9/6 AEW ALL OUT PPV REPORT: Moxley vs. MJF, Page & Omega vs. FTR, Jericho vs. Cassidy, Shida vs. Rosa

KELLER’S AEW ALL OUT PPV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 5, 2020
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. AT DAILYS PLACE
AIRED ON LIVE PPV

---

BUY IN (Free Pre-Show)

(A) SERPENTICO (w/Luther) vs. JOEY JANELA (w/Sonny Kiss)

Schiavone touted some of the bigger names Janela has defeated including Kip Sabian and Rey Fenix. Late in the match Luther grabbed Janela’s foot. Kiss knocked him away. Janela rallied and landed a top rope elbow for the win.

WINNER: Janela.

(B) PRIVATE PARTY (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs. DARK ORDER (John Silver & Alex Reynolds)

When Schiavone noted the orange shoes on Isiah Kassidy, Excalibur said he better not mention it to Taz. Schiavone reacted like he might not know the backstory on that joke. For the finish, Quen and Kassidy leaped off the top rope. Quen landed on Reynolds’s knees while Silver moved out of the path of Quen. Quen and Kassidy came back with Gin and Juice, a huracanrana off the top rope with a cutter out of mid-air for the three count. Schiavone noted Private Party are 8-6 in 2020. He said Brodie Lee will be upset about that.

WINNERS: Private Party in 11:00.

---

MAIN PPV

-Pyro blasted to introduce the show. Schiavone, Ross, and Excalibur previewed the PPV line-up.

(1) BIG SWOLVE vs. BRIT BAKER – Tooth & Nails match

Big Swole showed up at Brit Baker’s dental office. She got out of a vintage Rolls Royce. She whacked the receptionist Reba with a clip board. She began wandering through the dental office and discovered blood in one room near a dental chair. Background music began to play. Swole said if Brit has been waiting for her, she’s been waiting for her. Baker showed up in the hallway with a sinister look off to the side.

There were wind up mini teeth chattering in a cabinet. Baker bashed Swole with a framed diploma. She asked the ref to ring the bell. He signaled for the bell and it rang. Swole was knocked silly in a chair. Baker tried to use a drill against her and then pliers, but Solve fought back with a metal tray. Reba showed up and sprayed her with the water pick. She said, “Say hello to Mr. Thirsty.” They brawled into the parking lot. Solve rolled Baker into stack of empty cardboard boxes against an outside wall. They fought near a trash can.

Swole fought off both Baker and Reba, then threw Reba into the trash can. Schiavone chuckled. Baker hit Solve from behind with a crutch and then ran into the office. Swole and the referee followed behind. They brawled at a sink. Swole shoved Baker’s face into the counter. Baker said, “Oh, my nose, I just got it fixed!” Baker gave Swole a swinging neck breaker on the floor for a two count. Schiavone said Swole should go for the nose every time. Swole scored a two count after a boot to the face. Ross, who said little during this nonsense, dryly responded, “A near fall on a dental floor. I’ve never said that, been dying to for years.” Schiavone said we’ll all remember this next time we go to the dentist.

Baker knocked Swole out and pulled out a regular electric drill and aimed for Swole. Swole moved and she drilled into the dental chair.She called for Reba. Reba brought a syringe. Baker tried to poke Swole, but Swole shoved the needle into Baker’s leg. Reba yelled, “You stabbed her! You stabbed her!” Solve then told Reba to hold a framed diploma and then punched it after Reba held it in place for absolutely no good reason. (This is “Three Stooges” material.) Swole then put a gas mask on Brit. The ref said she was out so it’s over and called for the bell.

WINNER: Swole in about 10:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: I suppose with the concept, they did the best they could, although I found myself disinterested or rolling my eyes more than engaged or entertained. It just felt amateurish, like something adolescent kids would film on a weekend and make their  parents watch who would humor them about “how creative it was.” It’s hard to shift from utter nonsense slapstick like this to suddenly taking things seriously, but here we go.)

