Two weeks before Double or Nothing, the biggest statement of All Elite Wrestling's intentions was made, when TNT announced that the fledgling company would occupy a primetime spot on their network. This was a huge get for AEW, signing on to an established network that boasted a near 90 million household reach. AEW Dynamite was set to premiere on October 2nd, and with WWE's NXT acquiring a spot on the USA Network directly opposed to AEW, it was clear that Tony Khan and The Elite were in for a war. The first All Out sets the stage for the beginning of those weekly battles, but also provides the founders of this venture a chance to reflect on past success. One year prior, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks joined together with many fellow stars from New Japan, Ring of Honor, and all over the independent scene, to promote All In. That became one of the most successful events in US wrestling history, packing over 10,000 rabid fans into the Sears Centre, proving that there was a market for what these boys were selling. Now, a month away from their big debut on network television, the stars of All Elite Wrestling return to the "Windy City" for a monumental night.
- All Out 2019 comes to you from the Sears Centre, in the Hoffman Estates suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez are on the call.
- Our opening contest is a six man tag, as SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky, and Frankie Kazarian) take on the Jurassic Express (Marko Stunt, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus). Much like he has been on the past few events, Luchasaurus is the star here, as the big dino demolishes everyone with his power and agility. Luchasaurus is always good for at least one blistering stretch in each match, and this may have been the best one yet, as he bludgeons each member of SCU with kicks, before hitting his chokeslam and standing moonsault as the crowd explodes. This forces Daniels, Kazarian, and Sky to get crafty, as the three veterans combine together to find a way to take down this absolute beast to target the more beatable Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt. Luchasaurus takes a tremendous amount of offense, being tossed around by all three members of SCU, and the massive size differential in the Jurassic Express comes back to bite them, as Kazarian sends Luchasaurus crashing into both of the big man's teammates. Daniels and Kazarian then dispose of both Jungle Boy and Stunt with the Best Meltzer Ever, as SCU look primed and ready for the upcoming tag team tournament. I thought this was another in the already long line of tremendous multi-man tag matches that AEW has produced, with the molten hot crowd really putting it over the top.
- Arguably the most high profile showdown in the company was Kenny Omega versus Jon Moxley, with the former WWE Champion building his resume by working in New Japan Pro Wrestling, competing in the G1 Climax and winning the IWGP United States Championship. This was all supposed to lead a heated clash in Chicago, one of the most anticipated matches on the card and likely All Out's biggest attraction, aside from the main event to crown AEW's first champion. But you know what they say about the best laid plans, and in a crushing blow for everyone involved, Moxley announced that he had sustained a MRSA infection in his elbow that meant he was forced to pull out of this match. AEW were now left without one of their main event, but fortunately, one mess allowed them to clean up another. PAC, who was originally supposed to face Adam Page at Double or Nothing before that match fell apart, and the man that was intended to take on Kenny Omega at this event, ironically enough, was drafted to fill in. This sudden shift in the dynamic allowed Omega to cut one of the best promos of his career on the final episode of Being the Elite before the pay-per-view, laying into Moxley for trying too hard to follow in Omega's footsteps, a brilliant mix of character and reality, although the promo did little to hype this new match.
- The backstory behind Kenny Omega versus PAC is infinitely more interesting than their actual match, which isn't really an insult, though I felt that both men were lacking a little something here. Maybe it's the last-minute opponent switch, maybe PAC was still a little jet-lagged after his recent work across the pond, or maybe these two just didn't have as much chemistry together as I expected. There were quite a few times in this one where I felt both guys were just going through the motions, though I will add that these two at 50% is still significantly better than what most of the rest of the industry is capable of on their best days. Both men batter each other with strikes, and in this hard-hitting, endurance-centric kind of battle, Omega certainly had the advantage. Kenny comes so close to putting PAC away, but he just can't hit the One-Winged Angel, which has finished almost every opponent Omega has faced. In the end, PAC is able to apply the Brutalizer while he's on Omega's shoulders, and in mere moments, Kenny's knees are buckling, and he's out. What a way for PAC to finally make his AEW debut, a clean win over one of the biggest stars in the company that left the crowd in complete shock. Even though the match was largely unmemorable, the finish was brilliant, making certain that no one could overlook PAC going forward.
