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AEW All Out 2024 (September 7) Results & Review

Voices of Wrestling Staffby Voices of Wrestling Staff•
AEW All Out 2024 Results & Review

ALL ELITE WRESTLING
ALL OUT 2024
SEPTEMBER 7, 2024
NOW ARENA
CHICAGO, IL

Watch: PPV/Bleacher Report/YouTube/PPV.com/DAZN/TrillerTV

MEET YOUR REVIEWERS:

Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling. You can also find his weekly reviews of AEW Collision over at F4WOnline. Check out his brand-new wrestling blog Williams Watches Wrestling, where he’ll engage in watch projects and review requests. Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.

Sean Sedor: After attending the Southern 500 at Darlington during Labor Day Weekend, Sean is back to help out Suit review All Out 2024, which looks to be an incredible main card, at least on paper. Will it deliver? Sean can’t wait to find out! As always, you can find Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994 (he refuses to call it X) AND on Bluesky (@sasedor2994.bsky.social). If you’re interested in some of his other escapades, you can watch him play the Formula 1 games on YouTube (just search his name), and you can also go to the Be The Booker forums if you’d like to check out his EWR Diary, where he plays as WCW (started in 1998, currently in February of 2003).

THE ACCLAIMED (ANTHONY BOWENS & MAX CASTER w/ Billy Gunn) DEF. IRON SAVAGES (BOULDER & BRONSON w/ Jacked Jameson)

Suit: I missed this match, but I wanted to make it abundantly clear how much I hate the Iron Savages. I’m unfortunately subject to them every now and again on Collision where I do my best to bury them in a buttoned-up manner, but I want these dorks to get picked up by Paul and win the NXT Tag Team Titles so badly. They can feud with “Hank & Tank” and Chase U and get the hell off my show.

Sean: Originally, I thought this was going to be a trios match, but instead, it ended up being a straight two vs. two tag. While The Acclaimed got the win (as pretty much everyone expected), Iron Savages got in much more offense than I would’ve figured. They’re a decent big man tag team (going all the way back to when they were Bear Country), but this current gimmick has never done anything for me, so their matches will always have a ceiling in that respect. They showed MxM Collection watching on, and they did tease a match with The Acclaimed last night on either Collision or Rampage, so I presume we’ll be getting that at some point before Bowens and Caster challenge The Young Bucks again. **1/4

DUSTIN RHODES, SAMMY GUEVARA, & HOLOGRAM DEF. PREMIER ATHLETES (ARIYA DAIVARI, JOSH WOODS, & TONY NESE W/ MARK STERLING)

Sean: Dustin Rhodes, Sammy Guevara, and Hologram teamed up to defeat The Dark Order last night on Rampage, and they managed to pick up another trios victory here over The Premier Athletes. A solid trios match on the whole, with some rough spots here and there. Now that we’ve gotten to see what Hologram can do over these last several weeks, I’m curious to see what his next step is. Who is his first actual feud going to be with? Will this undefeated run that he’s been on lead to him getting a title shot? Definitely intrigued to see what happens with him in the coming weeks and months. ***

THE BANG BANG GANG (JUICE ROBINSON, AUSTIN GUNN, & COLTEN GUNN) DEF. THE DARK ORDER (ALEX REYNOLDS, EVIL UNO, & JOHN SILVER

Sean: Trios action on the Zero Hour continued as Juice Robinson and The Gunns scored a win over Dark Order. This was very similar to the previous match. Perfectly fine for what it was as the babyface side picks up a victory. At this point, I feel like Juice and The Gunns are just biding time until Jay White comes back (and based on what came out a few weeks ago, he should be back soon). As far as Dark Order goes, I do find it funny that things have really gone full circle for Alex Reynolds and John Silver. They started out as jobbers, then got into Dark Order and went through all the highs and lows, as heels then babyfaces then back to heels, and now they’re basically right back where they started. Not at the level where they’re getting totally squashed, but in a role where they’re basically just putting over other people. Again, a solid match, though you aren’t missing a lot if you didn’t see it. ***

