#I'VE BEEN FERAL ABOUT THEIR STORYLINE FOR THE LAST 4 HOURS

[brainrotcharacters]

"you're my goal" no the way he EMPHASIZED it still gets me feeling some type of way

[danwhobrowses]

My Highlights of AEW All Out 2023

Normally Chicago would be AEW's 'home away from home', given how it was the birthplace of the idea that was AEW having hosted the original All In. Recent events however meant that there was, uncertainty, about how this would go.

With a slim build, since All In at Wembley was last week, and recent headlines, AEW had to deliver on All Out, but did they? Let's see

Spoilers for the PPV, only positives being listed

Zero Hour

Nice subtle shout out to Windham by Bryan, given that he was his last opponent in a strap match

Dalton Castle in general, that dude has it

Serpentico knew he was done, but at least he wasn't the first to be eliminated

Spears and Garcia having a dance off

Angelo Parker did get his wish, they put him down XD

Trent and Hangman deciding to shake hands

Garcia sad dances up the ramp

Toa Liona's pounce! Hangman ain't a little guy but he went flying

Deadeye finally won Hangman a match

I didn't get a chance to say for Wembley because I didn't get to see much of the finer details but Shida's gear is lovely

Mercedes and Diamante in matching gear

Athena regretting everything when Willow got tagged in

Shida vs Athena, give me what I want.

Sonjay in a basketball jersey, he's a goof

Bringing Aubrey to slight Karen was clever, especially since it offered some bias to the conclusion

Main Card

"This player called Michael Jordan, he was a good player"

Keeping the neck storyline going

MJF coming back for the big pop and hot tag

Joe with the shove XD

MJF vs Joe is a definite money match to cash in on

Christian Cage in general, excellent heel

Darby's selling too, he's made Luchasaurus look like a monster

Darby's Swanton out the ring onto a seated Luchasaurus

The Crucifix Bomb was clean too

Perfectly placed 'Father of the Year' sign

Lovely nearfall on the Avalanche Code Red

Instant chants of 'Meat' for Miro/Hobbs, we need more meat chants

Excalibur even referencing Big E's 'Big Meaty Men Slapping Man Meat'

Hobbs staying on his feet from the Matchka kick

Manly handshake, even if Hobbs then jumps him after

Miro's hot flexible double-jointed wife does exist!

Stat donning some Zoolander gear

A big nearfall with the Avalanche No Future and Destination Unknown too

Ricky coming out strap in hand already, a Cody-esque strap at that

They got Final Countdown again! Joey Tempest must love him some Danielson

That fucking crack from Danielson's whips

I mean you can not fake those hits, there's no leg slapping that is a strap whipping flesh over and over again

That was an amazing flash spear from Ricky too

On brand for ex-teacher Hangman to donate to a Public Education Fund

Shibata vs Claudio is another money singles bout

Claudio's been doing some great narrative heat though with not wanting to entertain Eddie directly

Very clean STO by Eddie

Fack Wheeler's dead by that Shibata backfist

Shibata fucking rocks man, we are so fortunate

Kenny repping the old DDT gear colours

FUCK ME, does Kenny even have a neck anymore?

Kenny isn't a small dude either and but Takeshita has been throwing this dude

"A hell of a kick" is a generic comment from Excalibur there

Takeshita and his bridges, beauteous

Don that would be a fucking murder...

Takeshita beat Kenny clean, which is one hell of a rub

The Gunns' entrance is perfect for the whole BCG group

Mini Cardblade? They better be in the merch store

When the Bucks wanna be dicks, they're very good at being dicks

4-Way Sharpshooter was a nice textbook spot that the Bucks and FTR have in common

Cash and Matt superkicks!? Matt and Dax spike piledriver!?

Four Corners Power Plex!!??

I've been living for these shared finishers

Love the pre-walk before the entrance for the main event too, big fight feel

I've seen the image of Orange's wrapped hand and Moxley, it's a great visual

Mox has looked absolutely feral this match

Blood Orange Cassidy taking pages out of Moxley's book

Beach Break on the unpadded floor, and the fan egging him on

Blood Orange Cassidy's serious kicks getting extra extra serious!

The Death Rider kickout

A tale of two images; a clean padded fist and Moxley, and then an empty backpack and a blood-stained fist of Cassidy

I would've preferred him to have won (Takeshita could've taken it from him to ride off of his win vs Omega) since Mox didn't really need the title but the ending of the PPV tells a greater story - the jester's ascent to worldwide respect - which brings it to a strong close.

Conclusion

Several instances of buffering aside, this was exactly what AEW needed to deliver. A strong PPV that won over a Chicago crowd, reminding the often forgetful wrestling world that AEW exists and thrives without CM Punk. Every time people doubt, AEW deliver big time. I may play a bit of bias and say All In was better by a minor margin, I think the overall match quality was better for All Out (sadly the ROH matches and some abrupt finishes brought it down a little) but I think the narratives and energy was better at All In.

Regardless on what side you're on in his dismissal, AEW picked their path and they are moving forward, moving on, and we've dropped some teases on where we can go next, and those are paths I look forward to seeing fleshed out and explored.

Match of the Night: Honestly, it was Miro/Hobbs for me. It's very tight; I really enjoyed the 8-man, TNT title, Kenny/Konosuke, the main event, the strap match, the the men's non-title tag match, the TBS title (though it did end a bit abruptly) but sometimes you just gotta appreciate big meaty men slapping man meat. Best Entrance: Bullet Club Gold, they look like the real deal with that entrance. Best Attire: Kenneth Jerome Omega with his DDT colours, it still fits him and it was a nice callback. Statlander's Zoolander gear is a close second, since Shida's white gear was technically for last week and barely lost out to Swerve's blue coat. Best Performance: Ricky Starks was close but there's no topping Orange Cassidy this time around. Spot of the Night: I loved the 4-corner power plex, and Takeshita's beautiful German Suplex, but the Strap Match where Ricky and Bryan just were whipping the tar out of each other is the most visceral for me.