Reviews

The John Report: AEW All Out 2021 Review

By John Canton • Published 5th September 2021

Welcome to the TJRWrestling review of the third AEW PPV of 2021, All Out from Chicago. I ordered it on Fite TV here in Canada. There is more excitement for this show than usual because it is CM Punk’s first wrestling match since January 2014, so fans are excited after seven long years since he had a match. Check out my past AEW PPV reviews right here on TJRWrestling. I also recently ranked every PPV so far from worst to best. Let’s get to it.

There was one “Buy-In” Pre-Show match that was a ten-man tag. The team of Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, and Wheeler Yuta) and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) (with Marko Stunt) defeated Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy, Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) and The Hybrid 2 (Angélico and Jack Evans). Jungle Boy made Angelico tap out to the Snare Trap submission. I don’t plan to review it, but I’d rate it around *** out of five as a typical chaotic AEW tag team match. The referee did a poor job of enforcing rules as usual in most AEW tag team matches. After the match, The Butcher returned after several months away and beat up Orange Cassidy. Matt Hardy said mean things to Cassidy and threatened to cut his hair before some babyfaces made the save. This feud will continue.

That was the only Kickoff Show match.

AEW All Out
September 5, 2021
From Now Arena in Chicago, Illinois

The show began with JR welcoming us with: “It’s Sunday and you know what that means.” The pyro went off in the arena and the fans in Chicago were making a lot of noise. They were ready to go. The commentary team was Excalibur, Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone, which is the main AEW Dynamite team.

The ring announcer Justin Roberts let us know the TNT Championship match was up first. Eddie Kingston got a huge pop as the champion and then “The Redeemer” Miro got some boos as the heel TNT Champion. The fans were loud!

TNT Championship: Miro vs. Eddie Kingston

There were loud “Eddie” chants to start the match. They each went for moves, Miro slipped out of a suplex attempt and bailed to the floor. Back in the ring, Eddie did an eye poke followed by repeated chops. Eddie hit an Exploder Suplex with Miro rolling out of the ring to the floor. They left the ring with Miro whipping Eddie into the barricade, then a splash and a kick to the head. Miro whipped Eddie into the barricade again and Eddie kicked him in the head. Eddie went running off the apron, but Miro caught him with a powerslam on the floor. Miro drove Eddie back first into the ring post two times in a row. Miro bit Eddie’s hands and then stomped on the hands. Miro with some choking across the middle rope followed by a kick to the back. Eddie was back up with slaps, but Miro punched Eddie to knock him down. Miro grabbed a headlock, Eddie fought back with chops and Miro came back with a jumping kick to the head like a single-leg dropkick. Miro looked up as God’s favorite champion and then he charged in with a running splash. Eddie with two hard chops, Miro missed a splash and hit the turnbuckle. Eddie with a jumping enziguri kick to the apron followed by Eddie knocking Miro to the floor. Back in the ring, Eddie hit a Saito Suplex that dropped Miro on his head/neck. Both guys were selling fatigue as Miro delivered forearms, Eddie came back with chops, Miro delivered some chops and Kingston with more chops. Eddie hit two belly to back suplexes on the head/neck for a two count. Miro bailed to the floor to avoid a spinning back fist, so Eddie hit a suicide dive elbow on the floor. Back in the ring, Eddie avoided a kick and hit a Fisherman’s Suplex got two. When Miro got back up, Eddie charged and Miro sent Eddie to the ropes. Miro punched Eddie in the lower back repeatedly. Miro with a German Suplex, Eddie was back on his feet (Eddie took off a turnbuckle pad too) and Miro kicked him in the head. Miro went for the Game Over submission, Eddie was fighting it near the ropes and Eddie got his hand on the bottom rope to huge cheers from the crowd. Eddie hit a spinning backfist to the head, the referee was putting the turnbuckle pad back and Eddie hit a DDT for two because the referee was slow to count due to the turnbuckle pad. The fans chanted “you fucked up” at the referee. Eddie wanted a piledriver, Miro fought it and the referee stopped Eddie from using the turnbuckle as a weapon. Miro hit a low blow kick (that the referee didn’t see) and Miro hit a roundhouse kick to the head. Miro off the ropes with a superkick for the pinfall win at 13:25.

Winner by pinfall: Miro

Analysis: **** That was a great opening match that was very physical from the moment it began. Eddie kept coming back with hard chops to the chest, there were visible scars on the chest of Miro and then Miro had to get in the cheap shot to get the win. I figured when they did the turnbuckle spot that they were going to use it for the finish and then it ended up being that they didn’t use the turnbuckle, but a low blow leading into the finish. That ending gives Kingston an out if they want to go back to the match in the future, which would be fine. I expected Miro to retain the title. It just didn’t seem like the right time to do a title change.

The announcers did a rundown of what’s coming up on the show. Moxley vs. Kojima is next.

Satoshi Kojima got a nice ovation from the crowd. Kojima is 50 years old, he’s been wrestling for 30 years and he is in great shape. He’s been in a lot of battles. Jon Moxley got a huge pop entering to the “Wild Thing” song. Moxley was wearing a GCW sweatshirt on his way to the ring since he won their World Title yesterday.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima

Kojima wanted a handshake, Moxley didn’t like that and gave him the middle finger. They exchanged chops and forearms leading to Kojima hitting a running shoulder tackle. Kojima went for a clothesline, Moxley moved and went to the floor, so Kojima hit a slingshot dive over the top onto Moxley. The tide turned with Moxley coming back with his own suicide dive on the floor. Back in the ring, Moxley stomped on Kojima’s hand followed by some finger pulling. Moxley with chops, then Kojima came back with machine gun chops of his own and a running elbow. Kojima went up top and hit an elbow drop for two. Moxley came back with a belly to back suplex. They battled on the turnbuckle with each man biting the head of the other man. Kojima with a superplex off the middle rope. They got into a battle on the apron with Kojima hitting a DDT on the apron. Moxley had a cut on his left elbow as Kojima hit a DDT. Moxley went for a choke, then a suplex into a slam for two. Moxley went for a cross armbreaker, Kojima broke free and Moxley hit a running knee. Kojima countered a Moxley move into a brainbuster with a very slow cover for two. Kojima went for the lariat, Moxley ducked it and hit a German Suplex like Brock Lesnar doing that to Moxley repeatedly a few years ago. Moxley with two clotheslines, then a double clothesline and Moxley went off the ropes with a jumping knee. Kojima with a short arm lefty clothesline and a Koji Cutter with both guys down on the mat. The fans chanted “AEW” for them. They exchanged forearms again, then Kojima hit a rolling elbow and Moxley hit a running clothesline. Moxley went for the Bully Choke with Kojima reaching the ropes with his left foot. Moxley went for a kick, Kojima elbowed the leg, Kojima with chops, Moxley with a headbutt and a Paradigm Shift. Moxley hit a lifting Paradigm Shift for the pinfall win at 12:10.

Winner by pinfall: Jon Moxley

Analysis: ***1/4 It was another very physical match with a lot of forearms, chops, clotheslines and suplexes. Moxley was bleeding a lot from the arm, so it helped sell it as a violent match. I think some more nearfalls for Kojima would have helped the match because there wasn’t really a point where the fans thought Kojima was going to win the match. Moxley getting the win was the expected outcome since he’s a regular in AEW, so it’s not like he’s going to do a job to the guy they flew in from Japan to face him.

After the match ended, Moxley’s music ended and then it said “Minoru Suzuki” on the screens. The crowd cheered loudly with Suzuki getting a big pop as a sign of respect because the fans know he’s a badass veteran pro wrestler.

Minoru Suzuki got into the ring with Jon Moxley, they exchanged words and the fans chanted “holy shit” for it. Suzuki took off his jacket, they exchanged more words and that led to forearms from both guys. Moxley and Suzuki exchanged forearms with the fans cheering it. Suzuki with a running kick, Moxley stayed up and Moxley hit a clothesline with Suzuki still standing. Suzuki applied a rear naked choke. Suzuki hit a Gotch style piledriver (some of us call it a Cradle Piledriver) and Suzuki stood tall while Moxley was out on the mat. The fans cheered.

Analysis: That was cool. I certainly didn’t expect an appearance from Japanese wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki. AEW fans are hardcore pro wrestling fans for the most part, so they know the big-name Japanese wrestlers and Suzuki has been wrestling a long time. The fans know about his reputation as a badass. That should lead to a great match between Moxley and Suzuki at some point in the future. That should be wild. (We found out later it’s this Wednesday on Dynamite!)

A video aired showing how AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker is set to face Kris Statlander. It featured AEW talking heads about the match. There’s not much of a storyline, but Statlander earned the title shot due to being undefeated.

Kris Statlander the alien girl made her entrance with an 18-0 record in 2021. A lot of those wins are on the Youtube shows, but at least she has a good record leading to a title shot. Dr. Britt Baker got a bigger reaction from the crowd even though she’s a heel. The fans know she’s a big star.

AEW Women’s Championship: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (w/Jamie Hayter & Rebel) vs. Kris Statlander (w/Orange Cassidy)

There was some counter wrestling early on with Baker getting to the rope to avoid a submission. Baker has her right taped up since she had a partial break earlier in the year. Statlander blocked a “DMD” taunt and pushed Baker’s hand into the nose for a “boop” thing. That drew a pop. Statlander went to the turnbuckle, Baker met her with forearms and Baker hit a twisting neckbreaker off the ropes. Baker trapped Statlander’s head between her feet and drove Statlander’s head into the apron. Back in the ring, Baker hit a suplex followed by a chinlock. Statlander was back up with strikes, Baker was against the turnbuckle and Statlander hit a running elbow followed by a running knee. Baker came back with a Slingblade takedown. Statlander hit Falcon Arrow sitout slam for two. Baker got a backslide pin for two and then Baker hit a DDT for two. Baker applied the glove to the right hand. Statlander with a kick to the head with a hard leg slap and Baker countered with a rollup for two. Baker came back with a flatliner into the turnbuckle pad. They went to the middle rope, Statlander wanted a superplex and then Statlander overpowered her. I know what they were trying to do, but they should do the move in a regular way instead of trying something different. You are risking a mistake by doing it that way. Statlander took way too long up top and missed a 451 splash with Baker moving out of the way. Statlander powered out of a submission attempt, and Statlander slammed her down. Statlander with a scissors kick for a two count. Good move. Baker went to the floor, Statlander went for a pendulum moonsault, Baker got out of the way and Baker hit a Curb Stomp off the steps. Orange Cassidy yelled (rare for him) and Statlander got back up. Statlander got back in, no selling what happened on the floor and went for a submission, but then Baker kicked her in the head. Baker with kicks and she shoved referee Paul Turner out of the way. Baker hit the Pittsburgh Sunrise (Panama Sunrise when Britt’s boyfriend Adam Cole does it) for the two count. Baker hit the Curb Stomp for a two count. Baker applied the Lock Jaw submission with the glove in the mouth and Statlander was out, so the referee called it. Submission win for Baker at 11:25.

