AEW All Out 2020 came to us from Daily’s Place with the new 10% capacity of fans. Excalibur was back on commentary (as he was on this week’s Dynamite) with Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. Let’s jump right into the pre-show matches.
Joey Janela vs. Serpentico
I understand that you’d want to have some pre-show matches for the live crowd, as well as to make potential buyers tune in. But this match was made with zero rhyme or reason, as I don’t even think Serpentico has wrestled on AEW Dynamite. For a random match with no heat, it was fine. Serpentico uses a lot of kicks and has some aerial offense, while Janela gets into brawling a bit. Sonny Kiss is cornering Janela, while Luther corners Serpentico. Janela pins Serpentico with a top rope elbow in a forgettable bout.
Private Party vs. Alex Reynolds/Jon Silver
This was another heatless match with no story that was just thrown together. Maybe they could’ve used this time to get over a newer roster member like Kingston or Starks. This was just another decent collection of spots. Silver and Reynolds seem to be getting more respect due to their appearances on the YouTube show “Being The Elite”, but they’ve been presented as jobbers who never win. Private Party wins a nothing match with the Gin and Juice. I don’t understand why Brodie doesn’t kick these two out for being losers.
Britt Baker vs. Big Swole
The main pay per view kicks off with a “Tooth and Nail” match, which is a cinematic match in Baker’s dentist office. Swole pulls up and goes on the hunt for Baker, who’s hiding out like a horror villain in a mask. They brawl outside the office and Reba gets thrown in the trash. Back in the office, Baker attempts to actually murder Swole with a power drill, but misses. Baker pulls out a syringe, but Swole makes her stab herself and pass out. Swole gets the win, and Baker regains consciousness immediately. What a dumpster fire. To have one of the hottest heels return to the ring after 6 months away, to lose in a comedic match in her own office, really does her character no favors. Swole is a terrible actor, Reba is only a comedy afterthought, and this was garbage. I’m not against the comedy at all times, but this was so poorly executed and out of place. Bleh.
The Young Bucks vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus
This is another match that was just thrown on the card with no story or heat. It’s just two face teams who are out there to do spots and flips. Don’t get me wrong though, they did these spots and flips fairly smoothly in this one. Jungle Boy has an energy that most in AEW don’t. The Bucks looked like they were playing toward heel here, as they kept jawing with and attacking Marko Stunt (who was on crutches). Luchasaurus did a huge springboard dive into the crowd at one point. The Bucks win a decent spot match with the BTE Trigger. This was fine for what it was, it just felt like a Dynamite match.
21 Man Casino Battle Royale
It’s really good to have a match with stakes here, as the winner gets a future world title shot. They come out in 5 man groups, by the card suit they’re assigned, to make it different than a royal rumble. Things start out a bit slow in the first few groups, but a few people got to really shine here. Will Hobbs, who’s been jobbing on Dark, was around in this match for a really long time, and looked good. His size and energy would fit well as a Dark Order mercenary or a heel bodyguard type. Brian Cage had a heck of a match, tossing bodies around with an array of creative moves. They did a nice job of keeping continuity by doing spots with Darby/Starks and Cage/Archer. I’d like to see both of those feuds get proper singles matches. Matt Sydal comes out as the Joker Card. He’s a former WWE/Impact/ROH/PWG star who fits this company very well. Sadly in his first move in the company, he botches a Shooting Star Press and lands right on his head. He recovered okay, but he couldn’t save his reputation on this performance. It comes down to Eddie Kingston and Lance Archer, and Jake helps Archer win. This was the right result and the match told some good stories!
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
Hardy is calling out Guevara near the football field in the concourse area, and Guevara tries to run him down with a golf cart. They quickly brawl on a forklift and do a superplex off of it through a table, and Hardy cracks his head straight on the concrete. He looks out of it, and tries to get up a few times, but is stumbling and glassy-eyed. They call for the bell, and awkwardly go back and forth between shots of a dazed Hardy (staying in character) and the announcers scrambling to fill time. Hardy chases down Guevara and they re-start the match, even though Hardy is OUT of it. They climb a giant scaffolding, and Hardy pushes Guevara off to win quickly. Good Lord. I hope Matt Hardy is okay. I’m sure it was Hardy’s call to continue after being hurt, but it was EXTREMELY irresponsible of AEW management to allow a clearly concussed Hardy to go back out, let alone CLIMB a giant structure. He truly could’ve slipped and died. They booked themselves into a corner with a stupid and unneeded “If Hardy loses, he leaves AEW” stipulation. This match was dangerous for Hardy, and makes Sammy look like a loser again. Bad on management, bad on the agents, bad on the wrestlers. Bad night for people named Matt.
Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa
This Women’s Title match was my favorite of the night. Shida and Rosa used a technical base and paced their match well, building to the bigger spots. Their strikes were tight and they used submission based wrestling very well. Rosa reversed some of Shida’s signature spots, like a nice knee counter off of a chair on the outside. These two had great chemistry, and the false finishes at the end were sold well. Shida wins with the running knee, in one of the better women’s matches in AEW history. This is a statement win for Shida, but I really hope we get more of Rosa (and other NWA ladies, like Allisyn Kay) in AEW. Matches like this could save the division.
