AEW ALL OUT
SEPTEMBER 20, 2025
SCOTIABANK ARENA
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
Watch: AEW on PPV
MEET YOUR PREVIEWER
Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling. Check out his blog, Williams Watches Wrestling, where he engages in watch projects like As Good As It Gets, his newest project watching the best of 1997! He also wrote about how moving this show away from WWE Wrestlepalooza was the smart, logical decision. Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.
TAILGATE BRAWL PRE-SHOW
SAMOA JOE & POWERHOUSE HOBBS VS. THE WORKHORSEMEN (ANTHONY HENRY & JD DRAKE)
Joe and Hobbs are in Canada. May as well book them. Prediction: Samoa Joe & Powerhouse Hobbs
TAILGATE BRAWL PRE-SHOW
DANIEL GARCIA VS. KATSUYORI SHIBATA
This is not a drill! Daniel Garcia has finally done something! After losing to Jon Moxley twice at the 2300 Arena – in two very good TV matches – Garcia joined the Death Riders and helped them stomp out Darby Allin. Instead of bullying Garcia like he’s done with his other protégé, Wheeler Yuta, Moxley has been encouraging and mentoring Garcia over the past few weeks, leading to Garcia making the turn. I’ve still got my Daniel Garcia stock, and hopefully those will be paying off in the upcoming months. He makes his first solo appearance as a Death Rider here against Katsuyori Shibata, with whom he’s split matches in the past. Expect this to be a focused, spotlight win for Garcia, possibly setting up a Death Riders return match against The Opps. Prediction: Daniel Garcia
TAILGATE BRAWL PRE-SHOW
TORNADO TAILGATE BRAWL
MEGAN BAYNE, PENELOPE FORD, JULIA HART & SKYE BLUE VS. HARLEY CAMERON, MINA SHIRAKAWA, QUEEN AMINATA & WILLOW NIGHTINGALE
The majority of the women’s division has been stuck in stasis since before All In. At first, it looked like this big group feud was leading to a Blood & Guts match. Then, it looked like the bones of a tag team division with rumored titles incoming. Unfortunately, neither has materialized, and we’re left with a lot of women running in place. I don’t know what the outcome of this will end up being, but as far as this match goes, I’ll go chalk and say that Willow gets the pre-show win. Prediction: Nightingale, Cameron, Shirakawa, & Aminata
ADAM COPELAND & CHRISTIAN CAGE VS. FTR (CASH WHEELER & DAX HARWOOD) (W/STOKELY)
When it was rumored that Cope & Cage were going to be teaming again in AEW, it wasn’t something I was looking forward to or dreading. It was a thing that was going to be on the show that I had no strong feelings towards. I was four years old when these two broke up as a team, and I tend not to look forward to anything Copeland’s doing since his return from injury.
However, this reunion has so far avoided any nostalgia traps, with Copeland and Cage instead making uneasy partners helping each other with their respective tag team problems. With Cage’s Patriarchy issue addressed at Forbidden Door, they turn their attention to one of the best acts in pro wrestling today: FTR.
Ever since their turn on Copeland back at Dynasty, FTR has been on one of the most compelling runs of their career. Their promos have been getting great heat, and their work has been phenomenal. They’ve turned in some gritty, hard-hitting matches with random pairings like Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuinness, Jet Speed, the leftover Bang Bang Gang members, and The Outrunners.
There’s going to be significant heat, especially with the news that this match is opening the show. This match has been building since April, and you could argue we’ve been building to this since Copeland’s return in December. If they avoid the temptation to overindulge and go overboard, this has every chance to be an excellent match. The simple call here is to have Copeland and Cage get the hometown win to start the show hot and possibly continue this tag run into the future. Prediction: Copeland & Cage
EDDIE KINGSTON VS. BIG BILL
Eddie Kingston makes his return after sixteen months on the shelf on this All Out card. But since Gabe Kidd is still pretending to work for New Japan, and Jon Moxley is busy with Darby Allin, he’s gonna take care of Big Bill here in his official return match. It is a random-looking match on paper. Ultimately, this will establish Kingston back in the fold before he presumably gets involved with Moxley and the Death Riders, possibly as soon as later on this card. Prediction: Eddie Kingston
AEW WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE TRADITIONAL FOUR-WAY MATCH
TONI STORM (C) VS. JAMIE HAYTER VS. KRIS STATLANDER VS. THEKLA
Timeless Toni Storm finds herself in a four-way match here against three strong challengers. Since All In, Toni seems to be looking for a woman to step up and take her mantle as the top woman in the company. Athena couldn’t do it at Forbidden Door, and while I can see one of these women dethroning Toni, I don’t see it happening here. It would feel undignified for this tentpole Toni Storm title reign to end in an unfocused four-way match, traditional or otherwise.
