It’s time for All Elite Wrestling to go All Out, and with less than a week after the success of All In it’s time to see what this pay-per-view is all about.  There have been numerous changes to the card, some due to weather like Hurricane Idalia to more recent developments in the last 48 hours.

But there are some big matches to pay attention to like Orange Cassidy defending his AEW International title against Jon Moxley, as well as the medically cleared Bryan Danielson facing Ricky Starks in a Strap Match.  There may be some other big moments, or maybe the card is subject to change, so we will all see tonight.

We get started off with the…

Zero Hour for All Out

But to be honest, I have a lot to cover as it is, so here’s what took place…

All caught up?

Goody gumdrops,  ’cause that leads us right into…

The Show

Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, and Nigel McGuinness have the call and we start off with the First Match of the night and it is for the…

Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Championship: Better Than You Bay Bay (Adam Cole and MJF) (c) vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver, with Evil Uno)

The bromance is still alive between Cole and MJF, and they enter the ring with Michael Jordan-esque shirts emblazoned with “23” on the back.  The other funny sign of the night is someone in Chicago wrote “Tony Khan Cured Cancer.”  Ha!

MJF gets fans to chant “Sports-man-ship” as he faces former trainer Reynolds. After a handshake, he pokes his eye out because he is our scumbag.  After teasing the Kangaroo Kick, Reynolds connects with a forearm to the back of his head and MJF is rocked and he rolls out of the ring.  Cole checks his partner after they both had a brutal match at All In.

Then The Dark Order takes advantage and drives a steel chair to the back of MJF and that brings the ring doctors out and helps him to the back.  Cole stays in the fight and he is no longer Better than you. In fact, he’s In Peril.  Reynolds and Silver land the double clothesline (jerks) for a cover, but Silver gets a two count.  Then Reynolds grabs the tag belt, but Cole kicks it away, and then MJF makes his way to the ring and clutches his neck. One hot tag later and he is Better than You and he is En Fuego.

The Kangaroo Kick nails the target and after kicking Uno off the ring apron, he and Cole deliver the Double Clothesline to Reynolds and they retain.

Your Winners via Pinfall, and Still ROH World Tag Team Champions:  Adam Cole and MJF

As they walk up the ramp, the music hits which means the next match is for the…

ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Shane Taylor

On his way down, Joe shoves MJF.  Faster than you can say “NXT”, Cole tries to talk sense into MJF but then he attacks Joe, and security and refs get in to separate and make the AEW Champion back away.

Once the dust settles and Taylor is in the ring, they are swinging heavy lumber in and out of the ring.  A uranage and a splash by Taylor get him a two count, but Joe comes back with an enzugiri and then a tope suicida to the outside.  Then Joe hits the inverted atomic drop followed by a running single-leg dropkick and finishes with a running senton for a count of one.  A short arm clothesline by Taylor gets him a near fall.  Joe goes between the ropes on the ring apron and then chokes Taylor, but he drags him up over the ropes, nails a neck breaker, and then goes up top for a big splash for another two count.  Joe comes back with MMA kicks to the head and the Coquina Clutch is locked on Taylor who taps in short order.

Your Winner, and Still ROH World Television Champion:  Samoa Joe

This was less about Joe winning than it was about setting up the next match for MJF, and I am here for it.

Jim Ross joins at commentary and after the events from AEW Collision, the stakes are raised for the next bout for the…

AEW TNT Championship: Luchasaurus (c) (with Christian Cage) vs. Darby Allin (with Nick Wayne)

Allin’s midsection is taped up but he’s still ready to fight.  This is a standard Allin match as he takes it to the champ but the power of Luchasaurus is too much, and he tosses him to guardrails outside.  Then he swings his body onto the steel steps and Cage tells him to “Sweep the Leg, Johnny”…err, I mean, “maim him.”  As the deadly dino continues to batter the challenger, Allin is showing crimson as Luchasaurus continues his assault and then sends the steps on his injured lower back.  He aggravates Allin’s injury by stepping on the stairs.

Back in the ring, Luchasaurus wipes the blood and chops him with a red print, and he follows with a vicious headbutt and goes for a choke slam but Allin rolls up for two and then goes for a springboard splash for another two count.  He goes up the top turnbuckle for a crossbody but bounces off the big man.  He then rips off his bandages and chokes Allin with it.  But then he trips up the champ and rams him into the ring post.  Allin then goes up the top turnbuckle for a somersault senton on a seated Luchasaurus.  Back in the ring, he picks him with a fireman’s carry but Allin reverses to a crucifix bomb for a two count.  He launches Allin with a scary German suplex that catches the back of his neck and the top of his head.  He picks him up and gets him in a torture rack and Cage gives Wayne a towel and yells him to toss it to end his suffering.  Wayne refuses and Allin manages to get out of the submission and he nails a tope to Cage.

