. Rey Fenix vs. Rush vs. ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta vs. mystery Joker competitor
Joel: If they bring MJF back after three months to be a joker in a ladder match, he better win or Tony needs to hand over his booking duties. Joker could be Adam Cole. I don’t think it is a new talent this time but rather a returning one. That said. The winner will likely get the title shot two weeks later at Grand Slam in New York City, so I’m going to go with MJF. None of the other competitors in the match really interested me as far as competing for a world championship except Andrade and I don’t see him winning this.
Winner: MJF
Matthew: Every person in this match has decided to compete in a ladder match for a AEW World Championship Match, instead of just grabbing the contract from the ring this past Wednesday on Dynamite. Nevertheless, this should be a exciting, chaotic match with a lot of crazy spots. As for who wins I am holding out hope that the Joker is a returning MJF, and he wins to finally get his World Title shot.
Winner: MJF
Alex: The problem with this match is that not a single person here except for Claudio is believable as a credible challenger for the AEW World title. And since Claudio’s already a world champion, him winning here is highly unlikely since AEW’s not doing the ROH/AEW dual champion story after just barely surviving the whole Punk/Moxley interim champion fiasco. Penta and Fenix won’t win; they’re doing the brother tag team gimmick and are in here solely for spots and reactions. Neither Wheeler nor Martin is at title challenger level yet. That leaves Rush and the mystery man. I’ve seen Rush in ROH and he was pretty good, but if he won here he’d be better of feuding with Claudio first. As for the mystery man, I think it’s time for a certain loudmouth to make his long-awaited return and prove everyone (especially the ex-WWE guys he hates so much) why he’s the future of the company.
Winner: MJF
Kristian: They love doing this match every year, but it was quickly thrown together, without even having qualifying matches. Not that there would’ve been time to have those, but it would’ve given more meaning to the match rather than the wrestlers being there. I think there are two possibilities when picking a winner in this one. Castagnoli is definitely in with a chance because I’m sure AEW is salivating at the prospect of him taking on Moxley if indeed Moxley retains his title. The other threat I believe is the mystery Joker who I am predicting to be MJF. I won’t be disappointed if it’s not, but it’s possible. There are a few wrestlers here placed for the ladder spots- Fenix, Martin, Yuta and Penta- whilst I have been impressed with Rush and know he will put in a good performance. If I had to pick a winner, I’ll go Claudio.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
John: It’s the “creative has nothing for you so throw them in a ladder match” part of the show. At least in WWE when it’s a Money in the Bank ladder match they will announce it several weeks before the PPV event so that they can try to tell stories going into this match. In this case, they didn’t do much to make us care about it. I’m sure there will be some cool high spots due to some of the really athletic guys in the match. The MJF prediction is the obvious one. I think they’ll find another way to bring him back, perhaps on this show in another match. I’m going to go with W. Morrissey (former Big Cass) as the mystery guy since Stokely Hathaway is likely going to be his manager. AEW didn’t do the graphic saying that Morrissey is signed to a contract yet because I think they will save it for after this match. While I would rather see Claudio Castagnoli win this, I think it’s going to be Morrissey.
Winner: W. Morrissey
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Athena
Joel: One of the few matches on this card that actually has a well built story going into it. Athena has been feuding with The Baddies for months. Jade has been undefeated since arriving in AEW. I think this is as good of a time as any to end that streak. If not Athena then who? Jade has beaten everybody else. Let Athena have this and move Jade up to the Women’s Title.
Winner/NEW TBS Champion: Athena
Matthew: Jade Cargill has been dominant since joining AEW, and is yet to lose a match. I do not see Athena being the person to change that. I suspect Cargill to continue her dominance here and defeat Athena after a good match.
Winner: Jade Cargill
Alex: AEW have something stupidly rare on their hands here: a female Goldberg. Cargill might not be the most exciting wrestler, but she’s undefeated. There’s money with that gimmick no matter how good or bad the undefeated wrestler is. Cargill needs to keep racking up wins to gradually become a bigger star. There’s no reason for AEW to mess this up by having Cargill lose, regardless of how superior a wrestler Athena is.
