With more streaming providers now offering AEW pay-per-views, Triller is attempting to lead the pack by rolling out two separate PPV bundles that will save money for fans.
Officially announced on Monday, the former FITE.tv is packaging together this month’s All In from London’s Wembley Stadium with September’s All Out from Chicago for $84.99 — a 15% discount from buying the two separately at their $49.99 price point.
They also announced plans to offer a triple pack bundle for the final three AEW PPVs of the calendar year: October’s WrestleDream, November’s Full Gear and December’s Worlds End.
While the price hasn’t been announced, the release states, “The bundles provide a significant discount of over 25% compared to buying the individual pay-per-views separately, making them an excellent way to enjoy All Elite’s slate of regular PPV programming on TrillerTV.”
The bundles are also available for international buyers via AEW Plus.
It’s unknown if other AEW PPV providers like WBD-owned Bleacher Report, YouTube and PPV.com will also be able to offer bundled pricing.
In June, Triller announced that fans could buy past AEW PPVs individually or in bundles at a discount.
There will be a little bit more time between AEW’s All In and All Out events this year.
Though the pay-per-views were originally scheduled to be held on back-to-back weekends again, that will no longer be the case. AEW announced today that All Out 2024 is moving to Saturday, September 7. That’s six days after its original planned date of September 1.
All Out is still being held at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Tickets for the PPV have not gone on sale yet. AEW notes that ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks.
All In 2024 is taking place from Wembley Stadium in London, England on Sunday, August 25. The change to the All Out date means that there will now be two weeks of AEW television between All In and All Out instead of one.
The change also means that All Out won’t take place on Labor Day weekend, which had been an annual tradition for AEW. WWE Bash in Berlin and AEW All Out were scheduled to happen on back-to-back days on August 31 and September 1.
AEW’s updated PPV schedule for the remainder of 2024 is listed below:
Sunday, May 26: Double or Nothing (MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada)
Sunday, June 30: Forbidden Door (UBS Arena in Elmont, New York)
Sunday, August 25: All In London (Wembley Stadium in London, England)
Saturday, September 7: All Out (NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois)
Saturday, October 12: WrestleDream (Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington)
Saturday, November 23: Full Gear (Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey)
Saturday, December 28: Worlds End (Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida)
While we cover nearly everything during the month, the gateway to fall was dominated by a few stories in particular including CM Punk being fired by AEW following a skirmish with Jack Perry and a near-physical altercation with Tony Khan minutes before August’s All In.
We talk about how the news was relayed to fans and some of the immediate fallout which included the All Out PPV in Chicago a week after All In — a show that was regarded as one of the best the company did during the year.
Jade Cargill also switched employers as she signed a multi-year deal with WWE after several years in AEW and saying there was no other place she’d rather be. We discuss.
WWE’s merger with UFC to form the new publicly-traded TKO was complete and with it brought the beginning of a new era which included some ideas for the future, layoffs, and a new TV home for WWE SmackDown in 2024.
Davie and I also talk the month in NXT, Japan, Impact Wrestling, and everything in between.
I promise this is unlike any other year-end series you’ll hear or read, so catch up on the rest of the series in the archive and my MMA year in review series as well.
AEW All In and All Out’s success on pay-per-view was addressed by Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
For the first time in company history, AEW ran pay-per-view events over back-to-back weekends for the two shows. Based on early numbers, All In is tracking to be the second most-purchased PPV in company history behind only All Out 2021, which featured the return of CM Punk.
Meltzer believes the show will likely end up at between 180,000 and 196,000 buys. He wrote:
Based on television numbers at this point, All In is up 37.5 percent from Forbidden Door, which if that holds up across the board and taking out the Japanese buys for Forbidden Door that wouldn’t be at the Wembley show, you would get a final number of 192,000. Keep in mind that streaming numbers in week one were not up at the same percentage, but late buys, even with another show a week later, were well ahead of the pace of most shows. But even at 180,000 it would be the No. 2 show behind All Out 2021 in AEW history.
However, the numbers for AEW All Out are not as strong and may not surpass the 100,000 buys Tony Khan suggested it would at the media scrum. Meltzer suggests the show is tracking to end up at between 73,000 and 96,000 buys. It would mark the first time an AEW PPV failed to reach 100,00 buys since Full Gear 2020.
Meltzer wrote:
However, television buys for All Out at this point based on numbers we have were only 38 percent of those of All In, which would translate to 73,000. We’re told streaming buys are at a much higher percentage and that the expectation is All Out would do half of All In, which at this point could be as much as 96,000, and perhaps word of mouth on the show would also help those late buys.
Both events received positive reviews based on responses submitted to this website. 93.9 percent of readers gave All In a thumbs-up review, while All Out received near-universal acclaim with 99.7 percent of readers giving it a thumbs-up.
Additional information regarding the gates for All In and All Out, AEW’s gross revenue for both events, and more are available in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We have been off since before AEW All In and since so much has happened, we cover it all today on Wrestling Weekly.
There’s lots of CM Punk talk, but there’s also a lot of praise for just how many good things are happening in wrestling right now like Jey Uso returning and heading to WWE Raw and AEW holding two successful PPVs in eight days.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including AEW and NXT previews for this week, WWE Payback, All Out and RAW thoughts, all the news from the past few days and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
It’s not clear when Jack Perry could return to AEW.
Tony Khan confirmed at the All Out media scrum that Perry remains suspended indefinitely from the promotion following an investigation into the backstage altercation he had with CM Punk at All In.
“He’s been suspended indefinitely,” Khan responded when asked about Perry’s punishment stemming from the incident.
“I think we’ve suspended everybody in that investigation and then took further action after that based on what happened and came out of the investigation. But as for Jack, we suspended Jack as a participant in an incident backstage and Jack hasn’t been around. That’s all I can say about it but, at the time, we did suspend him and he hasn’t been at AEW since AEW All In backstage in London.”
The Perry/Punk altercation was addressed in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The issue contains an account of the incident from an eyewitness described as a neutral party.
Our own Dave Meltzer wrote:
Another version, and this would be a neutral source who was not a wrestler but was there and witnessed it and his version was that right after Perry came to the back, Punk went nose-to-nose with him aggressively and asked him if he had a problem. That person said Perry said he was just looking to get heat as a heel. Punk shoved him hard, Perry got in his face and in that version Punk sucker punched him and went for a choke.
Perry is an AEW original, having signed with the promotion in January 2019 and debuted at the inaugural show, Double or Nothing on May 25, 2019. That year he was voted “Rookie of the Year” in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.
I had many reservations about Sunday’s AEW All Out which had most of its card announced Wednesday and Saturday. The build, to say the least, wasn’t solid. So it’s a good thing that the card itself ended up being one of the better shows of the year once everything was said and done. Who would have thought?