THREE WAY TRIOS MATCH
THE UNDISPUTED KINGDOM (MATT TAVEN, MIKE BENNETT, & RODERICK STRONG) DEF. TOP FLIGHT (ACTION ANDRETTI, DANTE & DARIUS MARTIN W/ LEILA GREY), & SHANE TAYLOR PROMOTIONS (LEE MORIARTY & SHANE TAYLOR) & THE BEAST MORTOS

Suit: Top Flight are out of the Party City pilot uniforms and are in some jumpsuits instead, which is an upgrade. I’d have just given them some bomber jackets and been done with it. This was a fine trios match here, with the Kingdom getting a win. The Kingdom are a good trio, but the Kingdom branding just puts me in a bad mindset. I think a new coat of paint would help them out, if only to leave this dropped angle in the past. ***

Sean: This Zero Hour feels like King Of Trios with the amount of trios matches we’ve gotten so far. Undisputed Kingdom ended up scoring the win when Roderick Strong took out Beast Mortos with a knee strike as he was hitting a move on Action Andretti. This three-way trios match was easily the best thing on Zero Hour, though it’s not like it was super spectacular or anything like that. I’m probably preaching to the choir on this, but I am not a fan of this gimmick change for Top Flight. I have no issues with adding Leila Grey as their new valet if that’s something you wanted to do. However, making them dress up like pilots is something that Vince McMahon 1000% would’ve done five years ago. It just reeks of 2019 WWE. I’m guessing some of those totally useless writers backstage (who have their minds stuck in the WWE way of doing things) took the Top Flight name way too literally and decided to dress them up to add some “flavor”. Yuck. ***1/4 

MJF DEF. DANIEL GARCIA

Suit: I’ve spoken about MJF’s work in the past year feeling unfocused at times. He would have his overarching story, but he would always add on some cheaper, lazier story on top of it. The Ospreay story was a simple one, but MJF added the unnecessary American Title stuff for the lazy heat. The MJF we’ve had the last few weeks in this Garcia feud, and the MJF that we got on this night, are the best versions of MJF. This was the focused, excellent MJF that made a lot of people on this site see the world in this man. He didn’t come out in Packers colors to make for definite sure that he got heat. He trusted his instincts, and it resulted in a fantastic match here.

Garcia jumped MJF at the bell and fought this match with the anger and hate you want in a feud like this. MJF re-opened Garcia’s wound from Wednesday night and bloodied him up. The work was intense and physical, with Garcia having a disgusting mix of blood, snot, and MJF’s spit in his face. This was grown man pro wrestling right here. Garcia caught MJF in a guillotine and caught his falling arm, wanting a top rope piledriver instead. MJF fought him off and shoved referee Remsburg in Garcia’s way, catching Garcia with a low blow and a flash pin to steal the win.

MJF went for the handshake and the low blow afterward, but Garcia caught his boot and kicked him in the nuts. Garcia got MJF to the top rope and dropped him with the piledriver before leaving through the crowd, as MJF got checked on by the doctors. This reminded me of MJF vs. Jungle Boy from the 2020 Double or Nothing show, with two young stars in this company going out in the opener with no shortcuts and just working their asses off. Garcia was great here, and this performance from MJF was a reminder of how great he can be when he trusts himself to be great. ****1/2

Sean: So instead of the MJF version of the American Flag that we got during his feud with Will Ospreay, we’re now getting a giant “I’m better than you” flag during this entrance. As soon as that flag dropped, however, Daniel Garcia (with a black bandage wrapped around his head after MJF’s attack on Dynamite) ran in from out of nowhere and jumped MJF to get this one going. I really liked seeing the match start that way, given the direction they’ve gone with this feud. After the initial fast start by Garcia, MJF took control as he targeted Garcia’s head and neck.