Winner and STILL TBS Champion: Jade Cargill
Kristian: The build-up for this one has mostly taken place on Rampage where Athena has been trying to overcome the Baddies group. Jade is an effective cocky heel who has been improving in the ring and with Athena as the more experienced and talented wrestler, this could be her best match. However, I think they will want an even bigger name to eventually dethrone Jade so I am predicting that she will retain her championship here.
Winner and STILL TBS Champion: Jade Cargill
John: Jade Cargill wins every match she has and I don’t see that changing. Athena is very good, but the story isn’t strong enough to warrant a title change. I think if they cared about women’s wrestling more in AEW then they could create a story that builds a challenger that can beat Cargill. I just don’t think it’s Athena at this show. Cargill wins in under ten minutes.
Winner: Jade Cargill
House of Black – Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews vs. Miro, Sting & Darby Allin
Joel: This match got a whole lot more interesting with the rumors that Malakai Black asked for his release. I’ve long thought that Black should be the one to finally pin Sting in an AEW ring. After the request, I’m not so sure he gets the chance. Miro seems to be on a babyface run at the moment which I guess is okay. It’s a weird pairing but I don’t hate it. I think Miro’s team gets the win but it’ll be interesting to see who eats the pinfall. If It’s Black, it makes you wonder about his status.
Winner: Miro/Sting/Darby Allin
Matthew: If there has ever been a match just thrown together to get guys on the card it is this one. Everyone in this match should be doing something better than this last minute thrown together match, but here we are. As for who will win this pointless match, I will go with Miro, Sting and Allin as Tony Khan has shown that he has no problem burying House of Black.
Winners: Miro, Sting and Darby Allin
Alex: With Black requesting his release from AEW recently, it’s obvious to me that his team is losing here. After all, why would any company invest time and money into a guy that clearly wants out? And while he’s not being granted his release, we shouldn’t expect things to turn around for him in time for All Out.
As for the match itself, I predict it going 10-12 minutes with Miro getting the win for his team. This will be done simply to give Miro more attention and focus. Allin is an AEW stable and Sting is, well, Sting, so neither of them needs the shine at this moment as much as Miro does. I hope Miro gets used properly in this match and going forward; otherwise he might follow in Black’s footsteps and try to leave. Then again, I doubt WWE would want him back, especially after his not-so-subtle ‘stick your brass rings up your ass’ comment that appears on countless AEW fan videos.
Winners: Miro, Sting & Darby Allin
Kristian: Despite the booking of the House of Black, I am actually really looking forward to this one. I would’ve had them win the Trios tournament but the AEW executives are booking that tournament themselves (ha!) so we get this match instead. Miro has been great in his promos and intensity since returning to get his revenge on the House of Black for past attacks, and now he has allies who only seem to compete in multi-man tag matches now in Allin and Sting. Sting doesn’t really lose in AEW and I think Miro is in for a bit of a push, despite the rumours of being unhappy, so the face team gets the win here.
Winners: Miro, Sting & Darby Allin
John: Sting has never lost a match in AEW because apparently being 63 years old means you should win every match. Common sense booking would be for the really old guy to lose to people half his age, but that doesn’t happen because Tony Khan used to mark out for Sting on television 25 years ago. If Black’s team wins I think it’s only being done to make him happy due to rumors of Black reportedly being unhappy in AEW so much that he wants to be released. Anyway, I assume the story will be about Miro getting revenge on House of Black and poor Malakai Black loses again while barely being featured in AEW.
Winners: Miro, Sting & Darby Allin
Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
Joel: Another match with a decent story. I’ve been campaigning for more Ricky Starks for over a year. I said from the moment Team Taz turned on Brian Cage that they should’ve turned on Ricky instead because he didn’t need a partner or mouthpiece. A Year later and we’re finally getting it. A Babyface Ricky Starks is money if they play it right. Hobbs is good to playing the heel. I wouldn’t rule out Taz getting involved but I’m going with Ricky here. He needs the win more. Hobbs can get his heat back on Dynamite or something.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Matthew: Former Team Taz members explode here, in a match that at least has a story behind it. Both of these guys have the potential to be main event players in the future, assuming they don’t get lost in this bloated roster. As for who wins, I will go with Starks as I think he could be the one out of the two who breaks out first.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Alex: I’m not too interested in this feud so I’ll just pick the guy that looks like he has a brighter future in wrestling based on looks alone. I’d rather have this on the pre-show and Ishii/Kingston on the main card, but I digress. I just hope that whoever wins here actually gets booked more strongly going forward.
