AEW ALL OUT
SEPTEMBER 20, 2025
SCOTIABANK ARENA
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
Watch: AEW on PPV
Meet our reviewers:
Sean Sedor: It’s an AEW PPV day, which means that Sean is here to help out the review (and he certainly doesn’t mind the early start time, especially since Penn State is off this weekend). You can find Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994 and on BlueSky @sasedor2994.bsky.social. If you’re interested in some of Sean’s other escapades, you can watch him play the Formula 1 games on YouTube (just search his name and you’ll find the channel), and you can also go to the Be The Booker forums if you’d like to check out Sean’s EWR Diary, where he plays as WCW (started in 1998, currently in February 2004).
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.
The Opps (Powerhouse Hobbs & Samoa Joe) def. The Work Horsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
Sean: Nice to see The Work Horsemen getting a spot on the pre-show. The match kicked off with Hobbs hitting Henry with eight or nine bodyslams in a row before giving one to Drake (that sequence got the crowd fired up). Joe then tagged in and worked over Drake for a bit before the Work Horsemen finally got some offense in. That was short-lived, as Hobbs tagged in and cleaned house. Hobbs then wiped out Henry with a spinebuster as Joe choked Drake out for the win. This was pretty much a squash for The Opps, but it was fun while it lasted. I would’ve loved to have seen what this match could’ve looked like if Joe and Hobbs wrestled the Work Horsemen of six or seven years ago. Alas, they’re in the enhancement role now, and they did a perfectly fine job in this spot. **
Daniel Garcia def. Katsuyori Shibata
Sean: We get a little Heyman Special here as Katsuyori Shibata made his entrance for the next match as Samoa Joe and Powerhouse Hobbs were leaving after the opener. Daniel Garcia made his entrance through the crowd with some….fascinating new entrance music. This got off to a fast start as Shibata went right after Garcia with kicks before tossing him into the barricade a couple of times. After getting out of a Figure Four from Shibata, Garcia got an earful from Daddy Magic (who was on commentary) before kicking the steel steps into Shibata’s head (hopefully they don’t have to take his brain out again). Fortunately, Shibata recovered from this relatively quickly and went back on the offensive, which included his dropkick in the corner and a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Back in the ring, the two would have more exchanges before Garcia would respond with a pair of piledrivers, but that only fired Shibata up. Marina Shafir then made her presence felt as she distracted the referee while Shibata had Garcia in a choke. With the hold broken, Garcia attacked Shibata from behind and followed up with a Gotch Style Piledriver and a Curb Stomp for the win. A really good match between these two, as you would expect. I’m not a fan of Garcia’s new gear, and I’m not sure how I feel about his new music, but this was a solid win for him that helps further establish him as part of the Death Riders while also (seemingly) setting a future Trios Title Match with The Opps and The Death Riders. ***1/2
Hologram & Paragon (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) def. The Frat House (Cole Karter, Griff Garrison, & Preston Vance with Jacked Jameson)
Sean: In a late addition to the card, Hologram teamed up with Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong to take on The Frat House in what was basically an extended squash. The Frat House jumped the babyfaces to start, and did get a little bit of offense in, but once the babyface side took control, it was only a matter of time. I thought that maybe we’d get El Clon showing up here, though ultimately that didn’t come to pass. Just a match to get Hologram and Paragon a win. N/R
Tornado Tailgate Brawl – Harley Cameron, Mina Shirakawa, Queen Aminata, & Willow Nightingale def. Megan Bayne, Penelope Ford, & The Triangle Of Madness (Julia Hart & Skye Blue)