- Up next, Joey Janela, Jimmy Havoc, and Darby Allin collide in what's being promoted as a "Cracker Barrel Clash". Now, I have to be upfront and admit I've never been to a Cracker Barrel in my life, so I'm not legally allowed to review this match, but I'm a bit of a rebel, and rules are meant to be broken. This is essentially just a no disqualification match, with a few novelty Cracker Barrels sitting on the ramp and around ringside. These three men waste no time getting nasty, with Havoc getting taped to a chair and forced to munch on thumbtacks, and the violence only escalates from there. Darby can't resist stealing the show, with a gorgeous dive onto the seated Havoc, but Janela fancies himself a daredevil and trades back with a bang, delivering a Canadian Destroyer on Allin, starting from inside the ring and ending up crashing through a table on the outside. Holy s***, that was an insane spot. These two maniacs just keep upping the stakes, and decide to get those wooden barrels involved. Darby attempts to take out Havoc with the Coffin Drop, but instead nearly shatters his spine, as he and a barrel he's holding crash into the steel steps. Janela then gives it a try, placing a second barrel on Havoc, but once again, Jimmy avoids the danger and Joey smashes part of the barrel with his legs. Havoc, the luckiest man alive if you ignore those thumbtacks, gets the win with an Acid Rainmaker that completely shatters the barrel. This was the very definition of a "car crash" match, an absolute spectacle that was impossible to look away from and horrifying to witness. I don't know how all three men walked away from this, especially Darby, that Coffin Drop was horrendous.
- The unenviable task of following that up falls on the Dark Order and Best Friends, who are facing off to determine which team will get a first round bye in the upcoming tournament. These two teams do have a history, with Stu Grayson and Evil Uno debuting in AEW by attacking Chuck Taylor and Trent after the latter's win at Double or Nothing, but whether it's general apathy towards the Dark Order, or due to being exhausted from the last match, the crowd is pretty much dead for this one. The work isn't bad, as Grayson and Uno mix in classic heel shenanigans while Chuck and Trent are as solid as always, but when most of the action is met with absolute silence, it's tough to care. Trent earns his stripes by kicking out of a 450 Splash from Grayson and the first Fatality, but just when the Best Friends might be about to turn the tide, the Dark Order's "creepers" make their presence felt. Chuck is swarmed and tossed into the ring steps, and a second Fatality puts Trent down for three. The crowd was mildly outraged by the finish, and really perk up when the lights go out after the match, saving Trent, who was being kidnapped by the masses. Orange Cassidy is here for the save, getting a huge pop for his suicide dive, and earning a group hug from the Best Friends, all with Cassidy never once taking his hands out of his pockets.
- Earlier in the night on the Buy In, Nyla Rose earned a shot at the new AEW Women's Championship, and now it's time to determine her opponent, as Hikaru Shida battles Riho. These two women keep up a stellar pace in this one, and Riho gets in some brutal double foot stomps, including one with Shida on the apron that connected flush on Hikaru's stomach. Shida trades back with some big moves, taking advantage of Riho's diminutive size to hit an impressive deadlift suplex from the apron into the ring. This had a chance to be one of AEW's best women's matches to date, but got a little sloppy near the end, as it seemed both women were going a little too fast, and their strikes weren't landing with much impact. Riho gets the win with a leverage pin after a slick headscissors takedown, putting her right in Nyla Rose's path once again.
- We now move into a grudge match, as Shawn Spears takes on Cody Rhodes. One of the most controversial moments of AEW's first few months in existence came at Fyter Fest, when Spears bludgeoned Rhodes with a chair shot to the head, a move virtually outlawed in WWE and the wider wrestling world since the actions of Chris Benoit. This attracted a ton of criticism levied at the new company, but AEW was determined to make Spears a worthy opponent for Cody. Their rivalry was the centerpiece of the "Road to videos" in the build-up to All Out, as Spears spewed vitriol at Cody for calling him a "good hand", and enlisted Tully Blanchard in his quest for revenge. Cody has MJF in his corner, and gets the fight going immediately, launching himself at Spears and inciting a brawl that spilled into the crowd. The bulk of this match failed to live up to that opening, as these two work a relatively slow match, with tons of interference from Tully. There a few interesting moments sprinkled in, with MJF and Tully locking horns at one point, and Cody firing up after having his back split open by Spears, which electrified the crowd. The biggest pop, though, is saved for the run-in by Arn Anderson, eight months after being let go by the WWE for allowing an intoxicated Alicia Fox to compete on a house show. Arn evens the playing field, laying out Spears with a trademark Double A Spinebuster, and a puzzled Tully then follows his old friend to the back, sort of invalidating the claim that the elder Blanchard is a "master tactician". Now on his own, Spears attempts to brain Cody with the chair again, but Rhodes wrests it away, and has a glorious chance to gain some very apt revenge. But Cody is smarter than that, and hits a chair-assisted Disaster Kick and a Cross Rhodes to send Spears tumbling back down to the midcard.
