Tradition has been broken, as All Out this year does not take place in the NOW Arena, but rather the United Center. This card sees a mix of long-running stories and quickly put-together matches. When in fast-paced and high-pressure situations like these, AEW is known to make the most of it on most occasions, so it will be interesting to see how things fare.
With that in mind, let’s dig in, shall we?
ZERO HOUR:
Athena, Mercedes Martinez, & Diamante vs Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale, & Skye Blue
Athena and the duo of Puerto Rican heels take on a team of babyfaces featuring Chicago’s own Skye Blue! This will be a blast, especially in seeing Billie Starkz’s continued friendship with Athena continuing to blossom.
Luchasaurus (c) vs Darby Allin (TNT Championship)
A man whose legacy is tied to the TNT belt versus a man who is a current co-holder of the gold – a dinosaur versus a daredevil. This is the typical match you would expect, a dominant force with a conniving and mastermind heel against a man who welcomes pain like an old friend and will use his own body as a weapon. It’s going to be nuts and a quick pop of a match, I wager.
Miro vs Powerhouse Hobbs
This is the quota “big meaty men” match, between some hefty fellas that’ll slam each other and wallop one another and mankind finds itself vindicated. Nothing else to say here.
Kris Statlander (c) vs Ruby Soho (TBS Championship)
From one quota to another, this is the only women’s match (so far) on the card, and with not much build, other than The Outcasts’ reputation for harassing the women’s division maybe seeing Statlander take on a woman who has not seen as much success as her stablemates, I guess? Remember Full Gear when both women’s matches were on the line and there was even a non-title match for story-progression? Good times, good times.
Samoa Joe (c) vs Shane Taylor (ROH World Television Championship
Wait, TK we are going over the “big meaty men” quota, slow down! Samoa Joe defends his TV title against the big boi in Shane Taylor in a match that has more beef in it than most fast food restaurants. Sadly, this will be one of the ROH matches that will make the card polarizing for some because of how separate people want the iconic promotion to be from the flagship. Sad. Joe and Shane are going to kill this, though.
Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata vs Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)
I like all of these wrestlers. Kingston’s friendship with the Japanese sees a strong-style enthusiast in his corner, something set up on ROH’s weekly program early on. Katsuyori Shibata has an ongoing beef with Yuta, but I can’t wait for him to go toe-to-toe with Claudio Castagnoli. Of course, Eddie’s got the main issue with the current ROH World Champion, and that will likely be the meat of this match.
Adam Cole & MJF (c) vs The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver (ROH World Tag Team Championship)
Two sets of best friends – one who probably turns up his nose at groups like Dark Order and one who has an on-again, off-again relationship. This could be a comedy match with BTE references, or a totally serious one for Mr. Brodie Lee’s faithful post-humous followers as they seek to actually have a big moment. I wonder, what if they actually win and progress the insanely good storyline between MJF and Adam Cole? What if Kyle O’Reilly comes back? What if someone other than The Kingdom cares about Roderick Strong’s neck health?
Bullet Club Gold vs FTR & The Young Bucks
One of AEW’s best tag team rivals sees an alliance in FTR and The Young Bucks as the latter’s past comes to bite them in the form of Bullet Club Gold, where Jay White, the Gunns, and Juice Robinson seek to unleash hell on the quartet. The Young Bucks are always great and FTR had an incredible series of matches with BCG early on in AEW Collision‘s life. Not that you needed me to tell you this, but it’s going to be awesome.
Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks (Strap Match)
Having to once again clean up someone else’s mess, Bryan Danielson is set to take on Ricky Starks in a Strap Match. Previously, as Daniel Bryan in WWE, Danielson faced the late, great, terribly missed “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a losing effort. What will be the outcome here? And for Starks, he had the rug cut out from underneath him against who would’ve been a huge star. No matter what lash strikes upon his bare flesh, it will not hurt as much as that momentum stunted – and that drives him further. But he faces an equally great star, one that could very well propel him to the upper stratosphere of AEW.
Kenny Omega vs Konosuke Takeshita
Ten years have passed since these two last faced off in singles competition. They’ve both grown so much, but the young Japanese star has the manipulative and calculating Don Callis in his corner. He knows Omega’s secrets and weaknesses, which will doubtlessly swing in the favor of his new protégé, but Kenny is not going to make it easy at all. This will be a barn-burner.
Orange Cassidy (c) vs Jon Moxley (AEW International Championship)
This has to be one of the most anticipated matches on the card, if I can be Francis with you. Orange Cassidy’s vice-like grip on his title continues to clench amid the blood, the sweat, and the tears. He’s not going to give up easily, but Jon Moxley doesn’t thrive on easiness. This is going to be bonkers. Fans are going to get their money’s worth with this one.
There you have it, folks. I won’t be able to watch tonight due to real-life stuff, but I don’t need to in order to know that this is going to be fun. Under pressure and without drama, AEW pay-per-views typically thrive. I sincerely hope everyone who watches has a great time because holy cannoli.
Watch All Out at 5ᴘᴍ ET/ 6ᴘᴍ CT on Bleacher Report or Fite.