Winner: Powerhouse Hobbs
Kristian: I am happy that these two get their own program and PPV match, despite it being a very stacked card. I’m sure this could get lost on the show but I know it will be a solid outing for both men who will be looking to impress. Starks has been given more TV time lately and I have always been impressed by Hobbs’ move set since he started in AEW. I think they will push Starks a bit more going forward, as he is more charismatic, so he gets the win here.
Winner: Ricky Starks
John: This is one of the singles matches on the show that has actually been built well with a long story going into it since they were former friends that became rivals when Hobbs turned on Starks. That led to Starks becoming a face and hopefully, he gets a significant push in the months ahead. I like Hobbs a lot, but I don’t know if they are going to push him that much. I think Starks has a better chance of becoming a big deal in the months ahead. Starks should win a competitive match to get payback after Hobbs turned on him.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Wardlow & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. Jay Lethal & Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Joel: I feel so bad for FTR and Wardlow. FTR have been number one in the tag rankings for nearly 5 months without a title shot and are stuck in a six man tag with basically no story on the biggest PPV of the year. Wardlow was riding high after defeating MJF. Despite winning the TNT Title, which hasn’t been defended on PPV since last year’s All Out, Wardlow has cooled off to the point where he feels like another guy. I like all 6 competitors in this match. I just don’t think it should be on this show. This is a Dynamite match to me.
Winners: FTR/Wardlow
Matthew: I love everyone in this match, but still hate this match with a passion. FTR not facing the Young Bucks for all the Tag Titles may go down as one of the worst booking decisions of all time. Instead we get the supposed number one ranked tag team in FTR in another meaningless six-man tag match. To make matters even worse, Wardlow is tied into this garbage as well. This match just puts the spotlight on how disorganized the build for this show truly has been, but hey at least we can play as FTR against the Young Bucks in the video game….
Winner: FTR and Wardlow, but honestly nobody wins here
Alex: This match clearly looks like it was two separate matches thrown together haphazardly. I feel sorry for FTR and Wardlow, FTR, and Lethal for that matter. All four of them are misused at the moment, and the average viewer has no idea that MCMG are still active. This should be a one-sided squash with Wardlow & FTR winning in under five minutes. But considering how AEW operates, this’ll be an unnecessarily long and competitive match that won’t really benefit anyone. I give it fifteen minutes, which is way more than it needs. I just hope that Wardlow and FTR can use the time they’re given to send such profound and shocking messages that they’re forced back into priority booking instead of being left on the sidelines.
Winners: Wardlow & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Kristian: FTR are on PPV! It feels like a long time coming but at least they are featured here, even if it is in 6-man action. Lethal and Wardlow is the main feud but they have brought in allies and I’m happy that for Lethal’s team it’s the fantastic duo from Impact in Sabin and Shelley. For that reason only, you can predict that Wardlow and FTR will be victorious but this will be one of the top matches on the night. I would love to see some FTR vs MCMG matches in the future!
Winners: Wardlow & FTR
John: It’s such a random match to get FTR and Wardlow in matches where there are no titles involved. Why not put the TNT Champion Wardlow in a title match when there are so many other weak titles already being defended on this card? As for FTR, we all the know story about how they have been the number one ranked tag team in AEW for nearly half a year and they can’t seem to get an AEW Tag Team Title match. Why? There’s no reason given. No reporter that interviews Tony Khan asks that question. Anyway, I think FTR and Motor City Machine Guns in the same match is pretty cool because they are awesome teams while Lethal is talented too. I just think this is such a random match and when you only have four (or five this year) PPVs you should try to make the matches more meaningful. I’ll go with Wardlow’s team since he rarely loses, so Wardlow will pin Lethal to win.
