TJRWrestling AEW All Out 2020 Preview (Moxley vs. MJF, Jericho vs. Cassidy)
John: Welcome to the TJRWrestling AEW All Out 2020 preview. It’s the third AEW PPV of the year and the second one that has taken place since the global health crisis started back in March. As I’m sure you know by now, I review Dynamite every week and I think AEW has done a nice job of building up most of the key matches. Some of them feel thrown together a bit, but the big matches have a strong build for sure.
There are nine matches in total including the Buy-In pre-show match. I think that’s a good number for a PPV that’s probably going to run 3 hours, 30 minutes or so. Since AEW only does four PPVs in a year, I don’t think their fans are going to complain about the length of the show. I’m not likely to see it all live since my Toronto Raptors are playing on Saturday night in a crucial game four of the NBA Playoffs, but it should end at a decent enough time that I catch that whole All Out PPV in progress. I’ll do the best I can to get the full review up at some point on Saturday night.
If you need info on how to order All Out on PPV, check out AEW’s website for info on how to watch it in your country whether it’s on B/R Live, Fite TV or some other method. It’s different depending on where you live.
Joining me for the preview are Kurt Zamora and Lance Augustine. Here’s Lance with some opening thoughts on this card with nine matches.
Lance: AEW has delivered on a lot of fronts as of late, but has had some missteps as well. The build to this PPV with some matches has been a slow burn and has been really great to see. Some of the other matches have just been slapped on the show with no heat. I have hope that with a limited crowd, this will give off a good vibe as far as a PPV goes. The storylines that come from this show will be the ones that lead AEW towards a strong end of 2020 and into the new year.
(Note: All graphics are from AEW.)
Tooth and Nail Match (The Buy In): Britt Baker vs. Big Swole
(Note: The Baker/Swole match will be a pre-taped cinematic match and not in a ring. It will be at Baker’s dentist office or something AEW will create to resemble that.)
Kurt: I’ve been a big fan of Baker’s heel run, and huge kudos to her for making the most out of her injuries and making the best out of bad luck with her broken nose and knee injury. She’s really maximized her minutes on TV and I find pretty much everything she does entertaining. Big Swole & Lil Swole were my favorite tag team in the Women’s Tag Team Cup, so I’ve started to come around on her more as well. This has been a well done storyline, besides the Holy Pepperoni fiasco from this past week. It’s Britt’s first action in quite awhile, and while she may not be 100% yet, it looks like they’re going to protect her a bit by doing a cinematic style match here. Which should hopefully make this match more entertaining than expected. It’s going to be in her dentist office, and I’m sure Reba/Rebel will be around somewhere, so I would expect her to find a way to score a cheap win here, but the feud will continue.
Prediction: Dr. Britt Baker
Lance: This was announced to be a cinematic style match, which leads me to believe that Britt Baker isn’t quite ready for action yet. She has been sidelined for multiple months after suffering a knee injury, and as much as I hate to say it, it might be the best thing that ever happened to her. Her promos have been on point and the entire “roll model” gimmick has been classic. Big Swole has been impressive lately as well and this is a women’s match I am excited the see. The cinematic aspect of it can be cool or a dud, it depends on how they try and pull it off. Either way, I think its Baker’s time to show what she can do now that we have seen what she can do on the mic.
Winner: Britt Baker
John: I think if this was a regular match I would be interested in it a lot because they have been building to it for a few months. The cinematic matches are okay, but a lot of times they are too comedic and sometimes they lose my interest. The reason they are doing it cinematic style is because Baker is coming back from a knee injury and by doing it this way, she won’t have to run the ropes or bump like in a regular match. Baker has been entertaining as an over the top heel milking her injury. Swole is likable as a face too. I think Baker wins here, then when they do the regular match in a ring, Swole will win that and then they can build to a grudge match after that.
Winner: Britt Baker
Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, and Grayson) vs. Scorpio Sky, Matt Cardona and The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall)
Kurt: If you’ve read any of my writing on TJR over the years, you know what a big fan I was of Zack Ryder, now known as Matt Cardona. So I just want to get it out of the way that I’m beyond excited for him to get a fair shake somewhere now, and be showcased in AEW. He looks like a million bucks and I think is going to surprise a lot of people. The night he debuted on AEW, his shirt immediately became the #1 seller on Pro Wrestling Tees. That speaks to the support he has, no matter how far down WWE tried to push him. Scorpio Sky is another one on the roster that I think will be a future World Champion. He’s got it all. If you watch BTE on a weekly basis, you already know this, but The Dark Order are the MVP’s of that show. John Silver especially. It’s been simply tremendous seeing their range of character on that show and add that to how strongly Brodie Lee has been presented on TV recently, I’m really growing to be a fan of this group. As I said about Britt, it’s all about maximizing your minutes, and I think this group does that. I love how strongly they put over Brodie against Cody, and the Nightmare Family, which set up this match.
