Reviews

The John Report: AEW All Out 2023 Review

By John Canton • Published 4th September 2023
aew all out 2023 review tjrwrestling

It’s AEW All Out with Orange Cassidy facing Jon Moxley in the main event, Bryan Danielson against Ricky Starks in a Strap Match, FTR & The Young Bucks taking on Bullet Club Gold and a whole lot more.

I wasn’t home on Sunday night when this show aired until the second half of the show. It’s Labor Day here in Canada/USA and I needed a wrestling break, so I spent some time with friends. Anyway, instead of writing an 8,000-word review of this four hour show knowing I have a three hour show review to do tonight as well, I’m going to do this review in a summary style format. That means no play-by-play except for the main event.

Here are the ZERO HOUR pre-show results.

* ZERO HOUR Pre-Show: “Hangman” Adam Page won the Over Budget Charity Battle Royal by last eliminating Brian Cage.

* ZERO HOUR Pre-Show: Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue defeated Athena, Mercedes Martinez & Diamante.

* ZERO HOUR Pre-Show: The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn (c) (with Dennis Rodman) defeated Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal (with Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett) to retain the AEW Trios Tag Team Titles.

I’m not sure why AEW refuses to do more with Hangman Page. Poor guy had to be in a pre-show battle royal. They need to use him better.

That was it for pre-show matches. The main show was next.

AEW All Out
Sunday, September 4, 2023
From United Center in Chicago, Illinois

The announcers to start the show were Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly. They changed announcers throughout the night, but Excalibur & Nigel did the whole show.

ROH Tag Team Championships: Maxwell Jacob Friedman & Adam Cole vs. Dark Order – John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/Evil Uno)

MJF is the AEW World Champion. There was a big reaction for the champions. MJF & Cole had matching tights and wearing the “Better Than You Bay Bay” shirts with #23 on it for Michael Jordan chants. MJF said Reynolds helped to train him, so MJF wanted a “sportsmanship” chant and then Max did an eye poke. MJF was selling a neck injury after taking a chair to the back/neck and was getting his neck looked at by the medical team since Cole’s other friend Roderick Strong has a sore neck. Cole wrestled on his own while Dark Order took control for several minutes. Dark Order hit the dreaded double clothesline…for two. MJF made his return after Cole hit superkicks on both opponents. MJF did the big babyface comeback including a Kangaroo Kick (with a leg slap). Max and Cole hit a double clothesline on Reynolds and Cole covered for the pin. What a deadly finish. Sure. The fans like it at least. It went 14:05.

Winners by pinfall: Maxwell Jacob Friedman & Adam Cole

Analysis: ***1/4 Good action in the opening match. MJF & Cole are very entertaining as a team, so it’s easy to get into their matches and the fans react to everything they do. The worked injury angle for MJF allowed for a story to bring him back and get the crowd into it as the champions retained. I like Silver & Reynolds as a team, but AEW never pushes them that much.

MJF and Adam Cole were still on the ramp. Samoa Joe made his entrance and shoved Max with his left hand. Cole tried to get Max to remain calm. MJF got into the ring with Joe, who put MJF in a Guillotine Choke to hurt the neck. They were separated by security and the fans chanted “let them fight” for them.

Analysis: That sets up a new rivalry for MJF with Samoa Joe as a credible heel opponent. I liked that.

ROH Television Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor

They are two big guys that can hit hard. Taylor is a former ROH TV Champion, but he’s not on AEW TV that often. Joe hit an enziguri kick followed by an elbow suicida dive onto Taylor on the floor. After Joe got some more power offense, Taylor got a lefty clothesline for two. Taylor hit a splash off the middle turnbuckle for two. Joe worked over Taylor with strikes including repeated knees to the body and a Coquina Clutch submission for the tapout win at 6:25.

Winner by submission: Samoa Joe

Analysis: **1/4 It was an average match to give Joe a decisive victory. Joe lost to CM Punk at All In last week in Punk’s last AEW match, so now Joe gets back on the winning track by picking up the win here. Plus, Joe is likely feuding with MJF now, which means Joe needs some wins to build him up as a threat.