Sean: I will always appreciate wrestlers wearing street clothes for hardcore matches like this (not everyone involved was, but some were). As you might’ve guessed, this one broke down pretty quickly. Bayne picked Ford up and tossed onto the opposing team on the floor. This was followed up with a big eight person suplex spot in the ring, before the action once again spilled to the floor. I didn’t realize coming into this that they’d take the Tailgate theme quite….literally, with all of the various tailgate related items throughout the ringside area. Willow taking a powerbomb on a cooler was the first big spot coming out of commercial break. Some more brawling on the floor with the various tailgate items followed (including a spot with a grill that didn’t exactly work out as planned) before Willow pinned Ford with the Doctor Bomb. Usually you can count on the AEW women to put on hardcore matches that are (at the very least) pretty good, but this was easily the worst one I’ve seen in some time. If this was just a normal hardcore match, it probably would’ve been at least solid. However, it just felt like these eight were given this stipulation (which in practice felt like one of those themed hardcore matches you see all the time in WWE) and just….didn’t really know what to do with it. If there was an insistence on doing this particular gimmick for this pre-show, why couldn’t Hologram and Paragon vs. The Frat House be the Tailgate Brawl instead? At least that would’ve fit with The Frat House and their whole shtik. A real shame to see how this all turned out, as these women have been in hardcore matches that were much, much better than whatever this was. 1/2*
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage def. FTR (with Stokely Hathaway)
Sean: Before the match, we got a backstage skit with Adam Copeland and Christian Cage interacting (more so Copeland, as Christian looked like he did not want to partake in any of this) with a former Toronto Maple Leaf as well as a character from a Canadian TV Series called Trailer Park Boys. Alright then. Once the match got going, Christian went right after the nose of Dax Harwood (which was broken and bloodied back on Wednesday). After a brief exchange between Copeland and Cash Wheeler, FTR isolated Christian for a few minutes before Copeland managed to get back in. This led to a spot where Copeland did a tribute to John Cena with a Five Knuckle Shuffle and an Attitude Adjustment (what made this kind of funny was the commentary team being completely silent for these spots as they clearly did not want to say John Cena’s name, even though he’s the main star on a show that’s on HBO Max). Some decent back and forth between the two followed until Stokely pulled the referee when Copeland and Christian seemingly had the match won. This led to the former Beth Phoenix coming out and taking out Stokely.
After another close nearfall that saw Copeland and Christian nearly get the win, Cash actually pulled off a pretty impressive spot as he picked Christian up in the powerbomb position and carried him down the steps so he could hit a powerbomb on the announce desk. A couple of more finisher exchanges followed before Copeland finally put away Cash with the Spear. Things didn’t end there though, as a distraction from an injured Nick Wayne’s crew allowed FTR to attack Copeland and Christian. With Christian taken out and Copeland handcuffed to the ropes, FTR hit Beth with the Spike Piledriver. There was some fine action in this one, though for a match that was presented as this dream match between these two tag teams, it definitely didn’t live up to those expectations (I would honestly say the match at Forbidden Door against Kip Sabian and Killswitch was a little better). There were definitely elements of a good match here, but it just didn’t click as well as it could have (maybe it was some of the sports entertainment style stuff like the Cena tribute and the Beth run-in). That being said, the actual angle where FTR took out Beth was a good angle, and presumably sets up a rematch, though the road they traveled to get to this point wasn’t exactly ideal. This feels like a match that’s going to be pretty divisive depending on what you like in your wrestling. On the whole, I felt this was….fine, I suppose? **1/2
Suit: There was a skit with the guy with the glasses from Trailer Park Boys that Christian looked like he wanted no part of. Most of the goodwill these guys earned with their work in this feud was burned here, so hopefully, they have a good match. Unfortunately, COPE sucks so badly that he was able to tank a match with three of the best acts in the company. This was a very lame match, with Cope shouting out John Cena in what was built as a blood feud blowoff and Beth Phoenix showing up with her stupid dinosaur hair. Just a complete tonal failure.