After the classic Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards suplex spot to the floor, Garcia barely beat the ten count and started taking the fight to MJF once again, but MJF responded with a powerbomb onto the knee (which looked brutal). He then took off Garcia’s bandage and broke open the wound from Wednesday. Garcia avoided the top rope piledriver and connected with a DDT off the top rope. It wouldn’t take long for MJF to fire back with some big offense of his own, but a bloodied Garcia kept on fighting. The two traded German Suplexes and crossfaces before Garica locked in the Dragon Tamer, which was then countered by MJF, who locked in a submission that looked like something Zack Sabre Jr. would do. Garcia somehow managed to get to the ropes, and hit a nasty piledriver that only got a two count. After Garcia failed to hit a piledriver from the second rope, MJF got the referee out of the way and hit a low blow to secure the win.

MJF went for a handshake after the fact, but this just led to a Garcia low blow, and then a piledriver off the second rope. So while MJF technically got the victory, Daniel Garcia got the last laugh in the end. What an awesome match to kick off the PPV. Some incredible stuff between these two in a match that was filled with HEAT and HATRED. Garcia put on an incredible performance here, and MJF played his role perfectly. This is something that I’ve said before, but MJF’s ring work (particularly in his big matches) has never been better. He is a legitimately great wrestler. As for the finish, I felt that putting MJF over would make the most sense if Garcia’s leaving, but the way the post-match played out just makes this feel like a feud that isn’t over. I guess we’ll see what happens. I’m definitely not a gambling man. ****1/2 

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
THE YOUNG BUCKS (MATTHEW JACKSON & NICHOLAS JACKSON) (C) DEF. BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB (CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI & WHEELER YUTA)

Suit: This was a rock-solid tag match, one that the Bucks haven’t had since the EVP power struggle began this past summer. The Bucks have had a very bad summer, but I’ve fought the idea that they are washed as a tag team. They just have the stink of a bad angle on them for right now, and the further they move away from that and back into having matches like this, it’ll pump the brakes on the talk of them being over-the-hill.

The AEW tag division has lost some world class teams, but there are still some regular pairings that can make for a good division. Get the Bucks more in the mix with the Top Flights and the House of Blacks and even the Outrunners on TV, and it’ll elevate the division as a whole. Castagnoli and Yuta were good challengers here, and an example of the teams AEW can make in this division. They had a couple of good nearfalls, including a shoutout to one of my favorite Bucks finishes of all time from Wrestle Kingdom 11 against Roppongi Vice. But Matthew got his knees up on the Rocket Launcher and caught Yuta with an inside cradle to retain. **** 

Sean: It’s pretty wild that The Young Bucks (as far as I can recall anyway) have yet to have a great two-on-two tag team match (that wasn’t either a Ladder Match or a Hardcore Match) since they started this heel EVP run earlier this year. With opponents like Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta, this bout certainly had a ton of potential going into it.

After the initial offense flurry from the BCC, The Young Bucks gained control after isolating Wheeler Yuta. He eventually made the tag to Claudio, who ran wild with uppercuts. The BCC went on a bit of a roll, even after Yuta was all on his own after Claudio got sent over the barricade on the outside. After some more back-and-forth between the two sides, Yuta nearly caught one of the Bucks with a crucifix after Claudo stopped More Bang For Your Buck. Claudio got hit with one EVP Trigger, but blocked a second one, and followed up with a suplex on both Bucks at once and a Giant Swing. Claudio then connected with a big superplex on Matt, and Yuta tried for a splash off the top rope, but Matt got the knees up. Nick then grabbed Claudio’s leg and held him down as Matt pinned Yuta to pick up the win.

This was a really good tag team match that was just shy of being great. The Young Bucks had their best straight two-on-two tag this year, and Claudio and Yuta did a very solid job as the challengers in this spot. I thought the finish was pretty clever, as the BCC were on the verge of victory until The Young Bucks managed to pull one out. I don’t have much else to say about this one. A very solid match that was perfect for its spot on the card. ***3/4 

AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
WILL OSPREAY (C) DEF. PAC

Suit:  I was supposed to be at this show. My plan was to fly to Chicago on Friday and buy a ticket at the door. Unfortunately, my plans fell through and I had to watch this show at home. I watched this match and cursed my bad luck. Everyone knows how great Ospreay is, god knows I’ve written enough about how incredible that man has been over the past five years. But we need to talk more about how fantastic PAC is as both a worker and as a character. Whether it’s as a singles or in tags and trios, PAC has a resume that rivals that of the top guys in this promotion while never getting the chance to be one himself. Part of that works for his character as the forever salty Bastard, constantly overlooked or taken out of the game due to circumstances both in and out of his control. This night was a reminder of just how great PAC is, and just how malleable he can be on this roster.