There was a video package to set up the TNT Championship match. Jim Ross replaced Kevin Kelly on commentary for this match while Excalibur and McGuinness remained on commentary.

TNT Championship: Luchasaurus (w/Christian Cage) vs. Darby Allin (w/Nick Wayne)

Luchasaurus is the champion, but Christian carried the title as usual. Luchasaurus was beating on Allin to start the match. Luchasaurus sent him into the steel steps and Allin was bleeding. Luchasaurus dominated for several minutes, but Allin avoided a Chokeslam and hit a springboard cross body block splash for two. Allin hit an impressive somersault dive onto Luchasaurus on the floor. Allin countered a move off the shoulders with a Crucifix Bomb for a great two count. That was sweet. Allin hit Chrisitan with a dive on the floor. A Code Red by Allin off the turnbuckle only got a two count. Cool move there. Christian hit Nick Wayne with a chair to the back and Allin was distracted by that. Luchasaurus capitalized on the chaos with two Tombstones, plus he sent Allin into the turnbuckle and a clothesline to the back of the head for the pinfall win. It went 12:20.

Winner by pinfall: Luchasaurus

Analysis: ***1/2 That was a very good title match. Allin is nuts with some of the moves he does as well as the bumps he takes while Luchasaurus is a talented bigger guy. I thought Allin winning was a possibility, but I don’t mind this result because Christian is entertaining in this role as the guy that acts like the champion while Luchasaurus is the guy that actually wrestles.

After the match, Christian Cage and Luchasaurus teased doing Conchairto attacks on Alli and Wayne, so members of the locker room made the save. Guys like Shawn Spears and others that spend time backstage doing nothing. I guess Sting got the night off. I would want to work less at his age too.

Analysis: The post match attack tease suggests there might be more Luchasaurus-Allin in the future, so maybe we’ll see Allin take the TNT Title from him.

A video package aired setting up the Miro-Powerhouse Hobbs match. They have been Collision guys for the last few months.

Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Miro has a cool entrance and feels like a big deal. Hobbs certainly should be used better than he is. They were hitting hard right away with Hobbs nailing a strong clothesline early on. Miro hit a spinning heel kick along with a dropkick to show off his agility. Hobbs hit a belly-to-belly suplex across the ring, which was also an impressive move and Hobbs did another suplex across the ring. The action spilled to the floor with Miro hitting a cannonball off the apron onto Hobbs on the floor. The fans were chanting “slap that meat” for this song. Hobbs hit a clothesline and then things slowed down a bit. They were taking turns doing clotheslines so the fans chanted “MEAT” for it. Miro knocked Hobbs down after about six clotheslines with JR correctly calling it a “slobberknocker” of a match. Miro did the forearms to the chest by the ropes in tribute to his good friend Sheamus. After Miro got some momentum with a big kick to the heads, Hobbs was able to come back with a powerslam. After more “Meat” chants, Miro hit a running clothesline. Miro with a jumping kick for two. Miro applied the Game Over submission (Camel Clutch), but Hobbs got to his feet and drove Miro into the turnbuckle. After a Miro leap off the turnbuckle, Hobbs caught him and hit a spinebuster for two. Miro came back with his own spinebuster. Miro applied the Game Over submission, it wasn’t locked in that great and Hobbs tapped out. It went 15:40.

Winner by submission: Miro

Analysis: **** That was great. I didn’t go into this expecting a four-star level match, but it was an outstanding effort from both guys and a fun match to watch. Miro and Hobbs both look believable in everything that they do. They had chemistry throughout the match. As I noted in the review, JR calling it a “slobberknocker” was very fitting for this match. Hobbs was more of the heel in the match, but he didn’t really do much to cheat or anything like that. I would have liked to see more of that from him. Miro was cheered throughout the match. All of the “meat” related chants were pretty funny.

After the match, they shook hands and the fans cheered. Miro turned his back like a dumbass, so Hobbs hit him with a forearm to the back. Hobbs attacked Miro with punches. Miro’s wife CJ Perry (former Lana in WWE) appeared looking great as usual. She posed on the ramp (which is comical) before running down to the ring with a steel chair. The “hot & flexible” Perry hit Hobbs in the back with a chair, but Hobbs stared at her looking angry. Miro got back up with two chair shots to knock Hobbs out of the ring. Instead of embracing his wife, Miro just looked at Perry and he left the ring without saying a word.

