I was all set to review AEW's All Out PPV as per usual and then the bombshell news item dropped: Pac, real name Benjamin Satterley, has died at the age of 40. There is as yet no information about how or why. I can't even wrap my head around this. We just watched him have a banger of a PPV opener on Saturday, and one day later he was gone. Pac was an incredible talent, one of the most athletically gifted, precise wrestlers on the planet, and in many ways one of the most underappreciated. He gave us so many great matches and memories, and by all accounts was a thoroughly decent fellow to boot.
His Revolution 2020 match with Orange Cassidy is one of my favorite singles bouts of his - their clash of styles was incredibly entertaining and this was the match that made me appreciate Cassidy's abilities, something Pac deserves a lot of credit for spotlighting. Then of course there was the unparalleled Best of Seven Death Triangle vs. Elite series. Some of the most stunning trios bouts you'll ever see. Pac made everyone he worked with look like a million bucks and he could hold up his end of any match, regardless of the opponent. I'm sure as more information comes out we'll at least gain some sort of insight into his sudden passing, but it won't make it any less tragic. Rest in peace, Pac. And thank you for the memories.
AEW All Out 2026 was another very strong PPV with a slew of good-to-excellent matches, but it was missing that automatic Match of the Year candidate we've come to expect as AEW's spoiled us over the years. A few of the bouts reached 4.5-star territory for me but the Will Ospreay-Jon Moxley main event in particular, while certainly very good, fell significantly short of my expectations for it. It was a slow-burn, story-heavy match, but for me it was missing the big signature Ospreay climax.
The story here was whether Ospreay could withstand all of Moxley's methods of attack, including grappling, ground and pound, and Death Riders shenanigans. The match began in methodical, NJPW-esque fashion, with lots of grappling and counters, and then Moxley took over for long stretches at a time, repeatedly attacking Ospreay's surgically repaired neck. Ospreay made a bit of a comeback with some of his signature offense but the Death Riders and United Empire members got involved before Ospreay accidentally knocked referee Paul Turner out with a running kick. From there all hell broke loose as both groups ended up in the ring. Pac ran down but was dispatched by Andrade, Mike Bailey and Akira Francesca ran interference with Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia, and Marina Shafir hit Ospreay with Moxley's briefcase before the Brawling Birds took her out with a Hart Attack. Finally Mox hit a stomp on the briefcase, then hit Ospreay with the briefcase and then hit a piledriver and multiple DDTs, which Ospreay kicked out of. Ospreay fought out of a Bulldog Choke by biting Mox's arm (leaving actual teeth marks) and then nailing a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker and Mox kicked out. Ospreay pulled off his elbow pad and Mox realized he was cooked, smiling as though proud of his former student, and Ospreay leveled him with one more Hidden Blade for the win. Post-match Mox handed Ospreay the belt and acknowledged him as the right and true champion. Like I said, this was very good but I felt like it was too much Mox and not enough Ospreay. The run-ins were excessive and I'd rather the match stayed closer to a straight-up fight. But I'll go ****. I will say it's bizarre that Will Ospreay's match wasn't one of the top three of the night for me.
Circling back to the start, the show opened with Andrade El Idolo vs. Pac, in Pac's final wrestling match. This was exactly the type of match you'd expect, fast-paced with a ton of action. Both guys got in all their signature stuff, plus they played around with the Andrade selfie gimmick. As Andrade posed with the woman at ringside, Marina Shafir snuck up on her and choked her out. I thought maybe they'd have Marina ask for a selfie, which would've been amusing. Andrade oddly fell for a distraction from her later, which Paccapitalized on with a Poison Rana. Pac then applied the Brutalizer but Andrade rolled back for a flash pin. Very fine opening match, one that will be tough to rewatch now. Rest in peace, Pac. ****
The second match met an unfortunate end, as Steven Borden attempted a head-to-head top rope dive opposite Kevin Knight, and landed hard on the back of his head, knocking him out cold. The match was stopped and the medical team quickly got Borden on a stretcher and took him to the hospital, where he luckily regained consciousness and lucidity, apparently remembering everything that happened in the match. So if it was a concussion it seems to have been a mild one, thankfully. The crowd was very understanding and supportive, which was nice to see. The match itself was pretty entertaining, with Darby taking his usual crazy bumps. I assume given the later Tag Team Title change that Kyle and Kevin were supposed to win this anyway, but with the match stopped they got the win by forfeit. NR
