Rate All-Out 2023

[HMARK Center]

Sept 4, 2023 9:57:13 GMT -5 grunt said:

- OC/Moxley was great... except I just don't like that result. Moxley doesn't need the belt, other heels could have benefited more from it, and it just ended the night on a down note for me.

Overall a 8/10.

Also, Kevin Kelly sucks.

I know I just said this, but my post was too long and I'll just try to emphasize it here: I think while another heel would've benefitted from dethroning Orange, I don't think Orange would have benefitted as much as he did by losing to Moxley in the manner he did, and that's the crux of the story they wanted to tell with this reign. The guy who some spent years decrying as "killing the business" or as "just a midcard comedy act" or what have you is now an established top player, and the way last night was booked made sure to emphasize that in a way that having someone else do the deed might not have.

[Kalmia]

A little late but I watched the show. I did get spoiled on the OC/Mox result before watching (thanks to Twitter for opening on my For You tab instead of my Following tab) but went into everything else blind.

I gave it an 8/10.

I thought it was a very good show but there were a couple of minor problems I had with it. I don't think we needed blood in three matches and a couple of them (the eight-man specifically) ran too long. I wasn't as hot on Miro/Hobbs as most people either because that's just not my thing. It was still a great show though. Omega/Takeshita was my MOTN.

[Dub H]

Just caught up with it. For a PPV that is sure to sell very little becauseof the awful timing, it was one of the most solid PPV's in AEW history

[HMARK Center]

Sept 4, 2023 10:36:37 GMT -5 Dub H said:

Just caught up with it. For a PPV that is sure to sell very little becauseof the awful timing, it was one of the most solid PPV's in AEW history

If I read it right, I think Khan said it already sold 100,000; given word of mouth, that might bump up a bit with late purchases.

[Dub H]

Sept 4, 2023 10:59:40 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

Sept 4, 2023 10:36:37 GMT -5 Dub H said:

Just caught up with it. For a PPV that is sure to sell very little becauseof the awful timing, it was one of the most solid PPV's in AEW history

If I read it right, I think Khan said it already sold 100,000; given word of mouth, that might bump up a bit with late purchases.

Well that is better than I expected so I guess joke on me

[grunt]

Sept 4, 2023 10:02:28 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

Sept 4, 2023 9:57:13 GMT -5 grunt said:

- OC/Moxley was great... except I just don't like that result. Moxley doesn't need the belt, other heels could have benefited more from it, and it just ended the night on a down note for me.

Overall a 8/10.

Also, Kevin Kelly sucks.

I know I just said this, but my post was too long and I'll just try to emphasize it here: I think while another heel would've benefitted from dethroning Orange, I don't think Orange would have benefitted as much as he did by losing to Moxley in the manner he did, and that's the crux of the story they wanted to tell with this reign. The guy who some spent years decrying as "killing the business" or as "just a midcard comedy act" or what have you is now an established top player, and the way last night was booked made sure to emphasize that in a way that having someone else do the deed might not have.

Then again, have the exact same match, but OC defeats Mox, gets a rare Mox handshake post-match, and the same goal of placing OC as a top-tier wrestler in AEW is achieved. And then you could have Swerve or someone like that jump a bloody, barely standing OC post-match, in order to get a great closing visual for the PPV and to set the heel up for a rematch on Dynamite, where a weakened OC finally succombs to his opponent.

(but honestly, I'm just kinda burned out on Mox, right now, and i'm not looking forward to his reign)

[daaave]

I get being burnt out on Mox, I'm not but totally get if you are. He's been here forever. But he's never going to not be on tv so having the international title is a pretty safe inoffensive spot to have him if you bored of him. He'll be away from main event programs (in theory) and it'll further elevate the belt. Or he just drops it to Eddie soon

[Cieto]

9.5

Very good show from top to bottom.

[Germansuplex]

This show fought an uphill battle and won. 8/10

[Billie Gein]

I missed the first couple of matches, and fell asleep before the last two matches, what I saw would have been a strong PPV on its own. My favourite matches were Miro & Hobbs and Danielson & Starks. My posting history says I also enjoyed Takeshita and Omega, but I was in a PURPLE HAZE at that point and can barely remember anything about it aside from Takeshita hitting some kind of insane top-rope move on Omega, Don Callis' brown note music at the end sent me to sleep so I've gotta rewatch it. Statlander and Ruby Soho also had a solid dark horse match. Based on what I saw I'll give the show a 9/10 and call it one of my favourite AEW PPVs.

[Viking Hall]

I wasn't really that hyped for this, I was still on my high from All In and tired from work but I'd avoided spoilers and thought I'd chuck it on and probably only give it 50% of my attention. But what a show! Considering it didn't have a whole lot of build, and what build it did have turning into a fiery inferno, this in my opinion couldn't have gone better. Here's a few highlights.

Hobbs vs Miro turned into the evening's dark horse and went from a match I had a vague interest in to one of the best hoss fights I've seen in years. Both came out looking a million bucks and I hope Miro finds his love for what he does again off of the back of it, because a motivated Miro is a truly special proposition.

Danielson vs Starks came out of nowhere and pulled a MOTY candidate out of their arses. As someone that's not big on Strap Matches and (whispers) often finds Danielson matches underwhelming, they needed to do something special to reel me in and they did that and then some. This was incredibly violent, and considering we know it was a last minute change of plan, an absolute masterclass from both of them. If Starks isn't one of the faces of the company in a couple of years, something has gone seriously wrong.

Takeshita vs Omega was always going to slap, but this one exceeded expectations too. Takeshita is an incredibly special talent and another that will surely be one of AEW's foundations moving forward. If this result and the accompanying performance is anything to go by, he's a made man now too. Interested to see where this story goes from here as well.

Bang Bang Gang vs The Bucks and FTR. I go back and forth on FTR, and what with their simping of he who shall not be named they're not currently in my good books, but you always know the Bucks are going to deliver and Bullet Club Gold are rapidly becoming an all time faction for me, so I was willing to overlook it this time. As expected, this one was a riot, Bullet Club just get it, Jay White playing the relative straight guy to Juice and the Gunns is (no pun intended) gold and I was over the moon to see Colten get the pinfall here. The Gunns deserve everything good that's coming their way at the moment and anything that gets more Rock Hard on our screens is fine by me.

And finally Mox vs OC. Cassidy's title run has been one of the best pieces of long term story telling in wrestling this year and cemented him as one of the finest workers in the world. The character work in this was sublime too, Cassidy refusing to give up despite his battle damage and the normally bloodthirsty Mox being seemingly appalled by the lengths he was required to go to was chefs kiss. The aftermath has the potential to be one of AEW's defining moments too, Mox looking shell-shocked while the defeated Cassidy gets a standing ovation will be something that will be talked about for years to come, another career making moment right there.