FTR seemed to have the match well in hand, but Cope caught Wheeler with a spear as Cage held onto Harwood in the ropes to get the win. After the match, Nick Wayne played distraction so FTR could get their heat back. Kip Sabian cuffed Copeland to the ropes as FTR dropped Cage and Phoenix with a spike piledriver to boos to end the segment. This was a real disappointment, and unfortunately, much closer to what I expected from this Cope & Cage reunion. **1/4
Eddie Kingston def. Big Bill (with Bryan Keith)
Sean: Eddie Kingston came out to a massive reaction, and was also wearing a “Claudio Sucks Eggs” shirt, which was awesome. Kingston went right after Big Bill to start, but Bill struck back quickly, and was in control for a good chunk of the match. Eddie would fight back and managed to get offense in before eventually putting Bill away with a Spinning Backfist that did not look so great. Fortunately, he would get a chance to redeem himself a few moments later with a Backfist on Bryan Keith after HOOK helped save him from a two-on-one post-match attack. I’m not sure if I would’ve put this match right after Copeland and Christian vs. FTR (given how that turned out), but for what it was, it was relatively decent. Kingston got a win on his return, and it looks like he’ll be paired with HOOK, at least in the short-term (at the very least for a tag team match against Big Bill and Bryan Keith). I suppose that’ll serve as a brief detour for Kingston before he goes after Gabe Kidd (the guy who injured him last year) and the rest of the Death Riders. **1/2
Suit: This was a neat and tidy win to get Kingston back in the fold, as to be expected. There was some clunkiness, as you wouldn’t expect these two to be a strong match-up stylistically, but it got the job done. Kingston won with a backfist after Big Bill caught the post on a corner splash. Bryan Keith jumped Kingston after the bell, but Hook made the save for Kingston. The way it looked, these two were going to be paired up for the near future, which could be a good way to ease Kingston back into ring shape. **1/2
Tables ‘n’ Tacks Match
Mark Briscoe def. MJF
Sean: MJF is wearing a white T-Shirt and white jeans which, in pro-wrestling, is the universal sign that blood will be flowing at some point. As soon as the match got started, Mark Briscoe took buckets and buckets of thumbtacks and just poured them all over the mat. They actually did a good job in the early moments building up to the first spot onto the tacks, and MJF ultimately struck first after slamming Briscoe onto the tacks. MJF then continued to pour on the punishment, as he slammed Briscoe face first onto the tacks (busting him open in the process) before an Alabama Slam and multiple back body drops. Briscoe was finally able to respond with a back body drop of his own along with a spinebuster, as MJF finally got dropped into the tacks. We then saw tables finally introduced into the match as Briscoe put MJF through multiple tables on the floor.
After giving MJF a powerbomb onto the pile of tacks in the ring, Briscoe brought out a chair with tacks glued onto it. Unfortunately, he ended up eating that thumbtack chair right to the back after a low blow from MJF. We then got MJF setting up a table in the ring and pouring two bags of tacks onto it. After a battle on the turnbuckle, Briscoe put MJF through the table, and followed up with a Froggy Bow and a Jay Driller to score the victory. This was a great match from start to finish as Mark Briscoe finally got what I believe was his first major singles win on an AEW PPV (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on that). These two worked really hard, and did a great job with the stipulation. It’s no real surprise that Briscoe excelled in this environment, given that he and Jay have always been awesome when it comes to any sort of bloody hardcore wars. As for MJF, he played his role perfectly here, and the fact that he had this type of match after wrestling Mistico at CMLL’s 92 Anniversary Show last night (I have not seen their match yet, but from everything I’ve heard, it was nothing short of phenomenal) is amazing. While there’s no question that MJF can be incredibly frustrating at times in this company (just look at his match at Forbidden Door last month), there’s almost nobody better than him when he hits. The only negative here was that MJF’s title shot wasn’t on the line, but hey, I guess you can’t always get what you want in life. ****1/4
Suit: Working a highly acclaimed match with Mistico in Arena Mexico, then working a match with Mark Briscoe where they milked every bump for all it was worth. And they say MJF isn’t a smart guy.
This was an awesome, thoughtful plunder match. While it didn’t match the spectacle of an Onita barbed wire match, it did share the psychology early on of making every bump into the tacks count. Eventually, the double-tough Briscoe outfought MJF, put him through a table, and finally scored with the Jay Driller to get the win. Briscoe gets a win as AEW may finally be moving forward with a genuine push for him. The first great match of the show. ****1/4
The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) def. The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley, MVP, & Shelton Benjamin)
Sean: This Six-Man Tag is only MJF’s second match in AEW (he wrestled a Six-Man Tag on Dynamite back in January). Following a fun little exchange between Shelton Benjamin and Toa Liona, Ricochet got tagged and just got his ass kicked for a bit by both Bobby Lashley and MVP. The heels then took control for a brief period as they worked over MVP’s knee, but once Benjamin and Lashley got back involved, they were just kicking ass and tossing bodies left and right. GOA finally got some decent shots in after a chair was introduced on the floor while the referee was checking on MVP. A fun sequence on the floor culminated with a big dive over the post to the floor from Ricochet and Liona sending both Lashley and Benjamin over the barricade. This left MVP all alone in the ring, and after getting his knee clipped by Kaun, Ricochet hit the Spirit Gun to score the win. This was by no means a stellar match, though it was entertaining while it lasted. Say what you will about the Hurt Syndicate (and all the issues that have been talked about to death over the last few months), but watching Lashley and Benjamin just toss guys around can be a lot of fun to watch. If The Hurt Syndicate were going to lose, MVP was the obvious fall guy, and that’s exactly what we got at the finish. Did this bout need to be on this PPV? Not really. It could’ve been on Dynamite and achieved the same result, though given how the feud has gone up to this point, I’m not going to complain about Ricochet’s new unit (apparently called The Demand now) getting a win on PPV. ***