Like I said, I can see a path to any of these women winning the title down the line. Commentary has been sure to point out that Storm beat Hayter for the title back in 2022 and put Hayter on the shelf as a result. Thekla has garnered a considerable amount of attention since joining the company, earning herself a poorly named unit as a result. And Kris Statlander has entered the orbit of the Death Riders, with Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta offering her advice that she isn’t asking for. There’s a path for all of these women to challenge and overtake Storm as champion, but I would be surprised if that came on Saturday. Prediction: Toni Storm
RICOCHET & GOA (BISHOP KAUN & TOA LIONA) VS. THE HURT SYNDICATE (BOBBY LASHLEY, MVP & SHELTON BENJAMIN)
In the spring, Ricochet felt like he had some strong upward momentum as a heel, but a few months of spinning his wheels in the midcard have left him cold. He’s gotten the rebranded Gates of Agony as his new heaters and restarted his feud with the Hurt Syndicate after they rescinded their offer for him to join the group late last year.
Meanwhile, I’m convinced that the Syndicate was miscast as a heel tag team. The work that Lashley and Benjamin have done as singles acts has been quality, with Lashley’s match against Toa Liona on the September To Remember show being the in-ring highlight of the night. And for the misgivings that some fans have with them and their possible aversion to jobs, the live crowds still react positively to them. My hope is that this is a match that gets Ricochet heated up for a World Title match against Hangman Page, but my expectation is that the Hurt Syndicate wins to heat up Lashley for a shot. There will be more complaining, but Lashley vs. Hangman does sound like a badass match. Prediction: The Hurt Syndicate
AEW TBS TITLE MATCH
MERCEDES MONE (C) VS. RIHO
Mercedes Mone defends the TBS Title here against Riho, who was pulled out of mothballs for this match. Her last AEW match was on the Big Business show, where Mone made her debut for the company. This will be another successful defense for Mone, as she closes in on Jade Cargill’s record for longest reigning TBS Champion of all time. The record will be broken the day before the WrestleDream PPV on October 17th. Still, with the Sixth Anniversary Dynamite and Title Tuesday before then, there could be another roadblock between now and then. Prediction: Mercedes Mone
TABLES N’ TACKS MATCH
MARK BRISCOE VS. MJF
MJF and Mark Briscoe look to blow off their feud in a Tables N’ Tacks match, a stipulation devised by Briscoe after MJF agreed to fight him in any match Briscoe desired. This reminds me of the WWE TLC pay-per-views, where they had too many plunder matches on one show and had to separate them out so spots wouldn’t get repeated. You’ve got a coffin match, a ladder match, and the Tailgate plunder match, so Briscoe and MJF must make sure to corner the market on tables and thumbtacks.
For this month’s long feud to have accomplished anything, Briscoe MUST win this match. MJF will have the excuse of flying in from Mexico City the night before, after blowing off the Mistico feud at the CMLL Anniversary show, and he’s Teflon anyway. Any heat he may lose from losing this match can be immediately regained with a promo on Dynamite. Briscoe, on the other hand, will lose a ton of credibility if he loses to MJF again and ends up on the going-nowhere babyface hamster wheel that Daniel Garcia just vacated. If AEW is serious about elevating Mark Briscoe, then his winning this match is a crucial step. The next step would be to get the TNT Title onto him, finally getting the better of Kyle Fletcher in the process. Prediction: Mark Briscoe
AEW UNIFIED TITLE
KAZUCHIKA OKADA (C) VS. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA VS. MASCARA DORADA
Either Kazuchika Okada or Konosuke Takeshita will be pinning Mascara Dorada to win this match. But whose finish will Dorada be taking? Okada seems like the logical option, keeping the belt to continue what is technically the longest title reign in company history (the Continental Title lineage being tied into this Unified Title muddies this up a bit, but it is one continuous reign as champion) ahead of the Continental Classic. However, Takeshita is in line for a significant push in New Japan, as he has already won the G1 Climax and is expected to win the IWGP Title in Sumo Hall next month. Could AEW and New Japan want the visual of Konosuke Takeshita holding major titles in both promotions? Could the eventual Okada/Takeshita match be the Tokyo Dome World Title match?