Given the difficult task of following this chain of events, Persephone defended her TBS Title next, against newcomer and surprise opponent Dani Luna, in a match I thought way overachieved. I've read mostly unenthusiastic reviews of this one, but I thought these two worked really well together and did a lot with their fourteen minutes. The action was crisp and innovative, and Luna made a pretty great showing of her debut, while Persephone continues to impress as a rising star. There was a scary moment where Luna did a deadlift release German suplex over the ropes and it looked like Persephone landed right on her head, but she seemed fine afterwards. Britt Baker on the outside got involved toward the end, blocking another German attempt by holding Persephone's legs. Persephone then hit the Razor's Edge for the win. ***3/4
One of my favorite matches of the night was next as Kazuchika Okada defended the International Title against Tommaso Ciampa. These two had just the kind of 20-minute match you'd expect, with Okada trying to keep the pace slow but Ciampa ramping up the attacks. Midway they battled at ringside with Okada setting up a draping DDT right in front of Ciampa's daughter and telling her "Happy birthday" before nailing the move. He then flipped her off, and she gave it right back with a double bird, which got a massive pop. In the closing stretch we got the classic Okada sequence of nearfalls and counters, with Ciampa hitting Okada with his own dropkick and going for a Rainmaker, and Okada escaping, hitting his own dropkick, Emerald Flowsion and Rainmaker to retain the title. Great match. ****1/2
The Women's Tag Titles were up fifth and these two teams had a very fun, bloody brawl, with chairs, tables, kendo sticks, trash cans, thumbtacks, and the ring barricade. Divine Dominion at one point chokeslammed Alex Windsor into two set-up chairs and the chairs barely budged, which looked very painful. The heels set up a barbed wire board but it backfired as Jamie Hayter drove Megan Bayne through it with a Death Valley Driver. Hayter smashed a bottle over Lena Kross's head and then the Birds hit their Hart Attack (with a chain wrapped around Hayter's arm) to get the win. Super entertaining car wreck. ****
The next match was the best thing on the entire show, the Trios Championship match between Swerve Strickland and The New Level, and Hangman Page and Brodido. 24 minutes of nonstop awesome sauce, punctuated by numerous Swerve-Hangman moments and exchanges that made the crowd erupt. These two are magical together and I dearly hope another singles match is on one of the next couple PPVs. All six of these guys looked great though, and came up with loads of creative spots and nearfalls. Swerve ultimately countered a 21-Plex attempt by Bandido into a JML Driver to retain the belts. Super cool match that both stood on its own and furthered the Swerve-Hangman saga. ****3/4
The final women's match of the night was for a title shot at WrestleDream, with former champs Willow Nightingale and Thekla running back their Redemption bout. This one was faster paced and leaner than the original, and these two laid into each other right away, building to some fun nearfalls and exchanges throughout. Willow's injured hand of course became a factor as Thekla stomped it multiple times. Late in the match Skye Blue and Julia Hart ran down, with Julia hitting Willow with a title belt. Willow attempted a Doctor Bomb but her injured hand gave out and Thekla stomped it again, followed by a Curb Stomp for the win. Solid match and I'm looking forward to the Thekla-Mercedes feud. ***3/4
And finally we come to the TLC match, as Cope & Cage defended against The Young Bucks and FTR. This was everything you'd expect, with a ton of violent chair, table and ladder spots. They didn't exactly invent anything new here but everything they did looked like it hurt a lot. At two different points guys went through tables but were off the mark and crashed hard on the floor with their upper body, one of them being a spot where Stokely Hathaway tried to retrieve the belts but Cope shoved the ladder over and Stoke went through a table but overshot it slightly. By the end I'm pretty sure all six competitors went through a table at one time or another. There was a wild spot where the Bucks each dove onto Dax and Cope, through tables, and then immediately Cash dove over the ropes, through a ladder, onto Christian, through a table. At the end Christian and Cash were fighting on a ladder, Christian dumped Cash to the floor, and the Bucks climbed up each side and hit Christian with a BTE Trigger before grabbing the titles. The Bucks are now four-time AEW Tag Team Champions. Excellent ladder match. ****1/2
So yeah, a fine PPV once again, though not a Show of the Year contender, and it will forever have a pall cast over it as Pac's final show.
Best Match: Trios Championship
Worst Match: The Darby/Borden one due to the injury
What I'd Change: I'd have given Ospreay more of the main event match, especially in the final stretch, and reduced the amount of intereference.
Most Disappointing Match: I guess the main event.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Persephone-Luna
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
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