Powell’s AEW September to Remember Hit List: Strong talking segments and several qualifying matches, what worked and didn’t work on the All Out go-home show

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

AEW September to Remember Hits

Contract signing for Hangman Page vs. Kyle Fletcher at AEW All Out: This was on the high end of contract signing segments. Fletcher came off more confident than cocky in that it felt like his character truly believed what he was saying about winning the AEW World Championship rather than displaying false bravado. Meanwhile, Page set the table for the more likely path by saying what Fletcher does after he loses on Saturday will define him. The added stipulation that Fletcher will be stripped of the TNT Title if anyone from the Callis Family interferes raised the stakes while all but guaranteeing that Callis and his crew won’t play a part in the finish. However, the wording of the stipulation does leave the door open for someone outside the Callis Family to interfere. For some reason, Chris Jericho popped into my head as a possibility, but that’s just a shot in the dark, as there are plenty of other wrestlers could get involved.

“FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler meet with Adam Copeland and Christian Cage: Copeland delivered some of his best AEW mic work. The heels held up their end, and Christian made his limited words count, but Copeland really carried what turned out to be one of the most entertaining segments on the show. It’s unfortunate that Harwood’s nose was damaged, but the image of him mean-facing Copeland and Cage while his nose bled was great.

Bobby Lashley vs. Toa Liona: This match jumped out when it was announced. We need more big men battles in AEW. Tony Khan seems to prefer small, acrobatic wrestlers, which is fine, but he company could use a little more variety when it comes to wrestlers coming in all shapes and sizes. Lashley gave Liona a good amount of offense before going over, but the post-match with MVP and Shelton Benjamin destroying Ricochet and Kaun was baffling. Perhaps it’s a sign that Ricochet and the Gates of Agony will be winning the trios match at the pay-per-view, but why take away heat from the heels going into the match?

Thekla vs. Queen Aminata in a No Holds Barred match: Hard work from both wrestlers. Thekla appeared to be woozy after Aminata threw the chair at her head. It looked like Thekla had her hands up, but perhaps the chair managed to make contact. That might explain why they quickly went to the finish after that spot. At the risk of coming off like Captain Hindsight, did Thekla really need to be in a hardcore match just days before she will be one of the challengers in the four-way for the AEW Women’s Championship?

“The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson in a qualifier for the four-way ladder match for the AEW Tag Team Titles at All Out: A quality tag team match despite the outcome seeming highly predictable. The three tag team qualifiers and the singles match qualifier helped give a few matches some stakes, which helped keep the three-hour show interesting.

Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey vs. Killswitch and Kip Sabian in a qualifier for the four-way ladder match for the AEW Tag Team Titles at All Out: This was fine for what it was. I’m surprised they pulled the trigger on Killswitch reaching his breaking point with Sabian. Granted, he’s been taking that type of abuse going back to when he was aligned with Christian Cage, but it just felt like they really should have built to the moment when he finally snapped rather than just having it play out during a random match held during the third hour of a three-hour block. I wonder if Nick or Mother Wayne will somehow bring him back into the fold?

The Beast Mortos vs. Mascara Dorada in an AEW Unified Championship tournament match: More of an in the middle. This was on its way to being a Hit before they had the big botched sequence late in the match. It wasn’t enough to erase the good work that led up to that moment, but it was a significant enough botch at a key time in the match, so I just can’t give the match a Hit.

AEW September to Remember Misses

Josh Alexander and Hechicero vs. “Top Flight” Dante Martin and Darius Martin in a qualifier for the four-way ladder match for the AEW Tag Team Titles at All Out: Rather than build to a main event to close the third hour, AEW went out with a whimper by saving their least appealing matches for the end of the show. This wasn’t a bad match, but I’m just not invested enough in either team to care whether they qualified for the tag title match. I really liked the idea of having Kyle Fletcher vow during the opening segment to leave Hangman Page lying by the end of the night. It was a nice hook designed to keep viewers watching. But they really needed to remind us a time or two during the remainder of the show, as I can’t be the only viewer who nearly forgot about Fletcher’s threat by the time we got to the end of the third hour.

Riho vs. Robyn Renegade: Riho’s latest return hasn’t been as well-received by the live crowds as her past appearances. She feels like a cold challenger heading into her TBS Title match with Mercedes Mone, which makes the decision to have Mone leave her lying with a Backstabber puzzling. Why not Try to send Riho into the title match with some momentum?

Jon Moxley vs. Roderick Strong: A minor Miss. It was a Hit in terms of match quality, but Strong and Kyle O’Reilly feel ice cold.

Eddie Kingston vs. Big Bill build: A minor Miss. Bill has done an admirable job of trying to carry the build by calling out and insulting Kingston, but it still feels like the hype for Kingston’s return should be stronger. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really looking forward to Kingston returning, but that’s because I enjoy Kingston’s work, not because of anything the company did while setting the table for his comeback match.