AEW Full Gear (Nov. 7, 2020) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Full Gear (2020) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on November 7, 2020 at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the second event in the Full Gear chronology.

Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on The Buy In pre-show. In the main event, Jon Moxley defeated Eddie Kingston in a "I quit" match to retain the AEW World Championship. In other prominent matches, The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, Darby Allin defeated Cody Rhodes to win the AEW TNT Championship, and Kenny Omega defeated "Hangman" Adam Page in the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament final match.

Singles Match for the NWA World Women's Championship

Serena Deeb (c) def. Allysin Kay by submission

Not a bad opener, almost thought that they weren't going to give the ladies time to get this in. Not a bad match to start things off with, but it felt like Kay and Deeb's styles weren't clicking at various points of the match. Deeb retains though and that's all what matters right?

Thunder Rosa stares down with Serena Deeb post-match. I saw a lot of reporters and podcasters that were quick to shoot down those rumors/reports about Rosa taking time off to train for her next MMA fight and I wouldn't be so quick to rule that out. She's still got two more fights left on her current MMA contract, but who says that she doesn't want to get this quick rematch out of the way before she starts training for said fight? Deeb could then have more bragging rights if she does retain but leave the door open for Rosa to come back with renewed vigor after the MMA bout. Look at how AEW promoted the hell out of Jake Hager's battle scars from his recent MMA victory on Dynamite. I'm sure NWA would love to get that kind of exposure for Thunder Rosa after her next fight. For those that aren't aware, NWA did an EXCELLENT video package chronicling Thunder Rosa's training up to her first fight. That would be great stuff on Dynamite if they keep this working relationship with NWA alive.

As for Allisyn Kay, she announced that she was a free agent and appears on this PPV in less than the span of a week. I think it's safe to assume that this was a tryout of sorts for AEW. They could use more seasoned women like Kay on their roster, especially those who are TV ready. I wouldn't see any harm in bringing her in full-time. 

AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament final match

Winner receives a future AEW World Championship match.

Kenny Omega def. "Hangman" Adam Page

The Cleaner came out to play tonight and was all business. At the end of the day though, it was another losing effort for Page in another big match opportunity. I will say this much - Adam Page did have Omega's number in terms of scouting his signatures, but when it was all said and done, he still fell victim to the One Winged Angel. Page ALMOST didn't get his head tucked down in time before he hit the canvas. That was scary to watch. Other than that, I was shocked to see them start off this show. I thought this was a great match to start off with right out of the gate. 

I don't shit on Kenny Omega as much as a lot of other wrestling critics do, but at the same time, I don't dick-ride him like Dave Meltzer and his followers do. I respect the guy's work from his tenure in New Japan, but Omega has diluted himself over the past year to bring himself down to the rest of the roster's level. One year later and the only thing that selflessness has done is lower his own stock. This was one of those rare occasions where Kenny Omega should have been selfless in terms of protecting his own star power and market value, especially being one of the last highly sought after free agents after leaving New Japan. We saw glimpses of his former glory here in terms of his performance. I hope people would quit sleeping on Adam Page too as he's got a lot of potential to be a top draw for this company too if he would distance himself from the BTE boys and establish his own identity - not one as the loner (read: pathetic and cowardly as how he's been portrayed for the last few months) drunk/alcoholic either. 

IMPACT Wrestling EVP Don Callis joined this match on commentary too. Could we see a working relationship between AEW and IMPACT? That would be interesting for sure.

Singles Match

Orange Cassidy def. John Silver

That Spinning Release Torture Rack should've been Silver's finish IMHO. I did get a good laugh at Silver ripping off Cassidy's pockets and acting like he was eating them. This match was pretty much what we've all come to expect out of an Orange Cassidy match. He got his silly shit in then got serious with his high spots. IMO this gimmick has ran its course. That being said, I didn't agree with the finish. If Silver is as over among the BTE crowd as people claim he is, then they should've given him a win here against Cassidy. Orange Cassidy can afford a loss with the Best Friends' laundry list of enemies on that roster running interference.

Silver's more impressive than I would've given him credit for as part of that awful Dark Order faction/gimmick though.

Singles Match for the AEW TNT Championship

Darby Allin def. Cody Rhodes (c) (with Arn Anderson)

I love this filter for the Darby/Cody package. Cody is in color while Darby's in black/white. Yes during the introductions they called him Cody RHODES.

This match was essentially the same as the last few Cody versus Darby matches but the finishing sequence was rather odd. It was even stranger that they wouldn't even show a replay either so I'm guessing a ref botch calling it prematurely. The narrative for this match had Cody working Darby's arm so he couldn't use it but the funny thing about that is that I was laughing that has nothing to do with how effective the Coffin Drop is. You could cut off both of his arms and Darby could hit that thing to the same amount of effectiveness. That being said, Darby didn't even beat Cody with the Coffin Drop, but with a goddamn roll-up instead. I thought it was pretty fucked up that the kid couldn't even get the win against Cody clean for the title. 

Team Taz attacks both men post-match, but Will Hobbs saves Darby from getting his arm smashed into a car door. I'll say this much though... If they are staying the course on turning Cody Rhodes heel, then they are definitely milking this for the perfect opportunity. 

Team Taz left Darby Allin for dead after that beatdown. Didn't even give him a chance to soak in that title win. 