Winner by submission: Dr. Britt Baker DMD

Analysis: ***1/2 This was pretty damn good especially in the last few minutes. Baker was relentless in her attacks while Statlander used her size to her advantage and they had some cool spots in the match. I mentioned in the review that Statlander didn’t sell the attack on the floor. That attack on the floor was vicious, so she should be selling it and not going for a submission move right away. I think sometimes AEW wrestlers rush to go to the next spot and they don’t sell the way they should. Anyway, I still liked the match a lot. I think Baker is going to have a very long title reign.

Andrade El Idolo, Chavo Guerrero and random guy in a suit were interviewed by Alex Marvez. They talked about Pac “missing his flight” and asking if Chavo caused it. Chavo mentioned American Airlines as if he didn’t know he was on American Airlines and it just kept on going. Anyway, Andrade faces Pac on Rampage this Friday. It should be great.

A short video aired about The Young Bucks vs. Lucha Brothers up next leading to their Steel Cage Match. The video was only about one minute.

The Lucha Brothers had an entrance with a couple of rappers performing on the stage to introduce Penta and Fenix. That led to Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo and the translator Alex Abrahantes making their entrance. They are 10-0 in 2021. Great entrance even though I don’t speak Spanish. It looked cool!

The Young Bucks made their entrance as the AEW Tag Team Champions with their allies. The Bucks looked ridiculous as usual with the long hair, the multi-colored facial hair and jewelry. Don Callis joined commentary for the match.

Steel Cage Match for the AEW Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (w/Brandon Cutler) vs. Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo) (w/Alex Abrahantes)

The steel cage surrounded the ring as all four guys were in the ring. No tags in a match like this. There’s only pinfall or submission to win the match.

Fenix hit a running dropkick to the back of the Bucks into the cage. Lucha Brothers each hit jumping kicks to the head. Fenix shoved Nick into the cage, Penta with a kick to Matt and Fenix got a hold of Matt. Fenix hit Nick with a hurricanrana off the top. Penta went up top and hit a missile dropkick to the hip/butt of Matt. Lucha Bros hit a double superkick on both Bucks. Fenix and Penta each sent the Bucks into the cage. Fenix and Penta each hit spears into the cage. When they tried it again, the Bucks moved and Lucha Bros hit the cage. Nick with a jumping kick on Fenix, then a double stomp and a backstabber on Penta. Nick did his Randy Savage impression to taunt the crowd. Nick hit a dropkick to the back of Penta’s head against the cage. Matt with a Powerbomb that sent Fenix into the cage. Nick with a running PK kick on Penta on the floor. Matt choked Fenix with a chain. Fenix with a headscissors into the cage, then Penta with a Slingblade and Penta hit a backstabber on Matt for two with Nick breaking it up. Fenix hit an incredible move off the cage with an armbar and Penta hit a backbreaker on Nick. Young Bucks avoided a double superkick, Nick with Cutter, Penta with a Cutter, Matt with a Stunner and Fenix with a double Stunner. Penta with a sitout slam on Matt for a two count. Remember when Cutters and Stunners could win matches? Just asking. The fans chanted “this is awesome” because they like 1990s finishing moves too. Nick shoved Penta off the top into the cage and Nick hit a German Suplex on Fenix on the apron. The Bucks applied a double submission on Penta until Fenix made the save. Nick hit a Senton Bomb off the top on Penta for a two count. Bucks hit double superkicks to Fenix into the cage. Nick up top for a dropkick into a Tombstone leading to a senton splash with both Lucha Bros kicking out at two.

The Young Bucks went for the BTE Trigger knees, but Fenix moved and hit a cross body block. The Bucks caught Fenix, then Fenix shoved Matt into Nick. Matt hit low blow kicks on Fenix and Pentagon back to back. The fans booed that, but it’s not a DQ in this match. Nick with a 450 Splash while Matt hit a moonsault for the More Bang For Your Buck combo for two with Penta breaking it up with a kick. Callis complained a slow count. The Bucks ripped at the masks of Lucha Bros. Callis rambled so Tony said that Don is “so full of shit.” That was hilarious. Don Callis tossed his bag over the cage into the ring where Matt Jackson put on a show that had thumbtacks on it. Penta was bleeding by the mouth. Matt went to superkick Penta with the thumbtack shoe, then Penta stood in front and Matt superkicked Penta. The fans chanted “assholes” at The Young Bucks. Penta was sent into Matt’s shoe that had the thumbtacks on the bottom. Nick kicked Penta’s head into Matt’s thumbtack shoe. Matt with a superkick to Penta with the thumbtack shoe, Nick with a poison rana on Fenix and the Bucks hit the BTE Trigger on Penta for two because Fenix made the save. I think Fenix barely got there, but it was enough to stop the count. Matt went to attack with the thumbtack shoe, Fenix countered with a headscissors, spin kick for Nick and Fenix hit both Bucks with the thumbtack shoe. Fenix hit a Black Fire Driver off the shoulders for a two count. Tony: “What the hell are we watching?” JR: “A classic.” The four guys went to the apron leading to Matt hitting a package piledriver on Fenix while Penta did a package piledriver on Nick. They are the two older brothers doing those moves. Penta blocked the punches of Matt, then they went up top and Penta hit an Avalanche Canadian Destroyer off the top rope! That was incredible with Penta using the cage for balance. All four guys slowly got back up as they exchanged chops, Nick with a superkick on Fenix, then Fenix with a superkick on Matt, then Matt with a superkick on Penta and Penta with a superkick on Nick. That led to about eight more superkicks (it was too fast for me to type them all!) and Matt/Penta hit a double clothesline. Lucha Bros did great double piledriver type move and there was a save. It is so fast paced it’s hard to catch everything. Fenix climbed up top with Penta holding Matt in the ring, but then Nick hit Penta with a superkick. Nick climbed up the cage to go up top with Fenix, who kicked Nick back down to the ring. Fenix hit a cross body block off the top of the cage onto three guys. Penta got up right away and Lucha Bros hit an assisted piledriver for the one…two…and three! New Champs! It went 22:15. The fans popped huge for the title change.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: Lucha Brothers