- In a rematch of their Double or Nothing show-stealer, the Lucha Brothers and the Young Bucks square off again, this time in a ladder match, or as it's referred to here, Escalera De La Muerte, which can be translated to "ladder of death". As you would expect giving the two teams involved, this match is essentially just an extended highlight reel, stuffed full of as many feats of unbelievable athleticism and death-defying stunts as they pack into 24 minutes. It's a very gradual escalation of the stakes, beginning with some relatively simple (at least for them) springboard dives, and building all the way up to a f***ing Canadian Destroyer off a ladder and through a table delivered by Penta. This is so much fun to watch, but did have a few ropey moments. While pretty much all of the most dangerous stunts were pulled off safely, a very scary fall by Nick Jackson nearly ended in catastrophe, as he got his feet caught on the ropes attempting to fall to the outside of the ring, only breaking one of the two tables set up, smacking his head off the second table and the floor. Forunately, Nick was okay, and the finishing stretch didn't need to involve him anyway, as Matt commits the cardinal sin of ripping off Penta's mask, which actually gets the crowd to turn on him for violating the sacred traditions of lucha libre. Matt is punished for his misdeeds by taking a (thankfully safe) Fear Factor/Double Stomp combination on a ladder, as the Lucha Brothers then make the ascent to retain their AAA tag titles with no further opposition. I've see some great tag team wrestling in my time reviewing AEW shows, and it's tough to say that anything I've seen thus far could top this. Just to top it all off, Santana and Ortiz make their presence felt after the match, getting some shots in on both teams, as the AEW tag scene just gets better and better.
- Main event time, as "Hangman" Adam Page and Chris Jericho collide to determine who will become AEW's first world champion. After everything we've seen on this night, this match had a lot to live up to, and unfortunately, it didn't quite get there. Page is at his best when he works with someone who can take some really big bumps, like Kip Sabian at Fight for the Fallen. Page has an incredible repertoire of moves to go through, but a 48 year old Chris Jericho just can't take even a small fraction of what Page can do. As a result, this ends up feeling so underwhelming compared to everything else, it's tough to care about a basic fallaway slam or a Boston Crab after you just watched men go flying through tables. I will say that even if the action didn't impress, this still had that main event aura, mainly thanks to Jericho, who remains an excellent heat magnet. Jericho finds so many counters throughout this match, but Page perseveres and finally lands with his two biggest moves, the Buckshot Lariat and the Dead Eye. But Jericho kicks out, the first man to survive the Dead Eye thus far in AEW, and catches Page on the chin with the Judas Effect to be crowned as AEW's inaugural champion. I don't mind the decision to put the belt on Jericho, he has the starpower to carry the new company forward into their big national expansion, and it completely fit with Jericho's character, as he had made it clear that his legacy was dependent on winning this match, and Page just couldn't match the desperation, desire, and experience that Jericho entered with. I do disagree with having Chris kick out of the Dead Eye, though, I thought it undermined his wily veteran persona, making him appear completely invincible instead of intelligent. I also feel like that kick out took something away from Page, who seemed like a bit of a failure by the end of this match, but at least he got to ride a horse to the ring, so all was not lost.
8/10
This was a historic night for All Elite Wrestling, who came very close to putting together another flawless outing. I did have a few nitpicks in some matches, but all in all, this was an incredible watch, and these 3+ hours of wrestling succeeded at getting me ready for the debut episode of Dynamite. This entire show is currently available to watch on AEW's YouTube channel, and I highly recommend everyone check it out, it's more than worth your time.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Full Gear 2019, but we're not heading there just yet. Instead, I have 6 episodes of Dynamite, and 6 episodes of Dark to review until then, so buckle in, this ride has just begun. See you soon.
- Henry
Comments