After it was all said and done, I was just glad that Darby FINALLY got his win against Cody one year later, but the finish here seemed a little anti-climatic. I hope that's not the end of this story because where else is Cody going to go? He can't challenge for the World Championship and of course he's going to want his rematch. They gave him his rematch against Brodie Lee so fast when he came back calling for that, so I wouldn't be surprised if Cody ends up being the first three time Television Champion in 2021. At this stage, Cody Rhodes doesn't need that championship. It should be reserved for the young lions on that roster looking to rise to the next level. 

Singles Match for the AEW Women's World Championship

Hikaru Shida (c) def. Nyla Rose (with Vickie Guerrero)

Shida hurt her knee early on after Nyla blocked her signature Running Knee so that played into the match - but not much as Shida was pulling off power move after power move using her base/grounded strength to toss Nyla around back to back across this match. I swear I get pissed every time Nyla does that diving knee drop off the top rope to a rope hung opponent and people kick out of that shit. That should be her fucking finish.

I'm sure that I've mentioned it before but Shida's facials during these matches range from comical to downright awful. She looks like she's taking a shit more than she's in any pain from anything that her opponent is doing to her. 

Shida hit about 3-4 knees to Nyla in the end to retain, regardless of her "ailing" knee. I got a kick out of the fact that she's still rocking that Final Fantasy VII Remake Tifa cosplay ring gear. I was like "Gurl, it's time to give that shit a rest already."

New gear🆕　#AEWFullGear #AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT #AEW pic.twitter.com/FPincjqXs0

— HIKARU SHIDA 志田 光 (@shidahikaru) November 8, 2020

New gear? That looks like the same shit she's wearing EVERY goddamn week to me. Someone should have tagged that image with the caption, "WRONG HOLE!" to describe her facials at points in this match. I found myself laughing hysterically at her facials more than being caught up in any sense of "drama" or potential danger that she was in. 

It seems like Nyla and Vickie are falling out post-match. If so, that's stupid when AEW barely gave them screen time after pairing them up. You know's bad when even Tony Khan had to address these criticisms during the post-show conference call. I know I'm not complaining about how well they have been promoting and working with NWA to showcase their NWA Women's Champion on their programming, but damn, it's making the AEW Women's Championship look like a complete afterthought. 

Tag Team Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) def. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (c)

• Had The Young Bucks lost, they would have never challenged for the AEW World Tag Team Championship again.

• Tully Blanchard was barred from ringside.

It was your typical high profile tag team match in AEW - or rather in mainstream wrestling. I know most people will attempt to credit the Young Bucks having great match psychology during the opening portion of this match, but I hate to burst those bubbles, but let's see that from the Bucks when they aren't in the ring with FTR leading the direction of the match early on. To their credit, they took things slow and slowly built towards a crescendo, or rather multiple crescendos, as this match had a ton of peaks and valleys. There were a ton of excellent spots/sequences that would make for great finishes, but here they are transition spots or near-falls. FTR went on and on about "no flips just fists" for years now, but that proved to be their downfall at the end of the day. One of them went for the Bucks' Springboard 450 Splash, missed and ate a Super Kick from the ailing ankle of Matt Jackson for the win. Great action here, but I felt AEW shit the bed on the build completely and gave the finish away with that stipulation which was completely unnecessary.

The match itself lived up to the hype, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's any truth to these reports going about FTR's frustrations in this company. To say that AEW has so many high-profile tag team signed, but the only ones at the top of the mountain are the Young Bucks, FTR, and the Best Friends, tells you right there that these people don't know what the hell that they are doing booking wise. It blows my mind week-to-week trying to make sense why some of these tag teams are barely featured (if at all PERIOD) on Dynamite or have been regulated to performing on AEW Dark exclusively. Out of all of the tag teams that this company have signed, not mention the crapfest that was the build to this match, you're telling me that we couldn't have had a simply awesome build to this dream match? Instead, we got the Bucks acting like prima donna dicks (yet they are the babyfaces going into this match), whining and complaining week to week, only to press an injury (not a shoot either as apparently one of the Bucks has been dealing with it for quite some time now) to gain sympathy. What kind of ass-backwards booking is this? FTR barely got any mic time to promote this thing in the least. I know they aren't the best talkers from their WWE days, but they should have been given screen time to get something out there to drive the point home of this dream match. FTR left WWE to make this dream match a reality. For crying out loud, is it too much to ask for a coherent, spectacular build for this match?

I said it before and I'll say it again on here. I wish FTR did NOT come to this company. In my own selfishness, I wanted to see FTR do a run in the NWA before the global pandemic hit everything like a ton of bricks. Hell, I still have FTR versus The North over in IMPACT Wrestling  on my wishlist too. 

The Elite Deletion Match

Matt Hardy def. Sammy Guevara

Matt goes FULL Broken Hardy for this again. It was pretty much typically what you can expect from these Broken Universe matches if you've seen them in IMPACT. Craziness at the Hardy Compound with cameos galore, including Gangrel (WTF) and The Hurricane/Shane Helms. Santana & Ortiz and Private Party join in at some point too. There was even a cameo from Queen Rebecca and Senor Benjamin in the end.