After nearly a year as champion, Orange Cassidy finally lost the AEW International title in the main event to Jon Moxley in a match that, shock of all shocks, was an excellent, bloody, back and forth battle. There were many times where I thought Cassidy had a shot to win, but ultimately, the story told here was that after so many great title defenses, he could not keep up with someone as unrelenting as Moxley, who finished off Cassidy with two death rider DDTs.
The main event was awesome in a show that featured plenty of awesome matches. But it wasn’t the best match on the card.
After Bryan Danielson returned on Saturday’s Collision to accept a strap match against Ricky Starks in a shocker, their match Sunday was incredible, one of the best strap matches I’ve ever seen, and what should be seen as a benchmark for what to do in the future.
Danielson utterly beat Starks within an inch of his life in a ridiculously brutal match, full of hard belt shots and, you guessed it, blood. Danielson won by taking the strap and choking the life out of Starks for the win. No, really: Starks’ face was turning red. It was gross, but incredible.
Here’s the rest of the rundown for this show, which continued the streak of very long AEW pay-per-views clocking in at almost five hours:
Bullet Club Gold scored a win over the odd pairing of FTR and The Young Bucks in a match that ended up being really good. They were put in a bad spot on the card as the show was well over the four-hour mark at this point, but everyone here looked great. It’s clear there’s more to the story between FTR and the Bucks, and we’ll likely see another match between the two down the line. Maybe in Seattle?
Konosuke Takeshita got the biggest win of his career by defeating Kenny Omega in their big singles match. This lived up to the hype as the two had an incredible athletic match. Omega tends to lose a lot in these big singles matches, but he’s Omega. That’s fine, he’s made. Takeshita needed a big win here to really solidify himself as a top name in AEW, and they did so here. Now it’s up to AEW to continue with that momentum as their track record for that is pretty spotty (remember Wardlow?).
The TBS Championship match was perfectly fine. Kris Statlander retained over Ruby Soho in a match where nobody did anything wrong. Toni Storm distracted Soho long enough for Statlander to get the win, furthering the split between The Outcasts. The main problem is everyone in this match feels like they’re just treading water. Statlander seems to be missing something she had before getting injured since returning in May. The Outcasts stable has just kind of been going along with no real direction and now they’re breaking up. None of this feels engaging at all.
Miro defeated Powerhouse Hobbs in a great match where the crowd made it special, chanting for “MEAT” at every possible turn. They wanted desperately for this to be great, and it elevated the match as a result. Just two guys going out there and having a cool back and forth match with big spots– exactly what was needed. After Miro won, Hobbs beat him up after shaking his hand until a woman who was not named made the save with a steel chair. That woman, formerly known as Lana in WWE, did not have a name here and the announcers went out of their way to not name her. The video screen, which read “HOT AND FLEXIBLE” did not name her. Miro then didn’t seem happy she was there and left in a weird ending to what was a really good match.
Darby Allin was unsuccessful in winning the TNT title from Luchasaurus, but man, did he work his ass off to have a real good match. He looked like a complete mess when this was all over. The finish felt like right out of the WWE playbook, but my assumption is that there is more to this storyline and we’re not totally done between these two just yet.
The ROH title matches seemed more like a backdrop to what appears to be MJF’s next AEW World title program as he got into it with Samoa Joe following an altercation between the two in between their title matches. They ended up getting into a brawl, having to be separated by security. The matches themselves were just matches, not really anything beyond your normal television fare.
Hangman Page won the Over Budget Battle Royal, winning $50,000 dollars for a charity of his choice, the Chicago Public Education Fund. It was every single battle royal you’ve ever seen, but it was fun towards the end with Page last eliminating Brian Cage.
The Acclaimed retained the AEW Trios titles over Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal in a match that was just kinda there with the usual Jarrett antics. I don’t mind seeing a Jarrett family spotfest once in a while, but after that Texas Chain Saw Massacre match from a few weeks ago, I don’t need to see another one for months. They’re wacky and fun, but the matches feel like overkill.
The women’s trios match was good and seemed to maybe set up a future ROH Women’s title match between Athena and Hikaru Shida, which I’m all for.
AEW is inching closer to monthly pay-per-view events with their next PPV set for Sunday, October 1st with their first-ever WrestleDream in Seattle. On the plus side, I am hopeful the build towards that card becomes clear after this week’s AEW shows. On the minus side, dear lord, there is too much wrestling content. I’ve done three of these in the last week. Help.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about in our full review of an awesome AEW All Out PPV! Tons to discuss, pre-show matches, the post-show press conference, your questions on the CM Punk situation and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Below are notes from the post-AEW All Out media scrum.
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Adam Cole —
Cole said that he’s having the most fun he’s had in 15 years in wrestling in his pairing with MJF. He notes that the two were just “thrown together” and neither thought it would click as well as it has.
Cole said that he & MJF are open to facing any tag team on the AEW or ROH roster in defending the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles.
Christian Cage —
Cage spoke entirely in character.
Cage said that Khan had recently re-signed him to a “fat” contract.
Cage said that he collects things of great value including watches, and wrestling titles.
Cage said that he had added so much prestige to the TNT Championship that he thinks it might soon be called the TNT World Championship.
When asked about the possibility of his friend Adam Copeland joining AEW, Cage said that he has no friends besides Luchasaurus.
Kris Statlander —
When asked about Mercedes Mone, Statlander said that she would welcome the challenge. She also mentioned a rematch with Jade Cargill, Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter, Saraya, and Willow Nightingale as potential future opponents.
Statlander said that she appreciates everyone’s concern for her health after returning from two knee injuries, but that she wouldn’t have come back if she wasn’t capable of doing everything in the ring she could before the injuries. She noted that she hasn’t modified her style since returning.
Statlander put over Orange Cassidy as her best friend and noted that the Best Friends group with herself, Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor are legitimately best friends who travel together and hang out together.
Bryan Danielson —
Danielson said Ricky Starks carried him through their match at All Out. He said he thought that Starks was good in the ring before, but that the two had never touched prior to their match and that Starks is every bit as good as he thought he was. He praised Starks for using his promo on Saturday’s Collision to elevate Big Bill.
Danielson said it was very hard to argue against Jon Moxley being the best wrestler in the world after stepping up with another great performance at All Out.
Danielson noted that the Blackpool Combat Club can straddle the line between being good guys and bad guys depending on what the particular story they are involved in calls for.
Danielson said that he was cleared not only by AEW’s medical staff but by an outside surgeon (implied that the surgeon who performed surgery to repair the broken arm he suffered at Forbidden Door) to return for his match with Starks.
In light of people being concerned for his health, Danielson said he would pull back the curtain and noted that there were lots of smoke and mirrors in the match with Starks to protect Danielson’s arm, mentioning that he never threw a strike with his right arm.
In speaking about Tony Khan calling him out as being a point person to help run AEW should anything happen to Tony, Danielson said that balancing work and his personal life is something he strives for and that he spends a lot of time thinking about. He said that he would want to help AEW out.
Khan noted that Danielson working Collision on Saturdays would probably be good for that work/life balance.