Analysis: ***** Holy shit. What a great f’n match this was. I loved it. Five stars from me. I don’t go five stars very often, but they deserved it. This was an excellent tag team match as expected. They got a lot of time as usual for most Young Bucks PPV matches and the Lucha Bros were certainly more than capable of hanging with them in a match like that. Kudos to the Young Bucks for coming up with the idea of the thumbtacks on the shoes and upping the ante of violence, so to speak. Penta bleeding added to the violence of the match. I liked the cross body block off the top of the cage for the finish although I think Penta shouldn’t have bumped because then he got up right away, so it made it look a bit silly. There were so many double-team moves throughout the match, so it was fitting that they ended with an assisted piledriver. The good thing is in terms of length, it felt just right. Sometimes AEW makes the mistake of having a match go too long and if they went another five minutes perhaps it would have reached that point, but it felt just right at 22 minutes. Anyway, I’m glad that there was a title change. It was the right time to do it and the Lucha Brothers were the right team to win the titles since they’ve been part of AEW since day one, so they clearly deserve it. This was a lot of fun whether you know a lot about AEW and these teams or if you don’t. I think most wrestling fans would enjoy a match like this due to the athletic spectacle that it was. Plus, no Young Bucks ignoring the rules like some of their regular tag team matches, so that helps a lot. I loved it. Outstanding match. Highly recommend it.

The Lucha Brothers celebrated with the titles while the cage was raised. Penta was greeted at ringside by his daughters, wife and other family members. Penta had blood all over his mouth.

Analysis: That was a cool moment for Penta. Happy for the Lucha Brothers.

There were replays shown of Minoru Suzuki taking out Jon Moxley earlier in the show. Also some replays of other matches. I guess it’s a way to kill some time to clean up the ring since there was blood all over it.

The Women’s Casino Battle Royal was next. Here are the rules.

Women’s Casino Battle Royal

The first five women were Clubs with Hikaru Shida, Emi Sakura, The Bunny, Abadon and Skye Blue. The announcers tried to put over Skye Blue as a big deal that earned a spot in this match and then she was eliminated quickly by Abadon. That led to The Bunny eliminating Abadon shortly after. Three women were left doing nothing much and then the countdown was next.

The next five women were Diamonds with Anna Jay making her in-ring return after a long time off due to injury. Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Diamante and Nyla Rose, so that’s the next five women in the match. Rose hit a running splash on Shida. Sakura with a cross body block on Rose. Shida sent Sakura to the apron and a knee from Shida knocked Sakura out of the ring. Rose hit a jumping kick to knock Kiera Hogan off the top to the floor. Rose with a clothesline that sent King over the top to the floor. Shida did a move on Diamante that wasn’t shown. Rose dumped Shida over the top to the floor. Diamante and Rose were working together against Jay and Bunny. The alliance ended quickly so they started fighting eachother as the four women paired off.

The next five women were Hearts with Thunder Rose going after Rose with a dropkick. Next up was Penelope Ford, Riho is back, Jamie Hayter and Ford hit a Stunner on Jay because every match needs a Cutter or Stunner. Big Swole was the fifth woman in this group. Riho with a 619 kick against the ropes. Riho may have been eliminated, but the announcers weren’t sure. Why not show a replay? It might help. Swole eliminated Diamante, then did trash talk and Hayter tossed Swole out of the ring. Rosa fought Rose and Hayter followed by a running dropkick on Rose against the ropes. Rosa hit a running dropkick on Hayter against the turnbuckle.

The next five women were Spades with Tay Conti going right after The Bunny with a Tai-KO knee. Red Velvet was next with a spear on Hayter. Leyla Hirsch was next with a German Suplex on Ford. Jade Cargill crushed Hirsch with a forearm. Rebel was the fifth woman to help Hayter. There was still a Joker left to enter the match. Red Velvet sent Rebel over the top, then Rebel did splits like a dumbass and Velvet kicked her out. Anna Jay kicked Bunny while on the apron, Ford with a pump kick on Anna to eliminate her and Conti with a pump kick on Ford on the floor. Cargill press slammed Leyla over the top onto other women on the floor to eliminate Leyla. The seven women all battled against the turnbuckle.

The Joker was the debuting Ruby Soho (formerly Ruby Riott) and the fans were aware because they chanted “Ruby Soho” for her. Ruby was on fire with punches and kicks as fans chanted for her. Rosa jumped off Ruby’s back for a hurricanrana on Rosa. Cargill hit a spinning powerslam on Ruby. Cargill got a hold of Hayter and tossed her over the top to the floor. Conti with a pump kick and then Ford with a hook kick. Cargill dumped Velvet over the top to the floor. Cargill posed, so then Rose dumped her over the top to the floor. Cargill was holding her top to prevent a wardrobe malfunction. Conti eliminated Ford and then Rose eliminated Conti.

The final three competitors were Ruby Soho, Thunder Rose and Nyla Rose. Rose fought off both women easily leading to a slam on Soho as well as a Samoan Drop on Rosa. Rose set up Soho upside down against the turnbuckle, the fans chanted “Ruby Soho” and Excalibur said that the fans know Ruby from indy feds. No Excalibur, they know her from WWE. Anyway, Rosa managed to send Nyla to the apron and a dropkick eliminated Nyla from the match.