Analysis: It was an interesting spot to have CJ Perry make her AEW debut. Miro has talked about her in the past, so there have been rumors about her joining AEW at some point. Whether she’s around long term or short term (Tony Khan said there’s not a contract yet), we don’t know, but maybe it will lead to her being with Miro on screen again.

A video aired about the TBS Championship match between Kris Statlander and Ruby Soho.

TBS Championship: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho (w/Saraya)

This is the lone women’s match on the show. Ruby is part of The Outcasts, so her buddy AEW Women’s Champion Saraya was with her. Kris was really aggressive using her power to take control. After Kris chased Saraya outside the ring, Ruby hit a dropkick on the floor to take control. A lot of kicks and knee strikes in this match. Kris did a lot of power moves including a spinning Michinoku Driver for two. They did an exchange of pinfall attempts along with a double cross body block to knock each woman down. Saraya tore up a fan sign as if she was security seeing a CM Punk sign. The sign said something about how Saraya calls fries “chips.” Anyway, Kris hit a powerslam off the middle turnbuckle for two. Ruby got on Statlander’s shoulders and hit a Poison Rana followed by a DDT along with a low hurricanrana driving Kris into the mat. Great sequence of moves. After a Saraya distraction, Ruby hit the No Future kick and Destination Unknown neckbreaker for two, so Kris kicked out of finishing moves. Saraya distracted the referee, so Toni Storm emerged from under the ring and took the spray paint from Ruby. Kris grabbed Ruby and hit Sunday Night Fever for the pinfall win at 12:25.

Winner by pinfall: Kris Statlander

Analysis: ***1/4 The action was pretty good with a cheap finish that came across as lame. I think that finish hurt the match. While I expected Kris to get the win, I would have rather seen a more decisive finish for her rather than a cheap victory. It does put the future in doubt for The Outcasts as a group with Toni Storm costing Ruby the win. This felt like it was more about The Outcasts falling apart instead of putting over Kris as a strong champion.

A video package aired about the Ricky Starks-Bryan Danielson Strap Match that was set up on Collision one night earlier. This was originally going to be Starks against CM Punk, but Bryan was brought back in his place.

Strap Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks

The rules are thrown out in a Strap Match. Ricky Steamboat joined Excalibur and Nigel McGuinness on commentary. Bryan was cheered heavily with the fans popping big for “Final Countdown” as well. Bryan is part of the Blackpool Combat Club with Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta as heels, but Bryan is a face in this scenario.

Starks attacked Bryan before the bell and Bryan did a blade job, so he had a bloody forehead. They had a leather strap that was strapped to their left wrists. Stark choked Bryan with the strap a lot. When it looked like Bryan would get momentum, Starks hit him with the strap along with some more choking with the strap. After Bryan trapped Starks on the turnbuckle, Bryan unloaded with several strap shots to the back. Starks was upside down by the turnbuckle, so Bryan hit Starks with the strap repeatedly in the chest. Brayn hit three straight dropkicks. Starks managed to hit Bryan with the strap to the head/shoulder. Bryan rammed Starks’ head into the ring post a few times, so Starks bladed too. Back in the ring, Starks hit a clothesline after Bryan hit him with multiple running kicks. They got into a strapping duel with Starks beating down Bryan with the strap. Bryan came back with strap shots along with a barrage of kicks. Big Bill beat up Bryan with punches, which led to Ricky Steamboat pulling Bill off the apron. Bill grabbed Ricky by the throat, so Bryan tossed Starks onto Bill. Bryan took out Starks and Bill with a cross body block attack on both guys on the floor. Bryan charged, but Ricky hit a Spear for two. Great nearfall. Bryan hit a Busaiko Knee for a two count. Bryan stomped on Ricky’s head repeatedly. Bryan applied the LeBell Lock, which he turned into a choke with the strap around the throat. Starks passed out to give Bryan the win. It went 16:40.

