The John Report: AEW All Out 2024 Review

AEW All Out featured a Swerve Strickland-Adam Page Steel Cage Match, Bryan Danielson against Jack Perry, Will Ospreay facing Pac, and more.

It’s the sixth edition of AEW All Out taking place in Chicago as usual. It was a Labor Day weekend show in the past, but AEW smartly pushed it back a week this year because the All In London show took place a week before Labor Day. As a reminder, I have reviewed every AEW PPV in company history and written most of the reviews live.

I don’t watch AEW pre-shows because writing for four hours of the main show is a long night for me. Here are the ZERO HOUR pre-show results.

* The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (w/”Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn) defeated Iron Savages (Bronson & Boulder) (with Jacked Jameson) by pinfall.

* Hologram, Sammy Guevara, & Dustin Rhodes defeated The Premier Athletes (Tony Nese, Ari Daivari & Josh Woods) (with “Smart” Mark Sterling) by pinfall.

* Bang Bang Gang (Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn & Juice Robinson) defeated The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver) by pinfall.

* The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong) defeated The Beast Mortos and Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty) and Action Andretti and Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin) (with Leila Grey) by pinfall.

That’s a lot of tag team action. Let’s get to the main show.

AEW All Out
Saturday, September 7, 2024
From NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois

I missed the first six minutes of the show. The MJF/Daniel Garcia match was going on as I started the show. The commentary team was Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness. Matt Menard did the pre-show and stayed on here to support his buddy Garcia.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Daniel Garcia

MJF was in control with a cradle DDT for a two count. They did a suplex spot where MJF went for a suplex, Garcia was able to avoid it and they went tumbling over the top to the floor. That looked nasty, but they were okay on the floor. They were back in the ring with Garcia hitting a big clothesline. Garcia hit two neckbreakers, MJF was back up and Garcia hit another twisting neckbreaker. MJF went for an attack off the ropes, Garcia avoided it and MJF hit a Powerbomb into a backbreaker. MJF aggressively bit Garcia’s forehead since Garcia was bleeding on Dynamite this past Wednesday. MJF hammered Garcia’s head with elbows so Garcia was bleeding from the head again. There was a lot of blood coming from Garcia’s forehead as MJF set him up against the turnbuckle. MJF set up Garcia for a piledriver off the turnbuckle, but Garcia fought out of it. Garcia gouged MJF’s face to break free. Garcia jumped off the top with a DDT off the top rope. Garcia did a slow cover, so MJF got a foot on the bottom rope to kick out. MJF kicked Garcia in the face followed by the Panama Sunrise for a two count. Garcia fired up against the ropes, so MJF stopped him with a thumb to the eyes. MJF and Garcia took turns getting two count. MJF nailed Garcia with a forearm to the head. Tony called it an amazing opening match because Tony is a robot who says everything in AEW is amazing. Yes, it’s a good match, but Tony says it all the time about every match on every show. Anyway, Garcia got a rollup for two and MJF tried a rollup using the ropes, but he wasn’t able to do it. MJF hit a German Suplex, Garcia didn’t sell it, then Garcia hit a German Suplex and Garcia hit a clothesline. Garcia decided to sell at that point as they lay on the mat together.

MJF was in control with a version of a Boston Crab that Garcia managed to counter. Garcia hooked the left arm leading to the LeBell Lock, but MJF got out of that leading to a two count. MJF applied a Crossface submission. Garcia applied the Dragontamer submission that was similar to a Sharpshooter, but there was a difference with Garcia holding onto the feet. MJF grabbed the left arm for an armbar. MJF pulled back on the right arm and even the right leg as well. Garcia managed to put his left foot on the ropes to force the break. MJF went to the middle turnbuckle for a move, but Garcia fell back onto the mat. Garcia was playing possum since he turned it into a jackknife pin for two. Garcia chopped MJF a few times followed by a guillotine choke and Garcia wouldn’t let MJF’s arm drop when the referee wanted to see if MJF was alert. Garcia hit a jumping piledriver for one…two…no because MJF got the right shoulder up. Garcia set up MJF on the turnbuckle going for a piledriver from there, but MJF got out of it and bit Garcia’s head. MJF hid behind referee Bryce Remsburg and MJF hit a low blow uppercut to the groin that the referee didn’t see. MJF applied a jackknife pin for the one…two…and three. It went 23:40.

Winner by pinfall: Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Analysis: ****1/4 This was an excellent match. They got a lot of time like a lot of MJF PPV matches so kudos to both guys for putting on a very entertaining match. The ending was very cheap, which is fitting for an MJF victory since he’s a cheap heel who has no problem winning a match like that. Garcia had some good nearfalls in the match like the jumping piledriver that he did. Garcia wanted to do a piledriver off the ropes, but he couldn’t do it during the match and you could say it cost him the match since he was so determined to do it. MJF is higher up on the card than Garcia so I get why he got the win, but I think Garcia should win the feud whenever it ends.