Either side winning makes sense. Dark Order can use the win the continue their momentum and strong push of late. The Nightmare Family has more established acts, and especially with a new star like Cardona, you want them to pile up wins early. With strength in numbers, it would be easy for Dark Order to get their heat back quickly, so I’m going with the babyfaces here.
Prediction: The Nightmare Family (Rhodes, Marshall, Cardona, Sky)
Lance: Brodie Lee squashed Cody for the TNT Championship a few weeks back and the title has gone from being defended every week to not being utilized at all. The Dark Order has been growing on me the last couple of weeks, but not to the point where I would say I am a fan per se. They broke Scorpio Sky away from SCU to focus on a singles run, and here he is being thrown into another tag team situation. I have always been a Cardona fan and The Natural Nightmares have been whatever for the most part. The Dark Order will probably win and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in dominant fashion to keep them strong.
Winner(s): The Dark Order
John: I know Kurt is a big fan of Cardona for a lot of years and I like the former Zack Ryder too, but I have been unimpressed by his AEW debut. They haven’t let the guy speak in the ring with a microphone. Let’s hear the man talk. I get that may be because Cardona doesn’t have a full-time AEW contract yet, but I think they could be using him more. You can’t just have the announcers say “he is Cody’s friend.” Let’s hear him tell us that. Know what I mean? It’s about character development. You can’t just assume every fan knows every friendship in wrestling.
As for the match result, I think the Dark Order should win and I expect them to win. AEW doesn’t book like WWE. They book champions strong. In WWE, I would pick the champion Brodie Lee to get pinned to set up a title match. In AEW, I expect Lee to win. I think Lee’s reign as TNT Champion will see him win matches all the time, including this tag team match. I think Dustin Rhodes will probably be the one to take the pin because he is fine with putting anyone over. It should be a chaotic match with Dark Order finding a way to win perhaps thanks to interference from other Dark Order members around ringside.
Winners: Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, and Grayson)
21-Man Casino Battle Royale: Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, The Blade, The Butcher, Fenix, Pentagon Jr. and others.
(Note: The winner receives a future AEW World Title match.)
Kurt: The battle royal concept is pretty played out these days, unless you’re the Royal Rumble. As Conrad Thompson would say, as told to by Luke Gallows, “Forearm. Forearm. Forearm.” I do appreciate that AEW is trying to make this an annual event and has unique rules to it. I remember last year’s version being a little convoluted though. This year’s field looks to be much stronger than last year’s though, with the likes of Team Taz, Lance Archer, Eddie Kingston’s stable, & Darby Allin all confirmed so far. I’ve liked the last two weeks the exchanges between Lance Archer and Team Taz with their mouthpieces building up the match.
There are a lot of wrestlers in this match that could stand to be featured more prominently. Based on how I feel the main event will go, I think there are only 2 options on who could win this: Lance Archer and Darby Allin. If Lance wins, Jake in a main event program could cut some phenomenal promos and Lance is a very believable monster in the roster. Darby is the guy who’s constantly been so close to breaking through, but just falls short. I say it every time, but he’s the company’s Jeff Hardy. He’s believable in a main event program because the fans love him and believe in him. My guess is he still has unfinished business with Team Taz though, so I’m going with Archer.
