All Elite Wrestling
ALL OUT
August 31, 2019
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL

Watch: PPV & B/R Live

Meet our previewers

• Steve Case: This weekend should be amazing. Lots of great wrestling on the mainstream and independent levels to take in and enjoy. This show should be a tremendous cap for the entire weekend. That is as long as I can still move after #BALLOUT. Follow me @Coachcase44.
• Rich Kraetsch: The face that runs the place. The owner of the worst co-opted site in history and someone who doesn’t have a ticket to ALL OUT despite the fact that it’s taking place 20 minutes from my house. Lovely. Follow Rich on Twitter @VoicesWrestling. 
• Aaron Bentley: Aaron is one of the hosts of Everything Elite: The World’s Best Podcast Devoted Exclusively to All Elite Wrestling and the Elite Extended Universe (@EverythingAEW). The podcast regularly drops every Thursday night so subscribe for weekly AEW discussion, including an audio preview and review of All Out! You can also follow Aaron on Twitter (@aaronlikethecar) where he mostly tweets about Stardom.

Buy-In Pre-Show
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) vs. Angélico and Jack Evans

Steve: This has a tremendous chance of being the best Buy In match of this company’s short history. Private Party will be in the tag title scene sooner rather than later regardless of the tag team tournament. They are athletic, entertaining, and are only going to get better. Pair them with the ageless Jack Evans and this will not disappoint. Angelico will also be in this match. Prediction: Private Party

Rich: If I had the pencil in AEW, it would be full steam ahead with Private Party who I really think have the potential to be THE definitive non-Young Bucks team in AEW. Angelico and Jack are a fun team but should absolutely be slotted as just that… a fun team. Put all of your effort into Private Party now and in the future. These guys can (and will) be stars. Prediction: Private Party

Aaron: Private Party’s AEW debut at Fyter Fest was a star-making performance. This will be an opportunity to put them in front of a bigger audience and get them a solid win. One of AEW’s strengths thus far has been their dedication to tiering the talent. Angelico and Jack Evans are clearly going to be a mid-card or lower act and that works for them. They’ll wow the crowd with a few high spots and put over Private Party on Isiah and Marq Quen’s way to the top of this division.  Prediction: Private Party

Buy-In Pre-Show
Casino Battle Royale

Steve: I’m a sucker for battle royales. Especially when there’s elements of surprise and intrigue as to who will be involved. The original Royal Rumbles of the late 80’s, early 90’s are what really hooked me into this wild world of wrestling after all. Add in an automatic title match stip for the winner, and this should be a step above the comedy fare. As for who wins, my guess is it’ll be someone who hasn’t been announced for it yet. I have no idea of her health situation, but I’m going to go with my heart here and say Kylie Rae makes her return to win this thing to challenge for the championship on the TV debut or soon after. She’s a potential breakout star and exactly the kind of babyface to lead the division. Prediction: Kylie Rae

Rich: One of my main gripes with AEW so far has been the booking of the women’s division and, well, a “get a bunch of women on the show via battle royal” isn’t exactly changing my opinion on that. The good news is that the winner is going to receive a title shot so there are stakes involved, I just find the process of finding title challenges via thrown-together battle royals somewhat lazy and unfulfilling. At the time of this writing there are 12 additional slots unfilled for the battle royal. While that may lead to some fun surprises it does speak to the overall lack of time and attention given to this division thus far. As far as a winner, Nyla Rose seems like as good a pick as any and she should do well in this format. If everything goes right, she throws out the most women and ultimately leaves with her hand held high. Prediction: Nyla Rose

Aaron: I hoped the AEW powers-that-be would learn from the Double or Nothing Casino Battle Royale that winning it did not make Adam Page seem like a credible challenger for the AEW World Championship. However, they’ve decided to run it back for the women’s title. With that hope dashed, I’ll remain optimistic that they at least learned from the disjointed, disastrous mess the first version of this match was and will produce a better match this time. Regardless, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Riho vs. Hikaru Shida will be for the other spot in the title match so I’d be very surprised if Britt Baker doesn’t win. She’s been heavily featured in the television promotional materials and has been an obvious focus from the beginning, even if I’m not as enamored of her as AEW seems to be. Prediction: Britt Baker