Khan said that Danielson traveled with him for a few weeks and could not keep up with Khan’s schedule and recommended that Khan hire Jimmy Jacobs to travel with him and help keep him organized.
Tony Khan —
Asked about Sonny Kiss, Khan confirmed that he had not renewed Kiss’ contract. He put Kiss over as a great wrestler and a person that he likes a lot, but that he can’t keep everyone under contract. He did not rule out Kiss returning at some point, pointing to Stu Grayson as an example of someone who left the company and came back.
Khan said that he found out Saturday that Billie Starkz was not cleared to compete and that forced him to change some booking for All Out: Zero Hour, but that he wanted to showcase Athena on the card.
Regarding the business of All Out, Khan said that preliminary numbers indicate 100,000-plus pay-per-view buys and somewhere in the range of 10,000 tickets sold for a gate north of $800,000.
Khan said that CJ Perry had not signed any type of long-term deal, but didn’t rule out the possibility of signing her depending on how the story with Miro plays out.
Khan said that Jack Perry is suspended indefinitely following the backstage incident with CM Punk.
Khan thanked Punk for his contributions to AEW as a wrestler, and would not comment when asked if there would be a non-compete period following Punk’s termination, noting that he was not a lawyer who would interpret the language of a separation agreement.
When asked about running WrestleDream on a Sunday against the NFL, Khan said that he would like to avoid running against the NFL if at all possible and called it the most powerful media entity in the world. He said that he felt strongly that WrestleDream this year needed to take place on October 1 to honor the first anniversary of Antonio Inoki’s passing.
Khan said that All Out will likely be held at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois next year due to an event held at the United Center [I believe he was referring to the Democratic National Convention, but that is taking place a week prior to what would be All Out weekend].
Former AEW World Champion Hangman Page picked up a win during Sunday’s All Out, winning the 20-man Over Budget charity battle royal that was part of the Zero Hour pre-show.
Page last eliminated Brian Cage, hitting him with the Deadeye while they were on the ring apron. With the win, he got to donate $50,000 to the charity of his choice which was later revealed to be the Chicago Public Education Fund.
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Bryan Danielson made his return to in-ring action a memorable one with a victory over Ricky Starks in a bloody strap match.
Made 24 hours ago on Collision, this was Danielson’s first match back after suffering a broken forearm at June’s Forbidden Door against Kazuchika Okada. Danielson was originally believed to be returning later this month, but took the spot earmarked for CM Punk who was fired Saturday. Starks had beaten Ricky Steamboat with a belt after the former’s match with Punk on Collision several weeks ago which had put this in motion.
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While AEW’s top titles (World, Women’s, Tag Team) weren’t defended on the card, the champions did that defend all retained with the exception of Jon Moxley defeating Orange Cassidy for the AEW International title in the night’s main event.
ROH Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF defeated Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds & John Silver to retain. This featured MJF getting storyline injured during the match and then making a triumphant return near the end. This eventually led to a double clothesline and the champions getting the win. The bigger story was the apparent dawn of a new storyline between MJF and Samoa Joe. Joe later defeated Shane Taylor to retain his ROH TV title.
In the first defense of the AEW Trios titles they won last Sunday at All In, The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defeated Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh on the pre-show. The champions were flanked by former NBA star Dennis Rodman who has had his dalliances with pro wrestling in the past, notably in WCW. He hit Singh with a guitar near the end of the match and Lethal was pinned after being hit with all of the champions’ finishers.
TNT Champion Luchasaurus retained his championship with a win over top contender Darby Allin thanks to Christian Cage. Cage had laid out Allin cornerman Nick Wayne with a chair and was threatening to hit him with an Conchairto unless Allin got off the top rope. Luchasaurus took the opportunity to attack, using multiple tombstone piledrivers, a Snake Eyes and a lariat for the pin and win. A group of wrestlers later ran out to Wayne and Allin’s aid as Cage and Luchasaurus kept up the attack.
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defeated Ruby Soho to retain her title, helped out by the apparent implosion of The Outcasts. Saraya had distracted the referee so Soho could use spray paint in Statlander’s eyes. However, Toni Storm prevented it and Soho got hit with the Sunday Night Fever for the win.
CJ Perry, formerly known as Lana in WWE, made her AEW debut at Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view.
Perry’s debut came in a post-match angle following her husband Miro’s match against Powerhouse Hobbs. After Miro defeated Hobbs, the two shook hands, then Hobbs used a blindside attack on Miro.
Perry then entered with “Hot & Flexible” on the video wall behind her and made her way to the ring. Perry hit Hobbs with a chair, which Hobbs did not sell. Hobbs confronted Perry, then Miro hit Hobbs with the chair and Hobbs left the ring.
Perry was never referred to by name on the pay-per-view broadcast by the commentators.
Miro and Perry stared at one another, then Miro walked off muttering “you’re not real”, leaving Perry standing in the ring.
Lexy Nair conducted a follow-up interview with Perry for AEW’s social media channels where she asked about the interaction with Miro.
Our own, @lexynair, catches up with @TheCJPerry after the strange interaction between Perry & her husband, @ToBeMiro after his match at #AEWAllOut. What's next for Miro & Perry?
Perry was with WWE from 2013 to 2021 under the Lana name, primarily as a manager for Miro (then Rusev) in NXT and on the WWE main roster.
Following Rusev’s WWE release in April 2020, Lana was often a challenger in the company’s women’s tag team division with various partners until her June 2021 release from the company.
On one of the more newsworthy weeks the company has ever had, AEW returns to pay-per-view for the second time in eight days with tonight’s All Out from Chicago’s United Center.
The PPV comes one day after AEW fired CM Punk for his actions last Sunday at All In at London’s Wembley Stadium.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy will look to extend his 30+ title defense streak as he faces former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Bryan Danielson will make an earlier than expected return after breaking his forearm in June as he challenges Ricky Starks in a strap match.
Kenny Omega will finally get his chance to wrestle Konosuke Takeshita one-on-one.
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will team with past challengers The Young Bucks against Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson & The Gunns).
ROH Tag Team Champions MJF & Adam Cole will defend against Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds & John Silver.
The PPV will also feature AEW Trios, TBS, TNT and ROH TV title defenses.
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Zero Hour
The Wrestle Aunts, Renee Paquette & RJ City kick things off in the ring and run down how to watch the show and tonight’s card.
-Bryan Danielson is backstage and said he watched Collision a few weeks ago after learning Ricky Steamboat would be on the show. Steamboat encouraged Danielson throughout his early career and was sickened when he saw Ricky Starks whip a 70 plus year old man. The last time Danielson was in a strap match, it was against someone he loved (against The Fiend) and they beat the sh*t out of each other, so he asks Starks what he’ll do to him?
Hangman Adam Page won the 20 Man Over Budget Charity Battle Royal and will donate $50,000 to a charity of his choosing
(A fun battle royal to get the crowd going tonight, as Page was cheered a lot more than you’d expect following everything that’s happened backstage in the last 24 hours in AEW. A few matches could come out of this, as Scorpio Sky eliminated almost all of the former J.A.S. crew, while Mogul Embassy eliminated Best Friends, so a potential tag match could happen.)