It was down to Ruby Soho and Thunder Rosa as the final two women in the match. The fans chanted for both women. They exchanged hard chops like most of the matches on this show. Rosa with a running forearm, Ruby with a running forearm, then Rosa with another forearm and Ruby sent Rosa towards the ropes, so Rosa went over the top to the apron. Rosa pulled Ruby over the top to the apron. Ruby with a knee with Rosa holding onto the middle rope. They teased slams on the apron and Ruby hit a jumping kick to Rosa’s head and Rosa bumped to the floor to win at 22:01.

Winner: Ruby Soho

The win means that Ruby Soho gets a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship.

Analysis: *** It was fine for a battle royal. I’m not a huge battle royal fan in general, but I think they ended it on a strong note. I would just call it an average match overall. Good for Ruby Soho getting the win after the debut, which I’m sure a lot of people predicted. I went with Rosa winning, but I thought Soho was certainly possible as a winner. I don’t think battle royals going over 20 minutes are necessary when you have such a long show, but AEW loves long matches.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman did the Chris Jericho countdown intro and then the graphic said “Chris Jericho’s last match.” MJF already ripped off the scarf gimmick from Jericho, so it’s okay to rip off that too. The fans booed as MJF made his entrance. MJF dared some fans to hit him and they did nothing.

Chris Jericho got a cool entrance with a guy playing the guitar on the stage. The fans sang along with the “Judas” song as usual. Cool entrance.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Chris Jericho

If Chris Jericho loses, then he must retire from professional wrestling. MJF is 3-0 in singles matches against Jericho. Big age difference since MJF is 25 years while Jericho is 50 years old.

I missed a few minutes to start the match. My apologies, but sometimes a man must take a bathroom break while writing nonstop for four hours. They were fighting in the crowd, then back at ringside and MJF was beating up Jericho while trapped against the apron. Jericho tried a running attack, but MJF got an armbar takedown on the left arm. MJF with a suplex followed by some finger biting. Jericho came back with a suplex of his own. Jericho with a bulldog and a double underhook into a backbreaker. Jericho sent MJF into the ropes, but then MJF came back with a double stomp on the left arm and a whip that sent Jericho into the turnbuckle. MJF with chops followed by a middle finger to the crowd. MJF did a Flair strut along with hip thrusts so MJF graduated in Cheap Heat Class 101, I guess. MJF hit the Heat Seeker DDT that he does by sending Jericho’s head into the apron. The referee Aubrey Edwards counted Jericho on the floor even though they were already out of the ring for a long time with her not counting. The count by Edwards was very slow with Jericho getting up at nine to break the count. MJF went for a moonsault off the middle ropes, Jericho moved, MJF landed on his feet and Jericho caught MJF with a Powerbomb into the apron.

They both took their time getting back up as they exchanged forearms. Jericho with a forearm to the back, Jericho went up top, he jumped off with nothing and MJF countered with a move like a Codebreaker (knee to the face) for the two count. The announcers missed that MJF used a Jericho move on Jericho there. Jericho with a shoulder tackle and a Lionsault got a two count. Jericho took off the left elbow sleeve and delivered ten corner clotheslines. Jericho went up top with punches and he was going for a hurricanrana, but MJF countered with a Powerbomb off the ropes. MJF was selling a lower back injury and MJF was slow to cover for a two count. Jericho on the apron, he knocked MJF down and then Jericho jumped off the middle ropes with a Codebreaker (double knees) for the two count. Wardlow made his way down to the ring, but then Jake Hager showed up to help Jericho and Wardlow/Hager got into a brawl at ringside. Referees showed up to send them to the back. MJF got Jericho’s baseball bat Floyd and hit Jericho with it since referee Edwards was looking at the guys fighting in the aisle. MJF hit a Judas Effect elbow on Jericho for the pinfall, but Jericho’s right foot was on the bottom rope. Edwards counted the three. Excalibur said it was “bullshit” as MJF celebrated. Referee Paul Turner was there saying he saw Jericho get his foot on the bottom rope. The referee Turner told Justin Roberts what to announce. Justin Roberts announced that Chris Jericho’s foot was on the ropes, so the match will restart.

MJF was mad, he shoved referee Edwards and Jericho got a rollup on MJF for two. Nice nearfall. MJF applied the Salt of the Earth armbar on the left arm, but Jericho countered it into a rollup for two. Jericho got out the submission attempt and applied the Walls of Jericho (remember MJF selling the back injury). Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho even deeper, MJF was biting his hand and nearly got to the ropes, but Jericho pulled him back. Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho deeper with MJF tapping out. Jericho wins at 21:10.

Winner by submission: Chris Jericho

Analysis: ***3/4 Way to put over the young talent! I’m kidding. Relax. This was the right kind of finish for this storyline with Jericho getting the big win to put an end to the rivalry…for now. I don’t know if it’s their last match forever, but it’s the last match for now. I’m also glad they had Jake Hager go after Wardlow to take away the interference factor. I thought they did a nice job telling a story with MJF selling the back injury to set up the finish since the Walls of Jericho is a move that focuses on the lower back, so it made sense for it to be used as the finish and MJF tapped out for the first time in his AEW career.

The Inner Circle guys went out to ringside to celebrate with Chris Jericho.

A video aired about CM Punk’s return to pro wrestling after seven years for this match against Darby Allin.

Darby Allin made his entrance. There was some video of him jumping off something. Allin made his entrance with Sting, who hugged him and went to the back. Allin used his skateboard to get down to the ring. Darby is one of the most popular guys in AEW and got a big pop, but it’s going to be tough to be more popular than his opponent.

That led to “Cult of Personality” hitting as CM Punk made his entrance to a thunderous ovation. When Punk shouted “It’s Clobberin’ Time” on the stage, the fans shouted it with him. That was cool. Punk was in great shape as expected.

Analysis: If you would have told me that CM Punk would come back after seven years and his return match isn’t the main event I would have said no way, but here we are. It’s not a complaint. We’ll see how the ending of the show goes. (Note after the show: They made the right call. I’m just saying Punk’s debut was huge! Carry on.)