Riho vs. Hikaru Shida

Steve: I think I’m in the vast minority that hasn’t exactly been enamored with the joshi matches that have been presented to this point. They have been fine in my eyes, but I guess I haven’t really seen what everyone is talking about yet. I am keeping an open mind, because this is unique and can really be a differentiator to every other US product if/when they start hitting on all cylinders. All that said, Riho has been the standout for me, so I’m excited to see her in a straight up, one on one match. Hopefully the constraints of triple threats and tag matches being out of the way allow these two to have that match that opens my eyes and makes it click. I’m rooting for them.  Prediction: Riho

Rich: Here’s where I take back all the shit I talked about the AEW women’s division and say “hey, this is a great match!” and hey, this is a great match. Finally we get AEW women in a 1 vs. 1 environment and this has all the makings of a sleeper match of the night. I really do think the joshi talent in AEW can be the “WCW cruiserweights” of the company, the division that helps AEW standout from the competition. Matches and showcases like this will go a long way in developing the division and getting people excited by a largely untapped market in American wrestling. I’m excited to see these two tear the house down and don’t really have a strong favorite to predict. I just want a match we’re talking about for weeks and months to come. Prediction: Hikaru Shida

Aaron: Other than the Cody vs. Dustin match, the joshi matches have been the clear highlight of AEW thus far. Admittedly, some of that is because I’ve seen the Young Bucks, the Lucha Brothers, and Kenny Omega wrestle a million matches. The joshi are fresh. However, they’ve also wrestled good matches with stiff strikes and more emotion than any other AEW bout that didn’t feature two brothers making each other bleed. I expect this to continue that trend. I don’t have a strong feeling about who will win here but I think Riho is more likely to have a strong match with Baker, so I’m rooting for her. Prediction: Riho

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Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, and Marko Stunt vs. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky)

Steve: I’m all in on the Boy and His Dinosaur train. Theses two together are AWESOME. Luchasaurus’ stock has multiplied exponentially since debuting in AEW. I was a fan in Lucha Underground, but he is really cutting loose now and the partnership with Jungle Boy, who’s making huge improvements as well, is perfect. I’m still not sure how Stunt will work in this mini (no pun intended) stable. I’m not his biggest advocate, but he can be entertaining and can take a beating while allowing the money makers to get their shine. With SCU being the pros they are, this has show stealer potential. Hopefully we get a fast paced, back and forth match that leads to Luchasaurus cleaning house and being dominant in the end for the win. That dude is MONEY. Prediction: Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, & Marko Stunt

Rich: Keeping with my suggestion for AEW to put the rocket behind Private Party we have Luchasaurus. I would have never in a million years thought this guy in his weird dinosaur mask would grab the public’s attention like he did… but that’s the beauty of wrestling, you never know what is going to work. Now is not the time for Luchasaurus to take any pinfalls or any losses. I figure since Marko is in the match, his team is losing but c’mon will SoCal Uncensored lose a single thing from a loss? Nah. Let Luchasaurus run through those guys and get the pin for his team. Let him decimate SoCal Uncensored and toss Jungle Boy on top for the win. Full steam ahead! Wins and losses matter in this company, right? Good then let Luchasaurus’ team win!  Prediction: SoCal Uncensored

Aaron: I don’t understand it at all but SCU is one of the most over acts at every AEW show so I would’ve been shocked if they were left off this card. Their popularity may be put to the test here, though, as Luchasaurus elicited a massive reaction at Fight for the Fallen. I can be a creature of the moment but I would ride that out and see what I have in Luchasaurus. I hope they put him over strong. Prediction: Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, & Marko Stunt

Cracker Barrel Clash
Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc

Steve: I must say, this had way more intrigue to me before it was announced as a Cracker Barrel Clash. I thought this would be a wild, hardcore, intense brawl with three guys who excel in that kind of match. It still may be that, but more likely it will have a silliness to it that won’t fit what I want out of a match with these three. It will still be fun, but I was hoping for so much more. Drink for every time Cracker Barrel is mentioned here kids. Many will be hit with a barrel. Many will jump off the barrel. How many will go in the barrel? As for the winner, my guess is Darby pins Havoc here. Darby also has breakout star potential and the company sees it, as evidenced by his draw with Cody. Darby never has to win a match to get over, but I think that narrative starts on TV. Now is where you build him up in the lead in to TNT. Janela is teflon. I don’t see him taking a pin here with his recent loss to Moxley, but if he does he can absorb it like nothing happened. Havoc was brought in specifically for these wild and crazy stip matches as a veteran with credibility to help put over the new young stars. I think he does just that here.  Prediction: Darby Allin