Other participants included Brian Cage, Toa Liona, Kyle Fletcher, Action Andretti, Scorpio Sky, Daniel Garcia, Mark Davis, Jake Hager, Matt Menard, Bishop Kaun, Chuck Taylor, Darius Martin, Dalton Castle, Angelo Parker, Komander, Shawn Spears, Serpentico, Tony Nese
Tony Nese ran down the crowd pre-match and wanted to do group training with the 19 other entrants. Best Friends, Andretti & Martin all launched Nese over the top onto Mark Sterling right at the bell. Castle & The Boys were beaten down by Mogul Embassy before everyone was wiped out by a Komander shooting star press. Serpentico tried to fight the entire former J.A.S. crew, but was eliminated. Spears & Garcia had a 10/Thrust off before both attacked Aussie Open and thrusted at each other. This resulted in Davis & Fletcher eliminating Spears. Numbers game got the best of Komander, as he was eliminated by The Embassy. The Boys saved Castle from being eliminated, but caught Parker as well and placed him down in the most anticlimactic elimination ever. Castle, however, was soon eliminated as well.
Martin was tossed by Garcia & Menard, as Taylor was dumped by the Gates of Agony. Kaun was eliminated by Hangman, while Menard was shown eliminated on the opposite side, with Hager eliminated by Sky soon after. Page & Beretta teamed up to dump Davis, as Sky sent Garcia to the floor. Cage & Liona eliminated Sky and we’re down to Andretti, Beretta, Page, Cage, Liona & Fletcher. Both Fletcher & Andretti got to show off their athleticism until Fletcher dumped Andretti after a running leg lariat. Fletcher & Beretta fought to the apron where Beretta hit a half and half to eliminated Fletcher.
Cage & Liona double teamed Beretta enough until Cage hit an F5 to the floor to eliminate him, leaving Page in a 2 on 1 disadvantage. Page fought off a Cage powerbomb and hit Liona with a Buckshot before dumping him. Cage tried a discus lariat, but instead hit a spinning neckbreaker. Cage & Page both fought over the top onto the apron until Page was able to hit a Dead Eye and Cage fell to the floor.
(You’re standard party match, as the first half was dominated with Blue being isolated and the second being everyone trading big moves. Athena could have multiple challengers for her title coming out of this, as I wouldn’t mind seeing Nightingale get another shot. Shida seems to be building a story with Britt Baker, so I don’t know if a ROH Women’s Title match would be on the horizon for her quite yet.)
Pre-match, Martinez & Diamante didn’t want Athena’s minion Starkz with them, but Athena convinced them otherwise. Athena chucked Diamante to the wolves at the bell and bailed as the team argued outside before being met with a Blue cross body. Diamante was briefly controlled in the corner, but a cheap shot from Martinez on Blue allowed Diamante to hit a Cross Rhodes to keep Blue isolated.
Athena started trash talking her own team, which allowed Blue to make the tag to Nightingale, who ran wild on the ROH Women’s Champion. The match broke down with Diamante wiping out Nightingale, as Shida did the deal on Diamante with a Falcon Arrow. Martinez caught a trapped Blue in the corner with a violent Spider German, as Nightingale charged and met a hung up Martinez with a cannonball. Athena & Shida were left standing to slug it out in a fun back and forth until both were pulled outside where Nightingale pounced Athena into the railing. Martinez was sent into the railing by Nightingale as well before hitting an assisted thrust kick Death Valley Driver on Diamante as Blue hit a sloppy Code Blue for the victory.
-Another La Faccion Ingobernable video is shown about rebuilding and how their time is now. They must bring the violence and dominate. Rush said they must take their titles and take over AEW. I assume this means Rush, Dralistico & Preston Vance are coming for the Trios Titles.
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) & Daddy Ass (w/Dennis Rodman) defeated Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh (w/Karen Jarrett & Sonjay Dutt) to retain the AEW Trios Titles
(This was the usual interference filled Jarrett match you’d expect, with their game plan blowing up in their faces. I wonder how much AEW paid Rodman to do a guitar shot and scissor with the Trios champions? Rodman looked like he was having a blast though and the Chicago crowd popped big for his spot.)
Pre-match, Dutt introduced his team by wearing an Isaiah Thomas Pistons jersey, as Singh faked a slam dunk on a hoop, but popped the basketball instead. Caster’s rap talked about Rodman being friends with Kim Jong Un and called Jarrett’s crew the 2023 Oddities. Daddy Ass said Mike Posey wasn’t the referee for this match and brought out Aubrey Edwards, which infuriated Karen Jarrett. The match broke down right at the bell, as Jarrett was hit with Scissor Me Timbers before Caster & Bowens did a Fargo Strut. Jarrett took the ref, as Singh got a cheap shot on Caster to allow Jarrett to do the proper Fargo Strut.
After being isolated, Caster finally made the hot tag to Bowens, who ran wild with strikes on Lethal. Karen tripped up Bowens, who made the tag to Daddy Ass and slugged it out with Singh, who hit a big boot and choke slam onto Bowens. Karen tried a guitar shot on Daddy Ass, but was caught by referee Aubrey, who shoved down Karen. This brought Rodman into the ring and he broke the guitar over Singh. Aubrey just stared at Rodman holding a broken guitar, as Lethal was planted with a Fame-Asser, The Arrival and Mic Drop to let the champs retain.
AEW All Out 2023
-Excalibur welcomes us alongside Nigel McGuinness & Kevin Kelly as the ROH Tag Titles are on the line in our opening contest.
Better Than You Bay-Bay (MJF & Adam Cole) defeated John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/Evil Uno) to retain the ROH Tag Team Titles
(MJF & Cole wore matching Chicago Bulls #23 style tag team shirts, as I think it would’ve been a funny burn if MJF was Jordan and Cole would’ve been Pippen. This was a fun opener, as the crowd really wanted their Kangaroo Kicks and Double Clotheslines and was rewarded with both. I was going to say how MJF only wrestled for about 5 minutes in what was essentially a handicap match, but the post match really set things up potentially, as I wasn’t expecting the Joe & MJF brawl.)
Cole & Silver started with a fast opening sequence with the crowd chanting for a Kangaroo Kick and Double Clothesline, which Reynolds saved his partner from. MJF yelled to the crowd how Reynolds helped train him and got a sportsmanship chant going. An eye poke and Fargo Strut almost led to a Kangaroo Kick, but Silver attacked MJF from behind. MJF really selling the effects of neck injury he suffered in the main event of All In. Evil Uno took the ref outside, as Reynolds got a cheap shot with a chair to the neck of MJF. The doctors check on MJF and have to help him to the back, leaving Cole at a disadvantage.