(2) THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. JURASSIC EXPRESS (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus w/Marko Stunt)

When JB offered a handshake, Nick slapped it away. Matt tagged in. JB chopped away at his chest, then tagged in Luchasaurus. JB landed a running shoot star press, then dropkicked Nick out of the ring. Luchasaurus knocked Matt out of the ring. Marko, on a crutch, taunted Matt. Ross said Mark is like a rash – it itches and just won’t go away.

The Bucks got several minutes of offense in against JB. Luchasaurus eventually got the hot tag. He landed an Asai moonsault off the ring apron onto the Bucks. Matt walkedoverand got in Marko’s face. He kicked the crutch away and then superkicked him. Ross was happy. Schiavone said he likes the aggression, but is “borderline surprised.” They fought to ringside. JB threw Matt into the area where wrestlers were gathered. Luchasaurus dove into the crowd. Matt kicked JB out of mid-air for a convincing near fall. Matt tagged Nick back in and they stereo superkicked him for another convincing near fall. They followed up with a BTE Trigger for the win. Ross said they’ve been a different tag team this week, starting with Wednesday on Dynamite. Excalibur said the tag champs after tonight will have a date with them in the near future.

WINNERS: The Young Bucks in 15:00. (***1/4)

(Keller’s Analysis: Good match and well-paced, with a healthy dose of dives without being ridiculous along with other creative double-team moves. The Bucks demeanor can come across as smug or determined, and it remains to be seen what they’re actually going for.)

-The announcers talked about the battle royal. Schiavone said he’s always liked the unpredictability of a battle royal.

(3) CASINO BATTLE ROYAL – Winner Gets Future Title Shot

•1st Batch of Five: Trent, Daniels, “Rock Hard” Jake Hager, The Blade, Rey Fenix.

Taz joined on commentary. They fought for three minutes with no eliminations.

•2nd Batch of Five: Kaz, Will Hobbs, Chuck Taylor, Santana, Ortiz.

Hobbs eliminated The Blade. Hager eliminated Daniels.

•3rd Batch of Five: Billy (Gunn), Pentagon Jr., Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Darby Allin.

Taz was excited about Starks and Cage entering together. Cage eliminated Billy right away. Darby began hitting Cage and Starks with his skateboard. Darby eliminated Fenix. The Best Friends hugged mid-ring. The camera zoomed in and out as Excalibur said, “You have to give the people what they want.”

•4th Batch of Five: Shawn Spears, Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, Sonny Kiss, Lance Archer

Spears walked out first and walked away from thering to the announce desk. He put on headsets and said Taz looked great “and Schiavone, you’re Schiavone.” He began calling the action, but then excused himself to go to the ring. Hager almost eliminated Kiss, but Kiss outmaneuvered him and dumped Hager. Cage then eliminated Kiss. Hager punched Kiss at ringside. Santana charged, but Trent ducked so Santana tumbled over the top rope to the floor. Archer eliminated Trent with a toss. Ortiz smiled on the ring apron, but Archer knocked him to the floor with a forearm.

•Final Entrant: Matt Sydal.

Sydal pointed at his third eye, gave a knee strike to Spears, and then slipped on the top rope and hit his leg on the top rope as he fell and landed hard and awkwardly. Not quite Shockmaster, but that won’t be forgotten. The announcers talked about the ropes being slippery from sweat. Kaz eliminated Pentagon Jr.

A bunch of pyro began blasting. Ross said it was at a nearby baseball stadium. Cage and Archer battled. Cage mistakenly hit Starks, which panicked Taz. Darby gave Cage a stunner and then threw Starks out of the ring. Archer came up to Darby and nailed him across the side of his head with a forearm. Starks threw Darby into the ringpost at ringside. Ross noted that Darby is still alive in the match.

Starks pulled out a bodybag from under the ring. Cage poured thumb tacks on the bodybag and then wrapped up Darby in it. Dobbs was bleeding from his tongue in the corner. Archer and Jake watched as Cage lifted Darby and tossed him over the top rope inside the bodybag full of thumb tacks. (That felt excessively dangerous.) Ross said this is no Sigfied & Roy. Officials tended to Darby on the ramp. The announcers said he was hurt.

Sydal eliminated Spears. Hobbs gave Sydal a spinebuster. Archer picked his spot and took down Hobbs. Xage and Archer battled one-on-one mid-ring. They kicked each other in the head. Archer went for a chokeslam, but Cage flipped out of it and kneelifted Archer. Cage swung Archer into the ropes in 619 position. Hobbs dragged Cage over the top rope onto the apron. Archer kicked both Cage and Hobbs off the ring apron to eliminate both of them. Taz said it was Hobbs’s fault.

It was down to Kingston, Sydal, Butcher, and Archer. Sydal elimintated Butcher with a leg scissors. Sydal gave Kingston a DDT. Archer moved right in and gave Sydal a Black Out. He lifted him onto the ring apron. Sydal kicked him, but Kingston knocked him down to the floor. Kingston and Archer battled on the ring apron. Jake showed Kiingston the snake in his bag to scare him. Butcher and Blade went after Archer. Kingston bit Archer’s ear. Archer began noselling. Jake swung the snake into Kingston as a weapon, then Archer threw Kingston off the top rope onto Butcher & Blade on the floor. Taz said it burns his ass that Archer just won that and he stormed off.

WINNER: Archer.

(Keller’s Analysis: Pretty good for a battle royal overall. A little overbooked at the finish, and there wasn’t much drama with Kingston vs. Archer as the final two. Jake trying to scare Kingston with the snake and then whacking him with it was slapstick and undercut the effect of Archer winning.)

-A video package aired on Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara.

(3) MATT HARDY vs. SAMMY GUEVARA – Last Man Standing, Hardy Leaves AEW If He Loses

Hardy showed up near the football field and asked Guevara to show up and face his deletion like a man. Guevara drove in with a golf cart. Hardy avoided it. Excalibur called it like avoiding a golf cart was an unlikely athletic feat. Hardy DDT’d Sammy on a metal picnic table in the concourse. They climbed onto a “Skyjack” lift. They fought up there. Hardy went for a Side Effect, but Guevara countered it. They overshot the table a bit and Hardy’s head hit the cement floor. The ref checked on Hardy as the announcers said Hardy was kknocked out. Hardy took off his jacket and told the ref to count him down. Hardy managed to sit up. Schiavone said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing “after his head went splat on that concrete.” Hardy stood, but stumbled. Sammy didn’t seem to have his footing either. Hardy pulled on Sammy’s trunks, which came down quite a ways in the back as both just collapsed. The ref stepped in and said she had to call it off. The doctor stepped in and said Hardy couldn’t continue. Hardy stood and yelled, “Where is he?” He looked dazed. Sammy ran away to celebrate his win. Hardy pursued Sammy. Ross said he doesn’t think Matt can remember the last five minutes of his life.

The announcers talked about that being a scary situation. Ross said they’d all like to see the end of the match, but this isn’t the time to take chances. He said he has young kids at home and everyone could tell Matt wasn’t right. Ross said his head hit the concrete. They cut back to the hallway. The ring announcer said there must be a winner and the bell rang. Hardy gave Sammy a DDT back in the seating area. He rammed Sammy into the trash can. They fought back to the entrance stage. Guevara climbed the scaffolding on the stage. Hardy followed behind him. Ross said, “Don’t be stupid.” Hardy punched Sammy who then flew off of it and he crashed through the stage. The ref counted him out. Sammy winced in pain.

WINNER: Hardy.

