By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW All Out Hits
Swerve Strickland, Kofi, and Austin Creed vs. Hangman Page, Bandido, and Brody King for the AEW Trios Titles: I didn’t think it was possible, but if these teams can keep this up, they might actually make me care about the AEW Trios Titles for the first time. We’re not there yet, as I was invested in the match, yet didn’t really care who came away with the titles. Nevertheless, this was a very good trios match. It was especially impressive to see how they worked in the Swerve and Hangman spots in a satisfying manner, yet still left viewers wanting more. Meanwhile, they also managed to increase the intensity of the rivalry between New Level with Brodido. This was really well done from start to finish, and it’s fun to see Kofi and Creed being featured prominently in a new setting.
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler vs. “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson in a three-way match with chairs, ladders, and tables for the AEW Tag Team Titles: The usual ladder match insanity and then some. Surprisingly, Stokely Hathaway arguably took the bump of the match when he stood high on a ladder that was tipped over and launched him through a table on the floor. As good as this was, I hope this is the last time we see Copeland and Cage in a TLC-style match. They should be proud of their performances in this match, but they don’t need to put their bodies through such punishment at this late time in their careers. It will be interesting to see what’s next for them now that their tag team title reign has concluded. For that matter, I’m looking forward to the Bucks’ title reign with teams such as the Motor City Machine Guns and New Level being possible contenders.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the AEW International Championship: This one exceeded my expectations. It’s not that it didn’t look good on paper, but it was even better than I anticipated. Here’s hoping that “Uncle Tony” put a little money in an account for Ciampa’s daughter’s education, because she helped make this match. Involving family members in wrestling angles is a crapshoot. Some family members overact or smile during serious segment, while others have no business being on camera because it’s not their forte. But Ciampa’s daughter was great when it came to knowing when to look angry and when to cheer on her father. The kid was a natural.
“The Brawling Birds” Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor vs. “Divine Dominion” Megan Bayne and Lena Kross in a Chicago Street Fight for the AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles: The build to this match did nothing for me, but it was a lot of fun once the opening bell rang. All four wrestlers worked a hard, physical style that was fitting of the Chicago Street Fight billing. Was this the blowoff match or will the heels find a way to get one more match? If this was the end of the feud for now, I’ll very curious to see what comes next for both teams because there aren’t many established teams in AEW women’s tag team division.
Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship: A soft Hit for a good match that did not measure up many of the great AEW pay-per-view main event matches. The outside interference was a turnoff regardless of the story they were telling. I didn’t care for the football-themed match on the pre-show, and I didn’t like run-ins during the main event for the same reason. It’s not what I’m looking for, nor have come to expect from AEW. It was one thing for AEW to play up the football theme when they were being creative and trying to keep things interesting during the pandemic, but the last thing I watch AEW for is sports entertainment. And I like a little sports entertainment in my pro wrestling, but I get my fill from WWE. Furthermore, booking no-nonsense main events with no interference and clean finishes are the best way that AEW can make their pay-per-views feel special. I was curious to see the future held for Moxley with the Death Riders, but if there was a leadership change coming, I suspect that it would be put on hold temporarily due to Pac’s death. We may not get any answers on Wednesday, which is totally understandable given the circumstances.
Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale for a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship at the WrestleDream pay-per-view: A soft Hit. They had the tough assignment of following the ladder match. This is an example of a situation where AEW would benefit from putting more time in between their pay-per-view matches. Nevertheless, Thekla and Willow were up for the challenge and produced a quality match that focused heavily on Thekla exploiting Willow’s hand injury. It would have been a Hit had they gone with a clean finish rather than having the needless interference from Julia Hart and Skye Blue. Willow’s hand injury gave her the out that she needed for taking the loss. Save the outside interference for when it’s actually needed, especially on when the show’s main event featured several run-ins.
Andrade El Idolo vs. Pac for the AEW National Championship: I thought about leaving this match out for the obvious reasons. But why deprive Pac of one final well-earned Hit for his usual strong in-ring performance in what turned out to be his last match? May he rest in peace.
AEW All Out Misses
Persephone vs. Dani Luna in an open challenge for the TBS Championship: It was a mistake to have Luna debut as an open challenger on pay-per-view. Sure, the match took place moments after Steven Borden was stretchered out of the building, but I don’t think the crowd reaction would have been much different under different circumstances. That’s not a jab a Luna, who was put in a tough spot. I enjoyed her heel work late in her TNA run, and I think she’s a good addition to the AEW women’s division. She’s just not enough of a star to live up to fan speculation regarding a pay-per-view mystery opponent.
Darby Allin and Steven Borden vs. Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight to determine the No. 1 contenders to the AEW Tag Team Titles: This had to go somewhere, so I placed it here, but it’s not really fair to give the match a Hit or a Miss due to Borden’s injury. The spot where he and Knight jumped off the ropes for a spot was obviously mistimed. Many of us have compared it to the spot that Ricochet and Logan Paul performed at the Royal Rumble in 2023, both in terms of execution and because Paul also performed a big stung early in his career. A key difference is that Ricochet and Paul springboarded to the middle of the ring before making contact and landing on the mat, whereas Borden and Knight landed much closer to the ropes, where the ring is harder. It’s worth noting that while it was widely assumed that Ricochet and Paul must have done numerous rehearsals for their big spot in the Rumble, Ricochet stated on social media over the weekend that he and Paul only practiced the spot once. With all of this in mind, I see this as a case of “accidents happen” rather than it being a time to point fingers based on the information we have. The important thing is that Borden was doing well as of the last update from AEW. Kudos to referee Bryce Remsburg for immediately recognizing that Borden struck the fencing pose after his head hit the mat, which is an obvious sign of a likely concussion.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