The build for this match started two weeks ago when PAC hit Ospreay with the surprise poisonrana, a move I still can’t believe happened. Then last week on Dynamite, PAC dropped Ospreay on a loading crate with a brainbuster. So, PAC wisely focused his work here on Ospreay’s neck. There was a particularly nasty sequence on the apron where PAC hit both a German suplex and a poisonrana to take Ospreay down. Ospreay survived a pair of Brutalizer submissions, but PAC countered the Stormbreaker with a sick rana for a nearfall. Ospreay kicked out of it and hit a Styles Clash before drilling PAC with a Hidden Blade, his second of the match, to win and retain the title.

This match was fucking unreal. The story was simple and effective, led to awesome nearfalls, and had the crowd living and dying at the hands of these men. This is what AEW can feel like at its peak. They didn’t need a long, winding, emotionally charged story to be great. They just needed a reason to fight, and the time to have that fight. This is the feeling everyone goes on about. One of the best matches of 2024. FULL FIVE

Sean: The crowd went crazy as the bell rang to get this one started. After the initial exchange, the two took turns hitting huge twisting dives off the top to the floor. They then got back in the ring and proceeded to have a hard strike exchange (far from a slow start to this one). PAC gained the upper hand after tossing Ospreay into the barricade, and connected with his Avalanche Brainbuster off the top that always looks absolutely insane. It wouldn’t take long for Ospreay to respond, as he went on an offensive flurry after taking PAC out with a flying forearm on the floor.

More incredible exchanges followed. After an incredible DDT from PAC and an OsCutter in the ring from Ospreay, the International Champion tried for an OsCutter on the apron, but PAC countered with a German Suplex on the apron, and then hit a freaking poison rana on the apron before following up with a Brutalizer. Ospreay survived all of that, and managed to successfully block the Black Arrow. Another wild exchange (which got a standing ovation) led to another poison rana by PAC as he went for the Brutalizer again. He escaped, hit a poison rana of his own, and hit the Hidden Blade for a CLOSE nearfall. Ospreay avoids a super poison rana and hits another Hidden Blade, but that’s still not it! An amazing counter of the Storm Breaker leads to a Styles Clash, and another Hidden Blade finally puts PAC away.

This was an absolutely phenomenal match between two of the best wrestlers on the planet today. Stellar action from start to finish in front of an incredible crowd. Words can’t do this match justice. If you didn’t see this show, you need to go out of your way to watch this one. Awesome stuff from both guys, and I LOVED how they worked the poison rana from a few weeks ago into the bout, as PAC used that to work over Ospreay’s neck. This will absolutely be on my top ten list for Match Of The Year. Stuff like this is why I love professional wrestling. *****

CHICAGO STREET FIGHT
KRIS STATLANDER (W/ STOKELY HATHAWAY) DEF. WILLOW NIGHTINGALE

Suit: Another excellent match on this PPV, as these two beat the piss out of each other. Statlander put Nightingale through a table before Willow kinda dodged a swanton through a table. We had light tubes, dives off the stage through tables, chains and tacks in this one. I instinctively started shouting the CZW song when Willow hit Statlander with the light tubes. Hathaway didn’t get himself involved physically, allowing for Statlander to get a clean win by choking Willow out with a chain. This show has been fantastic so far, and we still have the business end of the card on the way. ****1/4

Sean: Following that Ospreay/PAC match is an extremely tall order, but of the matches left on this card, the Chicago Street Fight between Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale was probably the best choice (you also probably want to put some distance between this and the Steel Cage Match. The women’s division of AEW has a strong history of having some great hardcore matches, so these two had a lot to live up to in that regard as well. Willow went on the offensive early, but Statlander responded with a chair shot and a powerbomb through (I believe) the Spanish Announce Table.

