AEW All Out 2021

By Steve Ward

All Elite Wrestling returned to pay-per-view this evening with arguably their most anticipated event to date as All Out emanated from the Now Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The plethora of star power saturating this stacked card was undeniable with the majority of the publicity drawn to the nuclear level return to the ring of CM Punk for the first time in seven years! Including Punk’s return, the card featured nine matches with every AEW title on the line.

TNT Championship

Miro (c) vs. Eddie Kingston

Winner: Miro via pinfall

Miro, once known as Rusev in WWE, entered the ring tonight to defend his TNT Championship and his blemish-free 13-0 record against one of his most challenging competitors to date, the ring veteran Eddie Kingston. Kingston appeared poised to capture his first championship in AEW after he executed a perfect DDT late in the match, however, the referee was distracted by an exposed turnbuckle and didn’t commence with his count promptly enough. Moments later, Miro struck Kingston with a mule kick between the uprights as the ref was once again distracted. Miro followed this up with a stiff kick to Kingston’s head allowing him to secure the 1-2-3.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Jon Moxley

Winner: Jon Moxley via pinfall

Jon Moxley sent an open contract to New Japan Pro Wrestling which was accepted by one man, the Japanese legend Satoshi Kojima. Moxley was able to overcome Kojima in a hard-hitting Japanese strong style encounter as he executed consecutive Paradigm Shifts to put him away. Following the match, the music of another Japanese legend, Minoru Suzuki, echoed through the arena throwing the already raucous crowd into a frenzy. The two men proceeded to trade blows while laughing before Suzuki delivered his signature piledriver leaving Moxley laid out in the ring.

AEW Women’s Championship

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (c) w/ Rebel & Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander w/ Orange Cassidy

Winner: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. via submission

The second title bout of the evening pit the top women’s contender, Kris Statlander, against Dr. Britt Baker who has been on the most dominant stretch of her career since taking the title from Hikaru Shida. Kris Statlander demonstrated tremendous resistance, however, she wasn’t able to execute any of her high-risk attempts which left her vulnerable in the end as the doctor executed the Pittsburgh Sunrise, a curb stomp, and the Lockjaw in succession allowing her to retain the AEW Women’s Championship via submission.

AEW Tag Team Championship Steel Cage Match

The Young Bucks (c) w/ Don Callis, The Good Brothers, & Brandon Cutler vs. The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) w/ Alex Abrahantes

Winners: The Lucha Bros via pinfall

With the Young Bucks being the benefactors of constant outside interference in their matches as of late, this match evolved into one that would be contested in a steel cage. These teams left absolutely nothing in the ring in this contest. After Penta was unable to seal the deal with an Avalanche Canadian Destroyer, his brother pulled off the most death-defying move of the match just moments later. Rey Fenix scaled to the top of the cage and dove off taking out the Young Bucks. The Lucha Bros then executed a spike package piledriver to put an exclamation point on earning their first AEW Tag Team Championship.

Women’s Casino Battle Royale

Winner: Ruby Soho

The winner of the 21-woman Casino Battle Royale would earn a future AEW Women’s Title opportunity. The women would enter in four groups of five with the “Joker” being the last entrant.

Clubs Group

Hikaru Shida

Skye Blue

Emi Sakura

The Bunny 

Abadon

Diamonds Group

Anna Jay

Kierra Hogan

Kilyn King

Diamante

Nyla Rose

Hearts Group

Thunder Rosa

Penelope Ford

Riho

Jaime Hayter

Big Swole

Spades Group

Tay Conti

Red Velvet

“Legit” Leyla Hirsch

Jade Cargill

Rebel

Joker

Ruby Soho

The final four combatants in the battle royale were Tay Conti, Ruby Soho, Thunder Rosa, and Nyla Rose.  The first elimination saw Tay Conti launched from the ring apron by The Native Beast. Next, Thunder Rosa delivered a brutal dropkick to Nyla Rose that also dropped her to the arena floor leaving Thunder Rosa and the debuting Ruby Soho as the final two competitors. Ruby Soho and Thunder Rosa found themselves battling on the ring apron in the final moments as Soho (formerly known as Ruby Riott in WWE) delivered a kick to the head of Thunder Rosa that made her lose her footing and fall to the floor crowning Soho the winner and the recipient of a future title shot.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF

Winner: Chris Jericho via submission

After Jericho conquered the first four labors of Jericho, he lost his match to MJF in the fifth and final labor via submission. Jericho demanded one final match against MJF and in order to get it, he put his in-ring career on the line. Late in the contest, Wardlow made his way to ringside only to be intercepted by Jake Hager. As referee Aubrey Edwards was distracted, MJF grabbed Jericho’s baseball bat, Floyd, and struck him. MJF then hit Jericho’s own move The Judas Effect and covered him for a three count, however, Jericho’s foot was on the rope. Referee Paul Turner made his way to ringside and alerted Aubrey Edwards to what occurred leading her to restart the match. Jericho proceeded to cinch in The Walls of Jericho prompting MJF to tap out, hence, saving his career.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin w/ Sting

Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

CM Punk made his triumphant return to professional wrestling just a few weeks ago on the second ever episode of AEW Rampage and immediately challenged Darby Allin to be the man he would go toe to toe with in his in-ring return. The biggest question with this match would be the level of ring rust for Punk in his first match in seven years. Punk returned in shape and quickly engaged in a technical match as he attempted to slow down the high flying Allin. Late in the match, CM Punk appeared to be in dire straits after Allin unleashed his aerial assault - most notably a Swanton delivered to Punk who stood on the arena floor. In the closing moments, Allin scaled to the top rope for the Coffin Drop only to have Punk sit up at the last second. Punk then quickly answered with the Go To Sleep to secure the victory.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall w/ The Factory

Winner: Paul Wight via pinfall

In another massive return to the ring, Paul Wight (better known as The Giant in WCW and The Big Show in WWE) would square off with the leader of The Factory, QT Marshall. Paul made quick work of Freehold, New Jersey’s QT Marshall as he put him down with a choke slam for his first AEW victory.

AEW World Championship

Kenny Omega (c) w/ Don Callis vs. Christian Cage

Winner: Kenny Omega via pinfall

Christian Cage faced Kenny Omega for the second time in a month this evening and again it was for a world title. The last time they squared off was on the debut episode of Rampage where Cage captured one of Omega’s titles, the Impact Wrestling Heavyweight Championship. Christian gave Kenny Omega all he could handle but in the end Cage’s top rope Killswitch attempt was thwarted by Don Callis’ interference. This distraction was all Omega needed to hit the One Winged Angel from the top turnbuckle in order to put away Christian Cage and retain his title.

The events following the conclusion of the main event may have constituted one of the greatest endings to a pay-per-view I’ve ever witnessed. First, The Elite joined Omega in the ring and commenced in a vicious beat down of Christian Cage. Jurassic Express attempted to rescue their ally only to be overwhelmed by the number’s game. As Omega celebrated with The Elite in the ring, he proclaimed essentially that he couldn’t be beaten for his title. Omega was then interrupted as the lights went out. When they again illuminated the arena, the crowd erupted at the appearance of Adam Cole! Cole made his way to the ring and instead of confronting the world champion, he delivered a super kick to the jaw of Jungle Boy and embraced The Elite. Kenny Omega once again grabbed the mic and was about to bid the crowd a good night as he was interrupted yet again. This time a new rendition of a very familiar entrance theme reverberated throughout the Now Arena. All in attendance engaged in a deafening roar as Brian Danielson (most recently known as Daniel Bryan in WWE) emerged from the entrance tunnel and made his way to the ring to echoing “Yes!!!” chants. Danielson joined Christian and Jurassic Express as they cleared the ring of The Elite to close the show.

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AEW Full Gear 2020

By Steve Ward

All Elite Wrestling returned to pay per view this evening as Full Gear emanated from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. As has been the case for the past couple months, AEW continued to make WWE look bad as they allowed a limited number of fans to attend - whereas WWE continues with their dystopian virtual fans. Aside from the impressive card for this evening’s event where five titles were defended, rumors have also run rampant as of late that “The Villain” Marty Scurll and/or the legendary Sting could make their presence known. This is yet another reason why AEW has continued to build momentum - they have successfully maintained a strong blend of veteran stars while still developing younger talent all while treating fans to the element of surprise, something that is quite difficult today with everything spoiled on social media.

The Buy-In Pre-Show

NWA Women’s Championship

Serena Deeb (c) vs. Allysin Kay

Winner: Serena Deeb via submission

Following Serena Deeb’s shocking victory over Thunder Rosa in a non-televised event a couple weeks ago, AEW again elected to have the NWA Women’s Title showcased on pay per view. Deeb’s challenger this evening was former Impact Wrestling Women’s Champion and recent NWA star Allysin Kay (formerly known as Sienna). It was noted by the commentators that Kay recently parted ways with the NWA hence providing her with a strong platform to put her in place for a potential signing with AEW. Kay put forth a solid showing in this contest, however, Deeb was able to cinch in the Serenity Lock allowing her to walk away with the submission victory.

Following the match, former champion Thunder Rosa made her way to the ring for a face to face with Deeb as one would expect an eventual rematch between the two.

Main Card

AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals

Kenny Omega vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

Winner: Kenny Omega via pinfall

As was expected when the bracket was released for this tournament with these competitors on opposite sides, they made their way through the field of eight to face one another in the finals. The stakes were high in this contest as the one to emerge victorious between the former co-tag team champions would earn a future world title opportunity. In a phenomenal opening match to the main card, Adam Page gave Kenny Omega everything he could handle. As the match approached it’s conclusion, Page hit the Deadeye and then attempted the Buckshot Lariat. Unable to connect on the Buckshot proved to be his fatal flaw as Omega countered with the One Winged Angel to seal the victory.

Orange Cassidy vs. John “4”Silver

Winner: Orange Cassidy via pinfall

In what has become a newly budding rivalry the past couple weeks, “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy was pitted against John Silver of Brodie Lee’s Dark Order faction in a huge spot on pay per view for #4. John Silver put on what was quite possibly his best match in his AEW career but it wasn’t enough as Cassidy finished him off with the Orange Punch and Beach Blast to earn the pinfall victory.

TNT Championship

Cody Rhodes (c) w/ Arn Anderson vs. Darby Allin

Winner: Darby Allin via pinfall

These two men met each other this evening for the fourth time with Cody prevailing in each of their previous three encounters. This time was different, however, as it was for Cody’s newly regained TNT Championship. Cody also hoped to not only retain his title but also silence Allin’s claims that he could never be the face of TNT. Prior to the beginning of the match there were two significant occurrences. First, Mike Chioda was introduced as the referee - making his second appearance for AEW since falling victim to WWE’s budget cuts in April (despite being with them since the late ‘80s). Second, Cody was finally able to be introduced as Cody Rhodes as WWE finally dropped their trademark on his name. Cody absolutely dominated this bout, however, he was unable to put away the relentless Allin. Rhodes allowed Darby to hang around too long and it ended up costing him in the end. The final moments of the match saw a series of back and forth rollup pin attempts that finally saw Allin shock the fans in attendance and win the title.

Following the match, Rhodes presentation of the title to Allin was interrupted by Taz. As Taz belittled Rhodes and Allin, Brian Cage and Ricky Starks of Team Taz ambushed them from behind and laid waste to the men until Will Hobbs came to their rescue with a steel chair in tow.

AEW Women’s Championship

Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Nyla Rose w/ Vickie Guerrero

Winner: Hikaru Shida via pinfall

These two women finally met again this evening following Shida leaving victorious with Rose’s title in a no holds barred match months ago. Hikaru Shida put forth an impressive display against The Native Beast. After overcoming a kendo stick strike to the knee at the hands of Vickie Guerrero early on, Shida demonstrated exceptional strength headlined by not one, but two, Falcon Arrows - one of the avalanche variety off the top turnbuckle. After executing the second Falcon Arrow, Shida finished off Rose with several knee strikes to the head.

AEW Tag Team Championship

FTR (c) vs. The Young Bucks

Winners: The Young Bucks via pinfall

The Young Bucks earned their shot this evening after prevailing in a four way dance with The Butcher and The Blade, The Lucha Bros, and Private Party on a recent edition of Dynamite. The Young Bucks, who have yet to taste championship gold in AEW, proclaimed they would never challenge for the titles again if they could not win this evening. Another substantial factor in this bout was the banning of Tully Blanchard from the corner of FTR as he often serves as a significant distraction, if nothing else. This match started slow but certainly didn’t end that way. In the closing moments, The Young Bucks overcame the Mindbreaker as Nick Jackson first executed a 450 splash and then Matt Jackson avoided a subsequent springboard 450 splash from Cash Wheeler and answered with a super kick to earn the pinfall and the tag team titles.

Elite Deletion Match

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Winner: Matt Hardy via pinfall

After months of feuding between these two men, including their match at All Out where Hardy took an ugly bump, this evening should prove to be the climax of their rivalry. What is an “Elite Deletion Match?” Your guess would have been as good as mine as no details were divulged in advance of this encounter. The match kicked off at the Hardy Compound in Cameron, North Carolina as Sammy drove his golf cart onto the grounds only to have it run over by a monster truck driven by Hardy. This then immediately turned into hardcore, backyard brawl before it spilled into the wrestling ring in Hardy’s yard. The bout quickly turned to a three on three melee as Sammy’s Inner Circle cohorts Santana and Ortiz came to his assistance, however, Hardy’s protégés Private Party soon assisted him. As Hardy appeared primed to put away Guevara, he was distracted by a masked man attacking The Hurricane! The masked man was then revealed as Gangrel - make it a four on four affair as The Hurricane sided with Hardy and Gangrel with the Inner Circle.

Hardy and Guevara then found themselves segregated from the other men inside the shed on the Hardy Compound which contained yet another ring with a ladder and table set up within. Guevara found himself in control briefly as he laid Hardy out on the table. Sammy then proceeded to scale the ominous ladder and propelled Matt through the table with a Swanton Bomb. This couldn’t put Hardy away as he got back to his feet and hit the Twist of Fate. Sammy also kicked out of this so Hardy proceeded to brutalize Sammy with several chair shots before he finally covered him for the pinfall.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF w/ Wardlow

Winner: MJF via pinfall

This match held significant implications as the stipulation indicated if MJF were to come out victorious, he would earn membership in Jericho’s Inner Circle. Jericho pulled out all the stops and then some as he continues to amaze in the ring at age 50. Jericho executed a perfect Lionsault and Frankensteiner, however, MJF was able to cheat his way to victory in the end. MJF had Wardlow make his way to ringside and distract the referee as he attempted to strike Jericho with the Dynamite Diamond ring. After MJF missed, Jericho was tossed a baseball bat by Jake Hager who emerged at ringside. MJF saw the strike coming and preemptively dropped to the canvas to make the referee believe Y2J struck him. As Aubrey Edwards reprimanded Jericho, MJF rolled him up for the pinfall to become a member of the Inner Circle.

AEW Heavyweight Championship “I Quit” Match

Jon Moxley (c) vs. Eddie Kingston

Winner: Jon Moxley

In arguably the biggest match of his 18 year career, Eddie Kingston found himself in the main event of the evening vying for the AEW Heavyweight Championship against Jon Moxley. This match became personal due to the extensive history between the two dating back to the independent scene and Kingston’s claim that he never gave up in their previous encounter (as he passed out from the submission hold applied by Moxley) - hence it’s evolution into an “I Quit” match. This was a brutal, bloody affair complete with barbed wire, tacks, and chairs - Kingston even poured a full bottle of rubbing alcohol on the back of Moxley after it was punctured with tacks as the result of a suplex into a pile of them. The conclusion of the match saw Moxley wrap his forearm in barbed wire and proceed to cinch in a chokehold that prompted Kingston to utter the words, “I Quit.”

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AEW ALL OUT 2020

By Steve Ward

All Elite Wrestling returned to pay per view this evening from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The outdoor, stadium seating venue, attached to TIAA Bank Field, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been the residence of all of the promotion’s programming for the past few months and recently has been permitted to welcome real fans (unlike WWE’s virtual Thunderdome) with an operating capacity of 10% - which translates to about 500 spectators. This evening’s stacked card was headlined by Jon Moxley defending the AEW Heavyweight Championship against MJF in addition to the 21-man Casino Battle Royale to determine the future number one contender for the Heavyweight title.

The Buy-In Pre-Show

Joey Janela w/ Sonny Kiss vs. Serpentico w/ Luther

Winner: Joey Janela via pinfall

The pride of Asbury Park, New Jersey, “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela, opened the evening with a match against the enigmatic Serpentico. This entertaining opening bout concluded with the delivery of a devastating top rope elbow drop solidifying the victory.

Private Party vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver)

Winners: Private Party via pinfall

Following a very physical display from The Dark Order, Private Party were able to execute Gin and Juice to escape with the pinfall victory.

Main Card

Tooth and Nail Match

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. w/ Rebel vs. Big Swole Winner: Big Swole The opening contest pit Dr. Britt Baker appearing in her first match in several months against Big Swole in the confines of what was allegedly Dr. Baker’s dentist’s office. I interpreted this match as a way to ease Dr. Baker back into action as she is an outstanding in-ring performer who didn’t have the opportunity to display her abilities in this contest. The underwhelming bout ended as Big Swole pinned Dr. Baker down on a dentist’s chair and placed the mask to administer knock-out gas on her face until she was unconscious for the win.

Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy) w/ Marco Stunt vs. The Young Bucks

Winners: The Young Bucks via pinfall The first match of the main card to be held in the ring pit two of the top five ranked tag teams in AEW against each other. Blink and you would’ve missed some of the fast and furious action in this contest. The final moments left Jungle Boy exposed after Luchasaurus vaulted into the collective of wrestlers at ringside. The Young Bucks solidified the victory after they executed the BTE Trigger on “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry.

Casino Battle Royale

Winner: “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer

This 21-man battle royale presented extremely high stakes as the winner would earn a future shot at the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. This star studded match included “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, Jake Hager, Brian Cage, Lance Archer, The Lucha Bros, The Butcher and the Blade, Frankie Kazarian, Billy Gunn, and Darby Allin to name a few. The match also featured the debut of Matt Sydal (also known as Evan Bourne from his WWE days) as he drew the wild card for the match. The final four participants in the bout were The Butcher (also known as Everytime I Die guitarist Andy Williams), Matt Sydal, Lance Archer, and Eddie Kingston. The Butcher was the first to be eliminated by Archer. Kingston eliminated Sydal as the two battled on the apron. Finally, Archer and Eddie Kingston found themselves fighting on the ring apron while Kingston’s cohorts, The Butcher and the Blade, attempted to pull Archer to the floor. Archer’s manager Jake “The Snake” Roberts distracted Kingston enough with his trademark snake in the bag so The Murderhawk Monster was able to propel Kingston into Butcher and the Blade for the victory.