Suit: The Hurt Syndicate did a job, can we let that go now? Anyway, the Hurt Syndicate have found their lane as big dudes who just throw people around with reckless abandon. They do still work better as singles than as a tag team or a trio. There was a lot of selling from MVP, which is the right call as he’s the manager, but it did take some steam out of the early portions of this match. Things ramped up toward the finish, as they tend to do. The newly named “Demand” isolated MVP, and after a short comeback, Ricochet dropped him with the Spirit Gun for the win. A needed win for Ricochet after he’s lost some steam over the past few months, and a possible resetting towards one of the babyface champions. ***1/4
AEW TBS Title
Mercedes Moné (c) def. Riho
Sean: I cannot remember the last time Riho appeared on an AEW PPV. She made her return to AEW during the 2300 Arena residency, and while this match-up initially looked good on paper when it was first announced, she looked pretty rough in the tag team match against Mercedes that took place during the final Dynamite of that residency (a show that I attended), so I wasn’t sure how she’d look here. Once the match got going, Riho got off to a hot start with a series of flash pins before teasing Mercedes by doing her dance. Once the action spilled to the floor, Riho hit a series of double foot stomps (one off the apron and one off the announce desk), but Mercedes would respond a short time later with a Meteora off the same announce desk. The two exchanges submission holds (with one of them being a half crab that Riho bent all the way back on) before Mercedes went on a bit of an offensive flurry that included multiple suplex and her running knees in the corner. Riho would respond with a variety of suplexes of her own, but after Mercedes raked the eyes, she quickly followed up with the Moné Maker for the win. As I noted earlier, I wasn’t sure how Riho would do here, given the match that I saw in person during the residency, but thankfully she was able to shake off the rust and have the type of performance I would’ve expected from Riho. This ended up being a really good match on the whole, even though the result was never really in question. The crowd didn’t seem as into it, but I enjoyed a lot of the action we got here. With another successful title defense under her belt, Mercedes should be closing in on breaking Jade Cargill’s record (in terms of the length of her title reign) in the next few weeks. ***3/4
Suit: This was a very good match that suffered from a disconnected crowd. While this match didn’t have any kind of strong build, this crowd was muted and detached for the length of the show so far. Mercedes worked her ass off during this match, pinballing around for Riho as she worked over Mone’s midsection. This was just strong work here as Mone continues to shine as TBS Champion. Mone won clean with the Mone Maker and is now a month away from becoming the longest reigning TBS Champion in history. ***3/4
AEW Unified Title
Three-Way Match – Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Konosuke Takeshita & Mascara Dorada
Sean: After just watching a title match where it was very clear who was winning, we’re going right into another title match with a super obvious result, as Mascara Dorada comes into this three-way for the AEW Unified Title as the clear pin-eater. I honestly don’t mind those types of matches, in all seriousness. As long as you deliver a really strong match, I won’t complain. Speaking of Mascara Dorada, the early moments of this one were really a showcase for him, as he pulled off some impressive stuff before he got wiped out (momentarily) with a brainbuster on the floor. That wouldn’t keep him down for too long, however, as he continued to fire up the crowd with a series of dives as well as a neckbreaker out of a One Winged Angel position that looked super cool. It was at this point that we finally got our first prolonged Okada/Takeshita exchange, which included one of the most beautiful Blue Thunder Bombs you’ll ever see.
The battle between Okada and Takeshita was briefly interrupted by Dorada sending them both off the top rope with a double rana. At this stage, there was so much incredible action that was impossible to keep up with all of it. Following a massive superplex, Takeshita connected with the Raging Fire on Dorada, but Okada broke up the pin. Another short exchange sent Takeshita out of the ring, and Okada followed up with the Rainmaker on Dorada for the win. This was an awesome three-way affair, and (at this point in the card) the clear frontrunner for Match Of The Night. Not only was this a strong showcase for Mascara Dorada, but it gave you the tease of the eventual Okada vs. Takeshita singles match that we all know is coming at some point. With incredible action from start to finish, this was an absolute blast to watch, and it accomplished pretty much everything it needed to. Three awesome professional wrestlers had an excellent three-way match. Not much else to say beyond that! ****1/2
Suit: This was an absolute heater. Everyone and their mothers knew that Dorada was taking the fall here, but they gave Dorada so much offense here. He worked as a go-between, that kept the interactions between Okada and Takeshita limited while adding a ton of spectacular offense in his own right. They made sure that Dorada looked like he belonged, and Dorada stepped up to the plate with some phenomenal spots, including a double avalanche hurricanrana.