After the match, MJF wanted a handshake. Garcia shook his hand. MJF tried a low blow kick, Garcia blocked it and Garcia kicked MJF in the groin. The fans loved that. Garcia set up MJF on the turnbuckle where Garcia spit in MJF’s face. Garcia gave MJF a piledriver off the middle turnbuckle. Nigel: “What a sore loser!” Menard: “Oh shut up, Nigel.” That was funny. Garcia kissed MJF on the forehead and then shoved him down. Garcia left in the back part of the arena while celebrating with the fans. The medical team tended to MJF while putting a neckbrace on his neck.

Analysis: It was some revenge for Daniel Garcia after MJF doing a cheap attack on him in the past. The piledriver off the turnbuckle was done about as safely as you can do it, so nice job by Garcia.

They showed Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page in separate locker rooms with security guys surrounding them. Excalibur said they will only be released when it’s time for their match.

A video package aired for The Young Bucks facing Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club.

AEW Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks – Matthew & Nicholas Jackson vs. Blackpool Combat Club – Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta

The team of Claudio & Wheeler are AEW Trios Tag Team Champions with Pac.

Yuta hit a body slam on Nick followed by a senton splash for two. Claudio went into the ring, so Nick did an arm drag/headscissors on both guys. Claudio and Yuta did the wishbone leg splitting on both Bucks multiple times. Yuta gave Matt an atomic drop. Matt avoided a charging Yuta, so the Bucks hit a double team clothesline/kick. The Bucks hit a combo move with Nick kicking Yuta followed by Nick jumping off the top with a double stomp on Yuta. The Bucks hit combination offense with Matt hitting a neckbreaker on Yuta. Nick was legal for his team as he connected with a spinning heel kick on Yuta. The Bucks tried a double team move, Yuta avoided it and Yuta clotheslined Matt. Both Bucks were in the ring for a long time and the referee was inept as usual. Claudio hit running uppercuts on both Bucks. Nick hit a running knee, but Claudio came back with more uppercuts. After about ten uppercuts, Claudio ran the ropes with a double clothesline on both Bucks. Claudio hit more uppercuts on the Bucks on the floor. Claudio went up top and hit a cross body block on Matt for a two count. Yuta saved Claudio from a double team attack and Yuta slammed Nick onto Matt against the ropes. Yuta gave Matt an Angle Slam for a two count. Claudio went spilling over the barricade after he charged at Nick on the floor and Nick avoided it. Nick was in the ring illegally with a superkick on Yuta, but Yuta came back with his own superkick followed by a German Suplex on Matt for two. Yuta went for a submission, Nick broke it up and Nick gave Claudio a hurricanrana off the apron to the floor.

The Bucks hit a double team facebuster on Yuta for a two count. Nick also dove onto Claudio with a standing moonsault on the floor. Claudio tripped up Nick on the top rope to stop a double team move. Yuta got a rollup on Matt for two. Claudio tagged in with an uppercut on Nick and a spinning uppercut on legal man Matt. Both Bucks were in the ring illegally again for the BTE Trigger on Claudio for two because Yuta broke up the pin. The Bucks hit double superkicks. Claudio tried to slam both guys, the Bucks stopped that and then Claudio hit a double suplex. Yuta hit a suicide dive on Nick on the floor. Claudio gave Matt a long Giant Swing with about 20 revolutions for a two count. Yuta got the tag, Nick into the ring illegally again and Claudio knocked him out of the ring. Matt superkicked Claudio to put him down. Claudio hit Matt with a forearm followed by a superplex. Claudio launched Yuta off the top, Matt got the knees up and Matt cradled Yuta for the pinfall win while Nick was holding onto Claudio’s legs to prevent the save. It went 15:45.

Winners by pinfall: The Young Bucks – Matthew & Nicholas Jackson

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good match that was fast-paced action and the second straight match won by a heel who won without using a finishing move. That makes Claudio & Yuta look strong in defeat because it was such a close match the whole way. Claudio was incredible in the match while the others were all pretty good too. It’s a Young Bucks match so there were a lot of moments of illegal offense. I think it’s stupid to have people randomly go into the ring to do double team moves. It totally goes against the concept of a tag team match. They literally have two guys in the ring for several minutes at a time. It’s lazy pro wrestling because you are not telling a story in an interesting way. Anyway, I’m not surprised by the champions retaining here.

It was Will Ospreay against Pac up next so there was a video package to set it up.

AEW International Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Pac

Pac is one third of the AEW Trios Tag Team Champions.

The crowd was strongly behind Will in this match. Will had the kinesio tape on his upper back and shoulders. They did some fast-paced wrestling where they tried moves, but they weren’t able to connect like when Will landed on his feet after taking a headscissors. Pac sent Will out of the ring, so Pac went up top and hit a sky twister press onto Will on the floor. Back in the ring, Will dropkicked Pac out of the ring. Will jumped off the top with a sky twister press onto Paco the floor. Ricochet was shown watching on a TV backstage. Will and Pac connected with boots to the face at the same time. Pac and Will exchanged chops. Pac kicked Will’s neck followed by some foot choking. They left the ring where Pac sent Will hard into the barricade. Pac sent Will hard into the barricade. They were on the top rope where Pac hit brainbuster off the top, which led to Pac getting delayed two count because he was slow to cover. Will hit a jawbreaker to break free from a submission move. Will tried a move off the ropes, but Pac bailed to the floor. Will kicked Pac and Will hit a forearm after jumping off the barricade. Will ran the ropes leading to a backflip over the top onto Pac called a Sasuke Special, with thanks to Excalibur for that. Back in the ring, Will did a handspring off the ropes into a corkscrew kick for two. They battled by the turnbuckle, Pac jumped off the top, Will caught him and Pac countered it into a DDT. Pac hit a Ligerbomb for two. Pac charged at Will, who hit a standing Spanish Fly slam for two. Will went for the Oscutter, Pac blocked it and Will hit a front slam. Pac avoided a charging attack followed by Pac hitting a superkick. Pac kicked Will in the back of the head. Will came back with a springboard Oscutter for two.

Pac and Will stood face to face as Pac hit some strikes. Will came back with a standing back kick. They were on the apron where Will hit a superkick. Pac caught a jumping Will on the apron and Pac hit a release German Suplex on the apron. Pac hit a Poison Rana on the apron and back into the ring where Pac applied the Brutalizer submission. Ospreay managed to get his foot on the bottom rope to break free. The fans were chanting “this is awesome” for them. Pac nailed a jumping kick to the face. Pac went up top, he jumped off with a Black Arrow, Will got the knees up and Will got an inside cradle for two. Pac voided a Hidden Blade attempt and went for a pin for two. Will hit a jumping kick followed by Pac hitting a German Suplex. Will countered a move, he went for a Powerbomb and Pac countered it into a hurricanrana! Wow! That got a two count. The fans were giving them a standing ovation. Pac hit a Poison Rana for two. Pac applied the Brutalizer submission again by pulling back on the arms. Will got out of that and hit his own Posion Rama. Will hit a Hidden Blade elbow smash for two because Pac got his left shoulder up. Both of Will’s shoulders were down for longer than the three count. Will jumped off the turnbuckle, but Pac tripped him up there. Pac went for a top rope Poison Rana, but Will landed on his feet. Will hit another Hidden Blade elbow smash for two after Pac did a flip bump. Will jumped off the top leading to an Oscutter. Will went for a Stormbreaker, but Pac countered it with a hurricanrana for two. Will hit a Styles Clash. Will hit the Hidden Blade elbow smash for the one…two…and three! Will Ospreay wins at 20:22.

Winner by pinfall: Will Ospreay

Analysis: ***** Here we go again with Will Ospreay having another five star match. The guy is absolutely amazing, he never slows down and he knows how to build up to the big moments so well. There were so many amazing moves in this match as well as the counters by both guys the entire time. I didn’t think Pac would kick out of the Hidden Blade and some of the other big moves when he did, so that just built up the drama even more. Pac was incredible with some of the counters that he did because it’s so hard to do counters for some of those moves, yet these guys were able to do it because they are so athletic. I liked the match a lot. It really was one of the best matches this year.

Will Ospreay celebrated with the AEW International Title while Ricochet was shown watching on a TV backstage.

The Willow Nightingale-Kris Statlander match was next so there was a video package to set it up.

Chicago Street Fight: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander (w/Stokely Hathaway)

They started out aggressively to start the match. Kris picked up Willow off the apron and gave Willow a Powerbomb through the Spanish commentary table. Kris set up another table on the floor. Kris sent Willow crashing into the barricade. Kris set up Willow onto the table on the floor. Kris jumped off the top with a Senton Bomb, Willow avoided that and Kris went crashing through the table on the floor. Ouch. Willow hit a running Pounce on Kris to put her through a barricade. The fight went up the ramp where Willow was in control, but then Kris came back with a suplex on the ramp. Kris told Hathaway to get the stuff so Hathaway brought out a trash can with weapons in it. Kris hit Willow with the trash can. Kris suplexed Willow on the trash can. Kris attacked with a barbed wire baseball bat, Willow avoided it and Willow hit Kris with a light tube to the head. Kris was busted open on the forehead. Kris fought back with punches followed by Kris tackling Willow off the apron and they went crashing through a conveniently placed table. They were back in the ring where Willow avoided an elbow and Willow tried a slam, but Kris countered with her own body slam. Willow hit a very safe body slam followed by a double clothesline to knock both ladies down. Willow had a steel chain that she put around her right hand. Willow punched Kris a few times and Willow also bit some of Kris’ forehead. Kris came back with a German Suplex after that. Kris had a bag full of thumbtacks so she poured them in the ring. Willow avoided a move and Kris went for a scissors kick on the tacks, but Willow moved. Kris did the splits on the tacks. Kris had to yell “Come On” at Willow to do the next move. Willow kicked Kris and Willow gave Kris a Death Valley Driver onto the tacks for two.

They battled on the top rope where Statlander hit a Spanish Fly slam off the top. Kris used the chain to deliver a spinning clothesline (attack with the chain) for a two count. Willow fought back with a spinebuster onto the thumbtacks. They each hit a clothesline at the same time. Kris picked up Willow leading to the Tombstone piledriver. Kris choked out Willow with the chain around the neck/mouth and Willow gave up. It went 15:03.

Winner by submission: Kris Statlander

Analysis: ***3/4 Kudos to the ladies for delivering a great match after an incredible match before it. They busted their asses, used the weapons very well and had a very entertaining, physical match. Kris Statlander won decisively by using the chain and it was a decisive finish rather than the close ending that AEW likes to book too often. Willow moves around well, she takes everything that is dished out and is very impressive physically as well. I’m glad that Kris won this match to likely put an end to the rivalry for now.

Will Ospreay was interviewed by Renee Paquette. Will put over Pac as a great wrestler and said that if Pac ever wants a rematch, he can get it. Ricochet interrupted the interview. Will said he’s sick of Ricochet sitting back there. Ricochet said that he’ll be here for a long time and he’ll see Will soon. Will told Ricochet to pick up some wins so that one day he can face the champion Ospreay. Ricochet told Will he’ll see him soon.

Analysis: They are taking their time to set that match up. Good. No reason to rush Ospreay vs. Ricochet as a big match.

The AEW Continental Title match was next. No story to this since the three challengers get a title shot just by winning matches on Collision, which I didn’t watch. It’s a way to get Okada on the show, I guess.

AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis) vs. Mark Briscoe

Taz tagged in on commentary with Excalibur & Tony Schiavone while Nigel McGuinness left. Briscoe is the ROH World Champion. Callis went on commentary since Takeshita was in the match. Mark and Cassidy are in The Conglomeration stable together.

It was another match where I missed a few minutes at the start as Mark hit a jumping enziguri kick on Takeshita. Mark and Orange each hit dives onto their opponents on the floor. Mark and Orange each hit elbow drops on the floor. Okada suplexed Mark and Orange back to back. Mark hit a vertical suplex. Okada hit multiple suplexes on his opponents. Orange tried a suplex, but Okada hit another suplex on Orange. Mark hit his own vertical suplex on Okada. Takeshita hit a vertical suplex on Mark. Orange hit Stundog Millionaire and yet another vertical suplex, this time with Orange on Takeshita. Orange kicked Takeshita down so Okada was back in with a dropkick. Mark punched Okada off the turnbuckle to the floor. Takeshita hit a back elbow. Takeshita hit a somersault dive onto the top onto two guys. Mark set up the chair in the ring and Mark hit a dive over the top. Mark and Orange had a face off as they exchanged light touching moves along with a high five. Orange and Mark exchanged forearms. Okada and Takeshita each went into the ring with release German Suplexes. Okada went face to face with Takeshita as the fans went nuts for it. Okada and Takeshita exchanged elbow strikes. Okada hit a dropkick and Takeshita came back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Takeshita hit a boot to the head of Okada, who left the ring. Takeshita gave Orange a superplex off the top. Mark jumped off the top with a Froggy Bow for two because Okada made the save. Okada hit a body slam. Okada went up top for his version of the big elbow drop.

Mark Briscoe countered an Okada move leading to a stiff lariat. Takeshita was back in with a kick on Okada. Orange hit Okada with a Superman Punch. Takeshita sent Orange into the ropes and Takeshita countered Orange with a front slam followed by a release German Suplex. Mark was back in with a Jay Driller on Takeshita for two because Okada pulled Mark off. Mark hit a suplex across the ring. Mark jumped off the top, Takeshita got the knees up to block an elbow. Takeshita hit a running knee and Orange broke up the three count. Orange hit Beach Break on Takeshita. Orange charged, but Takeshita hit him with a forearm followed by a clothesline. Okada tossed Takeshita out of the ring. Okada hit a Rainmaker on Mark. Orange got a rollup where he sat on top of Okada for two. Okada came back with the Rainmaker on Orange for the pinfall win. This went 15:02.

Winner by pinfall: Kazuchika Okada

Analysis: ***1/4 This was an entertaining four-way match where it was pretty obvious that Okada was going to win and the other guys didn’t have many believable falls in the match. The action is still good, but there was no story going into this and it just felt like it was there to fill time. I’d love to see a meaningful Okada/Takeshita rivalry, but it doesn’t make sense right now since both of them are heels.

The Mercedes Mone-Hikaru Shida match was up next.

TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida

Mercedes Mone’s buddy Kamille was banned from ringside. Shida was aggressive early on with four dropkicks. I guess she really likes doing dropkicks. Shida hit a knee strike for two. Mone finally got some offense going with a sunset flip Powerbomb off the turnbuckle. Mone hit the Meteora double knees for two. Mone hit Shida with a forearm followed by double knees to the ribs by the turnbuckle. Shida did a hurricanrana along with a knee strike. The fans were dead quiet as Mone kicked Shida in the ribs. Shida sent Mone face first into the middle turnbuckle. Shida hit a missile dropkick since likes dropkicks a lot as we saw earlier. Shida punched Mone with weak-looking punches against the turnbuckle. Mone caught a running Shida and applied a Crossface, but Shida managed to get out of it. Shida got back to a standing ovation leading to a clothesline. The crowd woke up a bit with chants for both women. Shida unloaded on Mone with repeated forearms to the head. Shida nailed Mone with a knee strike to the head. Mone charged and hit a Lungblower double knees along with a Powerbomb into the turnbuckle. Mone hit a running double knee attack on Shida for two. Excalibur was screaming about these moves while the crowd was quiet for it. Mone hit the Three Amigos suplexes to barely a reaction. Mone went up top, jumped off with Frog Splash and Shida got the knees up to block.

Shida hit three Falcon Arrow slams in a row for a two count. Kitana went for the kick, but Mone caught the kick and Mone did a dragon screw leg whip. Mone hit a German Suplex, then Shida came back with a German Suplex and Shida hit a running knee for two. Shida tried her Kitana kick and it got no reaction. Shida did the Kitana kick again with no cover attempted. Shida went for the Kitana kick again, but Mone kicked out of it and Mone bailed to the floor. Mone and Shida each grabbed the kendo stick, which led to Shida pulling Mone into the ring post. Shida threw the kendo stick away. Shida went for the knee attack off the ropes, but Mone avoided it. Mone went for Mone Maker, Shida avoided it and Mone hit a chop block to the left knee. Mone hit the Mone Maker for the pinfall win at 16:30.

Winner by pinfall: Mercedes Mone

Analysis: *** The match was good, but it didn’t feel that special to me. It’s like the match before it where you know the champion isn’t going to lose, so it’s tough to really get into it. If there was some great story going into it then that would be okay. However, there wasn’t much of a story other than having Shida win a match to earn a title shot. The crowd wasn’t into the match very much. I also think that they need to do a better job of building up Mone’s opponents because the fans know that Mone is going to win nearly every match she has, so the fans aren’t getting behind the opponents. The booking needs to be better going into Mone’s matches. Also, that Mone Maker finisher doesn’t look that impressive nearly every time she does it. I think she needs a better finisher.

After the match, Mercedes Mone’s buddy Kamille showed up at ringside. Mone was happy to see her. Mone remains undefeated in AEW.

The AEW World Championship match between champion Bryan Danielson and TNT Champion Jack Perry was next so there was a video package to set it up.

Jack Perry was shown in a video driving a truck that says Scapegoat on it. The Scapegoat truck was shown driving up to the building and into the parking lot. Perry was booed when the crowd saw him. Perry walked into the building with The Young Bucks and security. I could hear “CM Punk” chants from the crowd. Just saying.

Bryan Danielson made his entrance as the AEW World Champion as “The Final Countdown” song played in the arena. The fans were singing along with the song as usual.

AEW World Championship: Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Perry

If Bryan Danielson loses then he will retire…or so we think. And if you think he’s losing the AEW World Title two weeks after winning it then you are smoking something that’s very questionable. Jim Ross joined commentary for this match. Jack Perry is the TNT Champion, but that title is not on the line in this match.

It was a slow start to the match as Perry got a hiptoss takeover and then he bailed from the ring. The fans hated Perry as they booed him all match long. Bryan caught a leaping Perry by the legs. Bryan hooked Perry’s legs followed by Bryan pulling back on the arms leading to the surfboard submission move. Bryan dropkicked Perry to the floor. Bryan jumped off the top with a springboard dive onto Perry on the floor. Back in the ring, Bryan went up top and hit a missile dropkick. Perry left the ring again, Bryan tried jumping on him and Perry hit a superkick. Perry gave Bryan a draping DDT on the floor. The fans were chanting “f**k you Jack” at Perry, who charged at Bryan with a running dropkick on the floor. Perry got a two count in the ring. Perry punched and chopped Bryan several times. Perry hit a running clothesline followed by a neckbreaker for two. Perry chopped Bryan a few times, so Bryan chopped Perry back until Perry did some face gouging. Perry was on the top turnbuckle, so Bryan shoved him and crotched Perry on the top turnbuckle. Bryan hit Perry with hammer elbows. Bryan went up top and gave Perry a belly-to-back suplex off the top rope. Bryan worked over Perry with kicks to the chest and Jack came back with a jackknife pin attempt. Bryan countered into a LeBell Lock submission. Bryan pulled back on Perry’s right arm for another submission, but Perry got his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold.

Bryan remained in control with hard chops to the chest followed by several punches to the head. Bryan charged off the ropes, but Jack did a drop toe hold and Jack applied the Cattle Mutilation submission that Bryan used throughout his career. After Bryan fought out of the submission move, Perry hit a Dragon Suplex to dump Bryan on his head/neck. Perry hit another Dragon Suplex on Bryan while the announcers kept pushing the “Bryan has a bad neck” story we have been hearing for over a decade at this point. Bryan and Perry exchanged strikes while on the apron as Bryan delivered kicks and Perry hit Bryan with chops. Bryan gave Perry a Butterfly Suplex off the apron to the floor. Bryan went back into the ring with a top rope knee drop on the left arm. Bryan delivered a running kick to the left arm. Bryan kicked Perry in the upper body repeatedly followed by a roundhouse kick to the head. Bryan went for the running knee, but Perry avoided it and Perry applied the Snare Trap submission move that is like the classic STF submission until Bryan got to the bottom rope. The fans sang “oh cry me a river” at Perry in reference to Perry’s past issues with CM Punk, so the fans were reminding Jack about that. The announcers didn’t mention it. Perry hit a running clothesline for two. Bryan got an inside cradle for two. Bryan kicked Perry to the turnbuckle. Bryan charged, so Perry pulled the referee in front of him and Bryan hit a running kick on referee Bryce Remsburg so there’s the ref bump.

Bryan suplexed Perry and wanted to do more, but The Young Bucks went into the ring to attack Bryan. The Bucks hit their TK Driver double team spike piledriver on Bryan. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club finally got out there to chase The Young Bucks to the backstage area. Perry hit the running knee to the side of the head as referee Remsburg did the slow count as Bryan kicked out at two. Perry taunted Bryan with the “YES” chant while holding up middle fingers so the fans chanted “NO” at him. Perry charged, but Bryan was back up and Bryan hit the Busaiko Knee finisher. Bryan was too hurt to make a cover. Bryan and Perry exchanged forearms. Bryan and Perry continued to exchange strikes. Bryan avoided a running knee attack and Bryan hit a Busaiko Knee for a two count. Bryan stomped Perry in the head repeatedly. Perry was on his knees, so Bryan hit him with another Busaiko Knee for the pinfall win at 27:35.

Winner by pinfall: Bryan Danielson

Analysis: ***3/4 I thought it was a very good match thanks to Danielson because he’s always going to have an amazing match in a setting like that. The announcers tried their best to try to suggest that Perry could win and Danielson may retire, but I don’t think anybody watching this thought Perry had a shot in this match. I liked how Bryna was working on Perry’s left arm early in the match, but then they kind of went away from it. I don’t think the match needed to be as long as it was and I think Bryan should have won more decisively.

Bryan Danielson celebrated the win with the fans singing along for The Final Countdown again.

After the match, Killswitch went into the ring and headbutted Bryan Danielson. Killswitch stared at his former best friend Jack Perry. Christian Cage appeared with the guaranteed AEW World Title match contract with him. Christian was joined by Nick Wayne and Mother Wayne. Jon Moxley showed up at ringside to stand in front of Cage. Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta and Pac also showed up at ringside. That led to Christian Cage and The Patriarchy group leaving. Bryan was smiling about it. The Blackpool Combat Club guys went into the ring as Moxley hugged Danielson. Pac isn’t in the BCC officially, but he’s a champion with Claudio & Yuta right now. Claudio raised hands with Bryan and then Claudio nailed Bryan with an uppercut. Jon Moxley had a plastic bag that he put around Danielson’s head. Nobody could get in the ring to save Danielson because Marina Shafir was there. Pac was holding Wheeler Yuta, who was freaking out about what was happening. The fans chanted “this is murder” as Moxley finally let go of the bag around Danielson’s head. Moxley left with Claudio and Pac, who let Yuta go. The AEW medical team checked on Danielson after the match and they put an oxygen mask on Danielson’s head. The medical team and Wheeler Yuta carried Bryan to the back. They didn’t use a stretcher and instead carried Bryan to the back.

The announcers talked about what happened to Danielson as JR said it was sickening and embarrassing for pro wrestling.

Analysis: Wow, that was intense with the bag smothering by Jon Moxley on Bryan Danielson. You really don’t see that kind of thing in pro wrestling very much, so the fans had a tough time reacting to it. That’s why they chanted “this is murder” and then they went silent after that because it was tough to react to. That’s the end of the Blackpool Combat Club group as we knew it. I’m certainly intrigued by where this Moxley angle is going now that he has Castagnoli and Pac with him as allies along with Marina Shafir. It should lead to a huge grudge match between Danielson and Moxley as well.

It was time for the Lights Out Steel Cage Match in the main event. A video package aired for the Swerve Strickland-Adam Page match.

The ring announcer Justin Roberts said that the lights were going to go out for this unsanctioned Steel Cage Match. It was stated that AEW is not responsible for what happens in this match.

“Hangman” Adam Page made his entrance first as security walked out to the ring with him. Page had some barbed wire wrapped around his right hand on his way into the ring. Swerve Strickland was wearing an outfit that had images of his house that was burning and Page smiling about it as the house burned. Of course, it really wasn’t Swerve’s house, but for the storyline sake, they say it was Swerve’s house.

Lights Out Steel Cage Match: “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana)

The only way to win is by knockout, pinfall or submission.

Swerve tried to put Page on the apron as the cage was being lowered, but Page avoided it. Page hit a fallaway slam and Swerve got right back up from it. There were weapons in the ring as well. Swerve hit a jumping flatliner. Swerve hit a jumping House Call kick. Page hit a forearm to the face followed by a German Suplex. There was a box in the ring with some weapons in it, so Page pulled out a staple gun. Page used the staple gun against Swerve’s chest and Swerve was laughing about it. Swerve got the staple gun and put some staples into Page’s back as well. Swerve hit a backbreaker. Swerve had photos of his family that he had tucked into his gear. Swerve stapled a family photo onto Page’s chest. Swerve stapled another photo to Page’s face! Swerve pulled the photo off so Page sold it. Page shoved Swerve away from him, Page was on the top rope and Swerve hit Page with the edge of a steel chair to the head. Swerve put Page on his back followed by Swerve tossing Page into the steel cage. The two men battled on the top rope leading to Page tripping up Swerve so he was crotched across the top rope. Page hit a springboard clothesline on Swerve. Page rammed Swerve’s head against the cage. Page put barbed wire on his right arm leading to Page hitting a clothesline to the chest. Page threw Swerve into the steel cage a few times. Page put the barbed wire through the chain link fence. Swerve came back with a clothesline. Swerve charged and Page sent him hard into the cage. Page was bleeding heavily from the right side of his head. Swerve bladed at that point after being sent into the cage with the barbed wire, so they were both bleeding.

Page remained in control as he rammed Swerve’s head into the cage. The camera closeups on Swerve’s bloody head were gross to watch. Page hit a high boot to the head. Swerve tried to get some offense going, but Page picked up Swerve and sent him face first into the cage. Page hit Swerve in the ribs with a chair followed by a chair shot to the back. The referee Paul Turner tried to stop Turner from using the chair, so that allowed Swerve to hit a House Call kick. Swerve tried jumping over the referee’s back for a Buckshot Lariat, but it didn’t look smooth. Swerve hit Page with three hard chair shots to the back. Swerve sent Page like a lawn dirt into the chair that was wedged against the turnbuckle. Swerve got a two count after that. Swerve pulled a cinderblock out of a box that was in the ring. Swerve tried a move on the cinderblock, but Page got out of that. Swerve gave Page a Vertebreaker on the cinderblock so that Page’s lower back hit the cinderblock. The cinderblock didn’t break, but Page had a visible scar on his back. Tony Schiavone the doctor diagnosed Page with a broken back already. Relax Tony. It’s okay. Swerve set up a table in the ring. They battled by the turnbuckle that was near the open table. Page picked up Swerve on the top rope to tease a move, but Swerve got out of it. Swerve kicked Page and then Swerve did a Swerve Stomp (double foot stomp) to drive Page through the table that was in the ring. It only got a two count because Page kicked out. Great spot. That was very innovative.

Swerve charged at Page, who caught him and Page hit Deadeye for two. The blood on Page’s forehead had dried so it wasn’t that bad. Page got a piece of burnt wood from the house that he burned, so it was a splinter from the wood. Page tried to attack with the burnt wood, but Swerve avoided it and Swerve got the spike in his hand. Swerve managed to get a hold of Page leading to Swerve hitting Page in the head with the splinter/wood. Swerve had a sad look on his face, but Page was ready with a low blow uppercut. Page picked up Swerve and gave Swerve a Powerbomb onto the cinderblock! The announcers wanted Swerve to stay down, but Swerve kicked out at two. The cinderblock wasn’t broken as it remained in the ring. Swerve got a hold of Page and gave Page a Powerbomb into the cage. Swerve hit a running kick to the head for a House Call kick. Swerve hit another House Call kick leading to a slow cover for just two because Page kicked out. Swerve went up top, then looked up further and climbed to the top of the cage. Page was back up and gave Swerve a Powerbomb off the top rope. Selling would be nice, but they were back on their feet. Page hit a Deadeye slam for two. Page used the chair to jab Swerve in the head with it, but it was really Page’s hand hitting Swerve in the head. Page told him to beg for mercy as Page did a chair jab to the head. Swerve was laughing. Page pulled the gold teeth out of Swerve’s mouth. Page pulled a hypodermic needle out of the bag and put it in Swerve’s left cheek. Page hit Swerve with a stiff chair shot to the head. The referee Paul Turner deemed that Swerve was knocked out, so Turner called for the bell. It’s a knockout finish. It went about 31 minutes.

Winner by knockout: “Hangman” Adam Page

Analysis: ****1/4 That was a crazy match as expected by these two crazy guys who have had insane matches in the past. The stuff at the end with a hypodermic needle is not something I’ve seen in a pro wrestling match ever, so I will give them some credit for being creative in that way. With that said, I don’t like seeing a stiff chair shot to the head because I think that shouldn’t happen in pro wrestling in 2024. I don’t care if it’s a gimmicked chair or whatever AEW is going to say about it. Just don’t do a spot like that. It’s a hard match to rate in the sense that these guys weren’t out there going for pinfalls or trying to win that match for most of it. I can’t sit here while remarking about the great nearfalls that built up the finish well. There really wasn’t a lot of that. It was all about the weapons and crazy spots that they did. I have to admit if I did a preview I would have picked the babyface Swerve to win because it would be Swerve avenging the house burning, but here we are with Page getting the big win. Maybe it’s just a case of AEW wanting to push this version of Hangman to the main event level, which I certainly don’t mind.

The medical team went into the ring to check on Swerve in the ring. Swerve was selling it like he was knocked out. Page left the ring with his jacket. Page yelled “YEAH” while on the stage as if he was relieved that this rivalry might be over.

Analysis: Is it the end of the Swerve-Page rivalry? Maybe. I don’t know. It may never end because it’s been the best AEW rivalry over the last year. I don’t think anything else is even close.

AEW All Out had a runtime of 3:57:58 on pay-per-view.

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Five Stars of the Show

1. Will Ospreay
2. MJF
3. Bryan Danielson minus the whole bag thing
4. “Hangman” Adam Page
5. Pac, Daniel Garcia, Swerve Strickland

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Final Thoughts

It gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me. (Originally I went 8.5, but I’m putting it at 8.25 as of Sunday morning. You can check the rankings below where I have it as the second best AEW PPV of the year.)

I thought All Out was an excellent show. In terms of match quality, I think it was better than All In two weeks ago so that’s why I’m ranking it a bit higher than that show. The Will Ospreay-Pac match was my favorite match as I went five stars for yet another Ospreay match. The dude is amazing to watch and I’m so happy for Pac having a match at that level because I’ve enjoyed watching him for a long time. The MJF/Daniel Garcia opening match was a lot of fun too. Clever finish with a good post match angle since Garcia got payback against Max.

There were some matches that just didn’t have enough drama for me because you know the champions are going to retain. There was no way Okada, Mone, Young Bucks, or Danielson were going to lose to the opponents that AEW lined up for them. Sometimes you can get away with that if the story is strong going in, but none of those title matches had strong stories. The Ospreay-Pac match at least benefitted by being one of the best matches of the year.

The angle with Jon Moxley and friends attacking Bryan Danielson wasn’t what I expected. I do like a shocking heel turn like that. However, I was uncomfortable watching Moxley put a plastic bag on Bryan’s head, but I think that’s how they wanted us to feel. I also think it’s unrealistic that more people wouldn’t try to help a man with a bag on his head, but sometimes we have to throw logic out the window in pro wrestling. Okay, so a lot of times we have to do that. Anyway, I guess that’s the end of the Blackpool Combat Club group since Claudio is with Moxley too.

The main event between “Hangman” Adam Page and Swerve Strickland was a violent match as usual between them. I don’t think it was as good as their best match, but there was a lot to like. I give credit to both guys for being madmen who are willing to go the extra mile to do crazy shit in that kind of match. Taking a Powerbomb on f’n cinderblocks can’t be fun no matter who you are. I don’t love the chair shot to the head and I think it’s stupid to do that. I get wanting to have Hangman “go too far” or whatever, but do it in another way. Taking unprotected chair shots to the head isn’t necessary no matter if you gimmick the chair or whatever excuse AEW will use to explain it. Just stop doing that spot. It’s simple. I still enjoyed the show a lot.

Here are my AEW PPV reviews of 2024 so far:

Revolution: 9 out of 10 – March 3 (Sting & Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks)

All Out – 8.25 – September 7 (“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland)

All In London – 8.25 – August 25 (Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland)

Double Or Nothing 8.25 – May 27 (Anarchy In The Arena: The Elite – The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada & Jack Perry vs. Team AEW – Bryan Danielson, FTR & Darby Allin)

Dynasty: 8.25 – April 21 (Swerve Strickland vs. Samoa Joe)

Forbidden Door: 7.5 – June 30 (Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay)

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

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport