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.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

AEW Double or Nothing 2021

By Steve Ward

All Elite Wrestling returned to pay per view this evening with Double Or Nothing. The event emanated from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida in front of, not only a sold out crowd, but also one sold to the venue’s capacity - much unlike WWE who are still performing in front LED screens a couple hours away. This evening’s stacked card featured the defense of every AEW championship and was headlined by a double main event - Kenny Omega’s defense of the AEW World Heavyweight Championship against PAC and Orange Cassidy in a triple threat affair, as well as, a Stadium Stampede match between The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle.

The Buy-In Pre-Show:

NWA Women’s Championship

Serena Deeb (c) vs. Riho

Winner: Serena Deeb via submission

Deeb and Riho more than warmed up the capacity crowd on the lone pre-show bout as the ladies left nothing to spare with the NWA gold on the line. After targeting Riho’s knee for much of the contest, Deeb finally forced her to tap out in the end with a modified half-crab.

Main Card:

Brian Cage vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

Winner: “Hangman” Adam Page

The main card kicked off with the FTW World Champion Brian Cage representing Team Taz going toe to toe with Adam Page. These two competitors set the bar high for the remainder of the card keeping the raucous crowd on their feet for much of the bout. Brian Cage had requested that the remainder of Team Taz remain out of the match, however, that only lasted so long. In the closing moments, Brian Cage executed a spinning liger bomb, however, Hook and Ricky Starks made their way to ringside after a failed pinfall attempt. As Hook distracted the referee, Starks tossed the FTW belt to Cage so he could use it against Page. As Cage and Starks argued, Page capitalized with the Buckshot Lariat to solidify the victory.

AEW Tag Team Championship

The Young Bucks (c) w/ Don Callis & Brandon Cutler vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston

Winners: The Young Bucks via pinfall

After The Young Bucks turned their backs on Moxley several weeks ago on Dynamite and realigned themselves with Kenny Omega, Don Callis, and The Good Brothers, they in effect painted crosshairs on their backs. Following several weeks of accosting the Bucks, Moxley and Kingston found their way into a tag team title bout. Before the opening bell, a melee broke out between the two teams that finally spilled back into the ring allowing for the opening bell to sound. Not before long, The Young Bucks assumed control of the match and played the numbers game with Eddie Kingston. Just as it appeared it could be a short night for the Bucks, Moxley found his way into the match and quickly turned the tide. In what evolved into a back and forth affair, the final moments of the bout witnessed the Bucks take Kingston out of the equation before they brutalized Moxley with a Superkick Party and, not one, but four BTE Triggers. This allowed The Young Bucks to pin a bloodied Moxley to retain their titles.

Casino Battle Royal

Winner: Jungle Boy

This 21 man battle royal had high stakes at hand as the winner would receive a future world title shot. The match would see four groups of five enter the ring in five minute intervals before the “Joker” would join the fray. The groups were as follows:

Group One - Christian Cage, Matt Sydal, Dustin Rhodes, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Max Castor

Group Two - Matt Hardy, Isiah Cassidy, “Ten” Preston Vance of Dark Order, Nick Comoroto, and Serpentico

Group Three - The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison), Colt Cabana, Anthony Bowens, and Penta El Zero Mieda

Group Four - Jungle Boy, Marq Quen, Aaron Solow, Evil Uno, and Lee Johnson

The Joker - Lio Rush

The final four competitors in the match were Christian Cage, Matt Hardy, Jungle Boy, and Marq Quen. Marq Quen was quickly eliminated off the ring apron by Jungle Boy. Matt Hardy next attempted to form an alliance with Cage who seemingly was in accordance with his plan until he backstabbed him and tossed Hardy from the ring. This left Christian Cage and Jungle Boy as the final two competitors. In the final moments, Jungle Boy appeared in dire straits as he stood on the ring apron. As Cage charged him, Jungle Boy delivered a headbutt to the stomach and vaulted Christian out of the ring.

Anthony Ogogo w/ QT Marshall vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Former Nightmare Family member QT Marshall put forth his student, Olympic bronze medalist boxer, Anthony Ogogo as the challenger to Cody Rhodes this evening. Anthony Ogogo made a nice showing for himself in his pay per view debut as he mixed his boxing background in with a strong wrestling acumen which included a perfectly executed frog splash. In the end, Cody executed the Vertebreaker to secure the win.

TNT Championship

Miro (c) vs. Lance Archer

Winner: Miro via submission

Archer noticeably made his way to the ring on his own as Jake “The Snake” Roberts was assaulted by Miro at the weigh-in on Saturday. “The Murderhawk Monster” wasted no time taking the fight to Miro as he attacked him on the entrance ramp. Miro quickly reasserted himself until Jake Roberts made his way to the ring late in the match with the snake bag in tow. Miro intercepted Roberts and tossed the bag up the ramp, however, this distraction allowed Archer an opening to choke slam Miro and get himself back in the match. This wasn’t enough as moments later Archer found himself passing out at the hands of Miro in the Game Over to retain his title.

AEW Women’s Championship

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. w/ Rebel vs. Hikaru Shida (c)

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

The longest reigning champion in AEW history, Hikaru Shida, found herself facing a legitimate threat to her title this evening in the form of “The Doctor” - a woman who has climbed the women’s rankings over the past couple months to earn this opportunity. Rebel distracted the referee late in the match allowing Dr. Baker to execute a curb stomp of Shida’s head onto the women’s title, however, Shida rebounded with her patented running knee. Dr. Britt Baker was able to kick out of the subsequent pinfall and quickly cinched in the Lockjaw to secure her first 

AEW Women’s Championship.

Sting & Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky

Winners: Sting & Darby Allin via pinfall

The icon Sting made his return to the ring in a sanctioned match for the first time in six years as he tagged with his protégé Darby Allin as they fought the new tandem of “All Ego” Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky. It was hard to believe that Sting is 62 years old as he moved around the ring arguably better than he did in his short-lived WWE stint that ended with a devastating injury six years ago. Sting pulled out all the stops as he executed multiple Stinger Splashes, the Scorpion Deathlock, and finally the Scorpion Death Drop which allowed him to secure the pinfall on Scorpio Sky.

AEW World Championship Triple Threat Match

Kenny Omega (c) w/ Don Callis vs. PAC vs. Orange Cassidy

Winner: Kenny Omega via pinfall

The “Belt Collector” Kenny Omega found himself in a three way dance this evening as PAC and Orange Cassidy wrestled to a no contest recently on Dynamite in a number one contender match. In what had to have been one of the most outstanding title bouts in AEW history, the final moments saw PAC, Cassidy, and the referee all laid out after Omega assaulted all three with his variety of championship belts. Orange Cassidy then emerged from nowhere to deliver the Orange Punch to Omega. As he covered the champ for the pin attempt, referee Aubrey Edwards made her way to the ring to make the count. Omega reversed the cover attempt at two into a crucifix pin to retain his title.

Stadium Stampede Match

The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, & Ortiz) vs. The Pinnacle (MJF, Shawn Spears, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, & Wardlow) w/ Tully Blanchard

Winners: The Inner Circle via pinfall

The main event of the evening pit Chris Jericho’s, Inner Circle, against MJF’s, The Pinnacle, in a Stadium Stampede match within the confines of TIAA Bank Stadium located adjacent to Daily’s Place. In another match with high stakes, the Inner Circle would disband if they failed to emerge victorious. This match, while starting at the ring set up in the center of the football field, quickly dispersed to various locations around the stadium - including the head coach’s office where Jericho and MJF brutalized each other as Jaguars coaches Urban Meyer and Charlie Strong observed. The match eventually concluded after the action spilled back over into Daily’s Place as Sammy Guevarra and Shawn Spears brawled in the ring. Guevarra sealed the deal for the Inner Circle as he drove Spears head into a steel chair wedged between two turn buckles and then scaled to the top turnbuckle to execute a 630 Senton Splash.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

AEW Revolution 2021

By Steve Ward

All Elite Wrestling returned to pay per view this evening with a star studded show from a sold out (or as sold out as they were permitted) Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. I can safely say that I haven’t watched a pay per view from this company that I haven’t enjoyed and this one was poised to continue this trend. Some of the most anticipated matches headed into this event included the icon Sting’s return to the ring, as well as, one of the most notoriously violent matches in the history of pro wrestling - an exploding barbed wire deathmatch - for the AEW World Title.

The Buy-In Pre-Show

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. w/ Rebel & Maki Itoh vs. Thunder Rosa & Riho
Winners: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D & Maki Itoh via pinfall

The Buy-In certainly amped up the crowd by featuring some of the most talented women in AEW. This highly entertaining bout came to an abrupt end as Rebel cracked Thunder Rosa over the head with a crutch while referee Paul Turner was distracted allowing Dr. Baker to roll her up for the pinfall.

Main Card

AEW Tag Team Championship

Chris Jericho & MJF w/ Wardlow vs. The Young Bucks (c)
Winners: The Young Bucks via pinfall

The main portion of the card wasted no time getting off the ground as “Le Champion” Chris Jericho teamed with his Inner Circle cohort Maxwell Jacob Friedman to challenge The Young Bucks for the tag team titles. The ageless wonder Chris Jericho, a 30-year ring veteran, put forth a phenomenal effort, however, it wasn’t quite enough as Le Champion succumbed to the Meltzer Driver at the hands of the Young Bucks to secure the pinfall for the defending champs.

Casino Tag Team Battle Royale
Winners: Death Triangle - PAC and Rey Fenix

AEW put a unique spin on their traditional Casino Battle Royale by introducing a tag team incarnation. The rules stated a new team would enter every 90 seconds and a team would only be eliminated when both members were eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. If that weren’t enough, the winners would earn a shot at the AEW tag team titles. The competitors (in their order of entry) included The Natural Nightmares, Dark Order members 5 and 10, Santana and Ortiz, Matt and Mike Sydal, Dark Order’s Evil Uno and Stu Grayson, The Gunn Club, “Pretty” Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi, The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison), Bear Country, Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus), Butcher and the Blade, Private Party, SCU (“The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian), Death Triangle’s PAC and Rey Fenix, and Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds. The final four in the ring were John Silver, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, PAC, and Rey Fenix - leaving the Death Triangle members as the only intact team remaining. Jon Silver was the first eliminated by Fenix who walked the ropes and delivered a kick to his jaw as he hung on for dear life from the ring apron. PAC was the next to go as Jungle Boy ducked and pulled down the top rope down allowing the charging PAC’s momentum to propel him from the ring. Finally, in a blazing fury of action, Jungle Boy’s momentum was halted by a stiff kick in the face that allowed Fenix to clothesline him over the top rope to earn the victory.

AEW Women’s Championship
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Ryo Mizunami
Winner: Hikaru Shida via pinfall

This match came to fruition after Ryo Mizunami shocked the pro wrestling world by surviving the Women’s Title Eliminator tournament and overcoming Nyla Rose in the finals this past week on Dynamite. Ryo gave Shida all she could handle and withstood multiple Falcon Arrows before she finally fell victim to a brutal kick to the head that allowed the champ to retain her title. Following the bout, a brief melee ensued as Nyla Rose, Dr. Britt Baker, and Rebel jumped Shida and Mizunami until Thunder Rosa came to the rescue and cleared the ring.

Miro and Kip Sabian w/ Penelope Ford vs. Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy
Winners: Kip Sabian and Miro via submission

Before this match could even begin, Cassidy and Taylor were ambushed by their opponents backstage. After Miro used Taylor’s head and forearm to break a glass window, he dragged him to the ring where the contest began as a handicap match until Cassidy stumbled out to the ring several minutes later to even the odds. The closing moments saw Miro assert himself as an unstoppable force as he finally finished Taylor off with The Game Over for the submission victory.