He goes up top but Luchasaurus catches him, and then Allin bites his hand and he connects with an avalanche Code Red for a close two.  Meanwhile, Cage uses a chair on Wayne and sets him up for a Con-Chair-to.  Allin sees this, and Cage uses the moment to distract him with harm to his protege.  That allows Luchasaurus to come from behind and nail a series of tombstone piledrivers to Allin, followed by snake eyes on the top turnbuckle to a vicious lariat to mercifully end the match.

Your Winner, and Still AEW TNT Champion:  Luchasaurus

Now Cage preps a Con-Chair-to on Allin but Spears and others from the back shoo him off.  As Cage and Luchasaurus back up the ramp, the medical doctors are checking on the prone body of Allin.

Your next match is between…

Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

(Author’s Note:  This match says it should belong on TV for Dynamite, or Collision, but not on a PPV.  However, it doesn’t scream Haiku In Review™, either.  So let’s split the difference and do an In-ring Limerick Review™.)

*ahem*

Hobbs wants to turn the page in his book,

And Miro wants redemption as his new look.

They beat each other tender

For fans to chant “Meat Forever!”

But it’s Game Over as Hobbs is left shook.

Your Winner via Pinfall:  Miro

After the match, Hobbs offers his hand and Miro embraces him, but he ends up punking him out from behind and Hobbs proves to be a sore loser. All of a sudden the Khan Tron flashes the words “Hot and Flexible, and who should come out but Miro’s wife, Lana/CJ Perry.  She attacks Hobbs with a chair, but he ain’t fazed.  Before more turns to the missus, Miro clocks him with the chair and sends him out.  Once the dust settles, Mrio sees his wife and then turns away from her.  

Yeah, the Redeemer has his priorities out of whack.

Now we go to the next match and it is for the…

AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Ruby Soho (with Saraya)

Statlander comes to the ring wearing Zoolander-inspired that is really, really, ridiculously good-looking for wrestlers who like their ring gear good, and she completes the look with a Blue Steel pout.

That said, this is gonna be another In-ring Limerick Review™ for the same reasons I mentioned above:

*ahem*

Soho wants gold around her waist,

And Statlander wants to beat her without haste.

She hurts the Outcast with abandon

And Toni Storm interferes with Soho at random,

But Statlander retains the belt with grace.

Your Winner via Pinfall, and Still AEW TBS Champion:  Kris Statlander

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat joins at commentary for the next match, and it is a…

Strap Match:  “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks

Unlike other strap matches when you touch the four corners, this must be won by pinfall or submission.  This is Danielson’s first match since Forbidden Door and the second time we heard The Final Countdown

As the ref tries to get the strap on he takes a lap around the ring, and then Starks jumps Danielson, whips him with his personalized weight belt, and uses the buckle to target his temple.  Danielson is bleeding and now Starks wears the other end of the strap and works over The American Dragon.

Now he stomps him on the head on steel steps and then a leg drop from the apron edge.  He strangles Danielson some more and continues to whip away.  He pushes Starks off the top turnbuckle and Danielson returns the receipt with cracks from the strap. He set him up in the Tree of Woe and more cracks from the leather are followed by a series of baseball slides. He goes to dive, but Starks whips him between the ropes. He talks smack to Steamboat and Danielson pulls him into the ring post repeatedly and Starks is now bleeding from his head.  Danielson nails a series of running dropkicks until Starks turns him inside out with a lariat.  He crawls to Starks and they whip away at each other, and soon Danielson shrugs it off as he whips his face, followed by Yes kicks and whips and a knockout roundhouse sends Starks face first to the mat.  Then Big Bill runs out from the crowd to beat Danielson, and Steamboat gets off the headphones and comes to the rescue. Bill goes for chokeslam until Starks gets thrown over the top rope and Danielson lands with a plancha.

Back in the ring, Starks connects with a spear and attempts the RoShamBo, but Danielson reverses to a Busaiku Knee for a two count.  Then he yells that he “will kick his f***ing head in!”, and he stomps down on his head and neck and transitions to the LeBelle lock. Starks fights out, and Danielson uses the strap to choke him and he is out.

Your Winner via Submission:  Bryan Danielson

McGuinness gets on the mic and announces that since “Hangman” Adam Page won the battle royale on Zero Hour, $50,000 will be donated to the Chicago Public Education Fund

For anyone else who wants to contribute, go to:  https://thefundchicago.org

 

Now Taz joins at commentary for the next match…

Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta)

Kingston wears a “Claudio Sucks Eggs” shirt similar to Terry Funk.