They did give us enough Okada/Takeshita teases to make that match even more appealing, with a sick Tombstone counter into a Blue Thunder Bomb. The crowd, which had been muted all night, came alive for this one from the coin drop onwards. Takeshita had the match won over Dorada but wanted to make the point of pinning Okada. It cost Takeshita the match, as Okada was able to survive and land the Rainmaker on Dorada for the win. An excellent match, as it was nice to see Okada remind us that he’s still Okada. ****1/2
Coffin Match
Jon Moxley def. Darby Allin
Sean: As Jon Moxley was making his usual entrance through the crowd, I thought to myself “it wouldn’t shock me if Darby jumped Mox in the crowd”. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Darby and Mox brawled on the floor for a few minutes, with Darby getting in the biggest shot with a Coffin Drop off a balcony. Once they got to ringside, we got a bit of a reversal from Forbidden Door as Moxley was the one who got his ear all busted up. Darby would follow up with a wild dive that sent both guys into one of the coffins, though from there, Mox recovered and countered another Darby dive with a cutter. The rest of the Death Riders came out to put one of the coffins in the ring while Mox slammed Darby on the other. Darby would respond a short time later by busting out a fork, and not only did he stab Mox in the head with it (causing even more blood to flow), but he went after the already bleeding ear of Mox as well (an Ear For An Ear, one might say). Darby managed to somehow survive a Death Rider onto the coffin, and used a plastic bag provided by Bryan Danielson to choke out Mox.
Just as it appeared that Darby had the match won, a returning PAC (complete with a new, short haircut and….shocking….in actual clothing that wasn’t his ring gear) showed up and attacked Darby. Following an INSANE Awesome Bomb from the ring and onto one of the coffins on the floor, he put Darby in a body bag and put him in the coffin before allowing Mox to shut the lid. While it was great to see PAC back in AEW (and while that Awesome Bomb to the floor was NUTS), the finish was a little anticlimactic. It didn’t totally ruin the match, which was great otherwise, but it did take it down a tad. Of course, Darby and Mox are both total maniacs, so it wasn’t surprising to see them bust out some pretty wild stuff. That included Moxley getting stabbed with the fork, as well as Darby going after the ear and the usage of the plastic bag (both of which were nice callbacks to previous Death Rider spots/angles). With PAC now back in the fold, along with the additions of Gabe Kidd and Daniel Garcia, the Death Riders are now stronger than ever from a sheer numbers standpoint. Are we leading to a potential Blood and Guts Match perhaps? Am I going to predict that a Blood and Guts Match is coming on every PPV review until it happens? Time will tell, I suppose. ****1/4
Suit: This was the violent spectacle you would want, although it was a lot less chaotic than I thought it would be. The rest of the Death Riders came out early in the match, but Moxley sent them all away to keep this one-on-one. There was a lot less plunder than I thought there would be here, but they made the most of what they used. Darby got his get back on Mox for the Reservoir Dogs attack from Forbidden Door by forking Mox’s already bloody ear. There was a ton of interplay with the coffin, with Darby saving himself with a pipe to keep the lid from closing.
Everything was lining up for Darby, including Bryan Danielson sliding Darby a plastic bag to get his revenge from afar. Mox was dead to rights, but out of nowhere, PAC made his return after five months on the shelf to jump Darby and hit a Splash Mountain from the ring onto the second coffin on the floor. PAC dumped Darby into a bodybag, then shoved his body into the casket, allowing Mox to kick the lid shut to win the match. The Death Riders worked as pallbearers, carrying Darby away in the coffin.
