AEW ALL OUT

 Hoffman Estates, Illinois

 

THE ACCLAIMED vs. IRON SAVAGES (8:08): I still don't think it's a good idea doing a PPV right after All In. Last year they did this show a week after All In, so at least this was two weeks later. It's still too close. The show was good, though. I think the first half was better than the second half. While the double main event provided a lot of brutality and shocking moments, both the championship match and the steel cage match were a little too slow and plodding. The pre-show had four matches, all typical matches you might randomly see on a forgettable Rampage show. The Acclaimed seemed to be getting pushed this summer. They were in the “Blood & Guts” match and they got big matches against The Young Bucks and FTR on TV and then a title match at All In. Now they're opening the pre-show against a team I never heard of. I guess the push is over. They probably should just turn them heel. *1/2

DUSTIN RHODES, HOLOGRAM & SAMMY GUEVARA vs. THE PREMIER ATHLETES (ARIYA DAIVARI, JOSH WOODS & TONY NEESE) (9:51): Sammy Guevara seems to still be in the dog house. The crowd chanted for Dustin to get in and popped when he did. Hologram seemed a little more sloppy than usual. Match was entertaining for the most part. **

BANG BANG GANG (AUSTIN GUNN, COLTEN GUNN & JUICE ROBINSON) vs. THE DARK ORDER (ALEX REYNOLDS, EVIL UNO & JOHN SILVER) (7:37): The Dark Order have also kind of been forgotten about. Remember when they sort of a big deal? Or, at least, the crowds liked John Silver? I guess Jay White is still injured. Hopefully he's not out for a long time like a lot of AEW stars that go missing (Ricky Starks, Miro...I could go on). Match was okay. *1/2

THE UNDISPUTED KINGDOM (MATT TAVEN, MIKE BENNETT & RODERICK STRONG) vs. ACTION ANRETTI & TOP FLIGHT (DANTE & DARIUS MARTIN) vs. SHANE TAYLOR PROMOTIONS (SHANE TAYLOR & LEE MORIARTY) & THE BEAST MORTOS (10:52): There were a lot of people in this match. I'm not sure why. The Beast Mortos has been given a lot of TV time lately. His match on Collision against Takeshita was really good. This was fun but forgettable. **

MJF vs. DANIEL GARCIA (23:37): They really pushed Daniel Garcia this summer as being a mid-card guy finally ascending to main event status. Unfortunately, he probably should have won this match for that storyline to make sense. Match was kind of slow. MJF hit Garcia in the balls when the ref wasn't looking and quickly pinned him. After the match, Garcia got his revenge and gave him a pile driver from the top rope. MJF didn't need to win here. **

THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB (WHEELER YUTA & CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI) (15:45): Match was fine but nothing special. This was more or less just a typical TV match. Supposedly they sold out the building for this show, which is actually a great feat considering most AEW shows only get a couple thousand fans if that. **1/2

WILL OSPREAY vs. PAC (20:36): This was the best match on the show. Of course it was. Ospreay looked even better than usual if that's possible. I was thinking they should have let PAC win since he's been kind of sidelined in the mid-card for a long time. The crowd was going nuts for a lot of the crazy, seamless spots they did. I still like Takeshita/Ospreay from earlier this year was better, though. ***1/2

KRIS STATLANDER vs. WILLOW NIGHTINGALE “CHICAGO STREET FIGHT” (14:57): This match was fantastic. Did they really need a street fight, though? They were already doing a “Lights Out” steel cage match. They actually used light tubes in this match, which AEW rarely does. Willow smashed a stick of tubes taped together over Statlander's head. They did have to do that on the entranceway away from the crowd. Statlander put Willow through the announce table. They crashed through the guardrail by the fans. Statlander speared Willow off the entranceway and down onto two tables. They used thumbtacks. This was nuts and super entertaining. ***1/2

KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. ORANGE CASSIDY vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. MARK BRISCOE (14:59): This was maybe Okada's best match in AEW. Which is probably saying how disappointing his matches so far have been. I think his matches are too slow for AEW, but this had four guys in the ring so it was never totally boring. Takeshita looked awesome, even delivering a better Orange Punch than Cassidy does. Crowd was a little quiet in spots and Briscoe kept trying to hype them up. Okada retained whatever meaningless title he has. **1/2

MERCEDES MONE vs. HIKARU SHIDA (16:32): This was probably the weakest match on the main card. It was fine. They wrestled. It wasn't very exciting. Mercedes kept trying to fix her wig and I thought it was going to come off. There were two funny signs in the crowd for this match. One said “Mercedes Phoney” and the other said something like “Mercedes Blowme.” Crude. Mercedes has yet to have a great match in AEW. *1/2

BRYAN DANIELSON vs. JACK PERRY (27:53): This match was kind of slow and boring until the last ten minutes or so. The crowd got into it late with the “Yes!” chants and the near-falls and, of course, the ref bump. The Young Bucks came out to beat up Danielson. Wheeler Yuta and Claudio chased them away. Danielson finally won and then Christian came out to cash in his title shot. Moxley came out to stop this and then Claudio and Wheeler came out. Claudio turned on Danielson by giving him a clothesline. Then Moxley put a plastic bag over Danielson's head to presumably kill him. The crowd chanted, “This is murder!” Wheeler was crying and held back by Claudio. So I guess Moxley, Claudio, and PAC are the new heel group along with Mirina Shafir, who's been hanging out with Moxley. I guess they had nothing else for Marina to do. The refs saved Danielson and the doctors gave him oxygen and stretchered him out. Interesting angle. It's something new having heel Moxley vs. Danielson for the title, so that's good. **1/2

'HANGMAN' ADAM PAGE vs. SWERVE STRICKLAND “LIGHTS OUT STEEL CAGE MATCH” (31:22): While this match was certainly brutal and disturbing...it was not exciting like their epic “Texas Death Match.” The crowd was also quiet, which made this feel kind of lethargic. Since they were in a steel cage and were just using weapons, it wasn't fast paced or entertaining. There were a few “sick” spots. They both got slammed back first onto a cinderblock. 'Hangman' used a charred piece of wood from the fire (oh, yeah...'Hangman' burned down Swerve's childhood home in what was one of the great moments in AEW history on Dynamite) to try to stab Swerve but Swerve took it to stab 'Hangman.' They used a staple gun. Swerve stapled a picture of his family to 'Hangman's face. The big, shocking finale had 'Hangman' using a syringe needle to stab Swerve in the inside of his mouth then hit him over the head with a chair. The ref called for the bell. 'Hangman' won. I would have liked this more if it was fast paced and exciting with maybe more moves than just them idly walking around the ring seeking weapons in front of a hushed crowd. I can't really say it was disappointing as it was billed as being gruesome and crazy and it delivered on that. 'Hangman' let out a cathartic scream on the entranceway to close the show. Finally he's finished the feud. He won. **