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Preview: AEW – All Out (9/5/20)

All Out 2020

It’s been an incredible build and now, here we are, at All Out. The company’s direction will be set on Saturday night as the tag team, women’s and world titles are on the line. Will there be new champs? As for the rest of the card, it’s loaded with grudge matches, showcase matches, and a fan-favorite, the casino battle royale. There is a lot to unpack between the Buy-In preshow and the main card, so let’s get right to it.

The Buy-In

Private Party vs Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds and John Silver

Thanks to a shift in the main card, a spot on the pre-show opened up and now, Private Party and Alex Reynolds and John Silver will be able to take advantage of it. Private Party has had their ebbs and flows in AEW recently, going from challenging for the tag titles to kind of finding themselves sidelined and unable to get a consistent winning streak going. Silver and Reynolds meanwhile, have had trouble getting many wins period. Saturday will be a great opportunity for both of these teams. They’ll have a chance to show their talent and get one step closer to finding themselves in the tag team title picture.

21 Man Casino Battle Royale

Butcher vs Blade vs Chuckie T vs Trent vs Pentagon vs Fenix vs Eddie Kingston vs Jake Hager vs Santana vs Ortiz vs Darby Allin vs Brian Cage vs Ricky Starks vs Shawn Spears vs Lance Archer vs Billy Gunn vs Austin Gunn vs Serpentico vs ??? vs ??? vs ???

The segment started out simple. Taz brought Brian Cage and Ricky Starks out to tell the world one of them was going to win the Casino Battle Royale. Then, much like last week, Jake Roberts came out to say the same about Lance Archer. Everybody dies and all that. And then Eddie Kingston brought Pentagon, Fenix, Butcher and the Blade out to announce the same and to tell the old legends to stop yapping and start tapping. Those eight competitors had already been announced for the battle royale last week, but where things started to get complicated was what happened next.

In no particular order, Shawn Spears, Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, Serpentico, Jake Hager, Santana, Ortiz, Chuckie T, Trent, and finally Darby Allin, all made their way down to the ring as well leading to a giant brawl ensuing. The brawl seemed to be a little taste of what we might see this Saturday as chaos ensued between the men in the ring. While the names of the nine competitors who made their way ringside tonight have not all been confirmed as having entered the battle royale, we’re going to assume that is the case. And unless there were three men in the ring who weren’t noticed, that leaves three open spots for the 21-man event.

Maybe, like Serpentico, the spots will go to some of the guys who have really stepped up on AEW DARK lately. Names like Shawn Dean and Will Hobbs instantly come to mind. Then there are also guys like Angelico, Jack Evans, Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela. And of course, just like the first Casino Battle Royale where Jordynne Grace impressed, there is always the chance another female has an opportunity here. Maybe someone like Awesome Kong, who is no stranger to battle royales.  And let’s not forget PAC, who it’s being rumored could be on his way back. Either way, AEW has a huge roster leaving open the possibilities for who might fill out these final few spots.

All Out Main Card

Big Swole vs Britt Baker

The tweet says it all. FINALLY, Big Swole will get her hands on Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. While many of the feuds on All Out have only developed recently, the animosity and cat-and-mouse between Swole and Baker has been going on for months. In fact, it may be second only to Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy in terms of just how long these two have been in each others’ orbits. It all seemingly started in March, right before the pandemic, when Big Swole interrupted one of Baker’s “I’m here to be your role model” promos in Salt Lake City. The two got into it over their significant others that happen to wrestle for some other company, before Baker poured a cup of coffee on Swole’s head. And from there, their feud began. Unfortunately, Baker got injured shortly after keeping Swole from getting her one-on-one match. But that all changes on Saturday as in a cinematic match filmed from Baker’s dentist office, these two ladies will go at it with no disqualifications, falls count anywhere.

Mimosa Mayhem: Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy

AEW’s longest-running feud finally meets its rubber match and it comes in the form of a spectacular creation and first (and likely only ever) of its kind. It’s called the Mimosa Mayhem match and in order to be declared the victor you must win by pinfall, or submission, or dumping your opponent in the beverage comprised of champagne and orange juice. Champagne and orange juice, the bubbly the freshly squeezed one. I wonder if mimosa was just a coincidence or chosen for that reason. Either way, look for this to be a spectacle. Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy have spent months feuding, bringing the Inner Circle and Best Friends into things as well. Jericho won the first match but Cassidy, after winning the debate, won the second. It all comes down to this at All Out. With Jericho claiming he made Cassidy, provided him star power just by being in the ring with him, how will Orange respond? Seems the perfect way to is to sink your opponent into a vat of the beverage most commonly served at brunch.

Dark Order (Mr. Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson) vs Natural Nightmares (QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes), Matt Cardona and Scorpio Sky

Since All Out was supposed to be in Chicago this year, it seems fitting that an old Chicago credo is the perfect way to describe this match. In the movie the Untouchables, it was said that in Chicago, that if “they send one of yours to the hospital, you send two of theirs to the morgue.” And while death isn’t on the table, there is no doubt the team of Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall, Scorpio Sky, and Matt Cardona want revenge for what the Dark Order and Mr. Brodie Lee in particular, did to their brother. This one is personal and as Cardona said in a pre-match video, each of the men in this match has something to prove, something to fight for. Cody is their fallen comrade but that’s not all that is on the line here. This is a huge opportunity for the Nightmare Family and associates. It’s also a huge opportunity for the Dark Order’s main unit, and for reasons unknown, Colt Cabana. Lee is coming off the biggest win of his AEW career and he’ll no doubt look to his minions to help him follow that up by making a huge statement here.