(Keller’s Analysis: It appeared at first the match was called off for Hardy’s safety since he seemed obviously legitimately concussed, but then they called an instant audible to have Hardy wander to the area where the finish was planned, and have Sammy take a bump and lose quicker than expected. If they didn’t have that stupid and unnecessary stip that Hardy would leave AEW if he lost, they could have stopped the match after the first injury. Between Darby being tossed over the top rope in a body bag and the Hardy-Guevara bump through the table, this seems more like a geek show and less like skilled athletes practicing their craft in an artful way. Guevara is good enough to just work a regular match, obviously, and I’d rather AEW focus on making what happens in the ropes count more and lean less on geek show spots. Just stop this crap and tell stories in the ring. If you can’t do that, there are plenty of skilled wrestlers who can, so hire and feature them.)

(4) HIKARU SHIDA vs. THUNDER ROSA – AEW Women’s Title match

Ross thanked fans for helping AEW trend no. 1 on Twitter. They started with a staredown. Excalbur talked up Rosa’s resume. Ross made fun of Excalibur for knowing so many facts about here that no one else knows, then said he was just kidding. A few minutes in, Shida set up a chair at ringside. She ran toward it, but Rosa beat her to it and knocked Shida down. She took control at ringside, and wrapped Shida backwards around the ringpost by her arms and legs. Back inside the ring, she held Shida in a swinging pendulum position. Shida came back with a jumping knee strike to reverse momentum. Ross noted Shida is the first 30 match winner in the AEW Women’s Division. He said as AEW grows, she grows.

Rosa countered a falcon arrow and rolled her into a sleeper. She gave her a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron, then applied an arm submission mid-ring. Shida landed a Meteora off the middle rope onto Rosa on the ramp. Back in the ring, Shida applied a stretch muffler. Shida rolled up Rosa to escape another hold for a two count. She lifted her onto his shoulders and delivered a backbreaker for another two count. She followed up with a running high knee for clean win.

WINNER: Shida in 17:00 to retain the AEW Women’s Title. (***1/2)

(Keller’s Analysis: Ah, a good wrestling match inside the ropes for the most part that told a good story and had a good mix athletic highspots and creative submissions.)

-Alex Marvez interviewed Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford. They revealed that they are getting married, and they’re going all out and holding it live on Dynamite. Kip said they have to have a bachelor party first and choose a best man. He said he has to be loyal, handsome, and have similar interests. He said he’d reveal it on Wednesday. “it’s not just a best man, it’s the best man.” He held up a plug for his Twitch account.

(5) DARK ORDER (Brodie Lee & Colt Cabana & Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) vs. NATURAL NIGHTMARES (Dustin Rhodes & Q.T. Marshall & SCORPIO SKY & MATT CARDONA (w/Allie, Brandi Rhodes)

Dustin and Brodie squared off late. Brodie went for a powebomb, but Dustin flipped out. Brodie fired back with a nasty lariat. Colt wanted to be tagged in. Brodie tagged in. Colt went for a moonsault, but Dustin moves. Dustin then rolled up Colt for the three count as Cardona held back Brodie. Brodie looked up in shock. The announcers said Colt lost it for his team because he went for a moonsault rather than going right for the pin. Dustin’s teammates held him on their shoulders in celebration on the stage afterward. Brodie scolded Colt afterward. Colt looked dejected and confused, as if he’s never watched Dynamite before. Evil Uno helped Colt to his feet and seemed supportive.

WINNERS: Dustin & Marshall & Sky & Cardona.

(Keller’s Analysis: If Dustin had the wherewithal to avoid the moonsault, why should we assume he wouldn’t have had the ability to kick out before the three count also?)

-Schiavone said defending his brother and having that comeback win was huge for him. Dustin said he’s so excited and pumped. He was pumped and said they left Dark Order in the dust and they did that for Cody. He said he’ll come back and do what is rightfully his. Schiavone informed Dustin that Tony Khan just told him he’s getting a TNT Title match at Dynamite “Holy crap, man,” Dustin said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance at a title.” He gave a spirited babyface promo.

