SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
MJF & Adam Cole vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver (ROH Tag Team Titles)
A fun opener, even if you’re like me and believe this was a waste of Cole and MJF on a major AEW PPV. I was surprised me didn’t see some dissension after the match when Cole grabbed MJF’s AEW Title and put it over his shoulder. Instead we were given a short brawl between MJF and Samoa Joe in what I assume will lead to a short program between Joe and MJF while the Cole and MJF continues to play out. MJF having to go backstage for most of the match can play into either MJF turning heel since it could be argued he “skipped out” on most of the match or MJF being a genuine friend and babyface by coming back to help retain the tag titles. If you don’t follow ROH programming (and considering it’s behind a paywall, it’s likely most of you haven’t), this should’ve been no surprise that Dark Order were the heels for this match. They’ve shown a bit more edge lately and have gone back to their 2019-2020 Dark Order roots rather than the doing the silly comedy bit. Despite the outcome really not being in doubt, the match was enjoyable while it lasted.
Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor (ROH TV Title)
A short, but solid match. It’s a shame Taylor is stuck behind a paywall as he’s a very solid talent. I’m not sure that AEW has room to feature yet another talent as it has enough trouble doing so with a lot of guys considering it now has 5 hours of TV. I really didn’t expect Taylor to win here, even more so after Joe’s brawl with MJF right before the match foreshadowed a feud between the two. I do enjoy seeing Samoa Joe more on TV lately though, even if he is holding an ROH Title (more on that later).
Luchasaurus vs. Darby Allin (TNT Title)
Another good match (this theme would continue throughout the night). I’m really loving what they’re doing with Christian Cage and Luchasaurus, even if the TNT Title is now AEW’s least prominent single’s title (in my opinion). Taking the title and putting it back on Allin wouldn’t have been the right move here. Cage causing the distraction for the win was clever in how it was done. I don’t, however, understand how Shawn Spears fits back into this yet but hopefully we’ll see some sort of explanation this week on Dynamite or Collision. Either way, the Cage-Luchasaurus marriage thus far has been a lot of fun still has a lot of mileage left in it. I just hope that Tony Khan sees it that way also and doesn’t rush the program along.
Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
This match falls under the old adage that “it doesn’t matter who goes over but who got over.” This was also another theme throughout the evening with a lot of younger talents getting over. Watching Hobbs and Miro pound on each other was fun, albeit a tad longer than the match needed to go. AEW has something with Hobbs. They also had something with Wardlow though and we’ve seen how that’s gone. I’m looking forward to seeing this feud continues since Hobbs attacked Miro after the post-match handshake. Then, there’s also the factor of CJ Perry making her debut to save Miro during the post-handshake beatdown. Miro has used Perry as a part of his promos going back a few years now so we’ll see what they have in store with the two of them being on screen together finally.
Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho (TBS Title)
A very solid match with a bit of a weak finish. Soho and Stantlander have really good chemistry in the ring. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the finish, I am intrigued to see where Toni Storm goes from here with Soho and Saraya. I’ve loved her heel work recently since she’s sort of distanced herself from the other Outcasts. Does her helping Statlander mean that a face turn is coming? Hopefully not and they find a way to iron it out so that Storm can continue her strong work as a heel. I’ve said this recently but Storm has really hit her stride for the first time since coming to AEW recently and I’d hate to see it derailed. As for Statlander, her run as TBS Champion has hardly been memorable and she hasn’t really recaptured the magic that she had with he crowd before her injury. Here’s hoping she can find a way to recapture that sooner than later.
Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks (Strap Match)
It was at this point in the PPV that the show went from “solid in-ring” into another gear for the rest of the night. On this night, Starks is another guy that really got over even if he didn’t go over (even more so than Hobbs). The physicality of this match was tremendous in all the right ways. Hats off to Danielson for coming back a month early (according to reports) and having a great match with Starks. Danielson said after at the scrum that he found ways to protect himself since he’s not 100%. It was hard to tell and that’s why he’s still one of the best pro wrestlers in the world. As for Starks, AEW is gonna have a very hard time keeping him heel. A few weeks back he cut a promo on Collision that had a lot of fans get behind him. Starks, right now, is the AEW version of Becky Lynch circa 2018. For now, Starks should stay the course and if the crowd just turns him a face again organically then so be it.
Katsuyori Shibata & Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
This was another well worked match that had a bit of a puzzling finish. They also had the unenviable task of following Daniels and Starks. All four of these guys worked hard and the match was well paced. I do love the blatant disrespect that Claudio shows for Eddie (even if half of this feud falls behind a paywall and, I get the feeling, that the conclusion of it will go there also). Having said that, I don’t see the point in Claudio getting the pin, especially on Eddie, considering I believe this ultimately ends with Eddie pinning Claudio for the ROH Title. It just seems to go against conventional booking but having half of this feud behind a paywall is also unconventional. I guess we’ll see what Eddie does next in order to get another rematch for the ROH Title.
Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita
It could be argued that this was the match of the night. This was one of the three matches where the young up-and-comer not only went over but also got over even more. I was thrilled to see Takeshita go over on Omega again to show that AEW is really invested in him and that the rollup last week in the trios match was not a “fluke.” Again, the crowd was stunned silent at the finish but it was definitely for all the right reasons. I believe we are also delving into a program with Omega where the decorated veteran needs to rebuild himself again. Since the middle of this year, Omega has dropped some high profile matches and there’s nothing wrong with that. Much of 2019-20 was Omega putting over a lot of guys. 2021 saw Omega carry the world title in what I consider a very strong title run. This could be a rinse and repeat stage right now where we might not see the re-emergence of Omega as a world beater until sometime next year. If that’s the case, I’m more than okay with that and it could lead to some very good storytelling.