Prediction: Lance Archer
Lance: There is a lot of guys in this match that AEW has pushed to the top and then pushed to the wayside. Guys like Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Darby Allin, and a few others have been in championship situations, only to be forgotten about over the next couple of weeks. Darby Allin is the wild card for me. He has already gotten an AEW Title Shot, but he has got a big future in front of him. The final four is going to come down to Archer, Cage, Kingston, and Allin. I don’t think Allin is going to win due to the fact that he just had a title shot recently. This should be a fun match with a few surprises sprinkled throughout. I am going with Kingston after battling with Cage and Archer. It opens up a lot of possibilities in the future.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
John: There are some obvious names in this match that you can consider favorites like Darby Allin, Lance Archer and Bryan Cage, who won the last battle royal to earn an AEW World Title match, which he then lost to Jon Moxley. It would be cool if there was some random winner or if an awesome wrestler like Rey Fenix to win, but I think it’s time for AEW to build Lance Archer into a viable threat to the World Title. Winning this match is the right way to do that. Based on recent TV, I can see Archer and Cage taking eachother out with a big spot, but I think the AEW World Champion is going to remain the popular face Moxley and that means it makes sense for a heel like Archer to win. It’s not like they say when the title match will happen, so it really could be anybody and it would be believable. I just think AEW invested a lot to bring Archer in as a top heel. They should push him because he’s really good at being a bad guy. This is the best way to do that with Archer.
Winner: Lance Archer
The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy)
Kurt: This is a match that was thrown together on this past Wednesday’s Dynamite after these two teams won an 8-man match. AEW loves their tag team division and their tag team matches, which I’m not complaining about. I was raised on NWA/JCP when their tag division was so loaded they had two sets of tag titles. I love how much AEW has made it a priority.
There’s not much of a story to this one, besides the fact that The Young Bucks had a new attitude on Wednesday after feeling betrayed by Hangman and kicking him out of The Elite. I think this match will be the first part in a two-part act for the PPV. I think the Bucks will continue having that edge about them, defeating the Jurrassic Express, probably in a match that goes longer than it should. Maybe the Express try to shake hands after the match and the Bucks want nothing to do with it. I don’t think the Bucks will ultimately turn heel, but I do like how this story has played out. More on that later.
Prediction: Young Bucks
Lance: This match is a way to get everyone on the show. Obviously, fans are anticipating the collision between The Young Bucks and FTR but we will have to wait some more time for that. For now, I think this is a good match to showcase what both of these teams can do. The Young Bucks matches have been absolute spot fests for the most part, much to the chagrin of the wrestling pundits. They work sometimes and are infuriating at other times. Jurassic Express is a more classic tag team, but the whole division lacks in the area of following tag team rules. I am sure there will be times where we have no idea who the legal man is and it will be just another match that we have come to know in AEW. The Young Bucks have lost enough and they need to start picking up some wins.
Winner(s): The Young Bucks
John: There’s not a story here because this match was just added to the show on the last Dynamite after these two teams won an eight-man tag team match. It’s not like the Young Bucks were going to be off of a PPV. There has been a bit of a change in the Young Bucks since they have been pissed off after Adam Page cost them a tag team match recently, so the Bucks have been angry and perhaps that comes into play in the finish. I think what we might see is that The Young Bucks will do something like cheat to win the match when they have a tough time putting away Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy. It doesn’t mean they are heel. It just means they are still angry about what happened. A loss for the Young Bucks would be a surprise here.
Winners: The Young Bucks
Broken Rules Match: Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
(Note: Here are the rules of the match:
* The winner will be the Last Man Standing, determined when one man can’t answer the referee’s 10 count.
* The finish can take place anywhere.
* There must be a winner.
* If Matt Hardy loses the match, he’ll leave AEW forever.)
Kurt: A very start and stop storyline based on unfortunate suspensions and unexpected chair shots to the head. This is a great storyline for Sammy. The experience he’s getting from being paired with Jericho, and now his first meaningful program being against Matt Hardy, is invaluable. I really think he’s a future World Champion for the company and we’re going to be able to look back at what he did to get there and realize how lucky he was to be in this position. “Broken Rules” appears to be their version of a Last Man Standing Match, so we can expect both men to take extraordinary bumps and chances in this match. Sammy has an incredible ability of taking bumps that looks like it killed him. Hopefully one of those don’t bite him in the ass, but I know from his vlogs that he accepts his role in the Inner Circle and does his best.
With the added stipulation that Matt Hardy would leave AEW should he lose, that makes it pretty obvious who is going to win. I wouldn’t be surprised though, if this steals the show.
Prediction: Matt Hardy
Lance: This feud has been picking up some steam and these two have worked well together since Guevara’s return from suspension. Guevara legitimately busted Hardy open with a chair a couple of weeks ago and, depending on who you believe, might have gotten some heat for it. Hardy is a professional though and I am sure he realizes things happen. This one is pretty easy due to the stipulation that if Matt Hardy loses, he will leave AEW forever. I do think the match will be very competitive and creative because of those same stipulations, but in the end, Matt Hardy will win the match. I really like the work Guevara has been putting in lately, though.
