All Out 2020 Review
- Sean Covington
- Sep 8, 2020
- 3 min read
Big Swole vs Britt Baker
Tooth and nails match? I don’t know what that is. Why would you start off a PPV, the first one in months with fans, with a cinematic match? JR had no words neither did the rest of commentary, it was just plain awkward. Should have been on Dynamite.
Young Bucks vs Jurassic Express
Another match best suited for Dynamite, the match was fine but it does nothing for either team, except bury Jurassic Express even further. The Bucks look silly because why would they be more like heels when FTR are the heels and their rivalry is coming up, they later act like baby faces and try and calm down Kenny Omega after his title match.
Casino Battle Royale
First things first, Matt Sydal botching that move was the story of this PPV. That really took the wind out of the sails of the crowd. Lance Archer was clear the guy they wanted to shine the most and he did with some big eliminations. Archer eliminated Cage. They are kinda sorta pushing Will Hobbs, it’s at the expense of Cage though. I would be pushing Hobbs with Shawn Dean then turning them on each other. The Darby Allin spot was really really cool but should have been saved for Dynamite. Some good things done in the match, including making Eddie Kingston look like a big deal. I wish this was at the beginning of the show.
Sammy Guevara vs Matt Hardy Broken Rules match “Sammy doesn’t care, but the referee should” JR was pissed. If a wrestler hits his head and is knocked out could, the match is over; period. Showing the fans was stupid because they were as clueless as the rest of us about what happened in this match. I thought the match was over and it actually continued just so Hardy could win and Sammy could fall from something. There will be an entire podcast on this on Sporticus I’m sure.
Thunder Rosa [c] vs Shida [c]
No way Shida was gonna lose, especially to a champion in another promotion. Definitely one of the best women’s matches in the company but still not on the same level as All Out 2019 when Shida and Riho wrestled each other. The match was good(ish) but it’s like they were going at half speed and wasn’t clean at all.
Dark Order vs the midcard family (Scorpio Sky, Natural Nightmares and Matt Cardona)
Brandi comes out and she’s not even in character, it’s indie crap all over again, hogging the spotlight like it’s not a PPV. QT looked better than Cardona, which is expected at this point. Brandi got in some offense on Anna Jay, seemingly causing a wardrobe malfunction and sending JR straight to horny jail. Colt screws up and Dark Order loses, angering Brodie Lee. This would have been a great way to end Dynamite.
FTR vs Page [c] & Omega[c]
Hangman wearing pants is exactly what he needed for his character as he continues to evolve. The crowd was not into this. FTR are not a good fit for the AEW crowd at all. I hate FTR in this company. They are booked as the best tag team and they haven’t earned it in AEW yet. Kenny needs to turn on Page already, this story is going on far too long.
Jericho vs Cassidy 3
Typical Jericho walk and brawl, too long and unnecessary. Easily something that would have been a cool main event for Dynamite. Not a fan of this rivalry or the matches but I do get the appeal. The gimmick is silly and far fetched, the Wrestling Observer would be destroying this if WWE had a gimmick like this on a major PPV.
Moxley [c] vs MJF
Ugly gear from MJF, typical match from Moxley. Nothing too exciting but not a snore fest either. Too many near falls but MJF showed that he is ready for the big time. Moxley didn’t look as good though. There had to be blood and I was hoping they wouldn’t but its AEW. Ban the Paradigm Shift and Moxley wins with it anyway, why book that ending? The match was fine but that finish didn’t make any sense.
Honorable mentions
Wat too many gimmicks for each match, the definition of overbooked.
Too many matches.
Goofy segment from Kip Sabian.
Final take
A 5 hour show isn’t what we needed, WWE is running shows at literally half the time. Most of what happened should have been saved for Dynamite. There were plenty of things that made sense and progressed stories but very little was actually resolved which is what happens on a typical episode of the weekly television show, not the formula for a PPV.
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