Cole cut off a diving Silver with an enzugiri in mid air and caught a leaping Reynolds with a superkick. Back inside, Cole wanted Panama Sunrise, but Silver countered into a combo of kicks and Fisherman’s Buster for two. Referee again was taken, as Evil Uno posted Cole outside, with Excalibur talking about the mean streak Dark Order have found again, being first introduced to them by the late Brodie Lee. Cole countered a Silver brainbuster into a neckbreaker onto the knee, as Uno flipped Cole off in his corner with Silver & Reynolds hitting the Wombo Combo for a close near fall.
Silver & Reynolds called for and connected with a Double Clothesline for two, as Reynolds grabbed a tag title, but Cole avoided and wiped out both men. Crowd chanted for MJF and right on cue, he stormed to the ring against doctors orders and made the hot tag, running wild. A double eye poke and double noggin knocker as Excalibur compared him to Jordan in the flu game. Miscommunication by Silver & Reynolds led to a Kangaroo Kick connecting to make the crowd explode. Uno ate a superkick on the apron, as the Double Clothesline was called and hit on Reynolds with Cole getting the pin.
Post match, MJF went to walk up the ramp on his own accord, but Samoa Joe’s music hit and he shoved past MJF on the stage. Cole tried to tell his partner to leave it alone, as MJF hit the ring and started a fight with Joe, who hooked a guillotine quickly. Security and agents rushed the ring with Joe smirking and an angry MJF wanting to fight, ultimately being escorted to the back by Cole and company.
Samoa Joe defeated Shane Taylor to retain the ROH TV Title
(This was like two trucks smashing into each other repeatedly, as both men beat the hell out of each other tonight. Even in defeat, Taylor stood his ground with Joe, who has to be seen a future contender for the AEW Title after tonight, which I’m all for.)
Kevin Kelly said this shouldn’t last long, with heavyweight fights not going 15 rounds with both men trading stiff strikes early before Taylor just mowed down Joe with a lariat. The match spilled outside where Taylor got the upper hand. Taylor kept Joe grounded back inside, but only managed a one count. Joe clipped Taylor with an enzugiri and followed with a massive elbow suicida. Joe connected with his combo of a Manhattan Drop, big boot and senton, but Taylor kicked out at one. Taylor again clocked Joe with a lariat, but while on the apron, Joe locked on the rear naked choke. Taylor draped Joe over the ropes an hit a Tower of London stunner variation before hitting a splash for two.
Taylor fired off more lariats before Joe exploded with one of his own, crumbling Taylor in the process. A slugfest ensued before Joe brutally hit a forearm and series of knee lifts until the Coquina Clutch was applied and Taylor tapped out.
Luchasaurus (w/Christian Cage) defeated Darby Allin (w/Nick Wayne) to retain the TNT Title
(A very solid story told here and more than just big guy vs. little guy, as Cage’s outside involvement with Wayne led to the decision Allin had to make whether to save his friend or try to win the title. The decision cost him, as Cage & Luchasaurus standing strong means this story can continue, as they really put over how Allin taking all these big time blows might have finally caught up to him.)
Jim Ross replaced Kevin Kelly on commentary prior to the match as Allin low bridged Luchasaurus, who caught a leaping Allin and launched him into the railing violently. Luchasaurus had Allin in a wheelbarrow and swung him into the ring steps as Cage ordered to finish him, as Allin is bleeding. Luchasaurus trapped Allin under the steps and proceeded to walk up them with Allin screaming in pain. Finally in the ring, Luchasaurus hit a spinning side suplex and wild headbutt to a charging Allin. After a choke slam attempt, Allin back flipped out and hit a springboard cross body. Allin tried a follow up cross body off the top, but bounced off Luchasaurus like a ball.
Allin battled back, set up Luchasaurus on a chair outside and did a somersault dive from the top to the floor and just clipped Luchasaurus enough to avoid disaster. Back inside, Luchasaurus almost hit a Torture Rack backbreaker, but Allin countered into a Crucifix Bomb for two. Allin wanted a Coffin Splash, but Luchasaurus caught him into a release German that dropped Allin right on his head. Cage demanded Wayne throw the towel in for Allin, who was locked in a Torture Rack. Allin flipped free and wiped out Cage with a low tope before getting caught in the Luchasaurus clutches coming back in.
Allin bit free from the grasps and hit an Avalanche Code Red which Luchasaurus did not kick out in time for, as Rick Knox had to pull the count and the crowd was pissed. Allin went to the top, but Cage clocked Wayne with a chair shot in the back and Cage said he was going to hit a Con-Chair-To if Allin leapt. Luchasaurus cut Allin off in the corner and hit multiple Tombstone Piledrivers before hitting a Snake Eyes and lariat to the back of the head to retain the title. Post match, Cage threw Wayne into the ring and forced him to watch as Cage was about to hit a Con-Chair-To when Shawn Spears, Carlie Bravo, Shawn Dean, Trent Baretta, Acion Andretti, Ethan Page and others made the save with Cage & Luchasaurus bailing with Cage clutching the TNT Title.
Miro defeated Powerhouse Hobbs
(Excalibur referenced a great line Big E has said in the past saying this match was big meaty men, slappin meat. Little did I know that was only the beginning of the meat references, as the crowd proceeded to deliver “Slap That Meat” “This Is Meaty” “Meat Forever” and “Holy Meat” chants. The crowd gave both a standing ovation, as this match stole the show so far and it’s going to take a hell of a lot to beat this. I could watch these two beat each other up over and over again. The post match attack by Hobbs and the debut of CJ Perry means we’re hopefully just getting started with this feud, which is wonderful for everyone, especially the fans.)
Each man was able to throw the other to the mat after early lock ups, as Miro relentlessly unloaded corner strikes. Miro tried to explode with a lariat, but Hobbs didn’t budge and ran through Miro with a lariat of his own. Miro battled back with his spin kick and used his agility to hit a perfect dropkick. Hobbs used his amazing strength and hit an overhead belly to belly and stayed in control with another overhead throw. Hobbs missed a corner charge and spilled outside, where Miro met him with a somersault senton off the apron.
Miro drove Hobbs repeatedly into the railing, but Hobbs slapped Miro in the face and tried wearing him down back in the ring. Miro fought back, as both men collided repeatedly with charges in the ropes, as the crowd chanted “Meat!” after each time. Miro hit a succession of lariats, with Hobbs not going down until finally Miro wound up and dropped him. Miro channeled his best Sheamus for 10 corner forearms in the ropes until Hobbs spun around and hit a front face suplex on Miro in the ring. Hobbs went up top, but Miro cut him off and hit a huge superplex with the crowd on their feet.
Miro hit his thrust kick, but missed a second and Hobbs hit a spinning powerslam for two. Hobbs got his answers to the early lariats in by hitting multiple ones, until Miro mowed him down with one and hit the thrust kick for two. Miro called for Game Over, but Hobbs was able to power out, backpack Miro and drive him into the corner. Hobbs caught a leaping Miro with a spinebuster for the closest two of the match. Hobbs tried Game Over, but Miro answered with a spinebuster of his own and Game Over locked in tightly, as Hobbs tapped out.
