AEW All Out Review - September 20, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tailgate Brawl: AEW World Trios Champions The Opps (Samoa Joe and Powerhouse Hobbs) def. The Workhorsemen

I laughed when I saw that this was announced because it had zero setup and no reason to be on the card (even on the TNT pre-show) aside from getting The Opps in action. Why not at least have them defend their AEW World Trios Championship against a random trio? Was doing Daniel Garcia vs. Katsuyori Shibata right after this that important? Regardless, this was a straightforward squash as it should have been.

Tailgate Brawl: Daniel Garcia def. AEW World Trios Champion Katsuyori Shibata

I remember these two meeting at least once before for the ROH Pure Championship, so we knew coming into this contest they work well together. Sure enough, this was solid stuff. They're trying to get over Garcia as a threat, so it made sense for him to beat Shibata and I appreciated that he was able to win on his own. It looks like he's going to using the curb stomp as his finisher going forward.

Tailgate Brawl: Hologram and Paragon (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) def. The Frat House (Griff Garrison, Cole Karter and Preston Vance)

I can't keep track of who's in The Conglomeration these days, but I believe Hologram and O'Reilly are still technically members while Strong is not. I assume this existed to get Strong on the same page as Hologram, but similar to the opener of the pre-show, I don't know why this couldn't have happened on any ordinary edition of Collision. It was a very basic bout, but at least it didn't overstay its welcome.

Tailgate Brawl: Willow Nightingale, ROH Interim Women's World Television Champion Mina Shirakawa, Queen Aminata and Harley Cameron def. Penelope Ford, Megan Bayne and Triangle of Madness (Julia Hart and Skye Blue) in a Tornado Tailgate Brawl

We've seen so many of these multi-woman tag team matches with the same faces for months now, and the only thing that made this one stand out from the rest of them was the stipulation. Even then, we've seen two hardcore matches with the women in recent weeks on Dynamite, so that wasn't remotely special, either. It was mostly a mess, but I guess all that matters is that the crowd was into it.

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage def. FTR

If this wasn't going to main event, then putting it on first was the way to go. Needless to say, the crowd was super behind Copeland and Christian throughout and FTR were excellent opponents for them. There were several points where they had me convinced that FTR might win before Copeland and Christian ultimately went over. Beth Phoenix/Copeland coming out to thwart Stokely was cool, and I liked that FTR's post-match attack on her keeps this rivalry alive.

Eddie Kingston def. Big Bill

I understand that Tony Khan wanted an extra attraction for the undercard, but I really wish Kingston's return wasn't announced ahead of time seeing as how he had been off television for well over a year. It would've been a bigger deal that way, and perhaps the match wouldn't have been disappointing. This was not good, and much of Kingston's offense looked weak. It's nothing he can't recover from with one of his usual signature promos, but I had higher hopes for this.

Mark Briscoe def. MJF in a Tables 'n' Tacks Match

I still have no idea why this had to be a Tables 'n' Tacks match instead of a Dog Collar match considering the history both men have with that stipulation, not to mention that we see this sort of stuff constantly in AEW, but they delivered a brutal and bloody affair, nonetheless. I could've done without some of the spots, but Briscoe winning was the top takeaway for me. Now they have to capitalize on this momentum for Briscoe, especially if MJF is going away for a little while to film a movie.

Ricochet and The Gates of Agony def. The Hurt Syndicate (MVP, Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley)

The booking of Ricochet and Gates of Agony since they joined forces has been questionable to say the least, so this was an important win for them, even if MVP was the one pinned (which I assumed would be the case, anyway). The crowd was much more into the match than I thought they would be considering this was largely a standard six-man tag team affair. Ricochet and Gates of Agony should be next in line for a shot at the AEW World Trios Championship.

AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone def. Riho

Riho never stood a chance of taking the title, especially with Mone being so close to breaking Jade Cargill's record as the longest-reigning TBS champ of all-time. Thus, he obvious outcome hurt my interest in the match. Despite that, they had a nice bout. It wouldn't have minded if it was slightly shorter, but it wasn't egregiously long or anything. Now the question is if Riho will disappear from AEW TV again or actually remain a regular on the show for a change.

AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada def. Mascara Dorada and Konosuke Takeshita in a Three-Way Match

This had zero build with the qualifiers only taking place within the last week, but these three went out and had one of the best bouts on the entire show. Although Dorada stuck out because of how random his involvement was, he ended up having a stellar showing, even in defeat. The teases of Okada vs. Takeshita were wonderful and left me looking forward to that inevitable one-on-one encounter. Will they hold off on it until the finals of the Continental Classic?

Jon Moxley def. Darby Allin in a Coffin Match

All of the interference from The Death Riders was what I was dreading most about this match coming into it, so it was pretty much what I expected. They certainly made the most of the stipulation with both guys taking a beating. Pac looked almost unrecognizable with his new look, but I'm glad he's back. Between his return and Garcia joining, Death Riders are stronger than they've been in some time, and that doesn't get me overly excited.

Kris Statlander def. "Timeless" Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter and Thekla in a Four-Way Match to Win the AEW Women's World Championship

I understand wanting to get as many women on the show as possible, but now that we know that Statlander was going to win (and pin Storm, no less), I would preferred a singles match with just Statlander and Storm. Even still, this was a fun four-way and Statlander taking the title was absolutely the right call. She's been spinning her wheels for some time and is deserving of a run with the belt.

AEW World Tag Team Champions Brodido def. The Young Bucks, JetSpeed, and The Don Callis Family (Josh Alexander and Hechicero) in a Four-Way Ladder Match

I've seen enough Ladder matches in WWE and AEW in the last few years alone to last me a lifetime, but this was a treat with everyone getting their time to shine. It was complete chaos from start to finish and the crowd came back alive for it. I was worried the Bucks might regain the gold, but I'm happy to have been wrong. The best part came afterward when Jack Perry returned afterward and reunited with Luchasaurus. AEW's tag team division will be better off with Jurassic Express in it again.

AEW World Champion "Hangman" Adam Page def. AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher (AEW TNT Championship Wasn't Defended)

I can't imagine anyone honestly believed Fletcher had a chance of dethroning Page (especially while still TNT champ), but this was all about whether he could hang with "the guy" in AEW and the answer was a resounding yes. Of course, we already knew that from when they first faced off in the Owen Hart Cup earlier this year, but this was a pay-per-view main event and Fletcher didn't look out of place in the slightest. This was a fantastic match and I was never bored despite the lengthy runtime.

Overall Show

I'm all for AEW pay-per-views having earlier start times going forward, no matter where they are or if WWE is running an event that same night. That said, not every pay-per-view needs to be five hours long (six if you include the hour-long pre-show on TNT) with over a dozen matches. Otherwise, this was a great show with plenty of above-average wrestling and a few surprises thrown in. All In is still AEW's best pay-per-view outing of 2025 so far in my opinion, but All Out was an improvement over Forbidden Door.

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