Winner by submission: Bryan Danielson

Analysis: ****1/4 Awesome match as expected. I missed Bryan for the last two months, so I’m glad he’s back and looked absolutely awesome wrestling in this grueling match. This may have been Ricky’s best match in AEW so far. I’d have to look at past match ratings, but I think this is probably the highest-rated match I’ve given for a Ricky match. Bryan bleeding before the match even started was a way to make this feel like a fight right away rather than just random match thrown together one night earlier. Starks also bled in the match, which is rare for him, but again puts over the physicality. I liked how the finish was done with Bryan wearing Starks out with the strap. If you’re going to have a Strap Match, use it heavily and that’s what they did. Bryan said after the show that he didn’t even throw a strike with his right hand (the arm that he had surgery on), yet people likely didn’t notice. I didn’t notice. Bryan is so great.

They showed highlights of “Hangman” Adam Page winning the $50,000 Charity Battle Royale. It was announced by Nigel McGuinness that Hangman has donated the money to the Chicago Public Education Fund.

Analysis: In other words, AEW donated $50,000 to the charity. That’s nice.

Taz joined commentary with Excalibur and Nigel McGuinness. Those three guys called the final four matches.

Blackpool Combat Club – Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Eddie Kingston

Shibata is the ROH Pure Champion, Eddie Kingston is the NJPW Strong Openweight Champion and Claudio is the ROH World Champion. There are so many titles on these shows. Eddie wore a “Claudio Sucks Eggs” shirt in tribute to Terry Funk wearing a “Dusty Sucks Eggs” shirt many years ago.

A slow start to the match with Claudio tagging out when Eddie was the legal man. Whenever Claudio and Eddie are in the same match, the announcers have to push the story that Eddie hates Claudio. Some fans think it’s real when it’s really just Eddie being a pro wrestler. Even though Claudio was not legal, he tackled Eddie into the barricade because Eddie attacked him. The BCC guys worked over Eddie as the face in peril for a few minutes. Eddie broke free with an STO trip on Yuta. Shibata and Claudio delivered strikes on eachother leading to Shibata hitting a corner dropkick. Claudio countered a Shibata armbar by hitting a Powerbomb. Shibata nailed a spinning back fist on Yuta that looked nasty. Eddie was back in with a DDT on Yuta. All four guys were in the ring doing moves while the inept referee did nothing to admonish anybody. Claudio and Eddie exchanged punches/chops and Claudio hit a clothesline. Claudio hit a Neutralizer for two with a move he wins with sometimes. Eddie nailed Claudio with a spinning back fist and a Northern Lights Bomb for two, but Yuta broke it up. Shibata was choking out Yuta on the apron. Claudio was back up with an uppercut on Eddie for the pinfall win. Shibata dropped Yuta, but was too slow to make the cover. It went 15:55.

Winners by pinfall: Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori & Eddie Kingston

Analysis: ***1/4 I thought it was pretty good, but not at the level where I would call it great. The finish was a bit of a surprise because Claudio doesn’t win that often with an uppercut like that. However, Claudio pinned right after he hit the move, so it shows that if he goes for a quick pin then that can be a finisher. The fans were into Kingston’s offense in the match, but other than that it was quiet at times.

A video package aired about the Kenny Omega-Konosuke Takeshita match. The story was that Don Callis turned on Omega and chose to guide Takeshita’s career instead. This is a long term feud that has been built up well.

Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis)