This was a shocking result, as most everyone thought this was the blowoff to this nearly year-long feud here. But, with the finish of the Death Riders carrying Darby away, I’m wondering if they’re restarting Darby’s World Title arc. We all know how much Tony Khan feels compelled to finish the stories he starts, for better or worse. With the Death Riders retooling with Garcia and PAC, I don’t know how shocked I would be if Moxley found himself as champion again after this finish. ****1/2
AEW Women’s World Title – Four-Way Match
Kris Statlander def. “Timeless” Toni Storm (c), Jamie Hayter, & Thekla
Sean: Once again, we had Wheeler Yuta coming out before the match in an attempt to consult Kris Statlander (who continues to not be thrilled by his constant presence in her matches). The crowd wasn’t that into this one to start off, but after Thekla hit a trio of Spider Suplexes, the pace started to pick up a bit, and they started to get a little more invested. We got Toni and Jamie working together briefly, while Statlander wiped out Thekla on the floor. They were definitely building up to Toni and Jamie finally coming to blows, and it didn’t quite the reaction I’m sure they were expecting (as awesome as the match those two had at Full Gear 2022 was….I would know, I was there….that feels like a lifetime ago). Eventually, Jamie and Thekla were brawling on the apron, and that culminated in an absolutely insane spear to the floor. It honestly looked like Thekla took the worst of it, and she was the one delivering the move. Back in the ring, Toni and Statlander were going at it when, out of nowhere, Statlander caught Toni in Wheeler Yuta’s seatbelt pin for the win! Kris Statlander is the new AEW Women’s World Champion!
Even though Statlander winning the title with Yuta’s move makes perfect sense given the story they’re telling (she also used the Seatbelt pin to win one of the multi-women tags during the 2300 Arena residency), the fact that she actually won the title….pinning Toni Storm to do it….was still pretty shocking. As someone who’s been a fan of Kris Statlander and her work from the very first time I saw her on AEW Dark in 2019, I’m not going to complain one bit about the result. I have to give them a ton of credit for actually having the guts to beat Toni Storm (one of the biggest stars in the company) clean as a sheet. I’m sure other bookers would’ve had Statlander pin either Jamie or Thekla so as to protect Toni, but Statlander actually pinning Toni to win the title works out so much better. The match itself was pretty much a sprint from the opening bell, which I didn’t mind. It took some time for the crowd to get into this one, but it sounded like they got there by the end. It should be interesting to see where they go from here. I presume we’ll get a Statlander vs. Storm title bout at WrestleDream next month? That could be really good. ***1/2
Suit: This was a very good sprint, as these women went nonstop to keep this crowd’s attention after the downer of the last match. Things were going well, and then out of nowhere, Statlander caught Toni with the Seatbelt pin – Wheeler Yuta’s flash pin – to win the title in a shocker. Storm looked happy to have found someone who could take the mantle as the World Champion, and the crowd seemed just as surprised at the finish. I love the use of flash pins, and the surprise title change that wasn’t completely meritless. ***3/4
AEW World Tag Team Titles – Four-Way Ladder Match
Brodido (Bandido & Brody King) (c) def. JetSpeed (Kevin Knight & “Speedball” Mike Bailey), The Don Callis Family (Hechicero & Josh Alexander), & The Young Bucks
Sean: I was pretty certain that we’d be getting a Brodido title defense on this PPV, but I definitely didn’t expect that they would book a Ladder Match. In an interesting note, this is the first Ladder Match in AEW (to my knowledge) since the Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho Ladder War for the ROH World Title back in October. I’ll give AEW some credit for not spamming the Ladder Match as of late. If you don’t do them very often, they’ll have more impact when they do happen. We got the usual multi-team brawl to start, and it didn’t take long for the ladders to get involved. Speedball hitting a Triangle Moonsault to the floor onto Bandido (who was on a ladder on the outside) and Bandido giving Hechicero a Military Press onto a ladder were the early highlights.
We then got a brief period where The Young Bucks and The Don Callis Family worked together to try to take out the other two babyface teams (which makes sense as The Young Bucks have been teaming with Don Callis Family members semi-frequently on AEW television). Of course, this truce didn’t last very long, and it went back to being a four-way fray. Speedball tried for his Shooting Star Knee Drop onto Hechicero on a ladder bridge, but it didn’t exactly look super clean (Hechicero probably needed to be back a few more inches). After Bandido gave Alexander a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder bridge, everyone started going through tables….except for Speedball, who got put through another ladder bridge with a Rikishi Driver from Brody.