FTR & The Young Bucks vs. Bullet Club Gold
I’d much rather have seen this as the main event on Collision the night before but I still really enjoyed the match. I was also pleasantly surprised to not see the crowd hijack the match (more on that later). I assume this will lead to either a 4-way for the tag titles or maybe even a combination of these four teams having tag title matches in the coming months since there are two more PPVs between now and mid-November plus the big Grand Slam event.
Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley (AEW International Title)
First of all, kudos to Cassidy for elevating this title from being the laughing stock of AEW titles when it was announced to being the second most important title in the entire company. As this feud went on throughout the summer, I could see the writing on the wall and figured Moxley would eventually be the one to take the title from Cassidy. Up until this past week, I was fine with that and thought it was the easy decision. This past week, between the two Cassidy promos and the one that Moxley did on Collision, I flipped and didn’t want to see the run come to an end. I think that a good story can be told either way but I’m now wondering if the better choice wouldn’t have been to let someone like Ricky Starks or Jay White pick the bones of Cassidy on Dynamite or Collision to win the title had Cassidy survived this colossal challenge. Either way, this was a very good match and I’m looking forward to Moxley continuing to defend the title like he workhorse he was in 2022 with the AEW Interim World Title. I just wonder if he can still pull that off while continuing to be a heel alongside the rest of the BCC (Danielson and Moxley seem to be leaning face while Claudio and Wheeler Yuta seem to still lean heel).
Chicago Crowd
Hats off the Chicago crowd (on Collision also) for not hijacking a pair of AEW events this weekend due to one of their favorite sons (CM Punk) being fired just hours before the big weekend kicked off Saturday evening. I’m sure Tony Khan had to be nervous knowing Punk wouldn’t be available for these shows after knowing the decision he was going to have to make. The Chicago crowd did have a bit of fun with The Young Bucks on both nights but never did a true hijacking of the show. I do find it oddly intriguing that Kenny Omega or Adam Page (All Out pre-show) weren’t affected at all or even close to the level of what The Bucks even got. They really caught no shrapnel at all and the limited heat seemed to fall on Matt and Nick Jackson. Pro wrestling can be so weird sometimes.
Overall Show
This show was poorly built. There was a depression that came out Dynamite this past Wednesday that could be felt on both X and Threads through my computer and phone screen. I know there were illnesses and travel issues that affected that show. However, Tony Khan has known for months now that he had All In and All Out back-to-back weeks. We could all see the poor build for this show coming for weeks but I think it didn’t hit the masses until this past Wednesday. Add that all on top of the Punk and Jack Perry drama that dragged all week and culminated with Punk’s firing on Saturday afternoon and this weekend seemed like a setup for disaster. However, the nose started to get pulled up with the announcement of Danielson on Collision and the company didn’t look back. Does that excuse the poor build? No. I really hope Khan will learn from these mistakes on the late/minimal builds. Better late than never. Some of the problems leading into All Out were self-inflicted. Having said that, this turned out to be a very good professional wrestling show. There wasn’t a bad match on the card. A few of the finishes I didn’t like or agree with but that didn’t hurt the overall match or card quality when all was said and done. If anything, AEW is learning how to make the best of crises in its short history. However, I’m really hoping they are moving past that with the Punk situation finally coming to an end. Khan seemed more relaxed and in control at the scrum after the show than he has in a very long time. Hopefully, it’s a sign of great things to come moving forward. Overall Grade: Solid B
MISSES
ROH Titles on AEW PPVs (and television)
I’ll start by saying this. I have absolutely no problem with talent contracted to ROH showing up on AEW TV and PPVs. They all work for Khan. There’s no reason he can’t use talent as he wishes. Having said that, all ROH Titles should not be on AEW television. There were two ROH Title matches on a major AEW PPV this past weekend. There was supposed to be three but Billie Starks couldn’t get cleared to face Athena for her ROH Women’s Title. I’d love to see Athena on AEW TV! She has been doing great work but it’s all been behind the ROH paywall. She can still be ROH Champion. That doesn’t mean that she should be on AEW TV with the title and certainly doesn’t need to defend it on AEW TV shows or PPVs. That also goes for Claudio, Samoa Joe, etc. I will even admit that I was excited when Khan bought Ring of Honor outright. To me, that was a big sign that AEW starting or ending up on a streaming service was imminent that that Khan needed more content to “feed the beast.” Nearly 18 months later, this still hasn’t happened and it’s sorely need as AEW has expanded from 4 PPVs to 7 in that amount of time. At $50/show domestically, it’s going to be tough to keep the buy rates high. I suppose we all need to be patient and wait for the next TV deal to be signed though. All that aside, please keep the ROH Titles, and their defenses, off of AEW TV/PPVs going forward. AEW is already saturated with titles. I had a friend that doesn’t know the product at my house for All Out. Explaining the ROH/AEW divide and titles felt exhausting. I always knew it was a bad idea but try explaining that to someone that doesn’t know what’s going on and you’ll see how silly this concept is.
RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW ALL OUT PPV RESULTS (9/3): Keller’s report on Cassidy vs. Moxley, Danielson vs. Starks, Miro vs. Hobbs, Statlander vs. Soho, Omega vs. Takeshita
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s WWE Payback Hit List: Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the World Heavyweight Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s World Championship, LA Knight vs. The Miz
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