Post match, both men shook hands until Hobbs attacked Miro from behind and started to choke him out. We then see the debut of Miro’s hot and flexible wife, the former Lana, CJ Perry, hit the ring to a huge ovation and clock Hobbs in the back with a chair, which he no sold. Hobbs turned his back enough for Miro to recover and hit a chair shot to both the back and the head. Perry smiled at her husband, but Miro didn’t know what to think of it and left her in the ring, yelling that she’s not real.
Kris Statlander defeated Ruby Soho (w/Saraya) for the TBS Title
(These two had the unenviable task to follow the last war we just saw. It started slow, but both ladies put together a real hard hitting and very good match. The finish pretty much seals the deal with Toni Storm leaving The Outcasts, as the interference that brought them so many wins, finally blew up in their faces.)
Soho has her Rancid theme back for this match, with Statlander channeling her best Derek Zoolander impression with Blue Steel during her entrance. Both ladies traded standing tall and posing in the early going, as Soho missed a corner charge and Statlander connected with an awkward running knee. Statlander sent Soho into the railing outside and chased after Saraya long enough for Soho to hit a missile dropkick off the apron. Soho kept Statlander grounded in the ring and cut the champion off with a heel trip for two.
Statlander fought back with kicks, including a desperation No Future kick to lead to a double down. Statlander kept avoiding corner charges until she lit up Soho with a violence party in the corner. A nice snap powerslam followed, as Statlander hit her spinning fisherman’s driver for a near fall. Statlander applied a Gory Special, but Soho countered into a roll up and cradle for two. Soho countered Sunday Night Fever into a roll up before both ladies got up and collided with cross body attempts for a reset.
Saraya ripped up a fans sign ringside, as Soho was cut off in the ropes, where Statlander hit sort of an Avalanche Tour of the Islands for a close two. Statlander got a fireman’s carry, but Soho turned it into a Poison Rana, DDT and low hurricanrana for the closest near fall of the match. Statlander was able to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Saraya’s trash talk allowed Soho to hit No Future and Destination Unknown, but Statlander kicked out. Saraya took the ref, as Soho wanted to use the spray paint, but Toni Storm appeared and took the can away from Soho, who turned around and was dropped with Sunday Night Fever for the Statlander win.
Bryan Danielson defeated Ricky Starks in a No DQ Strap Match
(I was surprised as anyone when Danielson returned a month earlier than expected from injury. This match thankfully didn’t have many bumps on the injured arm, as both men made everything involving the strap mean something, from start to finish. This was a fantastic showing not just from Danielson, but Starks especially, who held his own and reminds us why he’s one of the young guns in this company. Starks never quit and instead opted to go out on his shield.)
Ricky Steamboat joined commentary for this match, as The Final Countdown plays for Danielson, which the crowd loved, myself included. Starks attacked prior to the bell and whipped Danielson with his weight belt repeatedly on the floor, cracking Danielson with the buckle of the belt, busting Danielson opened. For some reason, it was that moment referee Aubrey started the match officially. Starks choked Danielson with the strap and dragged him all over the floor before stomping on the head on top of the ropes.
Starks continued his assault in the ring, as Danielson fought back with headbutts and kicks, but Starks whipped Danielson in the side of the head with the strap. Danielson is bleeding buckets, as Starks wanted a superplex, but Danielson slid through and crotched Starks. Danielson violently whipped Starks repeatedly and got his revenge, choking Starks, who was trapped in the Tree of Woe. A baseball slide sent Starks to the floor, but Starks used the strap to pull Danielson in and crack him in the face. Starks opted to trash talk Steamboat, as Danielson was able to post Starks in the process, busting him open as well.
Danielson continued to whip Starks as McGuinness on commentary pleaded for things to stop, as Steamboat said it was Starks who wanted this match. Danielson hit his corner dropkicks, but Starks fired out and turned Danielson inside out with a lariat. Starks started violently whipping the hell out of Danielson over and over, as Danielson started shaking them off to the You F’d Up chants rang through the arena. Starks gassed out, as Danielson answered with whips and kicks aplenty to the point of Starks crumbling and the crowd applauding on their feet. Big Bill appeared and went to attack Danielson when Steamboat jumped off commentary and fought off the big man. Bill had Steamboat in his clutches, but Danielson launched Starks over the top onto Bill and Danielson followed with a dive onto both of them.
Danielson went for his kicks back inside, when Starks exploded out with a Spear for a close two. Starks went for Roshambo, but Danielson slid out, hit the Busaiku Knee, as Starks kicked out. Danielson started kicking Starks’ head in before applying the LeBell Lock, wrapping the strap around the throat and Starks expression was masterful here, as he didn’t submit, instead opting to pass out.
-Nigel McGuinness informs us the charity Hangman Adam Page was donating his winning $50,000 to will be Chicago Public Education Fund.
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta defeated Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata
(I’m very surprised that Kingston ate the pin here, even if it felt like it came out of nowhere and he got caught. Everyone looked very solid in this match, as I certainly want to see Castagnoli defend his title against not only Shibata, but Kingston again eventually.)
Taz joined commentary, as Kingston wore a shirt that read Claudio Sucks Eggs as tribute to the late great Terry Funk. Yuta & Shibata grappled early with Shibata connecting with Kawada kicks with Castagnoli wanting the tag and Yuta obliging. Castagnoli hit strikes, but missed a dropkick, so did Shibata with his PK. Kingston tagged in and Castagnoli bailed, having Yuta tag in and get his ass kicked by Kingston before the brawl was on outside with Kingston & Castagnoli until Yuta connected on a dive and Castagnoli drove Kingston into the railing.
Kingston remained isolated until a STO on Yuta allowed Shibata to make the hot tag. Shibata & Castagnoli took turns with charging corner strikes, as Shibata was the one to stand tall with his stalling running dropkick leading to a butterfly suplex. Shibata transitioned into a triangle choke, but Castagnoli escaped as he & Yuta connected on a fastball special for a near fall. Shibata then exploded out with a backfist that crumbled Yuta. With Yuta locked in a submission, Shibata no sold Castagnoli strikes and got an ankle lock at the same time.
Kingston made the tag and planted Yuta with a DDT after Yuta tried to skin the cat. Machine gun chops led to an Exploder, as Castagnoli cut Kingston off with a big boot. Yuta was caught with a pump kick by Shibata into a Saito Suplex from Kingston. Shibata & Castagnoli traded uppercuts until an overhand right by Shibata dropped Castagnoli with the fight continuing outside. Kingston & Yuta had a nice exchange with Yuta dropping Kingston on his head with a suplex, as Kingston fired back with an enzugiri and stiff slaps. Finally it was Kingston and Castagnoli, who started throwing bombs until Castagnoli hit a Neutralizer for two.