Winner: Matt Hardy
John: Their match on Dynamite two weeks ago was good, but it was rushed in under eight minutes. Sammy won that match, so they are now 1-1 in singles matches and this is the grudge match. Normally I would say the younger guy should win (Sammy is 27 years old while Matt is 45 years old), but when they announced the stipulation that Matt will leave AEW if he loses then that suggests Matt winning is a lock. They could get around it by having Matt become one of his other gimmicks full time like Broken Matt, but I don’t know if they are going to go that route. I’ll just pick Matt to win what should be a violent match with one or both guys blading and I think they’ll get around 15 minutes for what is essentially a Last Man Standing match.
Winner: Matt Hardy
AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa
Kurt: I preface this by saying I LOVE the fact that AEW thought outside the box and found a working relationship with NWA to make this match happen. Thunder Rosa is a tremendous performer and deserves this big stage to show what she can do. However, I think it speaks volumes to the state of their current women’s division that you have a Women’s Tag Team Cup, and not one of those women, not even the winner’s who aren’t on this show at all, are apparently worthy enough to be a contender to Shida. They’ve already ran through Nyla Rose enough times, Riho is stuck in Japan, Kris Statlander is injured, and then Swole & Baker are preoccupied already. There’s nothing else in this division. AEW took a lot of grief on social media as of late, both for having the women’s tag team tournament only on YouTube instead of Dynamite, and for the fact that their women’s segments on Dynamite have been representative of WWE circa 2013 with two-minute segments where nothing can be accomplished. Not everything can be perfect, especially for a company who hasn’t been running weekly TV for a year yet. I just hope they have a plan for the women’s division moving forward. They have far more women showing up on their shows that are unsigned, that I feel are better than anyone they do have signed: Thunder Rosa and Ivelisse specifically. I obviously don’t expect Thunder Rosa to win here, but it sure would be a nice surprise and boost to the division if she did.
Prediction: Shida retains
Lance: Thunder Rosa has been getting a lot of hype ever since this match was announced. I might even go out on a limb and says this is the most buzz AEW has around a women’s match yet. Shida’s run at the top of the AEW Women’s division has been less than eventful, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think she is a great wrestler. There is just a lack of depth in the women’s division and Thunder Rosa might be the spark they need to get it going. Will she be here past this show? I don’t know the answer to that and because of that fact alone, the right move is to keep the belt on Shida. These two will go out and have a quality match and hopefully, it jump-starts the division and takes it where it needs to be.
Winner and STILL AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida
John: This should be a very good match because both women are talented. I think it was smart for AEW to bring in Thunder Rosa for this while the NWA was wise to allow it to happen because it gets the NWA name on this PPV broadcast. In terms of match quality, it should be one of the best AEW women’s matches in several months. However, it is also an admission by AEW that they have done a poor job in their women’s division because they had three months to build to this show after Double or Nothing and they couldn’t come up with a creative storyline for Women’s Champion Shida against a woman under AEW contract. They need to be better at telling stories for the women’s division because right now it’s the weak point for AEW. I think Shida winning is a no brainer here.
Winner: Hikaru Shida
AEW World Tag Team Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page and Kenny Omega (c) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)
Kurt: This has been the best story going in all of pro wrestling. The Ballad of Hangman Page. Is he with FTR? Is he with The Elite? Was he used by FTR? Is he being used by someone else? I love the character depth they’re giving him, I just wish there had been fans throughout all of this make him even more sympathetic. As stated above, he’s now been kicked out of The Elite and seemingly all he has is his partnership with Omega. Except, Omega is in The Elite either and has not said anything about Page being kicked out. He hasn’t talked to The Bucks and asked them to reconsider or tell them they overacted. In his promo on Wednesday, he just said that it’s something that Page will have to live with his entire life. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
I think the second act in this play will play out with Omega finally turning on Page. He will serve up Page to FTR to become tag champions. He will reveal that he made Page do what he did, knowing that Page was just wanting to prove he was a good partner and all in with Omega. The Young Bucks will come out, realizing they’ve been stabbed in the back as well, and will proceed to get beaten down by Omega and FTR, and perhaps a fourth person as those rumors of an AEW style Four Horsemen continue to persist. The Cleaner will be in AEW and maybe we’ll finally get to showcase one of the best wrestlers in the world as he should be presented. The best tag team in the world (FTR) will hold the titles that represent the best tag division in the world. Like I said, it’s the best story going, so it has to have a great chapter written here at All Out.