Of those two options, I would rather have Okada retain here. There is a much stronger way for Okada to put someone over for this belt than having Mascara Dorada as a go-between. My expectation is that Okada will not drop a fall or lose this title until the finals of the Continental Classic at Worlds End. Prediction: Kazuchika Okada
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE LADDER MATCH
BRODIDO (C) VS. THE YOUNG BUCKS VS. JET SPEED VS. HECHICERO & JOSH ALEXANDER
Did this show really need a ladder match? No. Does any show in 2025 NEED a ladder match? No. Will I enjoy this match at the end of the day? Probably. I prefer Brody and Bandido against the Bucks in a straight-up tag as it looked like they were building after the last Dynamite in the 2300 Arena. Still, Jet Speed needs something to do, and Josh Alexander has earned a PPV match in Canada after the quality grunt work he’s done in the midcard lately. The Bucks seem to be on the other side of this goofball gimmick they’ve been doing lately, so them winning the titles for a fourth time ahead of a clash against Cage & Cope is the probable play here. Prediction: The Young Bucks
COFFIN MATCH
JON MOXLEY VS. DARBY ALLIN
After over a year, Darby Allin gets his hands on Jon Moxley in a coffin match. While the World Title match is promised to have no interference, and while Darby Allin made Bryan Danielson promise to stay uninvolved, I think there’s going to be a parade of interference in this match. This will be ECW-style mayhem, with run-ins galore and a ton of chaos. Darby will take at least four bumps that should maim him, but somehow won’t. The Death Riders will show up, as will the babyface army.
My hot take is that I think Daniel Garcia will turn back babyface here, his joining of the Death Riders being a trick to catch them off guard. Whether that happens or not, I expect Darby to get the win to write Moxley off of TV for a little while. Mox has been a workhorse on television since losing the World Title, and I get the vibe that he might be turning babyface soon with his subtle change in demeanor from domineering bully world champion to workhorse veteran giving advice to wayward talent. I feel like there’s going to be a significant shift coming out of this match, and it should give AEW some real juice in the upper midcard. Prediction: Darby Allin
AEW WORLD TITLE MATCH
HANGMAN ADAM PAGE (C) VS. KYLE FLETCHER
Suit: The main event of this show will presumably be the World Title match between Hangman Adam Page and TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher. When Hangman won the title at All In: Texas, Fletcher was on my short list of names that could dethrone Page. The TNT Title reign felt like an establishing title reign for him, and as soon as he lost it, moving up to the World Title scene and becoming a fresh face at the top of these AEW cards felt like a no-brainer. AEW has decided to move a bit faster than that, having Fletcher challenge for the World Title while still the TNT Champion. While that does put the result of this match in little doubt, it is good to see AEW elevating a fresh face to the top of a PPV card.
I’ve had the thought for a while that even with the bevy of talent at the top of AEW cards, AEW hasn’t done the strongest job of cycling in new names in the World Title mix. Much of the top of AEW cards contains the Day One guys, who have now been television regulars for SIX years. Time moves quickly in pro wrestling, and while those Day One guys are clearly still assets to the promotion, I believe they aren’t exciting the AEW fanbase into buying tickets to the weekly shows.
The PPV audiences are still strong, with this show in line to be the highest attended All Out event in history, according to Tony Khan. But it is crucial to start cycling in new names into storylines on television that peak on PPV. Guys like Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, Josh Alexander, and Bandido can be guys who grab attention and freshen up the company as new and exciting featured acts.
AEW has gotten started with Fletcher, whose rise started just under a year ago with his heel turn. He’s risen to the occasion at every turn and should do the same here against Hangman Page in the most prominent spot of his career. AEW has taken the training wheels off, stipulating that any interference from the Callis Family will cause Fletcher to be stripped of his TNT Title and essentially guaranteeing a clean match. I have every bit of confidence that Fletcher can step up to the plate and have an excellent PPV main event against Hangman, who’s no slouch in his own right, and establish himself in the eyes of the fans as a real-deal main eventer in short order.
The story of this match is simple, as Fletcher took Kenny Omega out of action as a message of intent to Hangman. I do wish this story focused more on that instead of pivoting to Hangman believing that Fletcher isn’t ready to be The Man in AEW yet. That could be as simple as the new, mature Hangman not allowing his emotions to get the better of him and baiting Fletcher into a match with no interference. Still, I also think using the emotion of the Omega angle would’ve been a better hook for this match. The result isn’t in question and doesn’t necessarily need to be. Hangman can beat Fletcher clean with no damage done to either party, as this can start Fletcher’s next character arc towards his inevitable World Title win.
Tyler Forness of The Good, The Bad, & The Hungee floated an idea of these two going to a time-limit draw, both to elevate Fletcher to Hangman’s level and to screw over the WWE show that will more than likely have started by the time this match hits the ring. While I do like that idea, as it gives them a reason to extend this feud out for another big show or two, I think that more can be accomplished narratively if Hangman beats Fletcher decisively. There can be intrigue in seeing if Fletcher spirals from this loss, as Hangman believes he will, and how that might affect the TNT Title in the future as well. Hangman gets the win in what should be an excellent main event World Championship match. Prediction: Hangman Page