-A video package aired on the next match.

(6) “HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE & KENNY OMEGA vs. FTR (w/Tully Blanchard)

Ross said he hoped Page and Omega could stay together long enough to have a classic. The announcers said it was hard to get a read on Page. Excalibur said he was inconsolable backstage because he realized FTR used him to turn on his friends but had no interesting being his friend. Fans chanted, “This is awesome!” at the start. When the bell rang, Page asked Kenny to let him start the match, so they tagged after a tense moment. Excalibur noted the tag ropes are employed in this match. (Shouldn’t they be in all matches?) Cash offered a handshake and said, “Friends?” in a smarmy way. Page snapped. When Kenny entered, he tried to pull Page away and Page turned and swung at him. They had another tense moment. FTR attacked them from behind. They came back right away and took control. Excalibur said Page knows he screwed up by trusting FTR and turning on The Elite, which is why he’s taking it so hard. Page offered a high ten from Omega. Omega paused but eventually did. They tagged in and out against Cash.

After Excalibur called an Omega power legdrop to the back of Dax’s head by its Japanese name, Ross said back in the day they called it a leg lace. It seems a little passive aggressive, like Ross is trying to indicate not every move was invented in Japan and has an “obscure name that only Excalibur knows.” Schiavone said Matt and Sammy are both going to be okay, and a doctor let him know that Hardy was cleared to finish the match after it was briefly stopped.

FTR eventually took over with sustained offense against Page. Omega finally got the hot-tag. There was no sense of an audible pop for the move despite a spaced out live crowd. Omega caught Cash leaping off the top rope with a dropkick. FTR came back and landed a stack piledriver for Omega for a near fall. Dax complained to the ref afterward. Tully tried to calm him and get him refocused. They fought back and forth for several minutes, taking turns with big double-team spots and near falls, but sensibly not frenetically paced. Omega nailed Cash with a V-Trigger and set up a One-Winged Angel. Cash escaped. Omega went for another V-Trigger, but hit the turnbuckle hard. Dax then applied an inverted figure-four. After a few minutes, Omega kicked Dax off of him, but he sent him into Page on the ring apron, knocking him to the floor.

Page tagged in, landed a fallaway slam on Cash, and then knocked Dax to the floor. He ducked a charging Cash and climbed to the top rope. Page landed a flip dive off the top turnbuckle onto Cash and Dax. Ross said Tully was trying to get his men to get out of the way, but Page shifted and dove in the other direction. (They made an effort to explain how wrestlers got caught with a dive rather than just standing there with their arms out to catch the wrestler diving at them rather than stepping out of the way.)

FTR took over again and landed stereo top rope diving headbutts for a near fall. Excalibur brought up the British Bulldogs doing that move. Cash set up a sunset flip of Omega off the ring apron. Instead, he spun him around and then Dax leaped and bulldogged him onto the mat. Nice sequence. Page gave Cash a blockbuster suplex off the top rope for a believable near fall. Ross touted the quality of the match. They set up Last Call. Dax pulled at Page’s leg. That cage Cash a chance to break free. Omega delivered a V-Trigger, but it hit Page by mistake. Cash then chop blocked Omega. Cash tagged in Dax. They gave Page a spike piledriver for a near fall. (That should finish a match. Every. Time.) Cash pushed Omega to the floor. Omega crawled back. TR delivered a second spike piledriver and that did it.

WINNER: FTR to capture the AEW Tag Team Titles. (***1/2)

(Keller’s Analysis: I think this was designed to be a classic or MOTR contender, but it was a level below that. It was too long, and it’s in situations like this with high aspirations that the lack of a rabid crowd to feed off of and react to the near falls really becomes apparent. This entire event is running long, and there’s just nothing to be gained from having matches go this long under these conditions. WWE has figured out that keeping shows shorter is wise without arenas full of fans, and AEW would benefit to follow suit. It’s just self-indulgent and ignoring reality to try to pull off 30 minutes matches right now when 17 would work better and make the overall show shorter.)

