After more than a few fans questioned the thought process of AEW booking two Pay-Per-Views in as many weekends, with All Out following in the footsteps of the biggest paid gate in professional wrestling history, the promotion's first big show since CM Punk was fired on Sunday delivered to an incredible degree, with some already calling it a potential PPV of the year candidate.
With 10 matches on the show, three more on the pre-show, an NBA Hall of Famer, and even a surprise debut from the ranks of WWE, this show had a little bit of everything, with the most important one being some really, really, really good wrestling matches.
Though fans will be dissecting this card for weeks, maybe even months to come, here are three immediate takeaways from the show.
3. Is Wheeler Yuta thinking about leaving the BCC after All Out?
When Jon Moxley secured his commanding victory in a match that made Orange Cassidy look like the second coming of his good friend Katsuyori Shibata, the newly crowned International Champion reconvened with his Blackpool Combat Club buddies to celebrate the win and their collective dominance atop the AEW Galaxy.
Was this a fantastic moment for the BCC? You bet, but it did have a little bit of intrigue, as on multiple occasions, Orange Cassidy looked back at the ring where his former friend and one-time mentor lay bloody in the center of the ring.
What does this mean? Was this just an accident on Yuta's part, looking back to take in the moment, or was this a hint from TK that maybe, just maybe, after taking more than his fair share of abuse from Claudio Castagnoli and company, he's thinking about turning babyface once more, reuniting with the Best Friends for the first time since 2022? If it happens, maybe Yuta can finally get over in a way that just doesn't seem to be available to him in the BCC.
2. Ricky Starks has another chance to become a star: don't mess it up
Ricky Starks just can't seem to catch a break… sometimes literally; from breaking his neck in 2021, to his best friend and mentor, Cody Rhodes, leaving in 2022, and now his new friend and mentor, CM Punk, getting fired in 2023 right before they could have their big, star-making match at All Out.
Against all odds, Starks did get a match against a Ring of Honor legend, and in doing so, got that star-making performance after all, going toe-to-toe with the “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson in a match that had no right being as good as it was considering it was announced one day prior and one of the performers had a freakin' broken arm.
With fans all over the professional wrestling world – including Danielson, who said Starks led him through the match – singing his praises, Starks has a chance, again, to become a genuine star in AEW… assuming, of course, Tony Khan books him correctly. After years and years of false starts, it's time to lean all the way into Stroke Daddy and rocket him to the moon LA Knight-style.
1. Tony Khan freakin' pulled it off for the second weekend in a row
Heading into All Out, Khan heard it all: All Out was like an episode of Dynamite on Pay-Per-View, he blew all of his best matches at All In, and there's no way the audience give the show a fair shake after the firing of their hometown hero, CM Punk.
With the show officially over, it's safe to say TK Khan not only pulled it off but freakin' delivered, producing a show that was fun, emotional, exciting, and even a bit controversial while keeping the fans guessing and the United Center rocking along.
After watching All In fail to deliver a single five-star match from the Wrestling Observer, this show had three, maybe even four matches that deserved to be in that conversation, with the main event, Kenny Omega versus Konosuke Takeshita, Bryan Danielson versus Ricky Starks, and potentially even the “meatfest” of Powerhouse Hobbs versus Miro, even if the crowd deserves the real credit on that last one.
Is AEW, down one very big, very polarizing performer, now going back to their roots and rallying together to fight their true foe, WWE? Or was this just a really good show that is a minor distraction from the fact that the promotion is going to have to make some serious changes in the not-too-distant future, as Collision was more or less Punk's show? Fans will find out on Wednesday, Friday, and, most importantly of all, Saturday. Is that particular night still alright for fighting? We will soon see.