Rich: I can only imagine the fights backstage as these three men bicker and argue over who is going to take the biggest, dumbest bump while in a Cracker Barrel barrel. I think the winner will be Darby who volunteers to fall off the top of the video board but, man, it’s anyone’s battle. What do you want me to say about the CRACKER BARREL CLASH it’s going to be dumb, stupid fun between three guys who have no regard for their bodies or their well-being. My pick to win is Joey as I think he has the most potential as a future title challenger/secondary champion. I could see any of the three picking up a win though as this is more of a showcase match than anything that has direct ramifications. Prediction: Joey Janela

Aaron: The one thing we know going in is that Jimmy Havoc will take the fall. As I said earlier, AEW has done a pretty good job of tiering the talent and Havoc appears to be a bottom-of-the-card performer. Janela has been featured heavily and Darby went to a time-limit draw with Cody. Unfortunately, Cody’s offense isn’t the best to get someone like Darby over. Neither Janela nor Havoc offer that either but they will do insane spots that will help Darby’s crowd reactions. This crowd knows Janela. Put Darby over and let him continue on his path to becoming a star. Prediction: Darby Allin

Cody vs. Shawn Spears

Steve: What must it be like to be Shawn Spears right now? You are the main catalyst in arguably the hottest angle in American pro wrestling. You’re very close to completely killing off the memory of Tye Dillinger, and should do so for good in this match. You’re in what I believe should be the main event of this show considering the build. If not for the first champion being crowned on this show I think it would be. And oh, you just married Peyton Royce. Not a bad summer for that guy.

There are so many directions they can go here. With Tully in Spears’ corner, they can play off that history with he and Dusty. If you’re like me (God help you) and believe Brandi will be in Cody’s corner after her tremendous promo, you can expect her to get physical with Tully or even getting involved in the finish. If MJF is Cody’s chosen second, there’s a ton of intrigue there as well. If he is going to be the monster heel they (and he) wants to be in this company, shedding the “Cody’s understudy” stigma he has is necessary. What better way to do so than to align him with the nefarious Spears? I love how there aren’t only a lot of directions here, but a lot of viable, loginal, intriguing directions. Whatever direction they go, the match will be heated and physical. Spears has a ton to prove and Cody will be on his A game as always. I think this is truly a toss up, but with Cody eating a pin recently, I am going with him to outsmart Spears with a flash win. I don’t think this feud will be over, and I think the post match will be eventful to position Spears as a top heel in the company moving forward.  Prediction: Cody

Rich: In the build to this match, I’ve seen a lot of tweets/comments about Shawn Spears not being “a star” and how laughable it was that the former Tye Dillinger was being used as a top star in AEW. I get the sentiment, I really do but it’s not fair. It’s not fair to Spears or the tremendous job AEW has done building him into a star in recent weeks and it’s not fair to pro wrestling history. When Steve Austin won King of the Ring in 1996, I’m sure many people said “Wait, Stunning Steve Austin, really?” When Diesel won the WWF Title over Bob Backlund in 1994 I can imagine there were plenty of “Vinnie Vegas?!” No, I’m not suggestion that Spears is on the level of Austin or even Diesel/Kevin Nash but star is in the eye of the beholder. Pro wrestling companies create stars. Sometimes guys organically become stars, other times the companies need to push guys in a certain direction. Everything AEW has done with Spears thus far has him on a star trajectory and what he was before should have no bearing on what he is now or what he can become. Look, he can flop and be a footnote in history. The story of this match is that Cody was one of those haters, one of those people that only thought Spears was a “good hand” or a joke. Spears will arrive at ALL OUT with a lot to prove. And I’m not betting against him. Prediction: Shawn Spears

Aaron: There is no more unlikely wrestling star in 2019 than Cody. He’s not a workrate guy. His character work is uneven. And he left WWE with more stink than intrigue about what he could do outside of that system. Sure, his family lineage plays into fan interest in him. Yes, he aligned himself with the Young Bucks and the Bullet Club for that rub. But the guy understands wrestling. He is on a strong run of molten angles. He’s not doing “character work” anymore; he’s turning himself up to 11. And over the past year he’s figured out exactly how to work matches that highlight his strengths and hide his weaknesses. There’s no way this is anything but very good. That said, he’s already there. It would be a mistake for Spears to lose this early, if AEW wants him to be anything more than a midcarder. Cody will still be a star. Prediction: Shawn Spears

Ladder Match – AAA World Tag Team Championship
Lucha Brothers © vs. The Young Bucks