I'm sure that I wasn't the only one to notice that Matt Hardy was really taking it easy in this match in terms of bumps. Even the spear out of the ring and through to the two tables during the finish looked like it was shot from multiple cuts spliced together to hide that they used a crash pad for safety. I thought it was in a little bit of bad taste to parody the near-fatal bump Matt Hardy took onto the concrete floor of the last PPV with Sammy Guevara taking it instead with a puddle of (clearly artificial) blood pooled behind his head. 

Out of all of the Broken Universe cinematic matches, I can't necessary say that this was my favorite one, but I can't say that this was the worst one either. My favorite one is still Tag Team Apocalypto back in IMPACT Wrestling while WWE drastically dropped the ball with this thing with the "Woken" Matt Hardy stuff. What hurt this "match" the most though is the fact that we have seen MULTIPLE cinematic matches throughout this year during this pandemic era of mainstream professional wrestling and it's not special anymore when Matt Hardy originally cooked up this concept. 

Singles Match

MJF (with Wardlow) def. Chris Jericho

Since MJF won, he and Wardlow are allowed to join The Inner Circle.

This was easily the worst thing on the card all night - for me at least. It wasn't because of the match quality - it was the fact that this match just seemed to drag on aimlessly until the finish. At this point in the show, we're closing in on midnight on a Saturday night on nearly FIVE hours on a goddamn PPV (including the Buy In preshow). Even WWE aren't clocking shows this long anymore. I get it though, AEW only does 4 PPVs a year and they are trying to give their fans their money's worth at $49.99, but still, you're asking a LOT of people on a Saturday night.

This was your run of the mill Jericho match in AEW, but MJF pulled a trick out of the late Eddie Guerrero's playbook to fool Ref Aubrey into thinking Jericho used the baseball bat (Floyd) to roll him up for the win. Meh at that finish. I couldn't care less either way as I don't see a benefit from MJF being part of the Inner Circle or not. Please point to me any benefit that anyone NOT named Chris Jericho has had in that group over the past year.

MJF was on fire in his feud with Moxley and now he's down to doing show-toons with Jericho. Sure, a win over Jericho is impressive on his resume but does it really mean much when Jericho already lost to Orange Cassidy SEVERAL times over the past few months?

"I quit" Match for the AEW World Championship

Jon Moxley (c) defeated Eddie Kingston

Moxley's post-WWE matches have only stood out to me when he was over in New Japan with a roster of workers who can compliment that hard-hitting brawler style that he's shooting for. This isn't a knock against American wrestlers in general, but most people stateside aren't going to work that style and it's a bad look to even try to when you obviously can't. Moxley himself isn't even necessarily great at it, hence why he masks his shortcomings with the assortment of hardcore stupidity that he sprinkles into almost all of these matches. 

Shout out to Eddie Kingston rocking the Misawa colors during this title match and congratulations to him headlining his first PPV main event for a major wrestling promotion. Let's hope that this isn't the first and only time we see him in this position. 

While I love that Eddie Kingston is getting this career resurgence of sorts here in AEW as a lot of people are seeing him for the first time on big platform. I thought he was great on the mic in IMPACT Wrestling - despite the fact that we've had a few choice words for each other on Twitter in the past for some of my criticisms back then. I thought he was a shout out talker on NWA Powerrr last year as well. He's always had the gift of gab; there's no doubting that. I'm just happy that he's got the attention of a lot more people - inside and outside of AEW. 

That being said though, he's a lot like Moxley, where his in-ring style isn't for everyone - me included. 

Moxley and Kingston were brawling at first but this match quickly devolved into a hardcore match like almost ALL of these Moxley matches have turned into. Not really a knock, but it's getting very redundant at this point. Like I said before, I wasn't really a big fan of Moxley matches when he was in WWE as Dean Ambrose and I still not too fond of him in this company either. They did have some interesting hardcore spots, including some rubbing alcohol after a bump into the thumbtacks. That was VERY creative there, even though I wouldn't be surprised if that was mere water in that bottle instead of rubbing alcohol, especially if they have to use that same ring again Wednesday night for Dynamite. Then again... Moxley and Kingston are so crazy, gangsta, or whatever you want to call it, that they really did use actual 90% proof rubbing alcohol. Seriously, how much does that go for nowadays during this pandemic?

The ending saw Moxley wrap his arm in barbwire and put on a seated choke on Kingston. Kingston did NOT say I QUIT, but the referee called it anyway to name Moxley the winner. Very strange finish to me. 

I was told on Twitter after the fact that Kingston did mutter the words to quit, just the cameras didn't catch the audio. I thought they would have had the referee with a microphone on his outfit that would have at least caught that, but oh well. I guess Kingston won't have another excuse to explain his shortcoming this time. 

Walking away from this match, I don't understand why so many people were shocked that Kingston didn't put Moxley away. I wasn't in the least. Kingston ended up being the replacement for Lance Archer, who was pegged to get a rematch against Moxley at this PPV before coming in contact with someone who had COVID-19, so he was pulled off the shows that were building to this PPV. This caused Tony Khan to pull an audible with Kingston in his place. All of that being said, I didn't think that they weren't going to take the title off of Moxley before we get the rubber match between Moxley and Kenny Omega. 

Speaking of which, Kenny Omega came out afterwards to stare down with Moxley to close the show and tease the match for the title next. I'm all for this as long as it's not another deathmatch like the last match between them was last year. 

Afterthoughts:

This was a solid show from start to finish. This show definitely made up for the debacle that was All Out roughly two months ago. More importantly, I'm glad no one got hurt this time around either. 