Kip Sabian tells us his wedding to Penelope Ford will be live on Dynamite, and he’s picking his best man this week. Sabian has been treated as a comedic loser so far in AEW, so maybe debuting a bodyguard character (Will Hobbs?) to get him some wins could help.
Dark Order vs. Scorpio Sky/Matt Cardona/Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall
This match also feels like it was added late and thrown on to the card, but since Dark Order has been getting more focus lately, it makes sense. This was a fun but forgettable spot match, that gave itself the time for some of the athletes to shine. Cardona looked really good in this match, and you can tell he’s been super focused since being released by WWE. Scorpio Sky is a star, and he has some nice moments in stare-downs with Lee here. A Sky/Lee program for the TNT Title would be nice. QT Marshall is nothing special, but to me, he feels like he tries really hard. You can see the work ethic as he’s always adding and perfecting new dives and moves in his offense. I didn’t like how Brandi (on the outside) wasn’t scared of Brodie Lee, or how she got revenge on Anna Jay so quickly. Anna is new and needs to be protected in this spot. Colt gets rolled up by Dustin, and Dustin wins this solid match for his team. I really hate the Dark Order losing again here. It’s bad enough that Silver, Reynolds, Uno, Grayson, and Angels are all jobbers. But now your new TNT Champion’s team loses just two weeks after being resurrected and salvaged. Brodie screams at Cabana, and Uno gives Colt kindness as they walk to the back. So Brodie screams at the guy he’s been dying to recruit for months, yet has a whole team full of guys who lose every week? Man, the booking of this faction is PUTRID.
Kenny Omega/Adam Page vs. FTR
A lot of people will love this tag team title match, and a lot won’t. AEW’s tag team division tends to be long and overbooked, and this was no exception. This match went thirty minutes, and felt every bit of 45. They had a lot of starts and stops that really hurt the overall flow of the match. With that said, at least there were very good moments of storytelling. From FTR’s attempts at manipulating the champs, to the struggle in facials/communication between Page and Omega. This has moments of brilliance and FTR grounded it at the right times, so it would’ve been better served to be ten minutes shorter. FTR pins Page after multiple spike piledrivers to win the titles. Omega gets frustrated and teases turning on his friend, but just walks out disgusted. He goes to leave and the Bucks join him. He basically tells the Bucks to pick a side, as he pulls away. Overall, we have the best team now holding the titles, while the rift between Page/Omega/Bucks has advanced nicely. I just wish the match could’ve held my interest with a tighter pace.
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
This is another match that will have a divided audience. If you’re into the whole lazy Orange Cassidy gimmick, this Mimosa Match will be up your alley. If you’re like me and you see Cassidy as more of a comedy opening match guy who’s not on Jericho’s level, you will hate this. I feel that Jericho’s been hurt by this feud, and that they could’ve chosen any other up-and-comer for this spot. Both men worked hard around the gimmick and used decent offense. They tried to milk the spots, and Cassidy kept his slacker stuff out of this contest. But this stipulation reeks of WWE, and it won’t get anyone over. Cassidy beats Jericho after two superman punches, and Jericho falls into the vat of mimosa. Hats off to Jericho for sacrificing his own star power to get someone over, but I wish it were a more serious guy in a more serious match.
MJF vs. Jon Moxley
This match was one of the better efforts on the show. The contrast of styles plays into each man’s character and tells a great story here. MJF uses basic wrestling holds and tries to keep the match on the mat, while MJF tries to brawl to the outside. MJF seems to have the advantage working on Moxley’s arm, while Moxley takes over every time they hit the floor. Moxley sells the arm well, and also they work around some really nice Paradigm Shift attempt spots. Both men sell very well here, and this is where a longer match makes sense. Moxley blades, and gets his arm slammed off the turnbuckle and the apron. Wardlow distracts the ref and tries to toss the ring to MJF, but it goes too far. As MJF scrambles to get the miss-thrown ring behind the ref’s back, Moxley hits the illegal Paradigm Shift to retain his title. Now Moxley gets a big win, MJF has heat because he can say Moxley cheated, and MJF/Wardlow can work their breakup program. Very well worked match with a good finish. The only downside is that it was 4 and a half hours into the show, so the crowd wasn’t really there for it.
Overall, this was the weakest AEW PPV in this brief history, shrouded by a lot of messy errors. Sydal’s debut, the Tooth and Nail garbage, the heatless add-ons, the match length, and the Hardy management were all absolutely atrocious. But there were bright spots too, of course. MJF-Moxley and Shida-Rosa were both excellent. Lance Archer got quite a bit of a facelift tonight, and the Battle Royal furthered some stories. The tag team scene also had some nice progression. I don’t necessarily mind the show length here, since AEW only has 4-5 PPV’s per year, but you’ve got to make it count. Shaving 5-10 minutes off these matches and getting rid of the silly stipulations will go a long way. But at least they have some things to build on with Moxley/Archer, MJF/Wardlow and Omega/Page at the top of the card.