Kingston floated out of a Ricola Bomb and hit the spinning backfist that led to a Northern Lights Bomb for two. Yuta ate a backfist of his own and fell into the choke by Shibata on the apron. Kingston turned around and Castagnoli hit a massive uppercut and got the pin on Kingston with Shibata stuck on the apron.
(For the first time in his career, Takeshita has officially pinned Omega. Commentary really put over how this is another loss for Omega without Callis in his corner. A fantastic match, with the crowd really into it, as they seemed to be completely caught off guard by the finish. It almost felt like they were expecting this to reach yet another level when the finish happened.)
Omega is rocking his DDT inspired gear tonight. Takeshita got the best of Omega after the feeling out process, dropping Omega on his neck with a scary high angle backdrop driver that Omega rolled outside after. Takeshita hit a running boot, but Omega responded with You Can’t Escape on the floor. Back inside, Omega punted Takeshita and followed up with his dunk slam, sinking in the Indian Deathlock. A slap exchange ensued until Takeshita went for the eyes. Takeshita-line hit, but Omega floated over in the corner, wanted a hurricanrana, but Takeshita blocked and threw Omega face first into the buckle. To the floor again, this time with Takeshita hitting a brainbuster and pulling out chairs, but the ref scolded him. With the ref’s attention turned, Callis stacked the chairs onto Omega and Takeshita hit a senton over the top on top of them. Takeshita mocked Omega before hitting a Helluva Kick and Blue Thunder Bomb for two.
Takeshita continued to pick Omega apart until Omega got his knees up on a top rope senton attempt. A jumping knee sent Takeshita outside, as Omega followed with a Terminator Dive. Missile dropkick connected flush, followed by two Snap Dragons, knee strike and Poison Rana for a two. Both men flipped out of German attempts and traded pumping knee strikes until Takeshita turned Omega inside out with a wild lariat. Omega floated out of a powerbomb into one of his own and knee strike to follow. V-Trigger connected, but Takeshita countered a One Winged Angel into a Crunchie. Omega barely has strength in his legs and started swinging wildly, connecting enough, but Takeshtia fought back with forearms with Omega answering with a desperation lariat.
A leaping V-Trigger hit in the corner, as Omega wanted an Avalanche One Winged Angel, which Takeshita escaped into a wild Avalanche Blue Thunder Bomb for a close near fall. Power Drive Knee hit for Takeshita, who couldn’t believe it was only two. Takeshita took the ref and Callis tried to stab Omega with the screwdriver, but missed, as Omega hit a ripcord V-Trigger. Takeshtia grabbed the screwdriver and almost used it during a One Winged Angel, but referee Paul Turner saw it and took it away. Both men traded roll ups with Takeshtia hitting wheelbarrow throw into a Power Driver Knee, but Omega kicked out and the crowd is going nuts. Takeshita exposed the knee and hit a home run knee strike to crumble Omega and get the pin to shock the crowd.
Jay White, Juice Robinson & The Gunns (Austin & Colten) defeated FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
(This felt like a Collision main event, as it got a lot of time and was a party match feel, everyone getting in their signature offense. The crowd loudly booed the Bucks to start the match, but it became more even when the match got going. With the win, commentary talked about The Gunns potentially getting another tag team title shot in the future.)
Colten & Wheeler had a fast opening sequence with Austin making a quick tag and using his speed to briefly have the upper hand until Wheeler fired off arm drags and a hurricanrana. The Bucks made fast tags and were booed by the United Center crowd, but they soaked it in during their double team maneuvers. Harwood & White jumped in and picked up where they left off on Collision briefly until Robinson made the tag and isolated Harwood. With The Gunns & Robinson too busy throwing guns up, Harwood fired off chops to everyone and White found himself isolated by FTR. White managed to chop block Wheeler’s leg and the tide turned again before an 8 man showdown took place leading to a brawl.
A quadruple atomic drop sent all of Bullet Club Gold colliding until FTR & The Bucks locked in Sharpshooters for all. Referee Rick Knox restored order, but it allowed Harwood to be trapped in the wrong corner yet again and isolated for an extended period. Harwood finally got free and made the tag to Nick, who was a house of fire to the mix reaction of cheers and boos. The Bucks ran wild with their signature offense until Wheeler blocked a Matt superkick and instead hit a double superkick on Austin. Nick tried his slingshot face buster and moonsault to the floor, but he cleared Juice on his attempt. Matt & Harwood hit a spike piledriver on Austin, but it was broken up.
The match broke down Bullet Club Gold trying for a triple superplex, but White, Robinson & Colten all getting crotched. This led to a Power-Plex, Elbow Drop, 450 Splash combo from FTR & The Bucks. Everyone started hitting dives, leaving Austin & Harwood left in the ring colliding with a double clothesline. Finisher attempts were countered until Nick & Wheeler hit a Shatter Machine with Matt & Harwood hit BTE Trigger for two on White. Colten laid out Matt with a Fame-Asser outside, as White laid out Wheeler with Blade Runner, as Colten picked up the pieces and stole the pin as a result. Nick said to Wheeler that he was late for breaking up the pin post match.
Jon Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy to win the AEW International Title
(And with that, one of the greatest title reigns in AEW history comes to an end and it happened after an absolute war. Both men knocked this one out of the park, as Moxley continues to be the man to rely on when things go haywire for the company, while Cassidy is simply incredible with the storytelling he’s able to tell, especially during this reign.)
The BCC and Best Friends & Kris Statlander walked with champion and challenger respectively backstage prior to both man’s entrance. Cassidy started fast, but Moxley avoided Orange Punch and hit multiple suplexes. Cassidy fought back on the apron, hitting a cross body, but Moxley rolled through and stomped down repeatedly onto the face. Cassidy popped off a Stundog Millionaire and dive outside, as Cassidy tried his DDT, but Moxley countered into an inside out suplex. Moxley rag dolled Cassidy on the outside, posted him and Cassidy was busted open as a result, as Moxley pounced on top of the commentary table, biting at the head. Moxley waited for Cassidy to beat the count and immediately hit a stalling piledriver. Moxley bit at the head again, as Cassidy’s blood is on the mouth of Moxley, which is pretty gross.
Moxley is relentless with cross face strikes, as Cassidy tries fighting back, with Moxley mocking the hands in the pockets. Moxley wanted a superplex, but Cassidy turned the tables and raked the back, biting Moxley’s head to fight fire with fire. A diving DDT was followed by the spinning DDT, as Moxley avoided Orange Punch with jabs, but Cassidy took a page out of Shibata’s playbook with a PK and Orange Punch for two. Moxley countered Beach Break into a Gotch Style Piledriver and Cassidy nearly got a flash crucifix, but Moxley got the rear naked choke. Moxley transitioned to an arm breaker and LeBell Lock, as Cassidy nearly tapped, but didn’t. Cassidy got the ropes and fell to the outside, where Moxley exposed the floor by ripping off the mats. Cassidy countered a piledriver and hit Beach Break onto the floor followed by a dropkick sending Moxley’s head into the steps.
