The other half of this Saturday's wrestling PPV double-shot is AEW's All Out! While there are arguments to be made both ways about Tony Khan's decision to move this show to the afternoon and avoid WWE's cockblock, I'd say it was overall the right move. Had WWE tried to counterprogram a lineup as big as All In with a main roster show, that's an easier gamble to take. But All Out, while a loaded show in terms of wrestling quality, doesn't have the company's biggest possible marquee bouts (not to mention Will Ospreay, Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega are all on the shelf). Still, as I said in my Wrestlepalooza picks, I think All Out would've drawn around 100k buys even head-to-head. With the 3pm start time I'll predict 120k. But we'll see....
Anyway, this show has several potential Match of the Night candidates, perhaps too many multi-man bouts, and a big Toronto reunion, plus they're building for the future by putting 26-year-old Kyle Fletcher in the main event. Let's take a look.....
The Hurt Syndicate vs. Ricochet & Gates of Agony
Lashley, Benjamin and MVP have fully turned babyface and are now feuding with Ric's crew. The two singles matches from this feud featured on the last couple Dynamites have been very good and amazingly Lashley actually sold for Toa Liona! I could see MVP eating the pin here but back-to-back PPV losses for THS seems unlikely.
Pick: The Hurt Syndicate
Big Bill vs. Eddie Kingston
Here's a match I'd have probably saved for next week's Dynamite to give the build more time. Eddie hasn't actually returned to TV yet, and given his amazing promo ability you want to let him talk first. The pop for his return should be something though. This won't get a ton of time but it doesn't need it either.
Pick: Eddie
TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Riho
Riho has looked a little rusty since her return but hopefully that'll be shaken off by the PPV. On paper this is a helluva contest. Mercedes isn't losing here, but I think the end of her title run is approaching; I'm just not sure at whose hands yet.
Pick: Mercedes retains
AEW Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: Brodido vs. Young Bucks vs. JetSpeed vs. Hechicero & Josh Alexander
This one'll be nutso. Ladder matches are way the fuck overdone in wrestling but with this lineup we should get something pretty special. We do need a Young Bucks-JetSpeed feud pronto.
Pick: Brodido are still new champs so let's keep the titles on them for a while
Unified Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mascara Dorada
This here's a case of "We want Okada vs. Takeshita but don't want to beat either of them right now." Takeshita is just coming off a G1 Climax win and will be challenging for the IWGP Title soon, so I'm sure NJPW doesn't want him losing here. But I think Takeshita probably will eventually take this title off Okada. For now though, Dorada will have a great showing on his way to eating the pinfall, and we'll finally get to see Okada mix it up with his estranged stablemate.
Pick: Okada retains
AEW Women's World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Jamie Jayter vs. Kris Statlander vs. Thekla
Second consecutive PPV with a women's title 4-way but this one should be considerably better than the TBS Title match at Forbidden Door. All four of these women can go with the best of them. I think Toni probably doesn't lose the title in a 4-way but maybe we'll see Kris sell her soul to the Death Riders in exchange for a long-awaited World Title run soon.
Pick: Toni retains
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. FTR
Well the journey to Cope and Cage reuniting could've been longer and felt more earned, but the build to this match has been very good. I think we'll see some crimson flowing before it's over. This'll be the first time in over twenty years the longtime best friends have teamed in their home market, so I don't think they're losing here. But FTR should eventually get a win over them I think.
Pick: Cope & Cage
Tables n' Tacks Match: MJF vs. Mark Briscoe
Speaking of blood, here's a new gimmick match where I imagine we'll see more than just the two types of weapons mentioned, unless any other weapon would result in a disqualification. Anyway, this'll be a bloodbath and a pretty great one at that. If I were Briscoe I'd have challenged Max to put up his title match contract.
Pick: Max rarely loses on PPV and he's coming off a loss to Hangman, so I'll pick him here
Coffin Match: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
Speaking of blood again, this'll be goddamn brutal. Betting odds have Darby winning this, but that seems counterintuitive to me. Mox has lost his last three PPV matches, including one to Darby's team at Forbidden Door. I think that's gotta be an AEW record for him. Plus he's just added Daniel Garcia to his stable and is actively trying to recruit Kris Statlander. I feel like a loss here would be poor timing. Then again it is Darby's match type.
Pick: I think I gotta go with Mox
AEW Men's World Championship: Hangman Page vs. Kyle Fletcher
This should be fantastic, especially since the Don Callis family is banned from ringside. That doesn't mean there couldn't be someone else interfering, but since Page isn't losing the title yet I think they'll probably stick to a good old-fashioned one-on-one match here. Page is on fire in 2025 and Kyle is one of the most talented workers in the business right now. They've done a fine job of building Kyle up as a real threat considering there's not much suspense over who's winning. I wonder if his performance here plants the seeds for a babyface turn.
Pick: Page retains
So yeah, a fine lineup despite AEW missing three of their biggest babyfaces. Swerve should be back pretty soon but Ospreay will be sorely missed over the next year, while Kenny's time off is uncertain. Still the upper midcard is as healthy as ever, and with stars like Fletcher moving up to the forefront AEW should be able to fill that void in the meantime.
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