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin

Darby Allin was seated against the turnbuckle while Punk was seated in the ring. The fans chanted “holy shit” before they even did anything. Punk was wrestling in full-length tights instead of trunks like he used to wear with Punk having the Chicago stars on his tights.

They locked up leading to Allin leading to an arm drag. Punk went off the ropes leading to a shoulder block to knock Allin down. The fans chanted “welcome back” for Punk. Allin with a hammerlock, Punk tried to get out of it and Allin took him down to the mat. After Punk broke free, Allin got a rollup and then Punk hit a back elbow to the head. Punk with a body slam. Allin sent Punk into the rope leading to a shoulder tackle. They did a sequence of moves with Punk nearly getting a GTS, but Allin slipped out of it and reset by going on the floor. Back in the ring, Allin hit a coffin splash against the turnbuckle. Punk came back with a hard whip into the corner with Punk bumping between the top/middle rope and hitting the rope. That is a dangerous bump by a guy that is willing to take those risks and Punk sent Allin back into the ring for a two count. Punk grounded Allin with a submission and a stomp to the back. Punk with a belly to back suplex for two. Punk pulled back on the arms of Allin, then Allin broke free and Punk hit a knee to the ribs. Punk grounded Allin with a headlock leading to an abdominal stretch. Allin managed to break free and hit a flipping Stunner. Allin with a cradle for two. Allin hit the sunset flip Code Red for the two count. Allin went up top, took too long and Punk shoved him to trap him on the top rope. Punk went for a suplex off the top, but Allin landed on top of Punk for a two count. They each went for moves, Punk lifted Allin to his shoulders and Punk hit the Go To Sleep knee to knock Allin out of the ring. Nice bump by Allin going to the floor. The referee Bryce Remsburg counted Allin down with Darby getting back in at nine like Jericho in the match before this.

Punk with forearms, then a running knee and a clothesline. Punk signaled for the GTS with his hands, which almost never means hitting the actual finisher and Allin was selling it like he could barely move. Allin with elbows to the jaw to rock Punk leading to Punk going down. Some fans booed that since they want Punk to win. Allin hit a running suicide dive with a shoulder tackle that sent Punk down on the floor. Allin went up top and he hit a Senton Bomb off the top onto a standing Punk on the floor. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for that. Allin did a GTS hand gesture, the fans booed and Allin went for a Coffin Drop, but Punk sat right up. Allin hooked the arms into a pin. Punk went for a GTS, Allin got out of it and went for the Last Supper pin attempt for two. Punk came back with a leg lariat to knock Allin down. Punk ran into the boot of Allin, then Allin went up for a move, but Punk held him and Punk hit a GTS on Allin for the pinfall win at 16:40.

Winner by pinfall: CM Punk

Analysis: **** This was a great match. I keep writing that a lot during this show. They started at a slow pace early in the match, then it started to pick up with Allin hitting a lot of his big moves. Punk looked like he hadn’t missed a bit. I think there were times when he was selling it like he was maybe unsure of some things, but then he got comfortable and hit a lot of the familiar moves we know he can do. I liked that first GTS spot with Punk hitting Allin with it, then Allin bumping to the floor and then Allin was able to regroup from there. Allin has really impressed me in the two years I’ve been watching him in AEW, but some of the bumps he does are scary. Hope he has a long career. Just worry a bit when you see some of those bumps he does. It made sense for Punk to get the win even though he’s the older guy. You don’t bring him back after seven years to have him do the job, so Punk winning was the right call here. My guess is Punk’s AEW career starts with a big winning streak.

After the match was over, Punk went to the ropes and held up seven fingers to note that it was over “seven years” since his last match. Sting went into the ring, he went over to CM Punk and they shook hands. Allin pulled himself up against the ropes, Punk shook his hand and the fans cheered. Sting helped Allin up make his way to the back.

CM Punk’s music played with Punk yelling “I’m back motherf**kers” or something like that. Punk had a lot of energy. Punk had a big smile on is face as he celebrated the win. Punk teased going down either tunnel and then left through the babyface tunnel.

Analysis: That was cool post match. I think Punk and Allin could team up in the future since they have that respect now. The fans would love it. Maybe even a six-man tag with Sting involved.

There was a graphic letting us know that the next pay-per-view is Full Gear Saturday, November 13.

Analysis: The reason it’s on Saturday is because AEW President Tony Khan doesn’t want to go against the NFL Sunday Night Football since his family owns the (lowly) Jacksonville Jaguars. It makes sense to me. Go LA Rams. The original date was Saturday, November 6 and then it got moved back a week because UFC has a big MSG show on November 6. It is smart of AEW to move it.

A video aired about Paul Wight’s match against QT Marshall in Wight’s AEW debut match.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall (Aaron Solow & Nick Comoroto)

I might take a break in this match and not go full play-by-play. Wight sent Solow and Comoroto out of the ring easily like they are nothing. Wight dominated early with a lot of punches and chops. Marshall regrouped on the floor, then he tried a Diamond Cutter and Wight avoided that. Wight beat up Solow and Comoroto easily again. Marshall jumped off the top with nothing, Wight caught him and hit a Chokeslam to win by pinfall. It went 3:10. Most of us assumed it would be a short match. It sure was.

Winner by pinfall: Paul Wight

Analysis: * Easy win for the big man that put on a show of power right away. Yes, I worked “big show” into that sentence. Anyway, Marshall got nothing here and it was just done to give Wight the victory. It filled its role as a quick match before the main event and that’s fine.