Winners: Wardlow & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage
Joel: This has been a weird feud. It has a decent story but some of the promos haven’t been the best. The Luchasaurus two week turn was weird but I think the physicality has been good. I think Christian takes this one and I think it is due to Luchasaurus turning on Jungle Boy. Call it a hunch.
Winner: Christian Cage
Matthew: Finally a match that has been built incredibly well, and I am excited to see. Cage has been killing it as a heel, and has made this match feel personal. Jungle Boy should be a singles champion in the next year( god knows they have enough of them to pick from.) I expect these two to try to steal the show, before Jungle Boy gets the win to continue his momentum.
Winner: Jungle Boy
Alex: Christian has been great as the villain in this story, but I just don’t see this match as having the fairytale ending most fans might be expecting. Boy just isn’t that interesting to me and Christian has veteran experience on his side. I just can’t see someone like Christian losing clean to Jungle Boy. As such, I predict a ten-minute match with Jungle Boy going all fiery and angry at first, only to let his emotions blind him long enough for Christian to win via cheating or shenanigans.
Winner: Christian
Kristian: This is actually the match that I am looking forward to most on the show. That sounds insane but it has been built up so well and Christian was brilliant in carrying the feud when they wrote Jungle Boy off injured. His promos were brutal and he made this a must-see feud for me. This has easily been his best work in AEW since he started (he didn’t wrestle for ages there) and Jungle Boy will be hyped for a big singles feud so he will deliver. I think Christian will get the win in the first of a series of matches that could possibly steal the show.
Winner: Christian Cage
John: This one has a good story. There’s also a big age difference because Christian Cage turns 49 in November while Jungle Boy is just 25 years old. The logical choice here is for the old guy to put over the young guy. That’s what should happen here and I think Christian will be more than happy to lose this match although I expect some quality heel work by Christian along the way. It will be interesting to see if AEW starts pushing Jungle Boy as a singles wrestler after this because he does have a lot of potential even though he’s not a big guy. The fans like Jungle Boy and he’s talented in the ring, so after this, he just keeps picking up wins to look like a threat. If Christian wins then they’ll probably do a rematch (perhaps at the NYC Dynamite/Rampage shows) and Jungle Boy will win that match.
Winner: Jungle Boy
AEW Tag Team Championships: Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) (c) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens)
Joel: I love The Acclaimed but who have they beaten exactly that warrants them getting a title shot over FTR? The Ass boys? Swerve in Our Glory are great. The match should be fine. I just can’t help but think The Acclaimed should’ve gotten some bigger wins first.
Winners: Swerve in Our Glory
Matthew: As I previously stated this should be The Young Bucks vs. FTR for all the tag titles, instead of this story less match. All four of these guys will go hard here and have a great match, but it is hard to get excited for it knowing what could have been. I expect Swerve In Our Glory to win here, while FTR inexplicably watches from the back.
Winner: Swerve In Our Glory
Alex: I like The Acclaimed’s raps, but I don’t really like their wrestling. As popular as they are, I just don’t see them beating Lee and Strickland. Caster and Bowens remind me of Too Cool minus Rikishi or some other gimmick team that’s more about presentation than performance. Lee and Strickland are much stronger, faster, and experienced. I’ve been a fan of Lee for a while and want him to succeed. I think he and Strickland should be long-term champions with many successful defenses in order to actually give the two-man tag scene more attention. As such, I predict a fifteen-minute match that’ll end with Lee smashing and slamming The Acclaimed into oblivion.
Winners and STILL AEW Tag Team Champions: Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland)
Kristian: It’s a face vs face match and it does feel underwhelming considering the history of the AEW Tag Team Championships. Swerve and Lee have been fine as champions but I prefer them as singles wrestlers. The Acclaimed haven’t been book as a serious team and the best part of their act is Caster’s rapping during their entrance so the established champions should retain here.
Winners AND STILL AEW Tag Team Champions: Swerve in Our Glory
John: I think the champions will retain here. While I think The Acclaimed are a talented team with a bright future, this is another example of this show lacking interesting stories going into matches. There are so many tag teams in AEW (many of them are sitting in the back in catering doing nothing) where you should be able to pick at least one heel team to face the babyface champions and try to create some storyline to make us care about this match. Instead, it’s a matchup of two babyface teams just because of the rankings that are ignored in some cases and important at other times. It’s just very inconsistent in terms of booking logic. Lastly, I’d like to see Lee and Swerve as singles wrestlers just to see them mix it up with some of the singles guys in AEW.