Statlander tried for a Swanton off the top in an attempt to put Willow through a table, but even though Willow moved, she still got nailed by Statlander on the way down. The two brawled up onto the stage, and Stokely brought out weapons as Statlander gained control. She tried to hit Willow with a barbed wire bat, but Willow avoided it and smashed light tubes over Statlander’s head! This was followed up with Statlander spearing Willow off the stage through a set of tables, and at this point, the insanity meter is getting pretty close to a full ten. Back in the ring, and Willow used a chain before the thumbtacks came out. Statlander tried for a Scissor Kick, but ended up doing a split onto the tacks! 

Statlander would fight back with a Spanish Fly off the top, and ended up getting out a chain that she attached to herself and Willow. One more exchange followed, and Statlander ultimately put Willow away with a tombstone followed by a choke with the chain. This was a car crash in the best way possible. An absolutely awesome Street Fight that was packed with action from start to finish. These two beat the crap out of each other, and they never really took their feet off the gas at any point. Screw AEW’s sad attempts at making four-way matches the “tradition” of the AEW women’s division. Brutal and violent hardcore matches are the REAL tradition of the AEW women’s division, and these two added another strong chapter into that storied history. With Statlander getting the win here, I presume that this feud isn’t quite over just yet, though I honestly don’t know how they can top this. ****1/2 

AEW CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
KAZUCHIKA OKADA (C) DEF. MARK BRISCOE, ORANGE CASSIDY, & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA

Suit: This was a solid match, but this was the coolest the crowd had been all night. They were hot for the Takeshita/Okada faceoffs, but no one really bought the idea that Okada was losing here. Okada is in an odd spot, as the big drawing point of his title – the Continental Classic – isn’t until the end of the year. No one is going to buy that Okada will lose until that tournament, and being involved in the Elite feud hasn’t helped him at all. It’s Okada, so I’m always going to believe he can be great, but he just has not hit the level you would want OKADA to hit on a regular basis. He should be another Will Ospreay, racking up the MOTY contenders on these shows, but he’s not. Okada pinned Cassidy with a Rainmaker, cutting off a Takeshita flurry to do so. ***1/2

Sean: While a singles match with Okada vs. any of these three would’ve been preferable over a Four-Way, the talent in this one is way too good, so I’m hoping it delivers. The first notable spot saw Orange Cassidy hit Okada and Takeshita with a double rana, and that was followed by a chop exchange between Takeshita and Mark Briscoe. All four men then took turns hitting each other with suplexes (had at least a half-dozen or so).

Following a series of dives, Briscoe and Orange had a fun exchange, which then led to a much anticipated exchange between Okada and Takeshita (we need that singles match ASAP). At this point, everyone started hitting their big moves. Takeshita hit Orange Cassidy with the Bastard Driver, but then Briscoe hit Takeshita with the Jay Driller. More nearfalls were exchanged, and just when it looked like Okada was out of it, he came in, cleared house, and put Cassidy away with The Rainmaker to pick up the win. This wound up being a pretty entertaining four-way. All four guys got plenty of moments to shine throughout, and we got some cool interactions before the eventual finish. The fact that Takeshita didn’t get pinned here has me hoping that Okada vs. Takeshita is happening at some point in the future. Again, as I mentioned earlier, a singles match is always preferable, but this turned out to be a strong match by the time it ended. ****

AEW TBS CHAMPIONSHIP
MERCEDES MONE (C) DEF. HIKARU SHIDA

Suit: These two worked this match like they stole each other’s wallets. This was scrappy from the jump, with a lot of stiff shots and grit between them. The match was going very well, but things got a little sloppy toward the end. There was an odd sequence when Shida hit three Katanas to set up a nearfall, but Mone just rolled out of the ring to get to the next spot. There was some stuff with Shida’s kendo stick, where she teased using it and getting DQ’ed. She decided against it, but Mone got the advantage afterwards. Mone had worked over Shida’s knee during the match and used a chop block to set up the Mone Maker for the win. It was trending to be a notebook match but fell just a bit short. ***3/4