Broken Rules Match

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Winner: Matt Hardy

Following several weeks of feuding between Hardy and Guevara, the two competed in a Broken Rules Match this evening. Essentially, this was a last man standing match which meant the winner would be declared after he could incapacitate his opponent to the point where he could not answer the referee’s ten count. This contest held potentially severe repercussions as Matt Hardy declared he would end his AEW career if he were unable to defeat The Spanish God. The match started near the football field and quickly proceeded to the backstage area of Daily’s Place. It appeared the match was cut prematurely short as Hardy took an ugly fall through a table and bounced his head off the concrete floor after which referee Aubrey Edwards called for the bell. Hardy then stalked Guevara back to the ringside area where the match was restarted at the ringside doctor‘s discretion. The two men then battled to the top of the ring entrance scaffolding where Hardy launched Guevara through the stage below. Guevara was unable to respond to the referee’s ten count hence proclaiming Hardy the victor.

AEW Women’s Championship

Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Thunder Rosa

Winner: Hikaru Shida via pinfall Hikaru Shida put her 105 day reign on the line this evening as she squared off with the current NWA Women’s World Champion, Thunder Rosa. On a side note, Thunder Rosa may have one of the best billings upon her entrance to the ring as Justin Roberts announced her from the graveyards of Tijuana, Mexico. This match was absolutely phenomenal and was quite possibly the best women’s match I’ve seen in a while. They displayed excellent technical prowess as old school moves such as The Pendulum used by Thunder Rosa and the Stretch Muffler by Shida were on display in this match, as well as, some proficient striking. Shida finally put Thunder Rosa away with a devastating sliding knee strike for the pinfall.

The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, & Colt Cabana) vs. The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall), Matt Cardona, & Scorpio Sky

Winners: The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall), Matt Cardona, & Scorpio Sky

This match came to fruition after Brodie Lee decimated Cody Rhodes on Dynamite a few weeks ago to become the new TNT Champion and the rest of the Nightmare Family rallied for him. In the closing moments of this frenetically paced match, Colt Cabana begged for a tag back into the ring from Brodie Lee. Cabana then ascended to the top turnbuckle and attempted a moonsault, however, Dustin Rhodes rolled out of the way and quickly captured Colt in a rollup pin for the victory.

AEW Tag Team Championship

Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. FTR w/ Tully Blanchard
Winners: FTR via pinfall

Following FTR’s (better known as The Revival in WWE so one could speculate that FTR stands for F&ck The Revival but I digress) shocking debut on Dynamite earlier this summer, they immediately solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the tag team division and set their sights on the champions, Page and Omega. One had to wonder entering this match how Omega and Page would co-exist after weeks of failing to remain on the same page despite managing to retain their titles. The descent within The Elite finally culminated recently as The Young Bucks kicked Page out of The Elite on Dynamite. Late in the contest, Page received a V Trigger from Omega after half of FTR ducked out of the way. Omega was then rewarded with a chop block that incapacitated him for the remainder of the bout. Page finally fell victim to the number’s game as he suffered a pair of spike piledrivers labeled The Mind Breaker as new tag team champions were crowned.

Mimosa Mayhem Match

Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy

Winner: Orange Cassidy

Following a quite entertaining feud between two of the most charismatic wrestlers in the industry, Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy’s rubber match would be in the form of a Mimosa Mayhem Match where the winner would be declared by pinfall, submission, or submerging his opponent in a mimosa-filled vat. The closing moments of the match saw Chris Jericho teetering on the middle turnbuckle with the mimosa vat just beneath him as Orange Cassidy executed two consecutive superman punches - the second launching Le Champion into the vat.

AEW Heavyweight Championship

Jon Moxley (c) vs. MJF w/ Wardlow

Winner: Jon Moxley via pinfall

The undefeated MJF spent the past several weeks “campaigning” his way into this contest for his first title shot in AEW. During his campaigning, he did manage to implement one key stipulation for this bout where Moxley would not have the luxury to utilize his signature finisher, The Paradigm Shift. In the closing moments, Wardlow distracted the referee and tossed the Dynamite Diamond ring into MJF, however, this created the window of opportunity that Moxley needed. With the referee still engaged with Wardlow, Moxley executed his patented Paradigm Shift allowing him to pin the bloodied MJF to retain his title and solidify his future date with Jake Roberts’ Murderhawk Monster, Lance Archer.

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