AEW All Out is live this Sunday on Pay-Per-View at 8/7c. The card is stacked from top to bottom with 14 matches including the Zero Hour matches which starts at 7/6c for free on AEW’s YouTube channel. But, one of the matches live on Pay-Per-View is the Casino Ladder Match which features Andrade, RUSH, Penta Oscuro, Rey Fenix, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler YUTA, Dante Martin and a mystery joker opponent all battling to earn a AEW World Title shot. But, who is the joker? We’ll find out Sunday, but for now, here’s five potential people who could be the mystery man.
Samoa Joe:
Samoa Joe has been out of action as he films for a TV show, but, we’ve learned this past week that the show has wrapped and the current ROH TV Champion should be back to tv any time now. Could All Out be the night? Joe already holds the ROH TV title, but Claudio, who is in the match, is the ROH World Champion. Joe could be another competitor looking to be a double champion and what better way than to come back, step up that ladder and grab the contract for a future AEW title match. We’ve missed the chants of “Joe! Joe! Joe!” ringing out through the arenas and this Sunday could potentially be the return of that.
Adam Cole:
Another potential return could be Adam Cole, who’s been out since the last Pay-Per-View with a labrum injury. Could this be the perfect return for Cole? Many fans have critiqued Adam’s run in AEW thus far, saying he hasn’t done much. But, what would be a better way to return than to earn a world title match and launch himself into the main event scene with the snap of a finger. Plus, it seems with Bobby Fish gone and Kyle O’Reilly recently on the shelf after getting surgery, it seems the anticipated Elite vs. Undisputed era won’t be happening. This could be a way to steer the ship in a different direction and have Adam Cole get the world title and eventually meet Kenny Omega one on one down the line for the gold.
Hiromu Takahashi:
Yeah, you may think this is a wild one, but hear me out. NJPW will already have a presence on the show with Ishii on Zero Hour as he battles Eddie Kingston. So, there’s a potential for other NJPW stars to be lurking not too far behind. Plus, Hiromu was supposed to compete at AEW X NJPW’s Forbidden Door Pay-Per-View but was unable to compete due to illness. Now, this could be a way for Hiromu to get his moment in the sun on AEW programming by being a surprise entrant in the Casino Ladder Match. Plus, with his flashy style and fast pace action that he brings to the ring, who wouldn’t want to see Takahashi compete in a multi-man ladder match? I know I sure would! Would he win? Probably not, but, the joker isn’t a certified winner anyway with the handful of great participants in this match, anyone could win. Let Hiromu shine in front of the AEW crowd!
Chris Hero:
Okay, Okay, this is a bit of a selfish pick. Every single time there’s a joker or mystery man in the match, I selfishly hope it’s Chris Hero. He’s one of my absolute all-time favorite wrestlers and ever since being released by WWE back in 2020, Hero has not stepped foot in a wrestling ring for a match. He has said before that he is not retired and is waiting for the perfect time, well, what’s more perfect than showing up in a match to possibly get a world title shot? Plus, his fellow tag team partner, Claudio Castagnoli, is in the match, which throws a fun little wrench into things. Maybe they’ll fight, maybe they’ll team up to take everyone out, or maybe we get a stand off between Claudio’s former partner, Chris Hero and his new partner, Wheeler YUTA. The possibilities are endless and for that, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Chris Hero. Do it, AEW, just for me!
MJF:
The most popular pick for the joker is undoubtably MJF, so, he has to be on the list. Since the match was announced, fans have been fantasy booking MJF to be the joker, with some even fully convinced it will 100% be him. Will it? We don’t know. But, could it? Of course it can. We haven’t seen MJF in over 90 days after he cut a insane promo where he cussed out Tony Khan and left the building to never be mentioned again. They’ve not mentioned the man on TV at all, he has been off social media and no one has heard a peep from Maxwell. Work? Shoot? The lines truly are blurred. But, if anyone is going to work the fans, it’s MJF. So there’s a big possibility the slime-ball could show up at All Out and take that title shot contract and finally take the world championship, which has alluded him this far in AEW. The possibility for a CM Punk vs. MJF rematch is there, or MJF vs. Jon Moxley reigniting a battle for the world title. In my opinion, MJF is the most likely out of anyone else myself or anyone else has speculated, but I guess we’ll have to tune in on Sunday to find out!
Be sure to tune into AEW All Out this Sunday at 8/7c on Pay-Per-View to find out who the joker is and who walks away from the Casino Ladder Match as the new #1 Contender. Plus, 13 other action packed matches throughout the night.
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