AEW All Out (Sept. 5, 2020) -- Results & Afterthoughts

All Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on September 5, 2020 at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the second event in the All Out chronology.

The event was originally slated to take place in the Sears Center, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, just like the previous edition of All Out were held Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation, the state's equivalent to a state of emergency, since March 9, which banned large public gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the state. Instead, the event was moved to Daily's Place, where all of AEW's events have been held since March.

Eleven matches were contested at the event, including two on The Buy In pre-show. In the main event, Jon Moxley defeated MJF to retain the AEW World Championship. In other prominent matches, Orange Cassidy defeated Chris Jericho in a Mimosa Mayhem match, FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) defeated Kenny Omega and Adam Page to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, and Hikaru Shida defeated Thunder Rosa to retain the AEW Women's World Championship.

---

Match Results:

Singles Match

Joey Janela (with Sonny Kiss) def. Serpentico (with Luther)

A completely rotten match won by arguably the worst talent (or lack of) on the entire AEW roster with the second place candidate taking the L here. I have remotely no clue why you would even start your PPV off with a completely "nothing" match like this that does absolutely NOTHING to garner interest in buying the PPV later tonight.

I remember chatting with a friend and saying that Sonny Kiss was great back in Lucha Underground, but I feel that him being associated with Janela is going to only bring him down. Kiss' glass ceiling is going to be whether or not the TNT Network (and more importantly mainstream wrestling as a whole) is ready to accept an extremely flamboyant wrestler (that's not a complete gimmick nor parody) as a serious competitor. He fit right in with the exoticos in Lucha Underground, but it's hard for me to tell what his shelf life is going to be in this company long-term.

Tag Team Match

Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) def. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver)

I couldn't give a flying fuck about this match. It's the same as every other Private Party match, but just against the bottom of the rung guys in the Dark Order. The boys in PP do some nice spots but their basics STILL need a lot of work.

I LOVE Private Party's finish though.

I still can't help but chant "SPOTS! SPOTS! SPOTS!" during their entrance theme now after making that joke a while back.

Tooth and Nail Match

Big Swole def. Britt Baker (with Rebel) by knockout

I'm sure Big Swole is a nice person outside of wrestling in her personal life, but as an onscreen character and an in-ring talent, she's fucking horrible. I don't see why this company invested so much time into this nothing feud. While I love Britt Baker's heel persona, I'm fed up with all of these "role models" in mainstream wrestling, whether it's Madison Rayne in IMPACT as the "Locker Room Leader", Sasha Banks & Bayley in WWE as the "Golden Role Models", and here with Baker as the "Roll Model". I'm just sick and fed up of hearing that shit. Come up with something else original that not everyone and their grandmothers are using right now. I want to add that as much as I like Britt Baker's heel persona, I never thought her in-ring skills were much to write home about either, despite the fact she has a pretty sick submission finish. Reba's reactions (Rebel) was the best thing about this "cinematic" match - if you could even call it that. If this was supposed to be a dig at WWE's cinematic matches, then they definitely have a lot to learn in terms of cinematography.

Britt Baker stabbing herself with her own needle that loaded with numbing agent.

Britt Baker lost the match after falling victim to her own laughing gas/sedation.

At the end of the day, I thought the finish was creative, but Britt Baker buried it when she woke up immediately following the decision. She's a fucking dentist after all, so she should know how long laughing gas/sedation would keep someone under. C'mon, now. In either case, I'm ready for both of these women to move on to another feud. 

Tag Team Match
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) def. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) (with Marko Stunt)

I hate to admit it, but I honestly liked this match more than the AEW Tag Title match later in this show. It didn't overstay it's welcome and it showed the best of both teams here, even though I wasn't too crazy about how much stuff Jungle Boy was kicking out of at the end. I thought the Jurassic Express should have pulled off the upset towards the end, but of course, the BTE boys had to turn things around for the win. To their credit though, I like seeing them working with a more serious "edge" them now as if they are teasing a heel turn too, much like they have been planting the seeds to the point that it's inevitable with Kenny Omega for the last few months now.

21-man Casino Battle Royale

Winner received a future AEW World Championship match

Lance Archer won by last eliminating Eddie Kingston

Casino Battle Royale entrances and eliminations

Draw	Entrant	Order	Eliminated by	Eliminations
Clubs	Trent	9	Lance Archer	1
	Christopher Daniels	2	Jake Hager	0
	Jake Hager	6	Sonny Kiss	1
	The Blade	1	Will Hobbs	0
	Rey Fenix	4	Darby Allin	0
Diamonds	Frankie Kazarian	12	The Butcher	1
	Will Hobbs	16	Lance Archer	1
	Chuck Taylor	5	Santana and Ortiz	0
	Santana	8	Trent?	1
	Ortiz	10	Lance Archer	1
Hearts	Billy	3	Brian Cage	0
	Penta El Zero M	11	Frankie Kazarian	0
	Ricky Starks	13	Darby Allin	0
	Brian Cage	17	Lance Archer	3
	Darby Allin	14	Brian Cage	2
Spades	Shawn Spears	15	Matt Sydal	0
	Eddie Kingston	20	Lance Archer	1
	The Butcher	18	Matt Sydal	1
	Sonny Kiss	7	Brian Cage	1
	Lance Archer	-	Winner	5
Joker	Matt Sydal	19	Eddie Kingston	2

I'm not even laughing at that. That fall legitimately scared the shit out of me seeing it live. #AEWAllOut https://t.co/V38CFA1OOH

— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 6, 2020

Matt Sydal pulled the Joker card and made his AEW debut in this match, only to deliver the first scary as hell moment on this show when he slipped and fell off the ropes while attempting to do a Shooting Star Press. That scared the hell out of me seeing it live and I thought we were watching that guy break his neck from how bad that was. Fortunately, he was fine and was able to complete the match. As of this posting (9/11/20) he hasn't reported any injuries.