Steve: For the 4578th time this year, Lucha Bros v Young Bucks! Look, this will be a fun spotfest, and with the ladders in play should have some creativity and danger involved. But these two HAVE TO get away from each other for awhile. There are plenty of tag teams that both of these teams would work great with in AEW. I know this is about their AAA story, but I pray this is the blow off. Let Penta and Fenix go singles for awhile even. Both are just as great, if not greater on their own. It’ll be fun. I’ll enjoy it. But I’ll be happy when it ends. Prediction: Lucha Brothers

Rich: Pentagon will take his glove off, call one of the Bucks a pussy, Fenix will bounce on the ropes, Canadian Destroyers, superkicks, yadda yadda. I’m sorry. I just can’t get juiced about this matchup anymore. There will be first-time viewers, people live in attendance who will be blown away by what they see in this match but for someone who has seen all of these men wrestle hundreds of times it’s hard to get super excited. I’m sure it’ll be good. I’m sure the crowd at the Sears Centre will eat it up. It’s just not for me. I’m ready for these guys to be done with one another. Prediction: Lucha Brothers

Aaron: I hate to be a broken record here but yeah, I don’t care at all about this. The Lucha Brothers will retain their AAA titles and hopefully these two teams will stay away from each other for the foreseeable future. Prediction: Lucha Brothers

Best Friends vs. The Dark Order

Steve: I’m thinking this will be your opener. Think about it. A hot crowd off the Buy In, ready to eat up anything given to them. A mega-over act in the Best Friends, and a supremely talented team with a gimmick in need of a little good will. This Dark Order thing needs a few TV segments for it to be understood. Why do they have minions? What’s their purpose? Presenting something like this with no context is not working. Once the bell rings, they are great as many who remember the Super Smash Bros can attest. They need a blow away match here. The Best Friends are certainly capable and are another tandem who lose nothing in a hard fought loss. Prediction: The Dark Order

Rich: Try to love something as much as AEW loves The Dark Order, man. I don’t get it. I haven’t gotten it with these guys and I’m not sure I’ll ever get it. The two acts that have absolutely NOT clicked in AEW has been The Librarians and The Dark Order. The one is a joke-y pre-show bit that in the grand scheme of things, really don’t matter. The Dark Order, though? They seem to be earmarked for tag gold or at least a spot at the top of the division. This will be another huge test for them. Can they get the crowd to give a shit? It’ll be hard to not have a solid-ish match against The Best Friends but more than in-ring, it’s about getting the fans invested in them. The Dark Order are supposed to be heels but AEW needs to find a way to make reactions to them more heel like and less apathy. They’ll probably win here as they continue their rise but the real focus will be on how well the crowd takes to them and if they can finally gain some momentum. Prediction: The Dark Order

Aaron: Folks, it’s time to abandon ship on The Dark Order. Repackage them, give them some time off, and try something again in about month two of television. The AEW crowd wants nothing more than to be into everything presented to them and even they could not possibly give a shit about this team. Sadly, they’re likely to win here to give the Best Friends something to hopefully overcome in the tag title tournament. Prediction: The Dark Order

PAC vs. Kenny Omega

Steve: What a crazy week it’s been. Mox v Omega is a money match everyone wanted to see. Arguably one of the best in the world against a guy with a chip on his shoulder the size of Chicago who thinks he is the same. Then the elbow infection lead to thousands of disappointed fans…….for about 10 minutes. PAC being Moxley’s replacement not only made many forgive the withdrawal, it was met with possibly even more interest. Personally, I think this is better for Omega. Pairing him with Moxley is a great idea for a great match, and one they will no doubt revisit in the future. It’s a big money match. However, I don’t know if Omega would shine as much as Moxley would at this point. Kenny has yet to really show what makes him such a unique and generational performer in AEW. We saw a glimpse against CIMA, but he wasn’t able to show off all his skills. I don’t think he would be able to against Moxley either as Moxley’s style will only allow him to go so far. Against PAC though, the sky is the limit. Not only can PAC stay step for step with Omega, this will allow Kenny to get the proper top star shine he wouldn’t quite get against Moxley. Some may worry about how PAC works this, as his stellar Dragon Gate run was much more character based. He’s going to let it all loose here. He wants to show everyone he’s not the guy that jobbed to Enzo anymore. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get Moxley vs Omega. But this has the ability to go up there with Cody/Dustin as a match that helped lay the foundation of this company in a completely different way.  Prediction: Kenny Omega