Young Bucks vs Jurassic Express

Both the Young Bucks and Jurassic Express had to earn their way onto the All Out card by winning their match on Dynamite last week. It’s not quite the match on the PPV the Young Bucks wanted and they’ll know that. In fact, if their performance in the tag team match on Dynamite was any indication, being in the wrong match has already gotten to the Jackson brothers. They wrestled a lot more aggressive and while there is likely no Young Bucks heel turn that should be expected, it would not be surprising if they work heel on Saturday against the huge fan-favorite Jurassic Express. The duo of Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy have been one of AEW’s top acts, both in terms of ring success and getting over with the crowd. Both these teams are athletic and capable of pulling off some great moves so expect this to a great tag team match on Saturday at All Out.

Broken Rules: Matt Hardy vs Sammy Guevara

The Mimosa Mayhem match isn’t the only one on All Out’s card that is a first-time ever concept as Matt Hardy will challenge Sammy Guevara in the first-ever broken rules match. The rules are simple. This match is essentially a combined last man standing, falls count anywhere but with a major caveat. If Hardy loses, he will have to leave AEW. The feud between Guevara and Hardy, which started will Guevara spurning Hardy’s offer of mentorship, has been fantastic, aided in intensity by an errant chair shot that led to Hardy getting busted open hardway. But AEW opted to take advantage of the spot to turn Hardy into a revenge-obsessed maniac. Ever since taking the chair to the head, Hardy has been unbalanced as his personas have been out of whack. He’s also been unstable, determined to end Guevara’s career. All the while, Guevara has been nonchalant but a few weeks ago in a tables match, Hardy showed his true colors. He busted Guevara open, brutally attacking him. But it was the Spanish God who got the last laugh, putting Hardy through a table to pick up the win. It seems likely Hardy will win on Saturday but anything is possible. He’ll have to worry about the lurking presence of the Inner Circle as Guevara will likely not be alone with the stakes so high. He wants Hardy gone as much as Hardy wants to end Guevara’s career. Look for this one to have the potential to steal the show at All Out as a bloody, violent affair between two guys with nothing but venom toward the other.

AEW Tag Team Championship: Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs FTR (w/ Tully Blanchard)

There is perhaps no match more intriguing this Saturday at All Out than that of the tag team championship between FTR and Hangman Page and Kenny Omega. It’s seemed certain for a while now that the undefeated FTR are sure things to win the tag titles and to remake the division in their image. But the variables in this one point to so many possibilities. Page is an absolutely wreck and if wrestling gave out Oscars, he’d be up for one for best performance. With make-up making it look like he hadn’t slept in a week, the demoralized and broken Page came to the ring last week thinking he was evening the odds to help his partner. Instead, he got an earful, finding out that the men he thought were his friends were really just manipulating him. In the span of two weeks, Page lost the Elite and had FTR call him out as being weak and insecure. With so much confliction in his eyes, Page seemed ready to fight FTR then and there but Omega stopped him. When Page grabbed their tag titles back from FTR however, Omega had already left the ring, looking disappointed. So, Saturday. It’s been teased that Omega could return to his Cleaner persona. Will he turn on Page either during or after the match? Or will the two, who have been champs for over 200 days, get along only for something else to cost them the title? The arrival of the new Four Horsemen is also being rumored and there may be no better place to debut them than in this match. All eyes will be on this one, especially the finish, as we’ll learn a lot about what comes next for these two teams based on how the match ends.

AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida vs Thunder Rosa

NWA President Billy Corgan put it simply. “Champions should fight champions.” On Saturday at All Out, that’s what we are going to get as it will be a good-old-fashioned champion vs champion match when NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa takes on AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida. AEW approached Corgan and NWA for this match as Tony Khan is a huge fan of Rosa, one of the top independent female wrestlers in the world right now. Rosa’s skill notwithstanding, it was also the fans who clamored to bring her here. As we saw with Cody’s open challenges, AEW does listen to fans when it comes to talent. With Corgan agreeing, AEW was set for what could be the best women’s match in the promotion’s young history. Shida has been champ for a while but hasn’t had many opportunities to defend her belt. She’ll face a tough opponent in Rosa and these two, if given the time, should be expected to put on a match capable of stealing the show.

AEW World Championship (Paradigm Shift is Banned): Jon Moxley vs MJF (w/Wardlow)

In July, MJF, after not getting ready TV time, decided that he was going to make AEW better for everyone. Starting to use the #NotMyChampion and #MJF2020, the young, brash star declared himself the #1 contender to Dictator Jon’s world title. MJF continued to use his words to insult Jon Moxley until Moxley had enough, dropping MJF on his head with the Paradigm Shift during one of his campaign speeches. This led to MJF putting on quite the performance as he found himself with a brace around his neck and in a wheelchair. The culprit? The dangerous, unsafe move called the Paradigm Shift. MJF enlisted the help of his attorney, Mark Sterling, to get the move banned and then managed to talk Moxley into signing a contract stating he wouldn’t use it lest he lose his title, at All Out. A man with more than one move in his arsenal, Moxley thought he had the upperhand until MJF revealed his ruse, taking off his brace and wheelchair and bloodying up Moxley on the go-home Dynamite. As MJF later tweeted, he walked into Moxley’s world and in minutes showed him he could compete, but on Saturday, MJF was going to teach Moxley how to wrestle. The two former CZW champions are somewhat cut from the same cloth in their wrestling upbringing but the similarities end there. On Saturday at All Out, MJF is out to prove he can out-wrestle and out-think the champion in order to claim the title for himself. He’s done being the future because the future is now.

Programming note: The September 16th episode of AEW Dynamite will air on September 17th instead due to TNT airing the NBA playoffs. Make sure to set your DVR in order not to miss any of the action!

Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW DARK Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on YouTube.

Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!

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