Prediction: New AEW Tag Champions, FTR
Lance: This is that odd type of match that I am very excited about, but the ending is very predictable. They have been teasing an Omega heel turn recently and the split between him and Page has been all but confirmed at this point. I am going to go the other way, though. Page is going to turn on Omega in this match and join forces with FTR to form a modern-day 4-Horsemen stable. I couldn’t be more excited about that prospect because I think Page has money written all over him. Tully Blanchard aligning with FTR was such a good move and I have really loved everything they have done since debuting in the company.
This will be a back and forth type of match and the styles will work well together. FTR are so slick and their stuff looks believable and they are going to be the face of the division moving forward. The end of the match will have some false finish stuff with Page maybe breaking up a sure-fire win for the team and that’s going to be the point where his allegiance to turned around. FTR doesn’t need the titles as they work into a feud with The Bucks, but it will be a nice touch. I am very excited about this one.
Winner(s) and NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR
John: This is the match I care about the most and I think it will be the best match too. Since I am the guy that edits this and posts, I get to look at what the guys above thing about it. You see Kurt predicting an Omega heel turn while Lance thinks Page is going to turn. To me, I don’t either guy is going to turn to cost the team the match. While I think FTR is going to win, I expect them to have an outstanding match that is clean for the most part and then towards the end of the match we’ll see things fall apart between Omega/Page. I can see this going 20 minutes or more, I think they’re going to try to have a Match of the Year type match if all goes well and FTR is going to win the match when there’s some mixup by the champions. It will put an end to the 228 day (on Saturday) title reign of the champions.
I think after the match, Omega is going to be frustrated by Page messing up in the match and acting weird of late, so Omega is going to kick his ass. I don’t know if either guy is going to be a heel because I think AEW doesn’t care about that as much as the fans might care about it. I think they’ll let the fans decide, but more likely it will be Omega in more of a heel role long term. Anyway, it should be an awesome match. I feel pretty confident in a title change happening here as FTR wins the titles as an undefeated team in AEW. They got paid a lot of money to go there and they are the team that AEW is going to build around.
Winners and NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR
Mimosa Mayhem Match: Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
(Note: The match can be won by pinfall, submission or throwing the opponent into a tank of mimosa. The mimosa is a giant tub that’s a mixture of champagne and orange juice.)
Kurt: I’ve seen some criticism about Jericho becoming too much of a comedy act and trying too hard with this feud with Orange Cassidy. I couldn’t disagree more. Jericho has always been able to change with the times and adapt to any situation. That’s what makes him one of the true greatest of all time. If tomorrow he needed to go back to his Painmaker routine with a more serious edge, he could do it at a moment’s notice. I give him all the credit in the world to see Cassidy’s numbers in terms of how much merch he moves, and how much of a reaction he garners from the crowd, and taking it upon himself to not just make Orange an established act, but a legit top tier player. I remember when AEW signed Orange and people sarcastically said: “Why sign him? He could never be World Champion with that character.” If he beats Jericho in this match and “wins” this feud, he officially is a main event player that could be taken seriously in the title picture.
I’ve found this storyline completely entertaining and the only thing I haven’t enjoyed/would’ve changed is Orange’s first win over Jericho. I know he was trying the Mouse Trap, but it just looked bad, and if you were going to put Orange over, I would’ve done it with the Superman Punch he hit just moments before that. Beyond that, I’ve loved how Orange has stepped up to the challenge and made people take him seriously. He has shown emotion, and anger, and stepped way out of his comfort zone to make this work, all to successful results. However, when Inner Circle beat him down, he is an underrated seller that makes their beatings look vicious. I hope this match is the best of the three with them. I do think Jericho is ultimately going to win, maybe by a roll up of his own, but the ultimate end result will be Jericho dumped into the Mimosa Mayhem with Orange standing tall at the end.