Omega singles matches are always fun to watch and Takeshita is a rising star in AEW. There was a scary spot early in the match with Takeshita hitting a high angle backdrop driver that saw Kenny land on his head/neck. Omega takes bumps like that sometimes and it is always scary looking. I don’t know why Omega insists on taking bumps like that. When the action spilled to the floor, Omega did a rolling senton and a moonsault. Omega continued on offense working over the legs of Takeshita. There was an impressive leaping clothesline from Takeshita. When Omega tried a hurricanrana, Takeshita blocked it and sent Omega into the turnbuckle face first. Great spot there. Takeshita hit a brainbuster on the floor. Takeshita wanted to use a chair, but referee Paul Turner made him put it down. That allowed Callis to put multiple chairs on Omega’s ribs and Takeshita hit a senton splash onto Omega’s ribs that had chairs. I guess the referee is deaf and can’t hear it. Omega tried to push the chairs off during the spot. Takeshita did the Sami Zayn spot with the Helluva Kick (Excalibur said “hell of a kick”) and Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Fans chanted “Ole” so Excalibur mentioned El Generico, which was Sami’s name pre-WWE. Omega finally stopped the attack with knees up to block a senton splash. Omega hit an impressive somersault dive over the top onto Takeshita. Omega delivered a flurry of offense after that for a two count after a Poison Rana. After a running knee by Omega, Takeshita hit a huge lariat with Omega doing a flip bump. Omega came back with a Powerbomb and knee for two. Takeshita avoided One Winged Angel and hit a sitout slam crunching Omega into the mat for two. It was back to Omega on offense with a V-Trigger knee to the back. Omega wanted a move off the top, but Takeshita turned it into an Avalanche Blue Thunder Bomb meaning off the top rope for two. Takeshita hit his own V-Trigger knee for two. Callis tried to hit Omega with a screwdriver, but Kenny avoided it. Omega with a knee strike and a V-Trigger knee. Omega lifted Takeshita, who had the screwdriver and the referee took it away. Takeshita hit an incredible German Suplex and running knee for two. What a great nearfall that was! Takeshita hit another running knee (that was exposed without a kneepad) for the pinfall win at 22:30.

Winner by pinfall: Konosuke Takeshita

Analysis: ****1/2 That was an outstanding match. Big win for the younger guy Takeshita beating one of AEW’s top stars in Omega. It wasn’t a cheap win either because the screwdriver failed to be used. They are two guys that can pull out any move and make it looks believable. There are instances where I think they could sell a bit more than they do, but it’s always about getting ready for the next move. They really put over Takeshita in a big way with this win, especially that knee strike that he used for the pinfall. Once again, a Kenny Omega singles match delivers a terrific match while Takeshita was the right kind of opponent because they brought out the best in eachother. The result is important because then Don Callis can brag about it in the months ahead. I enjoyed that match a lot.

Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

The FTR and Bucks team is interesting. FTR were CM Punk’s best friends in AEW while the Bucks hated Punk and wouldn’t even talk to him over the last year after their fight a year ago.

In the first few minutes, there were moments with guys doing moves, then tagging out and doing that as a way to get everybody involved. The Bucks were booed by some of the crowd that liked CM Punk. Excalibur did his usual routine of kissing the Young Bucks ass since they are his boys. Dax and White had an interesting exchange that ended with Dax hitting a hard chop. The heel BCG guys isolated Dax in their corner for a bit until Cash got the tag. White isolated Cash with a dropkick to the left knee and a knee wrenching. They did a stand off spot with all eight guys in the ring leading to a brawl. There was a quadruple atomic drop spot by the faces and all four faces applied Sharpshooters at the same time. Nigel: “Who is the legal man?” It’s AEW. As if it matters. Anyway, Juice sent Dax into the ring post and BCG took over from there. BCG worked over Dax for a few minutes until Nick got the tag and did his usual gymnastic routine offense. Matt tagged in for some double team offense. Cash was legal, Matt nearly superkicked him when Colten moved and there were double superkicks while Cash hit a DDT. Nick did a facebuster and a moonsault that didn’t touch Juice, who still bumped on the floor. Excalibur tried to say they touched heads. Dax and Matt hit a spike piledriver on Austin for two. All eight guys were in the ring again. Dax hit a superplex on Austin while Cash, Matt and Nick all hit top rope splashes with Nick doing a 450 Splash. It was nice of Austin to roll into position for Nick there. They did some running strikes outside the ring and Matt hit a cross body block on Colten on the floor. Dax and Austin did a double clothesline spot. Dax and White did a chop fest routine. Juice stopped a Shatter Machine attempt by FTR. However, Nick went into the ring and did Shatter Machine with Dax. Matt and Dax hit a BTE Trigger knee on White for two with Colten making the save. Colten hit a Fameasser on Matt on the floor. Cash tagged in, Juice stopped a Shatter Machine attempt, Colten tagged Jay’s back to become the legal man and Jay hit the Bladerunner on Cash, who was legal on that side. Colten covered Cash for the pinfall win at 21:35.