Sean: Mercedes Moné retained the TBS Title against Hikaru Shida on Dynamite several weeks back, but that was mainly down to interference from Kamille. This time around, Kamille is barred from ringside. Shida had the early advantage after connecting with a series of dropkicks. She then started to work over the leg of Mercedes. After Shida hit a knee strike on the outside, Mercedes finally nailed her first major blow of the match with a sunset flip powerbomb out of the corner. She was in control for the next few minutes until Shida fought back with a rana. Some more back-and-forth ended with a big lariat from Shida. After some more exchanges, Mercedes hit the three amigos, and tried for Frog Splash, but Shida got the knees up, and hit a series of Falcon Arrows for a nearfall.

After a big knee strike from Shida, a series of Katana’s followed, but Mercedes somehow survived. They ended up on the floor and fought over Shida’s kendo stick. Shida thought about using it, but threw it down. An attempt to follow up after that was stopped, and we got a bit of a sloppy finish as Mercedes hit a weak Moné Maker for the win. This was a step above the first match between these two, and it was defending better than the Mercedes Moné/Britt Baker match at All In, but the closing sequence definitely knocked it down a notch or two. I’m sort of over the whole “wrestler tries to use a weapon that will surely get them disqualified, but they can’t bring themselves to do it” spot. It’s just overly contrived. These two worked pretty hard, and while there were some sloppy moments, most of those didn’t hurt the match that much (let’s not forget that Mercedes has never been the smoothest wrestler in the world). The finisher definitely could’ve been executed better, but aside from that, I enjoyed this. It was the weakest match on the show so far, though that’s saying something about the incredible quality of this card so far. ***1/2 

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
BRYAN DANIELSON (C) DEF. JACK PERRY

Suit: Danielson came out to Final Countdown again, as Tony is putting some of his TV money to use early. The pyro has been back tonight too, if you hadn’t noticed. Perry came out to big heat, although any CM Punk chants were quickly booed away. Credit to the full college course worth of people in the AEW booking crew to build Perry up for this title shot in Chicago after the red-hot reaction he had in the city back at Windy City Riot for New Japan.

At five years old, AEW is at the point in their life cycle where they need to cycle in new names at the top of the cards. They’ve done a good job with guys like MJF and Swerve Strickland, making them legitimate main event stars in this promotion. Darby Allin will get his chance coming up at Grand Slam, with rumors of the promotion considering giving him a run on top with the big belt. This was Perry’s shot, wisely put on a show where he was in a main event position but not the true main event.

He was serviceable, but not great in the spot. Perry is a much better wrestler as a babyface than as a heel, as his energy screams fighting babyface. He worked well here though, focusing on Danielson’s neck and getting close nearfalls with the Snare Trap STF and the Glass Jaw knee. The Young Bucks interfered after a ref bump, with Castagnoli and Yuta running them off after the TK Driver. Perry survived two Busaiku Knees, but Danielson stomped his head in and hit a third to retain the title. This was good, but short of great. ****

After the match, Killswitch jumped Danielson and stared down his former friend Perry. Christian Cage came out to cash in his Casino Gauntlet Title shot, but Jon Moxley came out and stood in his way. After the rest of the BCC and PAC stood at Moxley’s side, Christian bailed. The BCC raised Danielson’s hand, only for Castagnoli to drill him with an uppercut. Moxley pulled out a plastic bag and choked him out as PAC held Yuta back. The announcers treated this as a heinous act as Yuta and the doctors got Danielson oxygen. This sets up Mox’s new version of the BCC as a heartless group of assassins, sets up Mox as a major challenger, and sets up Yuta to break out in Danielson’s stead. This was an excellent, exciting angle that gives the top of the card a real jolt of energy and gives AEW a true top heel unit. 

