AEW ALL OUT: The Review

This weekend fans were treated to plenty of awesome wrestling content and following the WWE’s NXT UK takeover event it was time for AEW to have their spotlight and boy did they go All Out (pun totally intended). From the get-go, the night was jam-packed full of fantastic wrestling, must-see bouts, revelations and a clear indication of what is to come when it boils down to the future of AEW. However, just what were the very best moments of the night? Let's take a look back.

The Match of the Night?

My personal favourite match of the night came from Pac vs Kenny Omega. While I was beyond excited to see the original contest between Omega and Moxley this sure did make for an excellent replacement and is bound to go down as an AEW classic and a potential match of the year candidate. The two incredibly fast-paced, athletic, and skilled stars went toe to toe in a nail-biting bout leaving us all on the edge of our seats. As Pacs’s first AEW match up he sure did prove a point and send a message and he has been highlighted as a for sure future champion. The spots throughout this match demonstrated exactly why these are two of the very best in the world today and the surprise ending seeing Pac defeat Omega has most certainly got fans talking. I also loved the fact this match was placed within the first hour of the show!

Hardcore Wrestling At its Best

One of the matches I personally anticipated the most was the hardcore triple threat contest between Jimmy Havok, Darby Allen and Joey Janella. As the three leading faces in the AEW Hardcore scene this was a match I could not wait to see and boy did they live up to expectation.  The spots performed throughout this match were unlike anything else I have seen before. We had some truly unique moments from the get-go including the spots involving barrels and Jimmy Havoc having thumbtacks placed in his mouth and his mouth then tapped up. Speaking of Havoc, it was the UK Star who walked away with the deserving and needed victory however, there really was no weak man in this bout. Darby Allen continues to be an AEW standout with incredible moments throughout this triple threat while Janella stands out as an important figure on the roster. This match really did have it all and was right up my street!

The Future of AEW and Pro Wrestling

When you look at the AEW roster there’s a real mixture of talent all sporting different levels of experience, however, the young stars of AEW and the future of pro wrestling really were on show this weekend at All Out. The opening contest saw a clash of experience VS rookies when SCU went toe to toe with Jungle Boy, Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus in what was a brilliant six-man tag team match. Incredibly fast-paced and exciting we got to see a collision of era’s here and while the team of Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy and Stunt failed to pick up the win they most certainly turned heads! These three men have a huge future ahead of them and their performances this past Saturday were most certainly stand out, to say the least. It’s these three names fan can expect to see grow more and more as the weeks go by. Luchasaurus is an incredibly skilled, fast-paced and powerful talent with a level of diversity and experience on his side while young talents Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt are leaving the wrestling world incredibly excited so early into their careers. 

Cody Rhodes vs Shawn Spears

When it comes to matches that really did have it all in terms of entertainment Shawn Spears vs Cody Rhodes was right up there! The storytelling throughout this match was brilliant and the involvement of Tully Blanchard, MJF and Arn Anderson added so much to not only this match but the night as a whole. There was great emphasis on the incredible talent on the roster while also highlighting just how big AEW really is thanks to its connections with all-time greats. This may not have been the best wrestling match of the night but these two former WWE stars proved a heck of a lot and had one of the most personal and entertaining bouts of the evening.  

Women’s Division Work

I’ve said it a few times before but it's clear that the AEW women’s division does need some work. They have some incredible names apart of the roster but moving forward this is an area of the promotion that needs more work and attention. During Saturday’s show, however, Rhio and Hikaru Shida tore the house down in an incredible one on one contest. The matchup was set to determine who would go on to face Nyla Rose in the hopes of becoming the first-ever AEW Women’s champion and with Shida and Rhio being so well matched in terms of their talent this was one of the more unpredictable bouts of the evening. We saw plenty of back and forth action with both women having a great all-round performance, several brilliant spots an all-round close called match which worked as a brilliant addition to the show. Rhio did walk away with the win and considering her history with Rose their future encounter should make for an interesting one to say the least.  

Tag Team Excellence

There’s nothing that brings me greater joy than seeing tag team wrestling given the spotlight it deserves and at Saturday’s All Out PPV that is exactly what we got! The Lucha Brothers and the Young Bucks are no stranger to each other, colliding six times this year alone and they sure as hell provided another instant classic this weekend. Again, this was a match that left you feeling as though they genuinely could not have given more than they did! The spots performed in this match were simply at a completely different level and beyond incredible. All four men proved to be the best in the world of tag team wrestling today after putting on what is arguably the best tag team bout of he year.

Now, things were not over in the tag team division after the Lucha Brothers scored the win retaining the titles as the surprise appearance and attack at the hands of former IMPACT Wrestling Stars Santana and Ortiz left everyone in utter shock as the AEW tag-team division grows! A true mark out moment for me! 

History is Made

And finally, we have the main event, Hangman Page vs Chris Jericho and wow. Simply, wow. This was an incredibly competitive and close called! It was very difficult to predict just who walk out the victor leaving everyone completely hooked, invested and on the edge of their seats. There was plenty of hype around this contest and the pair most certainly lived up to it. After several close calls, it was in fact Chris Jericho who walked away with the win making history and becoming the first-ever AEW World Heavyweight Champion. Was I surprised? No. In all honesty, this didn’t surprise me. While I was personally rooting for Hangman Page its clear that Jericho picking up the win makes the most sense and benefits the company the best. This was a strong and sensible booking decision and I’m very excited for his reign as champion. We should also touch on the fact the company also made history booking the first-ever female referee to work the main event of a PPV between two men and what an incredible job Aubrey did!

Wow! What a show! I can honestly say I enjoyed every single match on the AEW All Out card. The show provided fans with a bit of everything and sent a clear message once again to the wrestling world. We saw the future on show, all time greats, hall of famers, hardcore matches, brilliant performances from the women’s division, tag team wrestling excellence and some of the best wrestlers in the world today in action! This was evidently another successful night for AEW and I can honestly say I cannot wait for October to roll around.  

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