Introducing Will Hobbs. One of AEW's best kept secrets tucked away on AEW Dark...

This match marked the standout performance of Will Hobbs. Now where have they been hiding this guy? Dude was on par with Big E's size while showing off Keith Lee's power and ability. This is a guy they should be featuring on Dynamite instead of regulating to Dark every week.

Seems like AEW is just pairing people off to rekindle old Lucha Underground dynamics and/of feuds as that was the exact vibe I got from Sonny Kiss eliminating Jake Hager. Kiss/Janela are already booked to face Hager/Jericho on Dynamite this week as payback from Jericho's brutal attack on Janela the week prior in his "warm-up" match for Cassidy later tonight.

Darby Allin is put in a bodybag, tossed out of the ring by Brian Cage and reportedly injured. #AEWAllOut pic.twitter.com/LqAfpEy4v7

— GIFSkull IV - Banned Soon Due to False DMCA Spam (@GifSkullIV) September 6, 2020

Stupidest bump of the night (up to this point anyway) went to Brian Cage performing a Border Toss on Darby Allin trapped within a body bag full of thumb tacks to land on the corner of the stage/ramp. There was absolutely no reason to do this bump but a million and one ways that this could have ended horribly wrong. This wasn't cool nor amazing to watch. It was just fucking stupid.

I was fine with Lance Archer picking up the win here, but it pretty much spoiled the main event in a sense. You knew that AEW are marks for that New Japan style matches and feuds, so you know that they want to setup the Wrestle Kingdom rematch between Lance Archer and Jon Moxley at Full Gear.

Broken Rules Match

Matt Hardy def. Sammy Guevara

Had Hardy lost, he would have had to leave AEW

The match started out into the stadium arena where the Stadium Stampede Match took place at their last PPV and quickly spilled out into the backstage area/parking area. One thing led to another that set Sammy and Matt up on a raised platform that saw Sammy SPEAR Matt Hardy off the platform, seemingly to go through the two tables that were set up below. What happened instead was their lower bodies hit ONE of the tables while the back of Matt Hardy's head hit the unforgiving concrete below.

Here's the Matt Hardy spot #AEWAllOut pic.twitter.com/HHNiDaxD9V

— WrestleZone on Mandatory (@WRESTLEZONEcom) September 6, 2020

This was the moment where I was absolutely disgusted with this company. I've seen wrestling podcasters, journalists, wrestlers, and even the die-hard of their fanbase express their absolute disgust with how AEW handled this situation.

Let me be absolutely fucking clear.
There is NOTHING entertaining about a concussion. Shame on everyone in that goddamn building. pic.twitter.com/ujdOU9Z60I

— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) September 6, 2020

Reading is fundamental, you absolute asshat.

Matt was the #1 idiot in this scenario.
I’ll let you figure out who #2 was.

Also, fuck you. https://t.co/vnUVNRWuPg

— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) September 6, 2020

They needed additional imaging done after his CT. He’s still in the hospital. 1000% concussion. Anyone with eyes could have told you that tho. pic.twitter.com/pvitxewWI5

— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) September 6, 2020

As of this posting (9/11/20), Reby Hardy (Matt's wife) has reported that Matt Hardy has suffered a concussion when he was checked out at the hospital that evening and was kept for more testing Sunday. On the other end of things, Tony Khan has been removing all of the blame on himself and pointing it towards the ring doctor who checked Hardy out and clarified that Matt was able to continue after administering a concussion impact test. There's no way in hell that they ran an impact test when the match was restarted within the span of 3-4 minutes after Matt Hardy was knocked out unconscious for at least 45 seconds. That tells you right there that there's no sort of concussion protocol in place nor that Tony Khan have the slightest idea of how to administer one, despite the fact that he owns a fucking football team. This entire incident showed me a complete lack of proper leadership and this money mark - that's all what he is at this point to me - only cares about booking his fantasy matches and jerking off to high spots no matter who gets hurt as long as it pops a rating. It's HIS fucking company. He could have easily overruled the doctor to stop this match. Stipulation or not, this match should have been stopped the moment Matt Hardy was knocked unconscious for his own safety. Instead, Khan is giving his company a very bad look not only to his fanbase but to the wrestling industry as a whole for this false narrative that he is painting with how this entire situation played out Saturday night.

But yet, you have ass-hats out there like Dave Meltzer is siding with Tony Khan on this decision.  Like seriously, how much is that dude paying you to blow him every week in your writing and radio shows dude? Anyone with a fully functioning brain could tell that Matt Hardy suffered a concussion in that match. You could see it in Ref Aubrey's face when it turned pale when she trying to get him to respond. That was arguably the hardest moment to watch as wrestling fan out of my 30+ years of being a fan. When I saw Matt Hardy's head hit that concrete and his body stiffened up like he was frozen, I thought we just saw that man die live on PPV and it legitimately scared the shit out of me for the second time tonight during this broadcast. If I saw a man die on this broadcast tonight, I can guarantee you that I would not have come back to watch this sport again.

For me personally? I'm siding with Konnan and Disco Inferno on this discussion.

Seriously, this should be the last straw and wake up call for every fan out there that fails to realize week to week that these reckless, downright STUPID, and completely unnecessary bumps (especially with or without crowds) aren't needed to make any match any better. That doesn't just go for AEW, but for all of modern wrestling as a whole.

Singles match for the AEW Women's World Championship

Hikaru Shida (c) defeated Thunder Rosa

I was hyped for this match ever since it was announced and they did the mock MMA contract signing for it between both respective champions.

Watching this live was pretty darn tough after the horror show that we witnessed with the Matt Hardy situation, but Rosa and Shida definitely had my favorite match of the evening by far. If you don't watch anything else from this shit-storm of a PPV, go out of your way to watch this match. This is EASILY the best thing on this show and not only the second best women's match in this company's history. That's shocking too when Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb killed it on Dynamite a few days prior to this event.

Another completely unnecessary, reckless bump that could have EASILY ended horribly, like many things on this card.

The only knock I have against this match was the diving senton spot out onto the stage where if Thunder Rosa's head and neck was any closer to those steps from the entrance ramp that Shida would've killed or paralyzed her from the landing. Can ANYONE in this fucking company tell these people enough is enough when it comes to these reckless and completely unnecessary bumps? Seeing that spot really made me mad, especially after what we saw with Matt Hardy in the match prior to this.

Outside of that one knock, this match raised the bar for women's wrestling in this company. I felt sorry for the folks who had follow this act. NWA's Thunder Rosa may have lost here, but she has put on two standout performances in every match AEW has featured her in.

Eight-Man Tag Team Match

Matt Cardona, Scorpio Sky, and The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall) (with Allie and Brandi Rhodes) def. The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) (with Anna Jay)

This was easily the bathroom break match of the night and should have served as the buffer following the Matt Hardy situation. Piss poor match order placement in regard of having these matches following that event. If the crowd was struggling to cope with what had transpired in the last match then they really didn't care about this shit. I know I sure as hell didn't. Hell, I didn't even know that Brodie Lee was even in this match until it started. I thought it was going to be full of more of standard losers of the Dark Order. To be fair though, Stu Grayson and Evil Uno are decent workers. I'll give them that much, but they are saddled with this gimmick that is utter shit, no matter what AEW does to polish this turd.

Can someone explain to me why Brandi Rhodes is already back to managing the Natural Nightmares? She couldn't sell that attack that her and Cody suffered for a few weeks at least? She stayed out for what felt like a goddamn week or two only to show up at the PPV like nothing happened. She only came out here to contribute to some of the run-ins in this match, namely to get some payback on Anna Jay (who strangled her to death during the assault on Cody) - when Allie could have done that to the same capacity. The Nightmare Family has all of these managers and extra sidekicks and associates that they are starting to look as foolish as the Dark Order as the weeks and months have rolled on since the start of AEW. Speaking of friends, Matt Cardona sure looks like he's taking full advantage of not being tested on WWE's Wellness Policy. Scorpio Sky seemed like he was just there to be the extra guy on this mash-up of guys who needed to be in this filler match that should have been relegated to Dynamite the following week.

Jim Ross got a lot of heat online for his wardrobe malfunction comment he made towards Anna Jay on commentary. I laughed hearing it live, but at the same time, it just adds to the laundry list of questionable moments of him on commentary since signing with this company. It just adds to the proof that JR doesn't give a flying fuck working here as long as he's just collecting that fat paycheck while squandering away his own credibility by endorsing this tomfoolery going on in this company with his name and voice attached to it.

And for the record, I can't speak for anyone else, but while I think that Dustin Rhodes has had a career renaissance since the tail end of his last WWE run to now in terms of his ring work, I don't give a damn about seeing him face Brodie Lee for the TNT title on Dynamite. I don't understand why they are rushing this match, along with having Brandi coming back so soon, when they could afford to space this out a bit. Let the Dark Order breathe a bit and garner more big wins if they are so dead set on establish them as this "dominant" faction (laughs), even though they are no less threatening than Aces & Eights (BEFORE Bully Ray was revealed as the leader) at this point.

Tag Team Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship

FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (with Tully Blanchard) defeated Kenny Omega and Adam Page (c)

I watched this match twice - once live and again a few days later to make sure I didn't miss anything. I don't fault the talents involved, but I didn't think this was a very good match at all. The best tag team match on the card goes to the Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express in my humble opinion. FTR against Omega and Page felt like a styles clash at multiple points in this match. The lack of a pumped, enthusiastic crowd for this match hurt it even more, along with the fact that Omega was half-assing the selling of the limbs that FTR were tirelessly working over. Working over Omega proved to be for nothing when Page was the one who got pinned when it was all said and done. Did I miss something or did they do the exact same finish twice before covering Hangman for the win?

After the match was won by FTR, Omega immediately quit selling his leg (even though he was barely doing it during this match, if at all) and went outside of the ring to get a table. He TEASED using it on Page to complete the heel turn that everyone is anticipating at this moment and thought better of it before storming into the back with the Young Bucks. They seem to be teasing a heel turn for the Elite collectively instead of solely with Omega. I'm fine with that if they are going forward with Hangman being a lone wolf babyface.

Even though I wasn't happy with the match as a whole, I'm glad that the tag team title are with FTR, who can confidently call themselves the first tag team to hold the NXT, RAW, SmackDown, AND AEW Tag Team Championships.

Mimosa Mayhem match

Orange Cassidy def. Chris Jericho by knocking him into the vat of mimosa

Match could be won by pinfall, submission, or fully submerging an opponent into a vat of mimosa

This was just there at this point as I kept looking at the clock in my room. It was past 11PM after this point. I get that AEW doesn't have too many PPVs over the year, but by this point we were clocking in roughly 6-7 hours of AEW content in one night if you watched the Countdown to All Out on TNT, the Buy-In Pre-show, and the Red Carpet specials on YouTube - along with this PPV in its entirety to this point. I was pretty much waiting for the bump into the mimosa and Jericho didn't disappoint in that regard at all.

#AEWAllOut
Chris Jericho has been Mimosa'd. pic.twitter.com/NZHbMFSSM6

— GIFSkull IV - Banned Soon Due to False DMCA Spam (@GifSkullIV) September 6, 2020

I legitimately laughed at how Jericho flew back into the mimosa like it was Charlie Murphy kicking Rick James into the mirror. #AEWAllOut pic.twitter.com/yEv4X9MXUS

— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 6, 2020

Singles match for the AEW World Championship

Jon Moxley (c) defeated MJF (with Wardlow)

Moxley was banned from using the Paradigm Shift finishing move

Time and time again and I honestly don't see what's the fascination with Moxley as a world champion. I didn't see it in WWE and I REALLY don't see it here in AEW. Out of the three guys in The Shield - Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley), Moxley was the easily the short end of the stick. I think that it's ironic that while he went off on podcasts and interviews after leaving WWE that he was frustrated with being the "wacky Dean" character on WWE programming, he still gives off that vibe here when he's trying to splice in elements of Stone Cold Steve Austin too. I have tried to give him the benefit of a doubt but there hasn't been a single Moxley match in this company that I have seen that I have been blown away by in any capacity. Ambrose bored me to tears in WWE and Moxley is repeating that trend in AEW. I'm really starting to see why Vince McMahon (much like Brodie Lee) didn't have faith in him as a top draw. This match had a lot of ass-backwards psychology going on, with MJF working majority of the match from underneath as the heel while Moxley was in control as the babyface no less. It didn't make much sense to me, especially when they kept dragging this match along and it was minutes to midnight at this point of the show. Watching this match live, I was just beyond fed up and ready for this show to end. 

A Paradigm Shift ends the match regardless of the fact it was banned.

Like I mentioned earlier, the end result wasn't a surprise in the least when you already knew that Lance Archer won the Casino Battle Royal for the future title shot against Moxley. This company isn't stupid. They want to do the Wrestle Kingdom rematch from this year that New Japan can't capitalize on. I will give AEW props for the finish here as that was a nice touch as it gives MJF an out and something to complain about like all shit-eating heels do. 

---

Afterthoughts:

Dear AEW,

PLEASE refrain from anymore stupid, dangerous, and completely unnecessary bumps tonight. I don't want to see any of these hard working men and women to die not tonight or any night. Work smart not stupid. #AEWAllOut

— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 6, 2020

Overall, I thought this was AEW's most embarrassing PPV outing to date. I was downright disgusted with this company by the time it was over. This show, from top to bottom, should be a wake-up call for every wrestling fan thinking that this company does no wrong when that is the furthest thing away from being true.

I'm not the only one saying this either. You got a wealth of people calling out AEW for this bullshit tonight with a few noteworthy tweets below.

Much like several podcasters said or wrote. Last night was a wake up call for everyone who sees a can do no wrong promotion in aew. Nothing is perfect or always 5 stars. Least that being pro wrestling. Tony Kahn and his brain trust crew. Should be taken to task. Nothing to debate

— Kevin Castle- Kev On Demand (@KevZCastle) September 6, 2020

Wait so Matt Hardy was knocked out for a full minute, Aubry tried to end the match, a doctor said he's good & they kept going? They didn't even give him a Z Pack?

— PowerBomb Jutsu (@PowerbombJutsu) September 6, 2020

AEW operates with the same reckless abandonment that WWE has. It's just what happens when you can throw a billion dollars at a company. But nobody takes issue with it because it's the smart fan's show. But it's the same exact shit.

— PowerBomb Jutsu (@PowerbombJutsu) September 6, 2020

WWE has a COVID outbreak yall go crazy. AEW let's Jerich wrestle after playing a concert stating "he passed the test" but it can take 2 weeks for symptoms to show & there have been 500 cases from that event, plus they've invited fans back. But it's all good.

— PowerBomb Jutsu (@PowerbombJutsu) September 6, 2020

Remember how you were all mad at WWE for letting Kari continue that tag match after being knocked out? Same shit here.

— PowerBomb Jutsu (@PowerbombJutsu) September 6, 2020

WWE has made gimmick matches the center of their PPVs. So people continuously have to up the ante and it leads to injuries. AEW is doing the same exact shit. Matt Hardy should have never been allowed to do something like that at his age in the first place.

— PowerBomb Jutsu (@PowerbombJutsu) September 6, 2020

Without a shadow of a doubt, All Out (2020) will live on as a complete embarrassment for this company. The honeymoon period is CLEARLY over and we need to stop giving AEW a free pass when it comes to constructive criticism and grade them in the same capacity as IMPACT, WWE, or any other promotion under the sun. A lot of stupid shit went down on this show and AEW along with Tony Khan should be called out for it, no matter how much you may love the talent that works here or want to see an alternative "topple" WWE. If Khan expects AEW to survive long term and no one doesn't end up killing themselves on his programming then he needs to really start telling these guys and girls NO when it comes to some of this reckless abandon that I see on these shows on a regular basis. It's not cool - it's goddamn stupid and that's exactly what we need to be calling it as.


As of this posting (9/11/20), the All Out fallout edition of Dynamite has come and gone. Matt Hardy appeared on Dynamite, accompanied by his wife, Reby Hardy with their infant child in the crowd, and thanked all of the fans for their support in that dire situation on Saturday night. He apologized for scaring everyone, his family included, for putting them through that traumatic experience, but I felt that Tony Khan should have made a rare appearance on-camera and apologized not only to Matt Hardy, but Reby Hardy as well, for allowing that match to continue when Hardy wasn't in any shape to continue it just to do the finish spot. Instead, Khan continues to brush this whole situation under the rug and sweep all blame away from himself. If you go onto AEW's Twitter page, you will notice that they have removed all traces of Matt Hardy's infamous fall off their account. Between how this company has mishandled that situation and the stupidity that allowed on this program on a regular basis, I can't see Tony Khan as nothing more than a money mark. I'm sorry, but he hasn't shown me anything to make me think any different.

During an interview on Dynamite, Kenny Omega clarifies that everything between himself and Hangman Page is fine, but the more he talks it seems to be that he's teasing a return of "The Cleaner" from his days in New Japan while the Young Bucks seem to be going "all in" on this heel turn for The Elite. Omega needs to do something as compared to a year ago, his stock value in wrestling has drastically gone down. He's nowhere as the high profile free agent that was in high demand this time last year. Being a giving performer in this business is one thing, but you don't be so giving that it's detrimental to your own career. Omega and the Bucks should have taken the reigns at the start, much like Chris Jericho and THEN put over guys to bring them up to their level. One year later, it seems like it's going to be all for nothing when only the AEW die-hards still think those guys are in high demand anymore.

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford revealed that Miro - the former "Bulgarian Brute" Rusev in WWE - is their "best man" for their pending wedding. Miro came out to the same song and dance as every other ex-WWE guy coming into this company or IMPACT Wrestling for the last decade and a half, saying how they were misused and denied a brass ring. I'm sorry but I'm not feeling sorry for him with that shit. Same goes for a lot of ex-WWE talent. No one held a gun to your head and MADE you sign those renewal contract deals for all of those years you stayed there. Don't be mad now that the checks stopped coming in. That was your own stupidity. The best way to get back at WWE is to rub your newfound success in their faces, not constantly bring up the past looking for some sort of a pity party. Rusev, now Miro, had a lot of high-profile matches for WWE. I can't say that they completely misused the guy when his ultimate downfall was him and his own wife, Lana, went to TMZ and told him about their real life wedding when they were in divorce storyline on camera. I don't blame WWE for burying him for killing kayfabe on what was a great gimmick and pairing at the time. In regard to Miro in AEW, I don't have any high expectations for this lackluster debut. All I'm going to say is that it's "nut up or shut up" time.

FTR held a "celebration" of sorts on Dynamite to celebrate their win with the entire tag team division, but I was more surprised that they didn't get their faces dunked into that sheet cake that they brought out. Instead, all of the tag teams at ringside were able to enjoy it at their leisure. That definitely has to be a first for modern wrestling that a cake was shown on television and not ruined in any capacity. On a positive note, I'm anxious to see who FTR works with next in hopes of elevating this tag team division because that mess with Hangman and Omega didn't click at all.

NWA's Women's Champion Thunder Rosa walked away from All Out in a losing effort, but I think between her match on Dynamite and on All Out, she opened a LOT of people's eyes who weren't aware of nor familiar with her talents prior to her appearances for this company. I'm glad to see that she's getting a chance to defend her title next week on Dynamite with one of her fellow Lucha Underground alumni, Ivelisse. Meanwhile, Shida seems to be pegged to resume her feud with Nyla Rose yet again. AEW signed Tay Conti from the Deadly Draw Women's Tag Team Tournament this week. She lost to Rose on Dynamite, but I hope we see more of her. She's still pretty green, despite being trained at the WWE Performance Center, but she shows a lot of promise, especially more than a lot of the other women in that division.

As for that Dustin Rhodes vs. Brodie Lee match for the TNT Championship, I walked out of the living room and did the dishes in the kitchen over watching the bulk of that match. Naturally (no pun intended), Dustin lost. Who didn't see that coming? They aren't going to take that title off of Brodie Lee after that massive injury angle they did with Cody to write him off television. He's probably isn't going to lose that title until Cody is ready to come back. I doubt we have to wait long as they were airing vignettes for him during All Out and he's being advertised for appearing on another television show, so we know he's not hurt. It's not like this company keeps up much kayfabe to begin with.