Big Money Match
Matt Hardy vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
Winner: “Hangman” Adam Page

Following Hardy’s failed attempt to persuade a drunk Page to sign a contract with him that would financially benefit Matt, an interesting stipulation arose for this match as the winner would collect all of his opponent’s income from the first quarter of 2021. In the closing moments of this bout, Hardy’s associates, Private Party, made their way to ringside to serve as a distraction. It appeared their efforts would prove to be the deciding factor as Hardy executed the Side Effect and Twist of Fate, however, it wasn’t enough. The reinforcements for Adam Page then made their way to the ring in the form of The Dark Order. Adam Page shortly thereafter hit the Buckshot Lariat to put Hardy away.

Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match
“Platinum” Max Caster vs. Lance Archer w/ Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page
Winner: Scorpio Sky

This contest had five of the six competitors designated prior to this evening with the final surprise entrant revealed as former two-time Impact Tag Team Champion, as one half of The North, Ethan Page. The winner of this match would be crowned after ascending to the top of the ladder and retrieving the literal brass ring suspended above the ring earning him a shot at Darby Allin for the TNT Championship. The closing moments saw Cody and Sky face-to-face at the top of the ladder trading blows. Cody and his battered left shoulder could only hang on for so long as he was dropped to the canvas allowing Scorpio Sky to retrieve the brass ring setting up a title opportunity this Wednesday.

The next segment revealed the “hall of fame worthy” wrestler who would be signing a long term deal with AEW, as alluded to by Paul Wight this past Wednesday. After a countdown on the screen, he was revealed as none other than Christian Cage! Cage made his way to the ring with a contract in hand where he signed it, left it in the center of the ring, and departed.

Street Fight
Sting and Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks
Winners: Sting and Darby Allin via pinfall

Darby Allin had found himself with a target on his back for the past several months following his rejection of the invitation to join Team Taz until he found some backup in the form of the icon Sting. Their rivalry finally came to a head this evening in the form of a street fight at an undisclosed location. The fact this was a “cinematic match” made perfect sense being positioned just before the main event as it allowed the ring crew to set the stage for the Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. As far as cinematic matches go, this ended up being one of the better efforts I’ve seen. Sting and Allin overcame the numbers game when Powerhouse Hobbs and Hook came to the aid of Cage and Starks as the great equalizers proved to be the signature baseball bat and then a shovel in the hands of Sting. The match reached it’s conclusion as Sting executed the Scorpion Death Drop on Ricky Starks to earn the pinfall.

AEW World Heavyweight Championship Expolding Barbed Wire Death Match
Kenny Omega (c) w/ Don Callis vs. Jon Moxley
Winner: Kenny Omega via pinfall

The main event of the evening saw Jon Moxley attempt to regain his title from Kenny Omega in an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. In this match the ring ropes were covered with barbed wire rigged with explosives that would be triggered on contact on three sides of the ring and if that weren’t enough, the ring would “explode” if the match reached 30 minutes. Additionally, the referee for the bout was dressed in a flame retardant hazmat suit with a face shield to add to the narrative for the gravity of the situation. This was a bloody, visceral affair that sadly saw its conclusion come with the interference of The Good Brothers who allowed Kenny Omega to gain the upper hand. Omega used this advantage and proceeded to execute a One Winged Angel that broke Moxley’s body over a chair allowing him to secure the pinfall retention of his title. Following the match, Omega, Gallows, and Anderson left Moxley handcuffed in the ring as the timer was displayed in the arena counting down to the detonation of all the remaining explosives. 

As Omega and The Good Brothers exited with Don Callis, Eddie Kingston made his way to the ring to rescue Moxley. In what ended up being a truly comedic moment, that drew an onslaught of boos from the crowd, Kingston covered Moxley (as if to protect him from the imminent explosion) only for sparklers to fire from the ring posts and firecrackers to go off on the ropes - but give credit AEW for putting forth their best effort to sell it as Kingston remained on top of Moxley seemingly rendered unconscious from the “devastating” explosion, the commentary team responded with shock and terror, and the medical team swarmed the ring. Despite this development, it was a solid and entertaining main event to conclude the show minus this blunder.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

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.”

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!