Kevin Knight tried climbing a ladder in the ring, but then the two heel teams picked up the ladder and sent Knight crashing through a pair of tables on the outside. We then got a couple of close calls with the DCF and The Young Bucks nearly winning, though neither result came to pass. After Bandido connected with an insane moonsault with a ladder to the floor onto the DCF, he climbed up the ladder and grabbed the belts. He and Brody King retained their titles in a match that was filled with plenty of crazy spots. I don’t think this hit the heights that I was expecting, but it was still a great ladder match on the whole. Everyone involved had moments to shine, and as far as car crash matches go, it was an enjoyable watch (at least I thought so). I know some people are tired of ladder matches, and I completely get it. I’m thankful that (as I mentioned earlier) AEW hasn’t done one in almost a year, which helped, and as long as there are really good wrestlers involved (and as long as they don’t overthink it, like the other company tends to do), things usually turn out well. This certainly wasn’t the best match on this card, but it was in the upper echelon for sure. ****1/4
Afterwards, we got the return of Jack Perry, who went after The Young Bucks. Matt and Nick did briefly get the upper hand, but then it was revealed that Perry was the one who “revived” Luchasaurus (now shedding the Killswitch name for good), who then appeared and attacked The Young Bucks. He and Perry then embraced as Tarzan Boy played throughout the arena. To be honest….I don’t hate this move. Perry sorely needed something new if AEW was going to use him again (the Scapegoat thing had worn out its welcome), and I think the Jurassic Express team has been apart long enough that this (I guess) more serious revival can lead to some fresh matchups in the tag team division.
Suit: For about half of this match, I felt bad that these guys were working so hard and I still didn’t care. Then, a bunch of cool shit happened. We got a bunch of table spots, close nearfalls – what do you call a nearfall in a ladder match? – and Bandido doing the wildest moonsault I’ve ever seen with a ladder off the top of the post. I ended up having some fun and ended up at about ****1/4.
Never mind that though, as a Jack Perry stockholder, STONKS ARE UP! Perry returned after the match and jumped the Young Bucks. The Bucks got the better of him, but we got a video of Perry being the one to revive Killswitch. This was the same video they played to bring Killswitch back, they just edited around Perry when they first showed it, which was very funny to me. Killswitch came back, having turned on the remnants of the Patriarchy on Wednesday, and took the Bucks out before embracing Perry. Tarzan Boy played as the Jurassic Express looks to be back. It’s a reset for Perry, who needed to grow out of the Jungle Boy character but wasn’t the right fit for the Scapegoat deal. He’s a great babyface wrestler, and putting him back in his tag team is a good short-term move to get his legs back under him as a babyface wrestler.
Darby Allin Escapes The Coffin
Sean: Oh hey. Darby put Moxley in a bodybag and (briefly) set it on fire. I just find it funny that this isn’t even the craziest thing Darby has done with fire in AEW. Hopefully Renee is doing alright, as her husband continues to be an absolute maniac.
Suit: We got a segment with the Death Riders in the back with Darby’s coffin. Mox sent the rest of the Death Riders away, leaving him with the coffin to do god knows what. My first thought was Mox running over the coffin with a monster truck or something. Instead, Darby escaped the body bag and popped out of the coffin with the pipe. He knocked out Mox and stuck him in the body bag before LIGHTING IT ON FIRE. It was quickly put out, with security dragging Darby away. So, never mind what I said about Darby being written off.
AEW World Title
“Hangman” Adam Page (c) def. Kyle Fletcher
Sean: There was a stipulation added on Dynamite that Kyle Fletcher would be stripped of the TNT Title if any members of Don Callis Family got involved in this match. After a year of AEW World Title bouts that’ve involved a variety of shenanigans (most of Jon Moxley’s matches and the first few bouts of Hangman’s title reign), I’m hopeful that this means this match will be free of any nonsense.
Fletcher would get the better of Hangman with a kick during an early chop exchange, but Hangman would counter a running dive over the barricade into a powerslam on the floor. An attempt by Hangman a few moments later to hit the moonsault to the floor was thwarted by Fletcher, who followed up with the powerbomb on the apron, thus targeting the already damaged neck of Hangman. Fletcher set up a table on the outside, but wasn’t able to use it (I’m sure that’ll come into play later though). Even though Hangman managed to fight off getting put through the table, Fletcher remained in control. Page managed to fire back with a lariat before following up with multiple fallaway slams (the second of which sent Fletcher into the corner). The offensive onslaught continued as Page hit his moonsault to the floor, followed by multiple powerbombs in the ring.