Sean: Jack Perry had a special entrance, driving up in his Scapegoat van, with The Young Bucks and other guys in riot gear flanking him. Meanwhile, Bryan Danielson came out to Final Countdown again, which is just so cool. Seeing him come out to that song will never, ever get old. One thing that does have me a bit concerned though is Christian Cage. I don’t think we’ve seen him at all since All In, and he has that title shot in his pocket. I’m fearful of the obvious, but I’m hoping it doesn’t happen (fingers crossed).

After the opening exchange, Danielson locked Perry in the Romero Special, and then followed up with a springboard dive to the floor. Perry would respond a short time later with a superkick and a draping DDT, both on the floor. That gave Perry the opening to start working on the neck of Danielson (which is still covered in kinesio tape). Danielson responded with chops, and then connected with a HUGE back suplex off the top rope. After Perry fought back with his attempt at a Cattle Mutilation, the two battled on the apron, and Danielson hit a nasty butterfly suplex to the floor. A few minutes later, the referee got taken out, which opened the door for The Young Bucks to run down.

This then briefly turned into a House Of Torture match (which is fitting as Perry was part of House Of Torture earlier this year in New Japan) as The Young Bucks hit Danielson with a Spike Tombstone. Fortunately, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta ran down and chased off The Young Bucks. A running knee strike from Perry only got two, and Danielson responded with a huge Busaiku Knee. A second one followed soon thereafter (Perry really went flying when he got hit with those Busaiku Knees), and after kicking Perry’s head in, a third Busaiku Knee is hit, and that’s it. This was a pretty good match, but I don’t think I can call it great. The wrestling throughout was good, but it was just lacking….something. Jack Perry has had better matches than this for sure. We did get the interference, but it fortunately didn’t lead to the finish, which was nice to see. Definitely one of the weakest Bryan Danielson matches in some time, though that just speaks to the incredibly high standard that Danielson has set on this AEW run. ***1/2 

Ultimately, the post-match angle is going to totally overshadow this match. Killswitch ran in and attacked Danielson, and following a staredown between him and his former Jurassic Express teammate Jack Perry, Christian Cage came out with the rest of The Patriarchy, and it looked like he was going to use his title shot….but he was stopped by the rest of the BCC, which included Jon Moxley. Christian backed off, and the BCC celebrated with Danielson….until Claudio nailed Danielson with an uppercut! Moxley then attacked Danielson, choking him out with a plaster bag (complete with “This is murder” chants from the crowd) as PAC held Wheeler Yuta (who clearly wasn’t part of this) back. Marina Shafir also was there to hold security back. So the shoe has finally dropped with this Jon Moxley angle. The Blackpool Combat Club as we know it has split apart, with Claudio and PAC joining up with Moxley, while Yuta is still aligned with Danielson. It should be really fascinating to see how they follow up on this. Will there be more members in this new Moxley led group? Where does Darby Allin fit in? I’m curious to find out. The BCC was a lot of fun while it was around, but it was probably time for a shakeup.

LIGHTS OUT STEEL CAGE MATCH
HANGMAN PAGE VS. SWERVE STRICKLAND (W/ PRINCE NANA)

Suit: This match was far different from the cage matches of AEW’s past. This wasn’t the emotional spectacle that Cody vs. Wardlow was, nor was it the dazzling physical spectacle that Young Bucks vs. Lucha Brothers was. This was a spectacle of violence, as these two made this cage in Chicago a Cage of Death. They didn’t lock up to start this one, as Swerve tried to hold Page in place for the cage to crush his head. Page pulled out a staple gun, only for Swerve to use it to staple pictures of his own family to his face in a call back to the Texas Death Match. There was the cinder block, a staple of Swerve’s weapons arsenal, which Swerve used to hit a Vertebreaker on Hangman that left a disgusting roadrash scar on his back.

Hangman paid tribute to Magnum and Tully, using a burnt wooden spike to try and stab Swerve only to get spiked himself shortly after. Neither man could pin the other, not with a Swerve Stomp through a table nor an Awesome Bomb off the top rope. Swerve was done after the Awesome Bomb, only managing to defiantly get to his feet when Hangman wanted him to beg. But he collapsed right afterwards, leading to the finish. Hangman pulled Swerve’s grille out of his mouth, grabbed a hypodermic needle, and jabbed it through his cheek in a spot that Tony Schiavone audibly couldn’t watch. Page then took a steel chair and cracked Swerve point blank in the head, getting the win by knockout.