Prediction: Chris Jericho (but he ends up in the Mimosas)
Lance: Jericho has a victory and Cassidy has a victory so that would make this the rubber match. I will say off the top that the concept of this match is laughable. I understand what they are trying to do, but it doesn’t make it any less ridiculous. Jericho has been in full comedy mode as of late and this match is the cherry on top. Jericho has a lot of self-awareness and he is now in the business of putting the young guys over, and that’s why I think the stipulation in this match is the way that it is. Somebody is going in the tub of mimosa, whether it’s during the match or right after. It’s probably going to be Jericho and with this type of match, it’s not like he would be losing clean. No pun intended. Cassidy goes over and Jericho does his part in making the next star in AEW.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
John: It’s another feud with a veteran wrestler (Jericho turns 50 years old in November) facing the younger guy in Orange Cassidy, who is older than you might think at 36 years old. Cassidy is “new” in the sense that a lot of us didn’t know much about him before 2019 when AEW launched. Jericho has taken it upon himself to try to elevate this guy by trading wins (Jericho won a good match, then Cassidy won a worse match), which leads to this gimmick match that sounds ridiculous. You can win by pinfall, submission or by throwing your opponent into some tub that’s a mixture of champagne and orange known as mimosa.
I think Orange Cassidy winning makes the most sense and I expect to see Jericho tossed into the Mimosa, which will lead to some comedic selling by him. I prefer the more serious Jericho feuds like the ones against Jon Moxley and Cody, but I understand why they are throwing in more comedy since Cassidy is more of a comedic wrestler. To Cassidy’s credit, he has impressed me a lot in the last few months in terms of the promos, the match quality and his ability to go in the ring when he’s given the chance to do so. If Jericho wins that’s fine, but I think Jericho should be doing the job here. As I said, expect some comedic selling inside the “Mimosa” tub that they will have at ringside.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
(Note: Moxley’s Paradigm Shift finishing move is banned.)
Kurt: If you followed my logic in the Casino Battle Royal, I made it pretty obvious that I think Moxley is going to retain. I love MJF as a heel, and I think his campaign stuff has been highly entertaining. I’m not sure there are five guys on the AEW roster that can hang with him on the mic. He’s one of the best promos in all of pro wrestling. He gets a little wordy sometimes, but he says everything with conviction, because he truly believes every word he says. However, the guy has to lose sometime. This isn’t a Goldberg situation where he’s an unstoppable force and an undefeated streak means something. They’ve just booked him well as a top heel and made this match feel as important as possible. But again, he’s gotta lose sometime.
Moxley is the face of the company, and now that fans are slowly coming back to Daily’s Place, he’s by far the most popular star in the company. They need to keep the title on him and continue to establish him as the top guy. I’d love to see another title match between he and Darby. I’d love to see Eddie Kingston get a shot against him. As I stated earlier, he and Jake going back and forth in promos for a program with Archer, would be simply fantastic. Also, if Omega is turning heel as I predict and becomes a true singles star, he ultimately could/should be the guy to dethrone Moxley. It just feels moving forward, there are far more contenders set up for Moxley than there are MJF.
I thought the closing segment on Wednesday, post match against Mark Sterling, was really well done. It finally showed MJF is willing to get his hands dirty and go to that extreme level, to win the title. Blood, even in 2020, still adds to a match and a story. I expect more of it in this match. I haven’t necessarily noticed AEW abiding by the “on top on TV means they lose on PPV” theory, but I do think Moxley being beaten down that strongly lends to him winning on the PPV. I’m not sure how good this match will be, as they have such distinctly different styles, but I hope it’s worthy of closing the show after what should be some fantastic matches. I would expect Moxley to use the Death Rider instead of the Paradigm Shift to win. It’s an elevated version of the same move, but technically Mox could say it’s not the Paradigm, and also give reason for MJF to get his heat back in the weeks to come by complaining about Mox not abiding by the rules. Perhaps it even leads to a rematch of some sorts.
Prediction: Jon Moxley retains
Lance: This is the match that I am going back and forth on. I can see scenarios with both men winning, but I think the biggest question we have to ask is, what is next for whoever does come out on top? I’ll get this out of the way right now, MJF is getting hit with the Paradigm Shift in this match. I know it is banned, but there will surely be a ref bump that will allow the move to happen. I don’t think it will be the final spot in the match though.
If Moxley wins, the challengers you could line him up are a little more fleshed out because he is a babyface. Guys like Lance Archer, Eddie Kingston, or Brian Cage would all be suitable challengers to the big platinum. Now, with MJF winning, it would be a little different due to the lack of top babyfaces in the company. Cody is gone right now and he can’t challenge for the title anyway. The only conceivable option is Adam Page. Earlier in the predictions, I said that Page will turn on Omega, but I don’t think he will be a full-blown heel. He is an organic, Steve Austin-type character that will play by his own rules. MJF vs. Adam Page would be absolute money and it will be all about If AEW feels the same way. I am really torn, but I think it’s MJF’s time.