Back on the floor, Hangman decided to go after Fletcher’s neck, as he connected with a tombstone on the floor as well as a draping DDT off the apron. Fletcher would respond rather quickly with a big running kick before putting Page through the timekeeper’s table with a brainbuster (almost the same thing he did on Wednesday). Fletcher nailed Page with another brainbuster in the ring, but Page kicked out, leading to “You’re Not Ready” chants from the crowd. The table that was set up by Fletcher on the other side of the ring earlier finally came into play, but this time it was Page putting Fletcher through the table with a Dead Eye. From there, the pace really started to pick up. Hangman busted out the V-Trigger and teased the One Winged Angel, but Fletcher avoided and hit the Hidden Blade. Page then responded with Big Pressure (one of Swerve’s moves) which dropped Fletcher right on his neck.
Somehow Fletcher recovered from being dropped right on his neck and went back on the offensive. After wiping Page out with a lariat, he exposed one of the turnbuckles and tried for the Top Rope Brainbuster. Page countered it, and hit a DEADEYE FROM THE TOP ROPE. That was bonkers. One Buckshot Lariat later, and that was it. Hangman retains the AEW World Title in an awesome main event that (in my view) was the match of the night. THANKFULLY they lived up to the stipulations. No bullshit in this one. Just a clean World Title bout between two great professional wrestlers. The match featured some great action from start to finish, and they told a strong story throughout with the neck of Page getting targeted by Fletcher, while Page responded by targeting the neck of Fletcher (earlier we had an ear for an ear with Darby and Mox, and here we had neck for a neck basically). A number of the spots we got in the closing stages were absolutely insane, with Fletcher taking some wild bumps on his neck. Page delivered another great AEW PPV main event in 2025, while Fletcher excelled in what was his first AEW PPV main event. It’s been said for years that Fletcher has the potential to be a top guy, and this bout was the next step in his elevation. He didn’t win (and I don’t think anyone watching expected him to win), but he leveled up in a huge way here. Now he’s shown he’s more than capable of delivering in a big main event spot. I’m not totally sure if this will end up on my Match Of The Year Top Ten list at the end of the year, but it will certainly be in the conversation. Also (and I’m mad that I nearly forgot to mention this), but Bryan Danielson (who was great all night) and Don Callis rocked on commentary here. They knocked it out of the park on that front. If you missed All Out, you should definitely go out of your way to watch this main event. ****3/4
Suit: Kyle Fletcher turned heel and stabbed Will Ospreay in the back at last year’s WrestleDream event on October 12, 2024. In the ensuing 49 weeks, Fletcher has gone from a good worker with a bad haircut and a ton of potential to one of the five best professional wrestlers in the world today. He has met every opportunity, every hurdle thrown at him, and knocked them out of the park. And here, in his first ever pay-per-view main event, with the added pressure of going head-to-head with WWE’s debut event on ESPN, he didn’t just knock it out of the park. Kyle Fletcher hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 7 of the World Series.
This will be on my Match of the Year ballot at year’s end, and it sure as shit won’t be #10. This was a phenomenal, focused, CLEAN pro wrestling match between two of the best in the company. They didn’t circumvent the stipulation or find some bullshit finish to “protect” someone. They sent their 27-year-old phenom out there in the main event with the top guy in the promotion and told him to live up to the extremely high bar that AEW PPV main events are met with.
This is the type of gutsy, bold decision-making that so much of pro wrestling is missing right now, including AEW much of the time. The guts to pick a guy and run with him. The guts to have a main event match without shenanigans or nonsense, and just beat a guy. AEW did it here, and everyone will be better off for it. Hangman Page has a signature title defense in his signature title reign. Kyle Fletcher has a new mountain to climb and a long-term story with Page to prove that he is ready to be at the top of the mountain. And the fans got one of the best matches of the year.
The match was phenomenal, with the story being that both men were taking turns trying to break the other one’s neck. Fletcher pushed Page to the deep end, dropping him with multiple brainbusters on his already weakened neck, including one through the ringside bell table. Page returned volley with multiple Deadeyes, including one through a table on the floor. Fletcher got an incredibly close nearfall with a brainbuster in the ring but pushed too hard. He removed the turnbuckle pad and went for the big Brainbuster on the buckle, but Page bounced Fletcher’s head off of it and hit a terrifying top rope Deadeye before putting Fletcher away with the Buckshot Lariat.
This was the best title match of Hangman’s reign so far, including the title win I was live for in Texas. This was the best PPV main event in AEW this year. And when it was all said and done, it may be the best match of 2025. The highest of recommendations for the All Out main event. *****