This Wednesday on AEW Dynamite in Cincinnati:

* Jon Moxley vs. Minoru Suzuki. A promo aired from Moxley about facing Suzuki in his hometown. That should be wild.

* Ruby Soho makes her Dynamite debut.

* Malakai Black vs. Dustin Rhodes. Malakai did a darkened room promo reminding Dustin of the reasons why he’s mad and told him to think about Arn, Brock, Lee, his brother Cody and noted Cody still hasn’t come back. Malakai told Dustin it’s time to pay the toll.

This Friday on AEW Rampage:

* Pac vs. Andrade El Idolo. That should be awesome.

A video aired about Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage. That’s the main event.

Christian Cage made his entrance wearing the Impact Wrestling World Championship. Christian won that tile from Kenny Omega on AEW Rampage last month. Christian is undefeated in his AEW career so far.

Kenny Omega made his entrance with the AEW World Championship around his waist while Don Callis joined him as usual. They waited in the ring for the championship introductions from Don Callis. Solid pop for Christian Cage, but not like some of the other top babyfaces on this show. Christian is 10-0 in AEW so far. Omega has a 20-3 singles record in AEW. Kenny’s got some black/blue hair for this one.

AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (w/Don Callis) vs. Christian Cage

The referee is Paul Turner, who is probably the best referee in AEW. Christian went for the Killswitch right away, Kenny got out of it and Kenny came back with a hurricanrana to send Christian out of the ring. Omega went for an attack on the floor, Christian sent him into the barricade and Christian followed up with a cross body block off the top onto Omega on the floor. That’s impressive for a guy that’s in his late 40s like Christian. Omega whipped Christian into the steel steps with Christian bumping knee first into the steel steps. Omega pulled a table onto Christian on the floor, the referee was busy being distracted by Callis and Omega did a double stomp on the table that was on Christian. Ouch. The referee didn’t see it and he can’t seem to hear that as well. Omega set up a table on the floor, but Christian countered with a suplex on the floor. The referee wasn’t counting them out of the ring, which I point out because sometimes AEW referees count and sometimes they don’t. It’s not consistent. I’m not saying they should do countout finishes, but they should be consistent. Anyway, they went back into the ring with Omega hitting a modified Slingblade neckbreaker. Omega with a boot to the throat of Christian followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Omega was back in control with hard chops followed by punches, but then Christian punched back. Omega shoved Christian off the turnbuckle to the apron and the floor. Omega went for a move ff the barricade, then he slipped a bit, but then Kenny was able to jump off the barricade leading to a moonsault on the floor. That’s a thin barricade. Back in the ring, Omega got a two count. Omega whipped Christian into the turnbuckle for a sternum bump. Omega with an Ushigoroshi slam into the knee for a two count. Omega went up top, took way too long and Christian tripped him up. Christian hit a hurricanrana off the top. The fans were chanting for both guys as they exchanged punches. Omega missed a corner splash when Christian moved, Christian with punches and Christian avoided the One Winged Angel attempt. Christian with an uppercut punch by the ropes, Omega grabbed the hair to stop a Cloverleaf submission and Omega kicked Christian into the turnbuckle. Christian countered a move into a reverse DDT for two. The announcers tried to sell that as a nearfall, but the fans didn’t react to it.

Christian charged at Omega, who came back with a lifting knee to the face. That looked good. Omega went for a slam, Christian escaped and Omega drove him to the turnbuckle. Christian with a punch leading to a Tornado DDT for a two count. Christian went for the Killswitch, Omega easily got out of that and Omega hit a leg lariat to send Christian into the turnbuckle. Omega with a running V-Trigger knee to the back against the turnbuckle. Omega with a Snapdragon Suplex across the ring and Omega hit another Snapdragon Suplex. Omega did his “bang” hand signal, so Christian flashed him the middle finger and Omega hit another Snapdragon Suplex. Omega with a V-Trigger knee that sent Christian to the apron. Christian held onto the bottom rope. Omega went to the apron, Omega teased a suplex off the apron (that was never going to happen) and then he teased a Snapdragon Suplex, but Christian broke free. Christian wanted a Killswitch, Omega countered with a shove into the turnbuckle. Christian countered a One Winged Angel attempt and Christian gave Omega a Spear off the apron through the table. Shouldn’t that be a DQ? I mean, the referee was there and didn’t even react to it. The table didn’t break when they went through it. The whole point of objects in matches is that they are illegal. Once again I’m not saying I want a DQ finish. I’m just saying you need to try to explain this stuff or book it as a Street Fight where you can allow weapons.

Christian and Omega went back into the ring with Christian hitting a Spear to the back and Spear to the ribs for a two count. Christian went up top, he jumped off with a Frog Splash and Omega blocked it with two knees to the ribs. Omega was selling a back injury briefly. Omega with two knee lifts to the face, then Christian blocked a knee, Christian with punches, Omega with a knee and Omega hit a ripcord V-Trigger knee. Christian countered an Omega move, Christian wanted a Cloverleaf and he managed to do a high-angle Cloverleaf. Callis called for some help as Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows ran out to the ring. Christian knocked Anderson down. Omega went for a V-Trigger, Christian moved and Omega hit the V-Trigger knee on Gallows on the apron. Christian hit the Killswitch for one…two…and no. Omega got his shoulder up. The fans were cheering for them. Callis went into the ring, Christian chased him out and that allowed Omega some time to recover on the turnbuckle. Christian went for the Killswitch off the ropes, but Omega gouged the eyes and got Christian on the shoulders. Omega hit the One Winged Angel off the middle turnbuckle for the pinfall win at 21:20. Great move!

Winner by pinfall: Kenny Omega

Analysis: **** I enjoyed the match quite a bit. The crowd support for Christian wasn’t as strong as some of the other top babyfaces on the show, but he worked hard and they told a good story. I think if you are going to break tables then you might as well go all the way in making it a No Holds Barred match or something like that. With that said, I like how Omega was able to kick out of the Killswitch, but not in a way that really hurt the move. It was a close nearfall there. Then they did the big finish with Christian going for the move off the ropes, Omega reversed it and hit the One Winged Angel off the ropes for the pinfall win. Nice way to end it in a big way.

The Young Bucks made their way down to ringside to celebrate with Kenny Omega. Gallows and Anderson were in the ring too. The Young Bucks were slow to go there since they were selling their loss earlier in the show.

The Elite guys beat up Christian Cage with punches and kicks, so Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt went out to the ring to try to help Christian. The heels were able to fight them off easily. The fans were chanting “YES” because they know what’s coming.

Omega did a promo saying Chicago is starting to understand. Omega said that he doesn’t care about the best in the world, hometown heroes and all that stuff. Omega said that the only people that would ever have the chance that would beat him are not here, they are retired or they are already dead.

Adam Cole made his entrance wearing a shirt saying “All Elite Bay Bay” as he walked down to the ring in a leather jacket. Big reaction for Adam Cole! The fans popped huge.

When Adam Cole got into the ring he lifted his arms in the air and the fans chanted “ADAM COLE BAY BAY” right on cue. Cole looked at Omega and The Young Bucks and Cole superkicked Jungle Boy. Cole hugged his buddies The Young Bucks, so he’s joining The Elite.

Omega said that in the words of Steve Urkel: “Did I do that?” Omega said that Cole is one of their best friends.

Cole did a promo saying that The Elite is the most dominant group in history. Cole said “ain’t no chance in hell” that anybody is going to stop them. (“No Chance in Hell” is Vince McMahon’s theme song so there’s the shot at WWE.) Omega said that he has to send the crowd home happy…but here he comes.

Analysis: That was really well done by Adam Cole. I expected him to come to AEW since his girlfriend Britt Baker is there, plus his friends that he was in the ring with. I’m not surprised by it. He’ll do well there.

It’s Bryan Danielson! YES YES YES! What a HUGE pop for the legendary Bryan Danielson. Tony: “God, I love pro wrestling!” Danielson walked over to the babyface Christian, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus and helped them up. That led to a huge brawl in the ring. Bryan unladed on Nick Jackson with kicks to the chest with loud “YES” chants. Danielson hit Nick with a German Suplex and Luchasaurus kicked Gallows off the apron. Danielson with the running knee on Nick Jackson to knock him out of the ring.

Bryan Danielson celebrated on the turnbuckle. Danielson celebrated in the ring with Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Christian Cage. The Elite guys were up the ramp complaining about it. The announcers shilled Dynamite on Wednesday in Cincinnati. Danielson posed on the turnbuckle as the fans chanted “YES” and that was the end of the show.

Analysis: Wow that was pretty f’n epic. The reports were out for several weeks that Bryan Danielson was going to appear in AEW. We didn’t know fur sure, but it’s not like they were being denied at all. I think they leaked it likely on purpose to create a buzz and it worked. Maybe a promo from Danielson would have been good at the end, but they can save that for Dynamite. Just seeing Danielson in an AEW ring is a cool thing and the fans were going wild for him. They have clearly set up a multi-man tag team match with the two sides involved in those final scenes too. There are so many dream matches and things they can do with Danielson. I thought it was great.

AEW All Out had a runtime of 3 hours, 48 minutes. That’s consistent with most of their PPVs going just under the four-hour mark.

Five Stars of the Show

  1. Lucha Brothers
  2. The Young Bucks
  3. CM Punk/Darby Allin
  4. Kenny Omega/Christian Cage
  5. Miro/Eddie Kingston

That’s ten, not five. I cheated. That’s okay. A lot of people deserve praise. Shoutout to Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole too. Love to see them here.

Final Thoughts

It gets a 9.5 out of 10 from me.

This was an outstanding show. I really liked it a lot and I think it is the best AEW PPV ever. It’s probably one of the best PPVs ever based on my score. I’m sure some people will get mad at me for not giving it a 10 out of 10, but I really don’t go 10 often at all, so it’s tough to get it. The fact that I’m going 9.5 out of 10 should tell you how much I loved it.

I was so happy to see CM Punk back in a wrestling ring. It was a cool sight seeing him do what he has loved for most of his life and look like he was happy doing it. I want to see what’s next for Punk as well as Darby Allin, who likely will take that experience wrestling Punk and improving his game. He’s a star on the rise. None of the results were that shocking to me. I was most excited at the end to see Adam Cole and then Bryan Danielson. It adds two more amazing wrestlers to a stacked roster. Good luck finding spots for some of the midcard talent that is barely used. They’re going to suffer now because there are so many big names that will fill the top slots. It’s a nice problem to have for AEW GM Tony Khan, I’m sure.

They delivered in the ring with plenty of outstanding matches including that five-star Steel Cage Tag Team Title match that was the best match. Other than that, you can see in the review that I had several matches at around the four-star level. I really don’t think anything was that bad since Wight/Marshall was kept short and the battle royal was okay, but nothing special.

Sometimes it’s hard writing a nearly 9,000 word review to grasp how fun a show is, so maybe when I watch it again I will enjoy it even more. I think it was awesome from top to bottom with the Chicago crowd staying hot for most of the four hours.

Now I have one question to ask: When do we get Bryan Danielson vs. Adam Cole bay bay? Patience, my friends. I’m excited. That’s for sure.

AEW PPV Rankings in 2021 So Far (Rated out of 10)

All Out – 9.5

Double or Nothing – 8

Revolution – 7.25

===

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

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport

Personal Facebook and TJRWrestling on Facebook