Winner and NEW AEW World Champion: MJF
John: The main event should be a great match featuring two of the best booked wrestlers in the company. Give AEW a lot of credit for telling us that wins and losses matter and for backing it up by putting the two guys with the best record into the main event of All Out in a World Title match. Jon Moxley is 16-1 in 2020 with the only loss coming in a tag team match. He’s 15-0 this year. MJF is 10-1 in 2020 with his only loss in a tag team match while MJF is 8-0 in singles matches. I got the stats from AEW’s roster page right here.
I think some of the segments they did on television were weak and bad comedy at times with MJF faking the neck injury while using a walker. I understand heels embellish injuries to get heat, but it’s not like there is a big crowd there to boo the guy for being a jerk like that. It just felt lame to me. The end of this week’s Dynamite with MJF beating up Moxley, making him bloody with a ring punch to the head and generally kicking his ass was the right thing to do. I think a segment like that would have been more effective one week or two earlier because then you could have spent the last show having Moxley trying to get his hands on MJF and failing, so then you would have had to see it at the PPV.
While I think it’s a lock that MJF is a future AEW World Champion (perhaps in 2021), I think this match will see Moxley win. I expect one or both guys to be bloody during the match too. What I wonder is if they use Wardlow in the match at all to accidentally cost MJF the win and then that can lead to their split. I just think Wardlow is a guy that AEW needs to be utilizing a lot more than they do, so I wonder if that’s going to be a factor. Anyway, Moxley can’t use a Paradigm Shift to win. I can see him winning with another move or perhaps a submission win with an armbar. Something like that would work. I don’t think Moxley winning is a lock by any means, but I think his title reign is going to continue. This should be a 15-20 minute match that will be one of the best matches of the night. I’m looking forward to it.
Winner: Jon Moxley
BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Kurt: Simply for storytelling and seeing what/how much plays out during and after the match, it’s the Tag Title match.
Lance: It’s a tie. The AEW Tag Team Title Match and AEW World Title Match are equally awesome.
John: I think Omega/Page vs. FTR is the most intriguing because I think it will be the best match, plus the possibility of a turn and/or Omega/Page falling is a big thing here.
The Match I Care About The Least
Kurt: I suppose Bucks/Express just because it was thrown together so late.
Lance: The 8-Man Tag Team Match.
John: Big Swole vs. Dr. Britt Baker. If it was in a ring then I might care more. I have liked the story, but this will likely be silly.
Longest Match
Kurt: This is a tough one, but I think I’ll say the Tag Title match as well.
Lance: Casino Battle Royal, but AEW PPV’s have proven that every match is going to be at least 20 minutes.
John: I’ll go with the Tag Team Title match as the longest at about 25 minutes.
Shortest Match
Kurt: It should be the Battle Royal, but I’m guessing it’ll be the 8-man tag.
Lance: I’ll go with Shida vs. Rosa.
John: I think everything will be over 12 minutes, but Baker/Swole might be shorter since it’s a pre-tape match, so I’ll go with that.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
Kurt: It’s a solid 8 at least. I’m invested in every match, even Bucks/Express because as I stated, I think it’s the first of a two-part act through the night. Every match has a story, which I appreciate, and I think we’re going to see some innovative ideas come to fruition.
Lance: I am very high on this show. Most of the matches have some good build to them and it just has an old school PPV vibe to it. I’ll give it a 9.
John: It’s an 8 out of 10 for me and I thought about going a bit higher, but that seems to be fair to me. I like a lot of the matches although I wish some of the matches had more storylines going in considering they had three months to build to this show. There should be several matches in the four star range and possibly higher, so that’s a reason to get excited. When you’re asking fans to pay $50 or whatever the cost is in your country, you need to deliver some great matches. I think AEW will do that.
In Closing
John: I’ll be back with a review of AEW All Out on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday night or Sunday morning, so check that out after it’s over.
Our Twitter handles are: Kurt Zamora – @KTankTJR, Lance Augustine – @CollectiveHeel and John Canton – @johnreport.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com as well. Thanks for reading.