Shibata and Yuta start off and he has no answer for the ROH Pure Champion.  Then Castagnoli tags in and Shibata almost punts him but he dodges out of the way before he can connect.  Kingston tags in and Castagnoli ducks out of the ring. Yuta is back in and they trade chops for a second before Kingston goes out of the ring and gets into a hockey fight with Castagnoli.  Yuta lands a tope on him for the save, and now they pick apart Kingston and he is a Mad King in Peril.

Kingston comes back with a lariat to the back of Yuta’s neck, followed by an STO, and now gets a hot tag to Shibata and he is The Wrestler En Fuego.  He connects with a float-over suplex for a two count, and Shibata transitions to a triangle choke but Castagnoli powers out of the submission.  Shibata goes for an inverted leg lock on Yuta and an ankle lock on Castagnoli, but he wriggles out and the Swiss Cyborg chops him down and he falls back, which hurts Yuta still trapped in the leglock.  Kingston is back in with machine gun chops Castagnoli and follows up with an exploder suplex to Yuta.  He attempts the Backfist to the Future, but Castagnoli stops him from using his finisher. Now he and Shibata are in with dueling European uppercuts, but the ROH World champion knocks out the Japanese star.  Yuta comes back with a German suplex with a bridge but gets a near fall.  Then Castagnoli and Kingston trade blows until he connects with a short arm clothesline and transitions into The Neutralizer for another two count.

The Backfist connects and then Kingston lands the Northern Lights Bomb to cover until Yuta breaks the count.  He’s pushed into Shibata who chokes out Yuta, but Castagnoli rocks Kingston with a European uppercut and that distraction is enough as the ref counts for the pin and the win.

Your Winners via Pinfall:  Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli

A video package highlights the next grudge match coming up between…

Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita (with Don Callis)

Omega comes out in ring gear that has his old Green, yellow, and orange colors when he started out in DDT Pro, and this seems fitting as he tries to bury the past, and Callis along with it.  There is a brief staredown, and both Omega and Takeshita are evenly matched early in the match.  He rocks Omega with a dropkick and his jumping knee gets blocked.  Then, Takeshita with a backdrop suplex that makes Omega land on top of his head.

Outside he rams him to guardrails, but Omega reverses to a Findlay roll and then a moonsault from the guardrails to the floor.  Back in the ring, Omega gets a dropkick to the leg then a leg lariat to Takeshita, and then a dunk to cover, but gets a near fall.  He then cinches an Indian Deathlock but Takeshita fights back and gets out of the submission.  They run the ropes and Takeshita connects with a flying clothesline for a two count.  Omega tries to counter with a huracanrana, but Takeshita is too strong and sends him to the second turnbuckle for another two count. Then he sends Omega to the outside for a sheer drop brainbuster on the floor.  He then proceeds to grab a chair until the ref pulls it away from Takeshita. Callis uses the distraction to pile chairs on Omega and Takeshita nails a swanton on the outside.  He comes back into the ring and nails the Blue Thunder bomb to cover, but Takeshita still can’t put away Omega.  He chops at his chest, but Takeshita knocks him down with a forearm shiver and then goes up the top turnbuckle for a diving senton but Omega catches the back of his neck with his knees.  Takeshita recovers and sends Omega to the corner and misses him with his jumping knee. Then he dives outside to the Rise of the Terminator on Takeshita and comes back in the ring with a missile dropkick followed by a snapdragon suplexes.

Then a knee to Omega’s back is followed by poison ‘rana.  He attempts the V-Trigger, but Takeshita dodges and nails a huge lariat.  Omega recovers and the V-Trigger finds the mark and he covers for two. Then another and he attempts the One Winger Angel but Takeshita blocks and nails a reverse piledriver for another near fall. Then he tries a German suplex with a bridge for two, and after that, Takeshita sends Omega up top and he connects with an avalanche Blue Thunder bomb for one, two…no, not yet.  At one point Callis gets a screwdriver and attempts to stab Omega but he gets away in time and then he lands the V-Trigger to Takeshita and still kicks out at two.  Takeshita sees the screwdriver and picks it up and clutches it to his chest.  Omega goes for One Winged Angel again and as he goes to stab Omega, the ref catches him red-handed and takes the foreign object away.  Takeshita gets out of his finisher and he delivers the V-Trigger to find the mark and Omega is laid out for three.