-After the match, FTR put a beer can in front of Page and left. Omega brought a tray table into the ring to make sure FTR left. Page took a while to stand up. Omega ominously held the tray. The announcers noticed. Ross said Kenny is known to have moments. Kenny threw the tray down. Page stood, walked toward Kenny, and then collapsed. Kenny didn’t even try to catch him, which Excalibur pointed out. Omega stood over Page as Ross wondered what the future is of this team. Excalibur said this might be the end of this team after a 228 day title reign. The camera followed Omega backstage. He approached The Young Bucks and ranted that he is done after everything he did. “I’m done,” he said. “Let’s go.” The Bucks tried to talk with him and followed him out of the building. They told him to shower up and talk it through. Omega said it’s time for a clean break. He got into a limo waiting for them. He sternly told the driver to get in the car because he was leaving. The Bucks stayed behind. Ross said they should let cooler heads prevail and not speculate.

-They went to the announcers on camera who reacted, the threw to a video package on the next match.

-Marvez interviewed Jericho backstage. He said it’s the first-ever match of this kind. He said his 14 weeks of interactions with Cassidy wasn’t a storyline, feud, or program. He said it was an experiment to see if he could turn Cassidy into a main event draw, and he said he now is a main event draw. “And you can all thank me for that,” he said. He said Orange will find out he makes main event stars, makes dreams come true, and also ends them. He said the Orange Cassidy experiment ends tonight. He said he’s going to beat him with his signature moves and then throw him into the vat of orange juice and bubbly.

(7) ORANGE CASSIDY vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Cassidy made his ring entrance. It’s nearly three hours into the PPV and four hours since the start of Buy In at this point. The ring had two two round vats of mimosa on opposite sides with a platform built around them. Schiavone clarified that when he said earlier Matt Hardy told the doctor he was able to restart, the doctor did actually examine and clear him. The announcers said AEW would never put their wrestlers at risk if they weren’t cleared by a doctor if there was any concern about their health. This seemed to be in response to understandable social media criticism of restarting the match when Hardy and Sammy both seemed concussed.

Jericho landed a sudden Code Breaker for a near fall seconds into the match. He gave the crowd a middle finger gesture, then beat up Cassidy. He set up an early Walls of Jericho, but instead catapulted him over the top rope. Cassidy avoided the vat. Jericho tried to shove Cassidy’s head into the vat with his boot. Cassidy made a comeback and took it to Jericho at ringside. Cassidy whipped Jericho into a ringside barricade. It seemed Jericho was expecting them to be hooked together, but they weren’t and flew right through them. Jericho and Cassidy fought on the ledge of the mimosa vat. Cassidy dove at Jericho, but Jericho caught him and set up him for a powerbomb into the vat. Cassidy put up a struggle, so Jericho turned and powerbombed him through a table set up next to the vat with a Champaign bucket on ice on it. Jericho tried to shove Cassidy’s face into the mimosa. Excalibur called Bubbly Boarding. Jericho picked up a bat and played with it before winding up. Cassidy kicked Jericho, then hit him with the steel bucket. Jericho bumped into the ring.

Back in the ring Cassidy landed a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Cassidy threw a pitcher of mimosa in Jericho’s face. He tried to send Jericho into the vat, but Jericho grabbed him on the top rope and tried to toss him in. Cassidy fought free of his grip. Back in the ring, Cassidy landed a huracanrana of Jericho off the top rope. He hit Jericho with a running PK, then an around-the-world DDT for a near fall. Jericho tried to Razor’s Edge Cassidy off the top turnbuckle, but Cassidy escaped and hit a Superman Punch. He then hit a second Superman Punch and sent Jericho backwards into the vat. Excalibur said brunches will never be the same in the Jericho household.