Winners by pinfall: Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn)

Analysis: **** This was an excellent tag team match that was given a long time as you would expect any time FTR and The Young Bucks are involved. A lot of crazy spots throughout the match. The story of the match for most of it was that FTR didn’t get along with The Young Bucks aren’t a regular team while BCG are united, so they used that cohesiveness to get the win. As usual in a Young Bucks match there was a lack of psychology for most of the match while random guys were in the ring doing moves, which I don’t really like. At the finish, we really had no idea who were the legal man on each side and then Colten just pinned Dax to get the win. When watching the finish again, it was really well done. They should have replayed how clever the finish was, but they don’t do a good job of showing replays.

They didn’t show a single replay after an exciting 20+ minute tag team match. That’s weird. There are several matches throughout the show where they don’t show any replays. They should show replays. Fans like that.

A video package aired about the main event with Orange Cassidy defending the International Championship against Jon Moxley.

International Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy

Jon Moxley is not a stranger to AEW PPV main events, but this is the first time Orange Cassidy is in the main event. It’s also the first time that the International Championship is in the main event. Orange has had the International Title for 326 days going into this match. Orange had over 30 title defenses as well. I’ll go play-by-play for this match.

Moxley was aggressive with punches. Orange tried to get some offense going, but Moxley hit a Saito Suplex on the head/neck two times in a row while Orange was selling the neck injury. Orange was sent to the apron, Orange beat up Moxley with strikes and Orange went up top for a cross body block, but Moxley rolled through. Moxley stomped on Orange repeatedly. Orange hit Stundog Millionaire and then a weak suicide dive on the floor. Moxley blocked a DDT leading to a release suplex into a slam. Moxley tossed Orange out of the ring. Moxley sent Orange’s right side into the ring post. Moxley walked around the ring with the camera on him, so Orange came back up with a bloody forehead even though his head didn’t come close to the post. When I replayed the spot, Orange’s right arm hit the post and his head was not near it, but then Orange was bleeding. If you want to do a blade job in a match, set up the spot better. Moxley went after Orange with punches to the cut and biting the cut, which is gross. The referee Bryce Remsburg was on the floor with the wrestlers instead of counting them out. Orange was back in to “beat the count” even though he was on the floor for about two minutes. Anyway, Moxley hit Orange with a piledriver followed by some more head biting. Moxley hit Orange with repeated forearms to the head. They exchanged punches while Moxley put his hands in his pockets to mock Orange. Moxley decked Orange with a forearm to the head. Orange did some back raking, face biting and a diving DDT off the top rope. Orange hit a Tornado DDT right after that. This guy likes DDTs. Moxley came back with a forearm to the head. Orange rolled through out of pain attempt into PK kick. Poor Moxley had to wait there while Orange hit an Orange Punch for two.

Moxley got back up with a Gotch-style piledriver leading to Orange doing a crucifix pin for two. Moxley went for multiple submissions on the mat, but Orange was able to fight out of a Crossface style move. Orange got his feet on the rope to force a break. They left the ring with Moxley pulling up the mat to expose the cement. Moxley tried a piledriver but Orange hit a Beach Break onto the cement. Orange dropkicked Moxley’s head into the steel steps. The slow counting referee Remsburg was counting Moxley out, but Moxley got back in before the ten count. Orange hit the Orange Punch to stagger Moxley followed by another Orange Punch. Orange charged for another move, but Moxley met him with a Cutter. Orange hit Orange Punch again and Orange ran the ropes with a running Spear for two. I guess Moxley has a weak Cutter since Orange no sold it. Orange did his hand-in-the-pocket gimmick with some kicks, but Moxley hit him with a lariat. Orange did a flip bump and was right back up no selling again. Moxley hit Orange with another stiff lariat. Moxley hit a clubbing lariat to the head for a two count. Moxley hit the Death Rider for one…two…and no. Orange got his left shoulder. The ring was full of Orange’s blood on the canvas. Moxley went to the corner to say a prayer as if to say he was going to regret what he would do next. Orange got back and did a double middle finger salute. Moxley did a high-angle Death Rider dropping Orange on his head (while also protecting him fairly well) and Moxley covered for the one…two…and three! Jon Moxley wins the International Championship at 19:50. It felt longer, but that was the time of the match.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW International Champion: Jon Moxley

Before the match, a fan had a sign in the crowd that said: “If Orange loses, we riot.” Whatever. They didn’t do shit.