Winners: Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland)
Interim AEW Women’s Championship: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida
Joel: I just want to say I hate interim titles. Can’t stand them. It is what it is and we are here. There’s virtually no story due to the untimely injury to Thunder Rosa. Conventional wisdom says never bet against Britt Baker but I’m going with Toni Storm here. She has momentum. It’s her time.
Winner/NEW Interim Women’s Champion: Toni Storm
Matthew: Oh goody, another Interim Championship. In my humble opinion, Interim championships are one of the most idiotic things to ever happen in professional wrestling. This match should be for the actual AEW Women’s Championship, with the winner facing Thunder Rosa whenever she returns. Instead we will get another meaningless Interim title while we wait for Rosa to return to unify them again. As for who wins, I will go with Toni Storm as I believe she would have beat Thunder Rosa at this event anyways.
Winner: Toni Storm
Alex: The whole ‘interim champion’ idea was an unmitigated disaster and this is proof. Now every time a champion (or one member of a team if it’s a tag team) gets injured/suffers something, then a title won’t be vacated. AEW’s intentionally complicating their own booking by setting bad precedents and not accepting that, simply put, shit happens. What’s wrong with a title being vacated due to injury? It has happened countless times over the decades and it’s a fact of life in wrestling.
Anyway, I’m picking Hayter to win here simply because AEW needs someone homegrown as champion. Both Baker and Shida were champions before so a second reign here wouldn’t accomplish much. And Toni Storm still has an air of ‘ex-WWE guy/girl’ about her so it wouldn’t be good business to put the title on her just yet. Plus, if this is going to be another case of this ‘interim’ champion facing Thunder Rosa later on to unify the titles, then it makes sense for Hayter to be built up as a strong challenger down the line.
Winner and NEW Interim AEW Women’s Champion: Jamie Hayter
Kristian: I feel for the women’s division because, whilst there is plenty of talent there, they’re barely featured on weekly television. And now we have a situation where Thunder Rosa is too injured to compete so they’ve thrown together this match. Baker vs Storm would’ve been fine as a singles match. Shida is barely featured at all despite being a former champion and Hayter is just there to backup Baker. I was actually really looking forward to Rosa vs Storm before we got this match, so I’ll stick with Toni Storm becoming champion.
Winner and NEW AEW Women’s Champion: Toni Storm
John: The original Women’s Title match on this show was going to be Thunder Rosa against Toni Storm and there was a report out there that Storm was probably going to win. Now that Rosa is out with some injury, there’s an interim title. I could see Baker winning to give her another title run with this interim title or even Hayter just to give her a boost since she’s considered below her friend Baker, but I think Storm makes the most sense. As for Shida, it just seems like she’s there due to being a former champion. I’ll go with Storm, who really isn’t that interesting or entertaining other than being decent in the ring. I think in terms of personality, Baker is way ahead of the others and that’s why she gets so much promo time. I just believe that they’re going to put over Storm, who will hold onto it until Rosa is ready again.
Winner AND NEW Interim AEW Women’s Champion: Toni Storm
Trios Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals: The Elite – Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega vs. Dark Order (Adam Page, John Silver & Alex Reynolds)
Joel: This is what they were building to. I feel like they could’ve done better for Omega and Page than a trios match. Obviously, there’s history there. They’ll have some drama where maybe The Bucks and Hangman don’t want to fight each other. Either way, Tony specifically said he was waiting for Kenny Omega to return before he brought in these titles. It’s obvious at this point that these titles were created for The Elite. I don’t see that changing.
Winners/NEW Trios Champions: The Elite
Matthew: I think you can guess already how I feel about this match. Tony Khan decided to skip the huge Bucks vs. FTR match, so he can put the Bucks and there buddy Kenny Omega in the Trios tournament for yet another set of titles. Omega and The Young Bucks gain nothing by winning these titles, which will likely be lost in the shuffle of all the other titles in no time. None of this matters however, as Omega and the Bucks will win here, because yay Trios Titles.