Your Winner via Pinfall:  Konosuke Takeshita

And your next match after that is…

Bullet Club Gold (Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Jay White, and Juice Robinson) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)

The story behind this is mainly that FTR and The Bucks are trying to get along after the events of All In and Collision, whereas the Bang Bang Gang is more of a cohesive unit.  However, because this recap needs to be put to bed and this doesn’t deserve a Limerick or even a Haiku, these are the bullet points as I stuff this into the mojo wire:

  • Bang Bang Gang was in the driver’s seat most of the match working over Wheeler
  • Then it becomes a Pier Eight brawl that turns to Quadruple atomic drops and into sharpshooters by FTR and the Bucks
  • Harwood tags Nick and he cleans house until he and Matt turn it into a Superkick Par-tay
  • Wheeler and Matt join forces in giving a Superkick Partay
  • Harwood and Matt then give a spike piledriver, but Bullet Club Gold breaks the count
  • FTR and the Bucks combine forces again and Harwood starts off giving Austen a superplex, then Wheeler with a splash, and an elbow drop by Matt, and Nick finishes with the 450 splash for a two count

  • Harwood and Nick nail the Shatter machine and then Matt and Harwood give the BTE Trigger
  • Ultimately, White delivers a flash Blade Runner and Colten covers as legal man for the three count

Your Winners via Pinfall:  Bullet Club Gold

Now it’s time for the Main Event, and this is for the…

AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Jon Moxley

Between Wild Thing and Jane, fans are big into this match, and for once, so am I.  The best thing I saw as the wrestlers made their way to the squared circle was a fan sign that read, “I am a fan of Orange Cassidy and I do not have a sign idea.”  Ha!  Brilliant!

We get boxing-style intros by Justin Roberts, and this is Death Jitsu versus King of Sloth Style.  Cassidy avoids looking at his opponent to play mind games, and as he proceeds to put his hands into his pockets, Mox ain’t playing games and attacks right away.  There is a dropkick by Cassidy but Mox comes back with a backdrop suplex and another on the International champion.  Mox takes time stalking his prey, and then he rams his head into the turnbuckle.  Cassidy attempts a crossbody but he rolls through and it gets reversed to stomps by Mox.

Cassidy comes back with Stundog Millionaire and goes for a tornado DDT but Mox blocks him and tosses Freshly Squeezed to the outside.  He then throws Cassidy into the ring post and now Cassidy’s head shows crimson on the temple.  Then Mox throws him on the commentary desk and tries to open the wound on the head more with punches and bites.  Now a pool of blood forms from Cassidy’s head and he wears the crimson mask as he crawls to ring and makes it to Mox, who nails him with a piledriver for a two count.

Mox takes off his wrist tape to choke him and bites away again at his head.  He drapes Cassidy on the second rope and connects with cross faces to make him a bloody mess.  He mocks Cassidy with his hands in his pockets and heaps on more abuse.  Mox props him on the top turnbuckle and Cassidy rakes his back and bites his head.  He pushes him off the top and nails a DDT and then a tornado DDT but the previous attacks by Mox make it slow for Cassidy to kip up.  Mox jabs away, and the Beach Break is blocked, but a PK finds its mark followed by an Orange Punch that gets Cassidy a count of two.  Mox connects with a Gotch-style Piledriver for two, and Cassidy goes for a roll-up but Mox kicks out and goes for the bulldog choke.  Then he transitions from the choke to an armbar and then a LeBelle Lock(!) but the champ hangs on. Pushes out to get his feet on the ropes to break the submission and rolls out of the ring.

Mox follows and rips away the protective padding to expose the concrete and goes for a piledriver, but Cassidy reverses to a Beach Break.  Mox lands with a sickening thud, and Cassidy follows with a dropkick to the steel steps.  Back in the ring, Cassidy hits with a series of Orange Punches and on the third time Mox lands a cutter but he gets back up for another Punch and then a spear for another two count.  Cassidy gets his hands in his pockets and starts the “kicks of doom” and he turns them up a notch.  He hits the ropes and Mox nails a King Kong lariat not once or twice, but three times and Cassidy manages to kick out of the cover.  Mox wants an end and he drives him to the mat with the Death Rider that finds its mark and he covers for one, two…Cassidy is still in it!

Battered and bloodied, Cassidy flips him off and Mox goes for a high Death Rider and it is over in one, two, and three.

Your Winner, And New AEW International Champion:  Jon Moxley

Blackpool Combat Club come out and celebrate with Moxley on his hard-fought win. Cassidy is slowly getting up to fans chanting, “Thank You, O-range!” to close out the PPV.

RELATED LINK

George Tahinos’ AEW All Out 2023 photo gallery

AEW All Out - 09/03/2023
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Final Thoughts:

Even with all the controversy and the short turnaround from All In, AEW delivered a very good PPV.  Moxley and Cassidy turned out a great match and it was the right choice for the main event, and that’s saying something since all of Cassidy’s title defenses to date were starting to get tiresome.

Despite some matches that weren’t quite PPV-worthy, the new feuds this builds will also be interesting in the weeks ahead.

Until then, see ya next PPV!