Moxley beat the count, but Cassidy hit multiple Orange Punches, the third being blocked into a Cutter. Cassidy spun out of Death Rider into another Orange Punch and huge Spear for a near fall. Pocket offense from Cassidy, which got more and more intense to fire up the crowd until Moxley hit a wild lariat, which Cassidy no sold, so Moxley hit it again for two. Death Rider connected, but Cassidy just rolled a shoulder barely up. Cassidy is dripping blood, as he rose to his feet and flipped off Moxley, who flattened Cassidy with a home run Death Rider to win the title.
The BCC celebrate with Moxley and the International Title at the ramp, as Cassidy is left in the ring to recover to chants of his name by the Chicago crowd. The show goes off the air with the fans chanting for Cassidy.
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I were up last night covering the C.M.Punk firing, Payback and Collision and tonight we’ll be covering All Out. If you have any questions on the Punk situation you can send them to [email protected] as we’ll answer questions on that subject.
Obviously tonight’s show will be more interesting because of crowd reactions than anything else. Before Collision went on the air, Tony Khan spoke to the crowd in Chicago and it was very hostile as you can see. I will give him a lot of credit for this because regardless of arguments about how the situation was handled for the past 18 months, he easily could have just let it ride this weekend since everyone knew Punk was suspended and waited until after the PPV show to announce the firing, and just did the short taped prepared statement for television. But this was his speech and the reaction to it from the live audience:
This is tonight’s card which will go from 7 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. Eastern:
Athena & Mercedes Martinez & Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale & Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue
Over the Budget Battle Royal, the winner lists his favorite charity and AEW will make a $50,000 donation to that charity
Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defend the trios titles against Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal with Dennis Rodman in the Acclaimed corner and Sonjay Dutt in the Jarrett corner.
Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor for ROH TV title
Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho for the TBS title
FTR & Young Bucks vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson & Gunn Brothers
Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
Adam Cole & MJF vs. John Silver & Alex Reynolds for the ROH tag titles
Luchasaurus vs Darby Allin for the TNT title
Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Stars in a strap match
Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley for the International title
I expect a lot of good action matches but I’m dumbfounded about some of the matches like the ROH tag title match (which may be very entertaining but I can’t understand why the hottest act in the company is wrestling the Dark Order on a major PPV show), and no Adam Page or Chris Jericho. The PPV numbers will be very interesting on this. But nobody is expecting a big number coming a week after All In, which should end up as one of the biggest PPV shows in company history. About 9,500 tickets were out for the show, so it won’t be close to sold out but it’s still a healthy crowd and Tony Khan last week said he was thinking it would top $1 million which is always a major success.
We’re looking for your thoughts on both WWE Payback from last night and All Out from today, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s MLW show in Philadelphia to [email protected]
Alex Hammerstone is off today’s MLW show for family related reasons. MLW is planning its PPV version of the show on FITE+ from 6-8 p.m. so it will end before the start of the All Out PPV portion of the show.
The PPV version is:
Alex Kane vs. Willie Mack for the MLW title
Jacob Fatu vs. Rickey Shane Page in a weapons of mass destruction match for the National Openweight title
Maki Ioth vs, B3CCA
Kushida vs Tony Deppen
Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner in a kiss my foot match
Akira vs. Jimmy Lloyd in a street fight
Ichiban vs. Tracy Williams
Go Shiozaki won the N-1 tournament from Pro Wrestling NOAH beating Kenoh in the finals today in Osaka. Their next major show is 9/17 with Will Ospreay vs. Naomichi Marufuji.
Grayson Waller complained that Jey Uso attacked him unprovoked on his own show on Twitter and then showed him holding a Pepsi can to his head like an ice pack, seemingly in reference to C.M. Punk.
Even with all the news this week, the only thing that cracked the Google searches this past week was Payback from yesterday which was No. 19 with 100,000 searches, which is lower than WWE PPV shows usually do. Punk did not crack the top 20. Yesterday’s UFC show had nothing that cracked the top 20. All In, believe it or not, didn’t crack the listings last Sunday either which basically tells you that the interest in the show was big enough among wrestling fans to do a big U.S. PPV number, but it did not break through outside of the wrestling fan base big enough to crack the top 230.
Wrestlecon has announced its activities for WrestleMania in Philadelphia will be at the Sheraton Downtown Hotel in Philadelphia.
Kevin Von Erich did a talk show Friday night in Dallas. Dan Cerquitella told us that he really enjoyed it and the crowd was into it. He said the drawback was the host didn’t know wrestling and that Kevin came off so likeable. But he said Kevin shined through.
People were raving to us about the Eddie Kingston and Toshiaki Kawada panel at Starrcast today saying Kawada was just awesome in answering questions. Kawada said that after the death of Mitsuharu Misawa, he just lost his passion for wrestling. He indicated he didn’t like Kenta Kobashi, saying he had a big head. He also said he didn’t like Kensuke Sasaki. He said he didn’t go to Pro Wrestling NOAH because he couldn’t leave the Baba family after all they had done for him.
Progress noted that Yoshiki Inamura of NOAH will debut for the promotion on 9/9 in Birmingham, England. Inamura will be facing Ricky Knight Jr. for the Atlas championship.
RevPro results from earlier today in London: Sha Samuels b Connor Mills to win the British cruiserweight title, JJ Gale b Robbie X, Bredan White & Danny Jones b Jude London & Paris De Silva, Luke Jacobs b Wild Boar, Ricky Knight Jr. & Zak Zodiac b Sunshine Machine, Alex Windor b Maya Matthew with the sharpshooter, Michael Oku b Cameron Khai in a non-title match, Gabe Kidd b Leon Slater (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Stardom had a PPV show earlier today in Hiroshima, Japan: Ami Sohrei b Lady C, Maika & Megan Bayne b Mina Shirakawa & Mariah May, Utami Hayashishita b Momo Watanabe, Tam Nakano b Starlight Kid, Syuri b Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima b Momo Kohgo to keep the High Speed title, Natsupoi & Saori Anou b Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira to retain the Goddesses of Stardom tag title, Mirai b Konami to retain the Wonder of Stardom title, Giulia b Risa Sera to retain the New Japan Strong women’s title. There will be a UWF rules match with Syuri vs. Mina Shirakawa soon. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
I am back with another Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, talking all the latest wrestling news and once again, there is a lot of it.
In a surprise announcement Saturday afternoon, AEW announced they had terminated CM Punk’s contract with cause. I discuss why this happened, how Tony Khan and the company handled it, and what it means for both the future of AEW and Punk.
As if that wasn’t enough, WWE Payback was on Saturday. I break down the results and talk about some of the highlights from the show, including the disappointing main event between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura.
I also discuss AEW Collision from Saturday and previews tonight’s All Out card and how important it is for AEW to have a great show to move past the Punk drama and build momentum for the future.
Premium YouTube subscribers can watch above while website subscribers can listen below.