Winner: The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega
Alex: For the diehard Omega and Young Bucks fans out there, you’re in for a treat; for everyone else, get ready for mayhem.
These three are using this tournament to re-create the same trios division popular in Mexico and in New Japan. This sort of environment gives them the most freedom to pursue their style of action. Anyone looking to see the Elite recreate their biggest hits from ROH, PWG and other indies will get their fill here. This is likely being done so that the Bucks can wear more belts and so that Omega can ease into his return instead of being thrust into singles competition while possibly not fully healed and thus underwhelm in that sort of setting.
There could be some interesting storytelling there, but in the end it will likely get lost in the madness of the Elite’s style of performance.
Winners and Inaugural AEW Trios Tag Team Champions: The Elite (Young Bucks & Kenny Omega)
Kristian: It’s great to see Kenny Omega back, even if he’s not at 100% yet. I am looking forward to him returning exclusively to singles action but I feel that won’t be for a while because he will be stuck in this trio to show-off these new championships. I think they’ll want established names as the first champions, and continue the face turn of the Bucks, so for those reasons Omega and the Bucks are my pick.
Winners and NEW Trios Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks
John: The titles were created for The Elite, so they should win here. I find Omega and The Young Bucks way more tolerable as heels in AEW. As faces, it just reminds us how boring their personalities and how they aren’t really that funny. At least when they are heels they can be obnoxious, so that’s entertaining. I’m happy that John Silver and Alex Reynolds get to be in a PPV match because they are tremendously underused in the grand scheme of things in AEW. As for Hangman Page, he probably has the worst booking of any former AEW World Champion in terms of doing nothing meaningful after he put over CM Punk at Double or Nothing. Hangman should be in a featured singles match at a show like this. I understand Hangman has a history with Dark Order, but let’s not act like these titles are a big deal.
Winners AND NEW AEW Trios Tag Team Champions: The Elite – Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho
Joel: The most interesting part of this is the Daniel Garcia effect. I think we are leading to Garcia leaving JAS and joining The Blackpool Combat Club. Jericho told Garcia he wouldn’t cheat last week. Heels lie. I think Jericho does cheat and that is what causes the split with Garcia because he will feel like Chris betrayed his trust. That’s the story.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Matthew: Two veterans here who actually haven’t wrestled each other much in the past. Both of these guys know how to have a great match, and I fully expect them to do that here. As for who wins, I think Danielson needs it more. I expect Jericho to try to cheat to win here, and Daniel Garcia to stop him and allow Danielson to get the win.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Alex: Unlike most people, I don’t want to see another competitive match here. Instead, I want to see Bryan win cleanly and decisively in ten minutes max. Jericho’s time as a believable and competitive main-eventer has come and gone. He’s more of a jokey guy that stays relevant thanks to his name recognition and not the quality of his matches. Bryan, on the other hand, still has way more left in the tank and could still be used as a top-level draw. I’m hoping AEW recognizes this, which is why Bryan will make relatively short work of Jericho. Besides, Jericho’s entrance will take up plenty of time anyway because he’s more about the theatrics and the show than the fighting.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Kristian: It’s wrestler vs sports entertainer in this match and even though we have all seen it before, it’s a new context and a fresh match up in AEW and I’m all for it. Daniel Garcia has been at the forefront of this match so I expect him to be involved in the finish of this in some capacity. I think he will either stop Jericho from cheating to win the match, or we have a swerve and Garcia screws Bryan leading to Jericho winning. Then we could have a Bryan vs Garcia program at some point.
Winner: Chris Jericho
John: The story going into the match is that Garcia may not be loyal to Jericho anymore because Garcia has earned the respect of his idol Danielson. It’s making people think that Garcia is going to do something to cost Jericho the match so that Danielson wins and then maybe Garcia feuds with Jericho after that. I think they’re going the other way with it, so I’ll take Jericho to win after Garcia swerves people and helps Jericho get the win after a referee bump or something like that. The Jericho Appreciation Society group hasn’t been around long enough for one of the guys to turn on Jericho already. Save it for another point in the future. It should be one of the best matches on the show.
Winner: Chris Jericho
AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. CM Punk
Joel: I have no clue why we are doing this again. The number one contenders to both the World Title AND World Tag Team Titles are both stuck in trios matches. CM Punk lost in 90 seconds. I’m not sure why we are supposed to pay $50 for a rematch. However, it’s in Chicago. Punk cut a babyface promo on dynamite. It’s tailor-made for his “redemption” by beating Moxley. IF Punk doesn’t win, it makes Moxley beating him in two minutes two weeks ago make even less sense.
Winner/NEW AEW World Champion: CM Punk
Matthew: What a strange build this one has had. These two just faced each other a couple of weeks ago, with Moxley getting the win in three minutes. Why then should we pay 50 bucks to watch these two wrestle again? Nevertheless, I expect this one to go a lot differently. I expect both guys to bleed all over the place, with Punk getting the win after a long brutal match. I then expect MJF to come out and challenge Punk to a match right then and there. A bloody Punk will then accept the match. MJF then will shockingly beat Punk in front of an angry Chicago crowd.
Winner and New AEW World Champion: MJF
Alex: This has been a mishandled mess and I think it’s getting even worse going into this match. I’ve been listening to Jim Cornette a lot lately and the guy’s right: this should’ve been a heel mocking Punk during his recovery until Punk makes a heroic comeback at 100% and unifies the title. But with Moxley winning on Dynamite, I just don’t see Punk winning here either. Moxley’s on fire now and I think more people are behind him than they are Punk. At the same time, I don’t think Moxley needs another long reign. As such, I expect the show to end with some kind of major shock. Maybe someone returns and ruins the match by attacking both guys, causing a DQ. Maybe it’s MJF, or Adam Cole, or someone from earlier on the card. Whatever the case, I don’t see a clean finish happening here. I think people will be as excited for this as they were for the Dynamite match, and I think this one will have just a surprising finish as that one. But this one will be surprising for a different reason.
Winner: Double DQ due to outside interference (Moxley remains AEW World Champion)
Kristian: I’m not sure how to feel about this one. For me, Moxley has been so underwhelming over the past year in AEW. I just can’t engage in his matches like I used to. Punk had a great match with Allin and Page, but he hasn’t set the world on fire either. Then there’s the really strange booking of last week’s title match where Punk lost in 3 minutes. I don’t understand that. Moxley is always booked strong so that can’t be the reason. If they want it to lead to a Punk heel turn (where he’s much better suited I feel) then there are easier ways to do that. Could Punk win back the title and turn heel on Sunday? Sure, but why didn’t they just book it that way in the first place? Plus there’s the Chicago-effect too. It’s a bit of a mess and currently not befitting of a World Title feud. However, they were both involved in lots of segments on Dynamite this week, so it was good to see that the match was heavily featured. I’m leaning towards Moxley because he has just become the Undisputed Champion.
Winner and STILL AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley
John: I predict Moxley to bleed within the first five minutes. Maybe three minutes. Punk will probably bleed too, but save it for later in the match. My prediction is that they have a long, grueling match with Moxley coming close to winning a few times, Punk selling the foot injury throughout the match and continuing to fight through it. When it looks like Moxley has him beat, Punk will find a way to hit a GTS or apply the Anaconda Vice forcing Moxley to pass out. When I saw what they did with the short match on Dynamite, I got the feeling they would have a longer, 20+ minute match on this show and Punk’s going to leave as World Champion in his hometown of Chicago once again. Plus, Punk only held the title for a few days last time. This time he’s going to have a longer run with it. I also think MJF is going to return after the match, attack CM Punk and set them up for a title feud going into Full Gear. It just feels like the right time to bring back MJF, who will seek revenge on Punk for ruining his life earlier in the year.
Winner AND NEW AEW World Champion: CM Punk
BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Joel: Casino Ladder match.
Matthew: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk.
Alex: Ishii vs. Kingston (because, ISHII SMASH) or Moxley vs. Punk.
Kristian: Jungle Boy vs Christian Cage.
John: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk.
The Match I Care About The Least
Joel: Hook vs Angelo Parker.