Hangman proved that without any interference, he could beat Swerve one-on-one. Hangman went to do more damage to Swerve, but chose to raise his hands in victory, finally proving himself right and proving himself to be the better man. It took him becoming the monster that he believed Swerve to be, and the match was unsanctioned and thus won’t count for anything, but he got his revenge.

This wasn’t as balls-to-the-wall as the Texas Death Match, as this was worked at a much more deliberate pace to let the violent spots set in. But the chemistry these two have is undeniable, and the energy that their feud brings to these main events is special. This is a hallmark feud in AEW history, and one that will define both men’s careers. ****1/4

Sean: Both men were escorted to the ring by security, and Swerve was wearing white gear, which is pretty much the universal sign that blood is going to be split (as if we didn’t know that was coming anyway). Swerve actually jumped Hangman before the cage was lowered, which allowed Nana to toss more weapons into the ring before the cage came down fully. Hangman managed to get a staple gun, but Swerve completely no-sold the staples. He then took out pictures of his family, and stapled them to Hangman’s chest and face (in a role-reversal of the Texas Death Match where Hangman stapled his child’s finger paintings to Swerve). Hangman finally nailed his first big shot of the match in the form of a barbed wire assisted lariat, followed by repeatedly sending Swerve into the wall of the Steel Cage.

There was a contrived spot involving referee Paul Turner that led to Swerve regaining control, and he connected with some really hard chair shots to the back of Hangman. He then brought out a cinder block, and after the two jockeyed for position, Swerve gave Hangman a nasty Vertebreaker onto the cinder block! That gave Page a big red bruise on his back. Swerve then followed up with a Swerve Stomp through a table that got a two count. This eventually led to Hangman getting out a jagged piece of Swerve’s burned down house. They battled over it, and Swerve ultimately stabbed Hangman with it. A moment of melodrama on Swerve’s part led to Hangman finding an opening, and he powerbombed Swerve onto the cinder block, which got the biggest reaction of the match so far. Somehow, Swerve fought back from that, and managed to powerbomb Hangman into the cage before a House Call only got two. A freaking powerbomb by Hangman from the top rope only got two. All of this culminated with Hangman taking out Swerve’s grill, sticking a needle THROUGH SWERVE’S CHEEK, and then just braining Swerve with a sickening chair shot to the head. That was enough for the referee to call it, and Hangman wins by knockout.

So the obvious question coming out of this is how did it compare to the Texas Death Match from Full Gear last year. Did it match or exceed it? I would say no. The confines of the Steel Cage definitely limited what they could do, so in that respect, they were more limited. There were points where this match felt….slow. You could say it dragged at some points as well. That being said, the level of violence we did get here was something to behold, and a number of the spots they did totally made up for some of those slower parts of the match. They were absolutely successful in conveying the fact that they wanted to destroy each other, and some of the punishment they took in this match was pure insanity. From the spots with the cinder block, to the super powerbomb, to MULTIPLE stabbings, and the chairshot to the head that finally put an end to the bout (I liked the fact that they went to a wide shot at the point of contact, as it does help put over the brutality and severity of that spot). What was interesting about the finish and the result is that not only was Swerve not pinned (Hangman won by knockout), but because it’s a Lights Out Match, the match doesn’t technically count. I know the records appear to have gone by the wayside (sadly), but that’s how AEW has always handled the Lights Out bouts in the past. So if you want to get technical, Hangman still hasn’t beaten Swerve, which leaves the door open for another match down the line. While you had the slowness that I mentioned, as well as a few other moments that didn’t quite work out, this was a super brutal match with a violent ending. I honestly wasn’t sure how to even rate this match at first. The Texas Death Match was better, as I mentioned, but there’s no question that this bout was just as memorable with some of the things they did to each other inside that Steel Cage. ****1/4

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