Rich: I’m disappointed we aren’t getting Mox vs. Omega on this show but happy that the feud between the two is still brewing and will be picked up once Mox is back healthy. In his place is one of the best wrestlers in the world and one of my absolute favorite guys to watch right now. Not a bad consolation prize at all! While this won’t be the main event, this is a match that will have a lot of attention on it. My big curiosity is the result. PAC was protected like crazy all across the world while he was the Open the Dream Gate champion, now that he’s lost the title is he back to taking pinfalls? On the flipside, in a company where wins matter do we really want to give Kenny Omega another loss? Somebody will have to lose and that will have my attention the entire match. As far as the work, PAC is a guy who works to his opponent in many cases and saves his best for the biggest moments. I’d consider this one of those moments. Look for him to be 100% effort in a huge showcase match and c’mon it’s Kenny so you know he’s going to go ALL OUT (ugh) to try and have the match of the night. My gut says Kenny gets the win here but I’m equally invested in PAC stunning the world with a win and Kenny having to scratch and claw his way back up the ranks. Prediction: Kenny Omega

Aaron: The biggest bummer to me about this is not getting to see Moxley live with the star aura he’s cultivated in AEW and New Japan. Are we sure the crowd is going to go wild for PAC? He’s been gone for awhile and was toiling away on 205 Live the last some fans saw of him. Regardless, I’m sure they’ll ultimately get the crowd into this in a big way. To me, the obvious road is Omega winning here, challenging AEW Champion Chris Jericho and becoming the second World Champion in company history. Prediction: Kenny Omega

AEW World Championship
Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho

Steve: Injuries and VISA issues have really derailed Hangman. Which really sucks because he does have top guy potential. He’s extremely talented, improving on his promos, and dreamy in a way that dudes still want to have a beer with him. Be he couldn’t be any colder right now. The Road To promos have helped him a little, but the emergency booking caused by his knee injury and PAC’s issues have done damage to him that might take a few years to rebuild. Jericho is the guy that should be the first champion. He draws eyes and attention. He’s a known commodity with enough left in the tank to deliver quality performances. Also, and this may be just me, despite his illustrious WWE career, he isn’t a typical WWE guy. He’s done his Cruise show, the NJPW stuff, and his wildly popular (albeit mediocre) band gives him a very diverse fanbase. He’s a rare guy who’s fame feels like is a product of himself and not the WWE, despite the obvious help that gave him. I do think Page will have a tremendous showing here and Jericho will do his best to help make a future star in the company look great. I see this getting nasty before the end, especially since both have gotten color in the build. If you want to protect Page a little while still making Jericho a strong champion, I say have Page pass out to the Lion Tamer after a grueling, brutal match. Then you can begin to build him back up on TV with the story that he never gave up, but he’s not quite ready yet. You also now have Jericho vs Kenny  for the title as your likely first big World Title television program. Prediction: Chris Jericho

Rich: Hangman Page is colder than ice going into this match. Months ago I would’ve said strap him up, build him up as your champion and make him a star. I can’t say that days out from the show. There’s just no juice to Page right now. That’s not to say they should totally give up on him. Quite the contrary. But he’s a guy I feel will benefit more from weekly television when he can really let people into his character, let people into his life, work weekly, establish himself on the big stage. You’d think in the build to this match, he would’ve gotten there but he really hasn’t. This is a no-brainer now. If you want publicity and eyeballs (you do), there is no debate on who wins this match: Jericho. Prediction: Chris Jericho

Aaron: I’ve seen, and taken part in, some debates about whether AEW should want Chris Jericho to be its first champion. That argument dumbfounds me. Jericho is the biggest star available to AEW. A lot of people have suggested they should have gone with Omega first but that ignores that AEW needs to get a million people to watch their television show. There aren’t a million Americans who know who Kenny Omega is! But when he beats CHRIS JERICHO to become AEW Champion, they will. 

As for Hangman Page, it’s a shame that he’s been handled so poorly coming into this match. It’s impossible to believe, in a kayfabe sense, that he could beat Chris Jericho. He’s coming off barely beating Kip Sabian of all people. Page will likely be fine no matter what happens here but he’ll have a much easier road back to the top of the card if he has a very good match with Jericho. Unfortunately, after seeing the diminishing returns of Jericho’s New Japan and AEW runs, I’m not sure that’s possible. Prediction: Chris Jericho