Analysis: ****1/4 It was an excellent match that also felt fresh because I don’t remember them wrestling in singles before. It took a lot to beat Orange, who kicked out of everything before Moxley did his finisher two times in a row. The result surprised me a bit because I thought it would be a big deal for Orange to keep the title while Moxley doesn’t “need” a secondary title like this. Perhaps there will be a different story with Orange perhaps going after the AEW World Title or getting back the International Title down the road. By having Orange Cassidy bleed early in the match (even though I didn’t like the spot that set it up), it tells the story that Orange took a beating on the mat and had a lot to overcome. It felt like a fight with Moxley wearing Orange down to beat him and it certainly wasn’t easy. Something I would like to see Orange improve on is to have less no-selling moments because he does far too much of it. I do think he sells well a lot of the time, but the no selling spots can be a bit frustrating to watch. Selling is such an important part of wrestling.

After the match, Moxley’s Blackpool Combat Club buddies Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta celebrated with Moxley, who is the new AEW International Champion. Moxley put his arm around Danielson while his boys helped him up the ramp. Moxley left to the back with his friends.

Analysis: Jon Moxley is a former three-time AEW World Champion, so now he gets to hold a different title.

Orange Cassidy was still down in the ring as the fans gave him a big ovation. A shot of the ring showed how much blood Orange spilled in the ring. The crowd chanted “Thank You Orange” for Cassidy, who got back up to one knee. Orange held up a fist to salute the crowd. The show ended with Orange down on one knee in the ring. The show ended there.

Analysis: I don’t love all the goofy pocket stuff that he does, but I have come to respect Orange as a wrestler. He has done a great job over the last few years. It wouldn’t shock me if AEW puts him in the AEW World Title or TNT Title picture in the next six months. Maybe sooner than that.

AEW All Out had a runtime of 3:51:02 on pay-per-view.

===

Five Stars of the Show

  1. Konosuke Takeshita-Kenny Omega
  2. Jon Moxley-Orange Cassidy
  3. Bryan Danielson
  4. Miro
  5. Powerhouse Hobbs/Ricky Starks

===

Final Thoughts

It gets an 8 out of 10 from me.

I thought it was an excellent wrestling show from top to bottom. It exceeded my expectations although my expectations were only low due to the lack of stories. When you watch AEW, you know the matches are usually going to be good because they have a talented roster. I’m sure a lot of the wrestlers were motivated to put on a good show considering all the negative news that came about CM Punk getting fired and backstage incidents over the last week. I rated it the same 8 out of 10 as All In last Sunday.

There were ten matches on the main card with all of them getting over 12 minutes except for one (a decisive Samoa Joe win over Shane Taylor), so they were all given plenty of time to put on great matches. The talent stepped up. Guys like Ricky Starks & Konosuke Takeshita had breakout matches while working with Bryan Danielson & Kenny Omega respectively. Omega putting over Takeshita was the right move that should be treated like a big deal. The Moxley-Cassidy main event was great too with Mox taking the International Title. They told the right kind of story in that match. Sometimes AEW matches are all about doing the flips and not really caring about a story, but this main event worked really well. Moxley didn’t even bleed, but Orange bled a lot in that match. Miro & Hobbs was a fun power match with the fans chanting “meat” a lot for it.

It was match after match for four hours. I think sometimes you need to break up the in-ring action with interviews backstage or promos sometimes. Let us hear from a wrestler telling us how important it is to win their upcoming match. It just feels so repetitive going match after match. They also don’t show enough replays after great matches. Anyway, I still liked it a lot overall and like I said it exceeded my expectations.

I ended up writing about 3,000 words than usual in this format, so I’ll do it that way when I don’t see a show live.

My AEW PPV reviews for 2023:

Revolution (March 5) – 8.25

All In London (August 27) – 8

AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door (June 25) – 8

All Out (September 3) – 8

Double or Nothing (May 29) – 7.5

===

Thanks for reading this review. My contact info is below.

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport