The John Report: AEW All Out 2020 Review (Moxley vs. MJF, FTR vs. Omega/Page)

Welcome to the TJRWrestling review of the third AEW PPV called All Out. The format of the review is going to be a bit different than my usual review. What I will do is not write play by play of the first six matches on the PPV and then for the last three matches (the three main matches) I will do play by play. I’ll still do my ratings and analysis for all of the matches. The reason being is that I was not home on Saturday, I barely turned on the laptop on Sunday to write about it due to helping some family move and most of this was written on Monday morning. If I wrote play by play of a four-hour show it would be 12,000 words. If I shorten the first six matches with less details then it saves me some writing. Plus, I know most of you don’t read the play by play in detail anyway, so this might be for the best. Let’s get to it.

There were two matches on the Buy-In Pre-Show:

Joey Janela defeated Serpentico in 7:35.

Private Party defeated The Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds and Jon Silver in 10:25.

Now we move on to the PPV, which ran for nearly four hours.

AEW All Out
September 5, 2020
Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida

The announce team was Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and masked man Excalibur, which is the usual AEW announce team trio. There were some fans in the crowd although they weren’t close to the ring like on Dynamite this past Wednesday. Apparently it was a very humid night in Jacksonville on Saturday, so that affected everybody.

Tooth and Nail Match: Dr. Britt Baker vs. Big Swole

This was going to be on the Buy-In, but then fans complained online (wresting fans complaining is not exactly breaking news) and they put it on the main PPV. Big Swole arrived at Britt Baker’s dentist office (I believe she lives in Orlando with boyfriend Adam Cole) and it looked like the legit office. She beat up Rebel/Reba to start. There was a referee that “rang the bell” that wasn’t there while Baker beat her up with a picture frame to the head with the diploma. They left the office and went outside with Swole beating her up with a sign. Baker was wheeled into some boxes as if boxes are supposed to hurt. Baker hit a DDT on Swole on the hood of the golf cart and Swole tossed Rebel into the garbage truck. Baker hit Swole with a crutch and they went back into the office. Baker hit a neckbreaker on the floor. For a two count. Baker had a power drill, she missed Swole’s face obviously and hit the chair. Baker had a syringe with novocaine (we are supposed to think) and Swole put it in Baker’s leg. Reba was overacting really badly with a banana on her head. Reba hit her spinning forearm on both women. Swole put a mask on Baker’s face to knock her out to end it at 6:22.

Winner: Big Swole

Analysis: *1/2 This was boring. Some really bad acting by Rebel and Baker made this tough to watch as well. I think it was a mistake to put this on first. They should have put it on later between two good matches. A match in a ring would have been better, but that’s something they can do in the future. Swole winning was the right call since she was the babyface here. When they do the match in the ring it will probably be a win for Baker.

The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy (w/Marko Stunt)

The announcers put over the story that the Young Bucks are a lot more serious and business-like of late since they were mad that their buddy Hangman Page cost them a tag team match recently. There were a lot of quick tags in the first few minutes and Jurassic Express got a nearfall after a tail whip kick into a flatliner for two. Young Bucks got a nearfall of their own with a bulldog into a dropkick combo. Luchasaurus hit a Powerbomb on the Young Bucks onto eachother and Boy hit an incredible hurricanrana onto the ramp. Matt dumped Boy over the barricade into the crowd. The referee actually counted somebody out of the ring, which is rare in AEW and it led to Boy getting back in the ring before ten. There was a spot where Stunt pulled Nick off the apron to prevent a double team move and Boy got a clothesline on Matt after that. After Luchasaurus tagged in, he no sold superkicks and Chokeslammed both Young Bucks, with Nick doing a moonsault to sell it, which looked too silly even for the Young Bucks. Anyway, Luchasaurus hit a standing moonsault for two. Good high spot with Boy jumping off Luchasaurus back over the top onto Nick and then Luchasaurus hit a moonsault onto both Bucks on the floor. Nick hit an impressive jumping Destroyer on Luchasaurus, who went to the floor after that. Matt hit a superkick on Marko. Am I supposed to be mad at that? I like that. Nick jumped off the top with a Senton Bomb off the top for a two count. Luchasaurus got back into it with a Chokeslam on Nick, Boy with a reverse rana and they hit their double team neckbreaker finisher for a two count. Luchasaurus jumped off the top with a cross body block onto Nick some wrestlers in the crowd. I guess he didn’t hit Nick. Young Bucks hit a double superkick for two. Young Bucks hit the BTE Trigger double knees for the pinfall win at 14:50.

Winners by pinfall: The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)

Analysis: ***1/2 This was a great match and would have been better as a PPV opener. Even though there wasn’t a storyline going into the match while both teams were faces, it became an interesting match as it went on. You can tell the announcers really wanted us to understand that the Young Bucks were more serious now because they mentioned it a few times while you could also tell by the Young Bucks actions. They did a nice job of putting over Luchasaurus as the power guy in the match, but then Nick and Matt found a way to win and Jungle Boy continues to impress. Young Bucks winning was what I expected here.

21-Man Casino Battle Royal

You can see the rules above. It’s a battle royal with staggered entrances. The winner gets an AEW World Title match. Tazz joined commentary for this match.

The first five wrestlers (Clubs) were Trent, Christopher Daniels, Jake Hager, The Blade and Rey Fenix. This went on for about three minutes. It wasn’t that interesting other than some Trent and Fenix spots. I wish Fenix was doing more in this company because he’s such a talented guy.

After three minutes, the next group of five wrestlers (Diamonds) joined: Frankie Kazarian, Will Hobbs, Chuck Taylor, Santana and Ortiz, who attacked Taylor with a retractable baton followed by a suplex on the floor. Hobbs eliminated The Blade and Hager got rid of Daniels.

The third group of wrestlers (Hearts) were Billy Gunn, Pentagon, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks at the same time and Cage press slammed Billy out of the ring to eliminate him. Darby Allin was the fifth guy in that group. Billy is the oldest guy in the match. Allin hit some cool moves right away and got rid of Fenix. Best Friends did their hug spot, which led to Santana/Ortiz to eliminate Chuck. At least there were some things happening here unlike the first two groups.

The fourth group of wrestlers (Spades) had five people with Shawn Spears out first as he walked over to the announce table to avoid being in the ring. Eddie Kingston and The Butcher were next along with Sonny Kiss as Spears went towards the ring. Lance Archer was next with a diving attack over the top. Kiss eliminated Hager, who is really not booked well in AEW. Cage dumped Kiss out of the ring, so Hager punched Kiss on the floor. Spears didn’t enter the ring yet. Archer got rid of Archer and Ortiz.

There was one final wrestler as the Joker card and it was Matt Sydal, who you might know as Evan Bourne in WWE. Sydal hit a knee to Spears, then went to the top and slipped leading to a bad bump in the ring. Ouch. Not a good start. Kazarian got rid of Pentagon, which led to Butcher getting rid of Kazarian right after that. Cage had a dominant run knocking down a few guys, Cage hit Starks by accident and Allin eliminated his rival Starks. Starks attacked Allin on the floor, then they took out a body bag with Cage putting thumbtacks in it with Allin in the bag. Cage slammed Allin over the top onto the ramp. Starks opened the top and talked trash to Allin. Spears was nice enough to hold himself against the ropes so Sydal could stomp him out of the ring. Archer decked Hobbs with a shoulder tackle and had the face off with Cage. Hobbs ended up putting Cage on the apron, which led to Archer hitting a double dropkick to get rid of both guys.

The final four were Archer, Kingston, Butcher and Sydal. They did a spot with Sydal using his legs to send Butcher over the top and then Sydal hit an impressive DDT on Butcher. Archer hit the Blackout on Sydal and then Kingston eliminated Sydal on the apron. Archer and Kingston battled on the apron, Kingston bit Archer at one point and Jake scared Kingston with the snake, so Archer hit a Chokeslam on Kingston off the turnbuckle onto Butcher/Blade on the floor.

Winner: Lance Archer

Analysis: **1/2 This was just average for a battle royal. I remember the last battle royal at Double or Nothing being better than this one, but for whatever reason this didn’t work as well. Archer winning was the right call since he’s booked as a dominant heel that needed a big win like this. Sydal could have looked more impressive in his debut, but he botched his first move off the top and only got two elimination. Lance Archer was the obvious winner here. He was my pick as well.

Broken Rules Match: Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

This was essentially a Last Man Standing Match, but they called it Broken Rules. They started near the football stadium, Sammy chased after him in a golf cart and Matt avoided it. Matt hit a DDT on a conveniently placed table. They went onto a scissor lift that was about ten feet high. Matt was going for the Side Effect, but Sammy got away and Sammy hit a Spear on Matt off the scissor lift and through a table! However, the bad thing was that Matt’s head clearly hit the concrete and he looked out of it. The referee Aubrey Edwards checked on Matt and did the “X” symbol for an injury. Sammy told the referee to count, so she did and Matt slowly got back up even though he should have stayed down. Sammy was dragging Matt with the announcer correctly stating that it was scary. When Matt tried doing a move, he collapsed and Dr. Sampson finally showed up. Referees and an official held Sammy back. It appeared as though the match was stopped. The doctor barely talked to Matt, yet Matt was able to do a promo and say he wanted to Delete Sammy. The announcers killed some time as they tried to figure things out while explaining that Matt hit his head on the concrete. Matt found Sammy in the arena and Matt hit a DDT on him as the bell rang to restart the match. They went over to the staging area with Matt and Sammy climbing up. Matt punched Sammy off the scaffolding and Sammy bumped back first onto a pile of cushions that were under some board of some kind. Sammy didn’t get up, so Matt won at around 9:02.

Winner: Matt Hardy

Analysis: * It’s hard to rate this because things obviously went wrong with Matt hitting his head against the cement. I don’t think the match should have continued after Matt’s fall. I realize that the doctor probably said it was okay, but you never know what condition was in after that bump. It could have been a serious injury and Matt could have gotten hurt. The stipulation was that if Matt lost then he’d leave AEW, so that’s why Matt won, but I think they could have changed plans when Matt hit his head and he could have had a major injury. You can say the doctor checked on Matt by asking him if he was okay, but it’s not like it was a full test that cleared him of having a concussion.

Post match, Matt was alert enough to do some Broken laughing at the sight of Sammy being down, but Matt still looked like he was out of it.

Analysis: It was reported that Matt was taken to the hospital after the match to get checked and hopefully he’s doing okay. Matt has three young sons at home. I saw that his wife Reby was freaking out on Twitter about it. He must be smart about stuff like this and I think it’s up to AEW to make the decision for him by stopping a match if he’s got a serious concussion. The safety of the wrestlers is more important than the result of the match. In a further update, AEW President Tony Khan said that Matt was fine and he’ll be at Dynamite while Matt’s wife Reby Hardy didn’t seem to agree. I just hope they’re smart and keep Matt out of the ring this week. Get him checked out fully to make sure he is okay.

AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa

Thunder Rosa is the NWA Women’s Champion. That title is not on the line in this match. It just for the AEW Women’s Title.

It was an even matchup early on as they exchanged moves with the announcers doing a nice job of putting them over. The women did a double dropkick spot that knocked them both down. Rosa managed to get control with double knees leading to a neckbreaker. Shida came back with a backbreaker. Shida tried using the chair to hit a move, but then Rosa jumped off the chair with a knee attack. Rosa remained in control for the next several minutes. Shida got some offense going after avoided a Powerbomb and hitting a forearm. Shida got a suplex as well as a glancing knee shot to the head for two. Rosa came back with a corner clothesline, double knees and a running dropkick. They did a spot where they battled on the turnbuckle teasing a bump on the ramp, then Rosa got Shida on her shoulders with a slam on the apron. It was like a fireman’s carry but Excalibur tried to put it over as a Death Valley Driver. Shida managed to make a bit of a comeback with a superplex. They went back to the ramp with Shida hitting a double foot stomp on Rosa on the ramp. Each woman hit knee strikes, Rosa with a German Suplex, Shida with a knee and a Falcon Arrow slam only got a one count. Rosa got a rollup, but then Shida trapped her in a Stretch Muffler submission. Rosa with a Backstabber to the back for two and they kept on getting nearfalls on eachother. Shida eventually got the win with the running knee to the face for the pinfall win at 17:01.

Winner by pinfall: Hikaru Shida

Analysis: ***1/2 The action was very good and I’m glad that they got a lot of time although maybe it was a bit long because the crowd was quiet for most of the match. It was tough to get into the match since I figured Rosa was there to lose since she’s not under AEW contract, so I never thought Shida might lose the title. That hurt my enjoyment of the match a bit. With that said, Rosa is awesome with a lot of skills that made her look as credible as any woman AEW has had in their ring in a long time. I think Shida’s running knee finish is okay, but it’s not that deadly of a finisher that when she hits it, you think it’s the end. That’s because there were a lot of running knees in the match, so it gets repetitive when you see it as a finisher.

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford were interviewed backstage by Alex Marvez. They announced they are getting married. Sabian said that they are going all out (wink, wink) and this wedding will be live on AEW Dynamite. Sabian said that he needs a Best Man. Sabian said he found a guy and you have to watch Dynamite to find out because he found “The” best man. There was a graphic that plugged Kip’s Twitch account and text on screen that said it was approved by AEW.

Analysis: That ending bit was a tongue in cheek thing that was a direct shot at WWE apparently wanting their talent to not use third party companies like Twitch with their names. It’s a cheap shot from AEW, but I thought it was funny. It’s okay to laugh, wrestling fans. As for the wedding, Sabian is almost never featured on Dynamite despite being a talented younger wrestler, so it will be nice to see him and Ford in the spotlight a bit.

The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Stu Grayson and Evil Uno) vs. Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall, Matt Cardona and Scorpio Sky (w/Brandi Rhodes and Allie)

Brodie Lee is the TNT Champion that was not defending his title on this show.

They were brawling as soon as the match began. The announcers love talking about how great Cardona looks. We get it. Dude works out. They also kept talking about the great athletes. They need a heel announcer to counter all the sucking up that happens. Anyway, Marshall was getting isolated from his team in the early going. Good job by Lee showing off his power with an impressive back body drop on Marshall. The heels continued to isolate Marshall with Uno choking him with tape. Cardona was on fire after a tag with a missile dropkick and a running boot to the face got a two count as Lee put the foot on the bottom rope. That led to the heels taking over with Cabana not realizing what his partners did to get a cheap shot on Cardona. JR put over how good Grayson is. Yes, he’s good, but the announcers talk about how great everybody is, so when you say it about everybody, it’s not that interesting. After a few minutes, Cardona broke free a bit with a neckbreaker. Rhodes got the tag with an atomic drop and bulldog on Grayson followed by a powerslam. Rhodes hit the Destroyer on Cabana, Lee kicked Rhodes into the turnbuckle and Sky faced off with Lee. That’s when Anna Jay tried to slap Sky, but Brandi kicked Jay. Sky sent Lee out of the ring with a headscissors. JR wondered if Jay had a wardrobe malfunction, then said that was “wishful thinking” and a lot of people on Twitter gave him shit for that for being a creepy old man. I can see why some people would feel that way. Sky got a two count on Grayson with TKO slam. Cardona tagged in with the Radio Silence leg lariat on Grayson and Uno along with a somersault dive. Marshall tagged in while Lee hit a Powerbomb on Ryder. Cabana missed the corner attack, he went to the floor and Marshall hit a somersault dive over the top to the floor. We just saw Cardona do that. Dark Order hit four moves in a row including a top rope splash from Cabana for a two count on Marshall. Rhodes faced off with Lee as the two legal men and Lee hit a clothesline. Lee wanted Cabana to go for a cover, but Cabana went for a moonsault instead of a cover and Rhodes did the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! on Cabana for the pinfall win at 15:10.

Winners by pinfall: Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall, Matt Cardona and Scorpio Sky

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a pretty good tag team match with a result that surprised me a bit because I liked that this company usually didn’t use the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! as a finisher. This result will lead to Lee facing Dustin in the future (we found out after the match), which should be a win for Lee. Anyway, the work in the match was solid because it was more of a traditional tag with Marshall and Cardona isolated at times rather than a typical AEW tag where they ignore the rules. Lee and Cabana was the major story by the end of the match since Cabana didn’t go for a cover and Lee was pissed off about it.

Post match, Lee was furious about the loss and hit a steel chair against the barricade. Lee shoved Cabana while telling him that he set Cabana up. Cabana said it was his fault. The announcers made sure to mention that Cabana screwed up by not trying to pin Rhodes after Lee’s clothesline, so that should lead to Lee getting mad at Cabana on Dynamite. Lee left with most of his guys while Uno helped up Cabana and they left together.

Dustin Rhodes was interviewed by Tony Schiavone talking about the win. Rhodes said five decades and 32 years in this business, they left the Dark Order in the dust. Dustin said that they did it for Cody. Tony informed Dustin will challenge Brodie Lee for the TNT Title on Dynamite on Wednesday. Dustin said it’s been a long time since he’s had a chance to put some gold around his waist.

There are three matches left, so I’ll go play by play format for these matches.

AEW Tag Team Championships: “Hangman” Adam Page and Kenny Omega vs. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) w/Tully Blanchard

The FTR boys are 7-0 in AEW. The championship duo of Page/Omega have been the champions for 228 days going into this match. The champs were undefeated in 2020 as well.

Page wanted to start, Omega wondered if his head was in it and Page started for his team. Page unloaded on Wheeler with punches, punches on Harwood and he nearly decked Omega when he got into the ring. Omega was telling Page to face. The champs hit boots to the face of their two opponents along with double team chops to beat up Wheeler. Page hit a suplex. Omega with a springboard sledgehammer across the back. Omega hit the Kitaro Crusher and then Page hit a standing SSP on Wheeler. Tony put over Page as a great athlete. Everybody is a great athlete. We get it. Page hit a clothesline on Harwood, but Wheeler made a blind tag and sent Hangman into the bottom turnbuckle. I think he was supposed to go into the ring post, but didn’t make it all the way. Anyway, Harwood was back in the ring with a leg drop as they heels isolated Page. Wheeler and Harwood made some quick tags leading to Harwood grounding Page with a waistlock on the mat. Page broke free, so Harwood did the abdominal stretch along with some cheating that the referee didn’t see. Wheeler switched with Dawson, referee Paul Turner made Wheeler leave and Page got an inside cradle for about five seconds with the referee not seeing the cover. Wheeler was back in with a knee to the ribs. Page with a clothesline to break free. Omega got the tag leading to double axehandle strikes to Wheeler, a rolling senton and moonsault off the middle ropes for two. Omega was on fire with a hurricanrana on Harwood and then a dropkick on Wheeler, who was jumping off the ropes. Omega with a somersault dive over the top onto FTR on the floor. That’s the third one of those moves in the last two matches. Omega went up top and hit a missile dropkick on Wheeler for two. Harwood tagged in with a Powerbomb, Wheeler with a German Suplex and Harwood covered for two as Page barely broke it up. Nice sequence of moves there.

Omega with a step up enziguri on both opponents, then a rising knee and Page tagged in. Page with a running clothesline on both FTR guys, Omega with a splash and Page hit an assisted German Suplex. Page with a Powerbomb, Omega with a running knee and Page covered for two. Wheeler battled Omega, who slammed Wheeler off the ropes and Harwood tripped up Omega while Wheeler was distracting the referee. Page blocked a superplex by holding Omega’s legs, then Harwood took down Page on the apron and Wheeler grabbed Omega on the legs. Harwood with a superplex and Wheeler with a top rope splash for the Power & Glory finish, but it only got a two count here. Page saved Omega from a double team move, Harwood hit a brainbuster on Omega and Page hit a clothesline on Harwood. Wheeler with a swinging DDT on Page. Omega with a snap reverse rana on Wheeler. Omega hit a Tiger Driver ’98 spiking Wheeler into the mat and that only got a two count. That move is better looking than 95% of the finishers in this company, but it’s only two. Omega with a V-Trigger knee on Wheeler, but then Harwood got the tag and then FTR’s two guys each did leg whips on Omega to work on the knees. Harwood slapped on the inverted figure four submission with the referee not seeing when Harwood was grabbing the ropes. Harwood was stretching the right leg of Omega. Wheeler tagged in as Omega left the ring to sell the leg injury. Page checked on Omega, who was limping around the ring. Harwood drove Omega’s left leg into the ring post. Omega hit a Snapdragon suplex on Harwood and a Snapdragon suplex on Wheeler too. Omega kicked Harwood to get out of a submission and Harwood went into Page to knock Page off the apron. Omega got a two count of that. Harwood missed a corner attack when Omega move and Harwood hit the turnbuckle.

Page got the hot tag against Wheeler, boot to Wheeler and a springboard clothesline on Harwood. Page hit a fallaway slam on Wheeler, a cross body block over the top on Harwood and he sent Wheeler out of the ring. FTR was on the floor, so Hangman hit a senton dive onto both guys on the floor to knock them down. Harwood tagged in, Wheeler drove Page towards the ropes and Harwood hit a lefty clothesline for two. Wheeler got the tag and both FTR guys went jumped off the top with diving headbutts to the shoulders for two. Harwood sent Omega to the apron, Wheeler tried a Powerbomb to the floor and Harwood hit a bulldog on Omega to the floor. Back in the ring, Page avoided a dive by Wheeler, but then Wheeler got a hold of Page and Harwood hit a bulldog headlock off the top like the Steiner Brothers for a two count. Omega pulled Wheeler off the top and Page dumped Harwood over the top to the floor. Page hit a Blockbuster suplex off the top on Wheeler for a two count. Great spot right there. Wheeler avoided a double team move, Omega went for the knee, Wheeler moved and Omega hit Wheeler with a V-Trigger knee by accident. Wheeler with a chop block to Omega’s leg. Wheeler kicked Omega out of the ring. Page was weakened after the knee from Omega, so FTR hit a double team spike piledriver (Harwood holding Page and Wheeler doing the spike) that they call a Mindbreaker. Page ended up kicking out. The crowd barely making any noise, but that would have got a big pop with a full crowd. Omega was sent out of the ring again. FTR hit the spike piledriver they call the Mindbreaker for a second time and Wheeler covered Page (while Omega was on the apron looking like he was too hurt to make the save) for the pinfall win at 29:40.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)

Analysis: ****1/4 A great match with a title change, as expected. AEW has done an excellent job of booking FTR as a dominant team that is undefeated in AEW and it made sense for them to win the titles. I thought there would be more of a conflict between Omega/Page in losing the match, but I think maybe AEW is going to push that story more on Dynamite this week. The accidental V-Trigger by Omega on Page is what led to things falling apart, so that should be used in telling the story. As a match, it was easy to watch and follow along with, but I think if they went 20 minutes instead of close to 30 minutes it would have been better. I get why they went longer to try to have a classic match. I just feel that it went on a bit too long. With that said, the last five minutes or so were tremendous and an example of outstanding tag team wrestling by four guys that really know what they are doing. Harwood/Wheeler work so well together, they’re an old school team and stylistically they can work with anybody. I’m happy they’re the champs now because they’re my favorite team in AEW.

Post match, FTR celebrated with the titles with manager Tully Blanchard as the announcers put them over as being a talented tag team that will be tough to beat. The announcers talked about Kenny’s errant knee hitting Page as the reason why the team lost.

Omega and Page were left alone in the ring with Excalibur noting that Page did a great job. It was only Omega’s errant knee that hurt the team. Omega had a table from ringside that he was looking at as if he was going to attack, but he threw it down. Page walked towards Omega, who didn’t hug his partner and Page collapsed to the mat.

Analysis: I want to see Omega and Page as featured singles stars. It’s time for them. I assume if one of them is a pure heel it will be Omega since Page is well-liked by the fans.

Kenny Omega was shown walking in the backstage area where he walked towards the Young Bucks. Omega said he’s done and told them to go with him. They left the building or at least out in the parking lot. Omega walked into a car that was there waiting for him, the Young Bucks didn’t join him and Kenny left with his driver. The Young Bucks didn’t say anything.

Analysis: It does seem like Kenny is going on the path as a loner that will split from The Elite group and perhaps he’ll be a heel going forward.

The video package for the Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy feud was really good. I didn’t mention all the video packages, but they are always well produced. Jericho won the first match, Cassidy won the second match and now this is the third match.

Chris Jericho was interviewed backstage by Alex Marvez. Jericho said that after 14 weeks, it wasn’t a storyline, a feud or a program – it was an experiment to see if Jericho could make Orange Cassidy a main eventer. Jericho talked about how after all they’ve gone through, he can tell you that Cassidy is a legit main event draw in AEW and you can thank Chris for that. Jericho said he’ll lay him out with the Judas Effect, make him tap to the Judas Effect and throw him into the 500 gallons of champagne and orange juice. Jericho told Cassidy that he’s done, at the hands of the Demo God.

Analysis: A very good promo from Jericho as usual.

The rules for the Mimosa Mayhem Match are: No disqualifications, countouts or rope breaks. The only way to win is by pinfall, submission or throwing your opponent into a vat of Mimosa. There were two giant vats of Mimosa surrounding the ring, which is a mixture of champagne and orange juice, or so they say.

Mimosa Mayhem Match: Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy

The match began with Cassidy running right into a Codebreaker by Jericho for a two count. Jericho with a belly to back suplex. Jericho with a hard whip into the turnbuckle. Jericho did a catapult that sent Cassidy over the top to the apron and Cassidy nearly went into the Mimosa tub, but he was able to avoid it. Jericho grabbed some weak looking table and threw it at Cassidy. Jericho had a tray that he used to smash over Cassidy’s head. Cassidy sent Jericho off the platform they were on with Jericho crashing into the barricade. Cassidy jumped off the ring apron with a cross body block although it didn’t look great. The crowd must have been really tired and hot because we could barely hear them. Cassidy whipped Jericho into the guardrail on the floor. They went over towards the second tub of Mimosa on the other side of the ring. Cassidy went for a hurricanrana into the tub, but Jericho hit a powerbomb onto the staging area and Cassidy fought out of it, so Jericho hit a powerbomb onto a small table that was there with some trays and a jar of ice. Jericho put part of Cassidy’s face into the Mimosa, but Cassidy was able to fight him off. Jericho got his baseball bat leading to Cassidy hitting him with a superkick to the face. Cassidy hit Jericho with a champagne bucket to the head.

They went back into the ring briefly, Jericho with a dropkick that nearly put Cassidy in the Mimosa. Cassidy came back with a rollup and a Michinoku Driver for a two count. They did the punch exchange from their knees, which didn’t seem necessary because the match wasn’t that physical. Cassidy hit the Stundog Millionaire, which is his version of a flipping Stunner. Jericho slapped on the Walls of Jericho submission in the middle of the ring. Cassidy got out of it by getting some Mimosa in a glass and throwing it into Jericho’s face, which was followed by the Superman Punch that they call the Orange Punch. Cassidy sent Jericho over the top to the apron, Jericho’s leg went into the tub a bit, but not his whole body. They battled by the turnbuckle Cassidy sent Jericho into the turnbuckle and they slowly set up the next spot. Jericho shoved Cassidy off the top, but Cassidy no sold that and hit a hurricanrana off the top. Cassidy hit a running PK (a penalty kick that didn’t connect at all). They shot it from an angle that made it look too fake. Anyway, Cassidy hit a Tornado DDT for two. Cassidy jumped off the ropes with nothing as Jericho hit him with a Codebreaker for two. Jericho set up Cassidy on the top rope teasing a Razor’s Edge, but it was obvious that was never going to happen and Cassidy hit an Orange Punch on Jericho on the turnbuckle. Cassidy hit another Orange Punch and Jericho bumped into the Mimosa. That meant Cassidy got the win at 15:15.

Winner: Orange Cassidy

Analysis: **1/4 It was a disappointing match that didn’t live up to the hype as a blowoff ending. However, it did provide the comedic visual of Jericho swimming in the Mimosa as the loser of the match. I think their first match was clearly the best of the three, the second match was pretty good too and then this one was below average. Cassidy winning was my prediction because it makes sense for the veteran Jericho to put over Cassidy (Jericho is 49 years old while Cassidy is 36) and I think that was pretty obvious as a final result. If they had a match where it was a brawl around the building like a Street Fight, it would have been better than what we got here.

Jericho was shown in tub of Mimosa while Cassidy was down selling in the ring. The announcers put it over was a big win for Cassidy, which it was. Jericho stayed in the Mimosa for about one minute before leaving it. Tony put this over as a great rivalry (I’m not sure about that) and JR said that Jericho was humiliated her. JR also put over Cassidy for becoming a star.

Analysis: This was about humiliating Jericho as the loser of the match he created while putting over Cassidy, so that’s really all they were going for. Expect Jericho to do a promo (which will be comedic in nature) ranting about this on Dynamite. I feel like this feud would have been better if it was more serious, but they relied too much on comedy spots. The announcers tried too hard to put this over as some classic encounter. I doubt the fans saw it that way.

There was an advertisement for AEW’s next pay-per-view called Full Gear on November 7. They used that name for the November PPV last year too.

Analysis: I don’t think it’s a great PPV name just like All Out. I liked All In two years ago before AEW launched because it meant something. All Out isn’t a great name at all.

This Wednesday on Dynamite: Brodie Lee defends the TNT Title against Dustin Rhodes. Plus, Kip Sabian’s best man will be introduced for his wedding. Also, the AEW World Champion will speak.

The video package aired to set up the main event: Moxley vs. MJF for the AEW World Title.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman had his buddy Wardlow with him. MJF is undefeated in AEW in singles matches.

Jon Moxley had a long entrance where he walked down some stairs to get to the venue, which was beside TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. When Moxley walked into the Daily’s Place area, some fan tried to touch him, but a security guy tackled him. That was pretty funny actually. Moxley got a nice reaction from the crowd.

AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (w/Wardlow)

The stipulation is that Moxley’s Paradigm Shift finishing move is banned. MJF is 8-0 in singles matches in 2020 while never being pinned or submitted in AEW. Moxley is 16-0 in 2020 in AEW.

MJF grabbed a headlock, Moxley got out of it with a body slam and MJF grabbed a headlock again. They showed Lance Archer with Jake Roberts watching from the crowd. Moxley went to the floor to get a breather. Moxley with a kick to the gut, he teased a Paradigm Shift, then stopped himself and kicked MJF out of the ring. Moxley hit a suicide dive onto MJF on the floor. Moxley set up MJF on the barricade followed by a clothesline. Moxley whipped MJF into the barricade. The referee Bryce Remsburg wasn’t counting the guys out on the floor. Moxley pulled on the fingers of MJF while the referee told Mox to win the match in the ring. Why not just count them out like a referee is supposed to, which then leads to action in the ring? They went back into the ring, Moxley slapped on a sleeper, MJF kicked off the ropes and that got a two count. MJF with a cross armbreaker on the left arm, but Moxley powered out of that with a suplex across the top rope. Wardlow got close to Moxley to distract, so MJF whipped the left arm into the ring apron. Wardlow rolled Moxley back in the ring as MJF stomped on the left arm. MJF worked on the left arm with an arm drag across the ring. The pace slowed down a lot as MJF worked on the left arm again. Moxley got back up with chops, MJF did an eye rake and used the arm to whip Moxley into the turnbuckle. Moxley was on the apron, MJF hit him with a shoulder tackle and Moxley bumped to the floor. The camera angle shown was not the right spot, so we didn’t see enough of the bump. MJF left the ring, Moxley shoved him into the ring apron and Moxley did the catapult into the steel ring post. The camera focused on Moxley while MJF went down to do the blade job and MJF was back up with a face full of blood.

Back in the ring, Moxley with a boot to the face, a knee to the head and a suplex into a slam as Moxley was selling his left arm by holding it against his side. Moxley was selling the left arm while teasing a piledriver, they left the ring and MJF charged right into a Bossman Slam on the floor. They went back into the ring with Moxley hitting the Gotch style piledriver sometimes called a cradle piledriver and that got a two count. Jerry Lynn used that in ECW and I loved it. Cesaro uses it as well. Moxley but the head of Moxley where the cut on the head was. That’s disgusting. JR: “Moxley doesn’t care.” Pretty much. They were on the turnbuckle with MJF biting the hand of Moxley and MJF did a double foot stomp to the left arm of Moxley. That was a cool spot. They exchanged forearms, MJF with a kick, Moxley with a German Suplex and a running clothesline for two. MJF spit in the face, Moxley teased doing a Paradigm Shift, then stopped himself and MJF slapped on the Fujiwara armbar (called Salt of the Earth) on the left arm and Moxley managed to get to the rope. Moxley to the apron, MJF sent him into the ropes and he hit the Heatseeker DDT for a two count. Moxley picked up MJF on his shoulders and hit an Air Raid Crash slam (like the White Noise that Sheamus does) for a two count. Moxley and MJF did the “exchanged strikes while on the knees” spot that Jericho/Cassidy did in the match before them. This looked better, but it doesn’t seem that interesting in back to back matches. Moxley with knees that didn’t connect at all, then a headbutt and MJF hid behind the referee. MJF with a thumb to the eye that the referee didn’t see and MJF got a backslide pin for two. MJF with another cheap tactic by hitting a low blow kick while the referee couldn’t see it. That got a two count for MJF. Cross Rhodes by MJF got a two count. That didn’t look as good as when Cody does it. Wardlow on the apron, the referee looked at him, Wardlow threw the diamond ring towards MJF, but he threw it too far, Mox saw the referee was busy and Moxley hit the Paradigm Shift. The referee didn’t see the move used. The referee turned back around and counted the pin to give Moxley the win at 23:40.

Winner by pinfall: Jon Moxley

Analysis: ***3/4 This was a very good match with a clever finish where Moxley winning was the most obvious outcome here. MJF has the cheap heel excuse by saying that Wardlow messed up to cost him the match. The blade job by MJF looked good while adding some drama to the match, but I don’t think there was a point where I thought MJF might win. I will give them credit for the creative finish with Moxley doing the Paradigm Shift that the referee didn’t see. If the referee saw the move would that mean Moxley lost the title? They didn’t really stipulate what it means, but I think that was the idea. Moxley’s selling of the left arm was tremendous because he did it on offense while also taking moves. Moxley winning with the move that was banned is a nice “f**k you” kind of finish from the champion that fits Moxley’s personality while also pissing off MJF, who added that stipulation to try to hurt Moxley. I liked the last few minutes a lot.

Moxley was handed the AEW World Title that he has held since February. Lance Archer was shown looking on from the crowd. Replays were shown of Wardlow’s errant throw and then Moxley capitalized on the referee not looking by hitting the Paradigm Shift to win. They kept on showing Archer watching with Roberts while Moxley gave him a middle finger salute.

Analysis: This should lead to MJF blaming Wardlow, which will turn Wardlow into a face and perhaps lead to Wardlow getting a big push.

Moxley spoke into the camera saying he’s untouchable in this sport. Moxley wiped some of MJF’s blood on his own chest and that was the end of the show.

This event had a run time of 3 hours and 51 minutes. The last PPV, Double or Nothing, was 3 hours and 45 minutes, so they were similar in terms of length.

Five Stars of the Show

1. FTR
2. Jon Moxley
3. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page
4. MJF
5. Young Bucks

Final Thoughts

It gets a 7.25 out of 10 from me.

This was a good show overall that felt too long by going nearly four hours. I understand going that long since they only have four PPVs, but it felt like it dragged on too much. I think the two best matches were for the Tag Team Titles with FTR getting the win along with the main event for the World Title with Moxley retaining against MJF. Even though those matches were good, I was disappointed by Jericho/Cassidy, which ended as a comedy match due the final visual instead of a grudge match. I also feel like what people are going to remember from the show is Matt Hardy landing on his head and AEW letting him continue even though he looked like he was seriously hurt.

It had some of the same issues as a lot of AEW shows where some matches get too much time and drag on. I realize AEW wants to give wrestlers a chance to have long matches, but sometimes you need to have a more exciting 12 minute match instead of going over 20 minutes (or nearly 30 in a tag team match) just because you can.

I think in terms of AEW PPV rankings this year, Revolution was definitely the best and it was helped by having fans there. Double or Nothing is second best and then All Out is third. Their last PPV of 2020 is Full Gear on November 7.

My ranking of 2020 AEW PPVs so far:

Revolution – 8.5

Double or Nothing – 7.5

All Out – 7.25

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