WINNER: Cassidy in 15:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: This was about what you’d expect, and it was fine, I suppose. This show is just too long and without a full live crowd, this type of concept match really loses something.)

-A commercial aired for the Nov. 7 AEW Full Gear PPV. It was generic.

-Ross hyped Dynamite this Wednesday: Brodie Lee vs. Dustin for the TNT Title, Kip Sabian and Penelope will introduce their Best Man, the AEW Champion will speak, and more to be announced.

(8) JON MOXLEY vs. MJF (w/Wardlow) – AEW World Hvt. Title match

Schiavone said he’s been waiting for this moment since he was a sniveling little brat on the Rosie O’Donnell show. MJF wrestled Mox to the mat and boasted about out wrestling him. Mox sent MJF to the floor and dove at him, then threw him into the barricade. Mox yanked MJF’s fingers apart. MJF yelled, “Ref! Ref! Ref!” Back in the ring MJF teased a crossroads, but Moxley blocked it and went for a sleeper. MJF countered into a cross armbreaker attempt.

MJF yanked Moxley off the ring apron and his shoulder hit the edge of the ring apron. He focused on Mox’s arm for several minutes. MJF went after Mox at ringside and said, “What’s wrong, Jon? I thought you were hardcore, dip shit!” Mox catapulted MJF into the ringpost. Mox rolled into the ring and rammed his shoulder against the bottom turnbuckle to “try to pop his arm back into socket.” MJF came up bleeding heavily. Ross wondered how MJF would respond after tasting his own blood. MJF begged off, but Mox went after him aggressively. Mox release suplexed MJF and scored a very near fall. Ross said having only one useful arm is really restricting Moxley. He went for a Gotch-style piledriver, but his left arm gave out. MJF went to ringside, but Moxley caught him with a turning sidewalk slam on the mat.

Mox got the better of MJF for a few minutes including a rolling clothesline for a near fall. Mox waited for MJF to stand and taunted him. MJF sat up on his knees. MJF spit at Mox. Ross called it total disrespect. Mox set up the Paradigm Shift. Schiavone said he could lose the title if he executed the banned move. As the ref warned Mox, MJF took him down with a Fujiwara armbar. Mox tried to crawl to the bottom rope, but MJF dragged him back to the middle. Mox eventually draped his boot over the bottom rope. Ross said All Out has been “extraordinarily special” and “dramatic.” Mox grabbed MJF’s throat. MJF snapped his neck over the top rope, then  gave Mox a heat seeker piledriver off the middle rope for a near fall. MJF set up a piledriver again, but Mox countered into a Air Raid Crash for a near fall. Excalibur noted Mox couldn’t hook the leg.

They both stood and went forehead to forehead and exchanged some words. MJF elbowed Mox. Mox shrugged and elbowed MJF. They exchanged a a dozen or so more blows. Mox stood and threw a series of headbutts. MJF pulled the ref in Mox’s path as he charged. MJF thumbed Mox in the eye and then scored a two count with a backslide. Mox stood and applied a sleeper. MJF pulled the ref out of view and then gave Mox a mule kick. Excalibur said it’s not admirable, but it is cerebral. Schiavone said when the world title is on the line, “you pull out all the stops.” (Comments like that extinguish heel heat MJF is trying to get by cheating.) MJF hit Mox with Crossroads for a near fall. Wardlow stood and distracted the ref and threw MJF the Dynamite Diamond. As Wardlow continued distracting the ref, Mox gave MJF the Paradigm Shift. The ref turned and counted to three. As Mox celebrated, he looked into the camera and said you’ll have to kill him or drop a house on him to take that belt from him.

WINNER: Moxley to retain the AEW World Title. (***1/2)

(Keller’s Analysis: A good match start to finish. Not great, though. I think this was probably in the range of what most would have expected from these two going in.)