Matthew: Hook vs Angelo Parker.
Alex: Tay Conti & Sammy Guevara vs. Ruby Soho & Ortiz.
Kristian: Jade Cargill vs. Athena
John: Hook vs Angelo Parker. For the main show I’ll go with Cargill vs. Athena.
Longest Match
Joel: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk.
Matthew: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk.
Alex: The Elite vs. The Dark Order (~25 minutes).
Kristian: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk.
John: Young Bucks & Kenny Omega vs. Adam Page, John Silver & Alex Reynolds. If you pick the Young Bucks to have the longest match, there’s a good chance you’ll be right.
Shortest Match
Joel: Jade Cargill vs Athena.
Matthew: Hook vs. Angelo Parker.
Alex: Jade Cargill vs. Athena or Hook vs. Angelo Parker (>3 minutes each).
Kristian: Jade Cargill vs Athena.
John: Hook vs. Angelo Parker for the whole show. Jade Cargill vs Athena for just the main show.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
Joel: 6. As far as PPVs go, this is probably the worst built PPV in AEW’s short history. There are 14 matches on the card. Only 6 have any kind of story built in. Now If this were an 8-10 match card, that would be a hell of a show that I’d be more invested in because most of the matches would’ve had a nice story. Instead, there’s 8 matches on here at least that have had little to no actual build or story. Hopefully there’s a complete reset after this show because most of this card feels like it wasn’t even thought of until two weeks ago. Most of the matches will be good or great. But the story needs to be there to convince people to buy the show.
Matthew: 5. There are more matches on this card then Clash at the Castle and World’s Collide combined. It takes away from my excitement for this show. I love wrestling, but this feels like a marathon that will be exhausting to try to watch. Also, a lot of the matches have had poor or no build whatsoever, which also hurts the show. I am sure there will be a lot of great wrestling on this show, but you have to give up way too much of your time to see it.
Alex: 7.5 – This is going to be an interesting show but it’s also going to be LONG. Like, WrestleMania from 2016 to 2019 long. It’s unfortunate but some wrestlers will have the job of being designated bathroom break matches because there’s no way anyone watching this will be able to sit through the entire show without pause. WWE got a lot of flak for making their shows so long a few years ago, so it’s strange that AEW’s copying WWE’s bigger mistakes. Still, the matches should be good. But a lot of patience will still be needed here.
Kristian: 6.5 – Just because the card is huge doesn’t mean it’s all that compelling. There are certainly 4-5 matches that I am really keen to see but also the same amount where I either don’t really care much about or wouldn’t be fussed if I skipped them. I would much prefer something like a Clash of the Castle card where 6-8 matches are featured, they all have been given significant build, and every match feels important. But here in AEW everyone must get on the card, and whilst that can always be a positive if you love long shows, it certainly affects how you view certain matches. Matches like Stark vs Hobbs and the Tag Title match will just get lost in the enormity of the show. However, AEW usually do PPVs very well so I’m sure it will deliver. Maybe I am suffering from a bit of wrestling fatigue too as it’s a busy time in the wrestling calendar!
John: 7 – When I watch the show while doing a live review there’s a chance I may rate the show higher than that based on match quality, but I think the build to All Out has been poor. I think too many matches also hurts because there’s no way any crowd can be hot for the whole thing, so some matches are going to suffer. Considering there was over three months between Double or Nothing and this show (two months since Forbidden Door), the creative team led by Tony Khan should have done a better job of building stories. Some of the matches feel like a big deal because they are long-term feuds. One of the biggest problems with AEW is that they hire way too many ex-WWE guys that get pushed heavily. The two biggest matches on this show are between four former main event WWE guys. At least when they pushed Hangman Page and Kenny Omega as World Champions they were originals being featured in this company. Anyway, hopefully there are some surprises away like MJF showing at some point or perhaps some other debuts that I can’t predict right now. The talent will put on good matches. I just don’t know why they can’t think of better storylines because this show is really lacking in that department.
In Closing
John: I’ll be back with a review of AEW All Out on TJRWrestling.net during the show on Sunday night. Check that out during the show or after it’s over.
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.