What already promised to be one of the biggest shows in AEW history delivered beyond any reasonable expectations on Sunday night when AEW All Out went down from Now Arena in the Chicago suburbs. The show not only featured incredible in-ring action from top to bottom, but also saw three of the biggest free agents in wrestling make their All Elite Wrestling debuts.
CM Punk wrestled for the first time in more than seven years in one of the night’s featured matches, going to war with Darby Allin in a surprisingly solid bit of professional wrestling. But it was the debuts of Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson — formerly Daniel Bryan in WWE — that are the lasting memories from the show, even as some of the best matches in the promotion’s history went down over the course of the night.
CBS Sports was with you the whole way through the event, providing updates and highlights as the action went down in the live blog below.
2021 AEW All Out results, grades
Best Friends & Jurassic Express vs. The Hardy Family Office: This was a solid choice of opener on the Buy-In pre-show with a group of some of the most over babyfaces on the roster teaming up against Matt Hardy’s gang of misfits. The big highlight of the match came as Jungle Boy sat on Luchasaurus’ shoulders, leading to playing chicken with Angelico and Jack Evans. Jungle Boy eventually hit a flipping slam off Luchasaurus’ shoulders before locking Angelico in the Snap Trap for the win. After the match, The Butcher made his return, working with The Blade to help Hardy attack Orange Cassidy before a large section of the locker room made the save. Best Friends & Jurassic Express def. The Hardy Family Office via submission. Grade: B
AEW TNT Championship — Miro (c) vs. Eddie Kingston: Kingston had claimed ahead of the match that he’d identified Miro’s neck as the champion’s weakness. Kingston did focus his attack on Miro’s neck, hitting an early exploder suplex. Kingston tried to hit a crossbody from the ring apron to the outside but was caught by Miro, who turned it into a powerslam on the floor. Miro maintained that momentum with a grinding attack that included a huge dropkick as Kingston kept trying to fire back with chops to the neck. Kingston battled back with a Saito suplex before absorbing Miro’s strikes and firing back with more of his own. Miro focused his attack on Kingston’s back and locked in Game Over only for Kingston to manage to reach the bottom rope. A frustrated Miro turned into a DDT but the referee was trying to reattach a turnbuckle pad, leading to a delayed count. The referee then prevented Kingston from throwing Miro into the exposed turnbuckle, allowing Miro to hit a low blow and a kick to score the pin and retain his title. This was a wonderful, hard-hitting match that got the pay-per-view off on a very positive note. Miro def. Eddie Kingston via pinfall to retain the title. Grade: B+
Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima: Kojima tried for a handshake before the match only to be met with a middle finger and a barrage of strikes. After a wild start, Moxley hit a suicide dive before focusing his offense on Kojima’s taped-up hand. Kojima fired back with a flurry of chops and a top-rope elbow drop. Both men bit the face of the other before Kojima hit a superplex. The exchanges of big moves kept coming, including a Kojima brainbuster. Kojima hit a lariat and a Koji Cutter but was too damaged to go for a cover, allowing Moxley to take advantage and lock in the bulldog choke, only for Kojima to break the hold by getting to the bottom rope. Moxley followed up by hitting the Paradigm Shift twice to score the pin and end an outstanding match and the second consecutive pairing with a big focus on hard-hitting action. Making things even better, Minoru Suzuki made his way to the ring after the match to confront a shocked Moxley. Suzuki removed his shirt and got in Moxley’s face before the two men began trading forearms and brawled until Suzuki hit a Gotch piledriver to lay Moxley out. Jon Moxley def. Satoshi Kojima via pinfall. Grade: A-
AEW Women’s Championship — Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Kris Statlander: Statlander immediately tried to use her strength advantage but did have to avoid an early attempt at Lockjaw from the champion. Baker cut off Statlander’s attack with a twisting neckbreaker as Statlander was seated on the top rope. Statlander fired back with her own power attack, including a modified Michinoku driver for a near fall. Statlander missed the Area 451 splash and Baker tried to pounce with Lockjaw only to see Statlander counter and hit an axe kick for another two count. Statlander missed a pendulum moonsault from the ring apron and Baker leaped off the ring steps for a big stomp. Back in the ring, Statlander tried to lock in a Spider Crab submission but Baker landed a series of kicks to the face to break the hold. Baker hit the Pittsburgh Sunrise and stomp, both resulting in near falls. Statlander had nothing left after the kickout and Baker locked in Lockjaw to get the submission win. Another match, another gem in a show that was building momentum to being the best in AEW history. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. def. Kris Statlander via submission to retain the title. Grade: B+
AEW Tag Team Championship — The Young Bucks (c) vs. Lucha Brothers: The Bucks tried to climb the cage immediately but were caught by a flying dropkick. As expected, a constant flurry of action followed, with bodies flying around the ring and the Bucks repeatedly being tossed into the cage. Penta was eventually stuck between the ring apron and the cage where his head was kicked into the steel. A trio of cutters were hit before Fenix hit a double-cutter to be the last man standing in the wild exchange. The Bucks hit a combination tombstone stomp into senton for a near fall on both men and Nick Jackson drilled both Lucha Brothers with low blows, taking advantage of the lack of rules in the cage. The Bucks tried to rip off the masks of both of the challengers, taking any shortcut possible as they took control of the match. Brandon Cutler came to cageside and threw a bag into the ring for the Bucks. Matt Jackson pulled out a shoe covered in thumbtacks and Penta, already bloodied, dove in front of Fenix to take the kick instead. Penta was then driven face-first into the tacks multiple times, drawing even more blood. A BTE Trigger on Penta only got a two count when Fenix broke the pin. Fenix stormed back before driving the tack-covered shoe into the head of both Bucks and hitting the black thunder driver for his own near fall. Nick Jackson and Penta each hit package piledrivers on the ring apron before going one-on-one back inside the ring before Penta hit a destroyer from the top rope. A stomp-assisted package piledriver only got two for the Lucha Brothers and they tried to do it again, this time with Fenix coming off the top of the cage but Nick Jackson made the save before Fenix came off the top of the cage with a crossbody and the Lucha Brothers hit a tandem driver to win the titles. There’s no way to effectively recap a match this wild in text. Go out of your way to see it if you haven’t already. The Lucha Brothers def. The Young Bucks via pinfall to win the titles. Grade: A+
Casino Battle Royal: In a cool-down slot, the battle royal was the standard deal for AEW, with the batches of new entrants coming in, competitors getting tossed from the ring and await to see who would get the entrance spot as the joker. The joker was revealed to be Ruby Soho — formerly Ruby Riott in WWE. The final four came down to Thunder Rosa, Tay Conti, Soho and Nyla Rose. Rosa eliminated Rose to leave just herself and Soho. The two women battled on the ring apron before Soho hit a kick to send Rosa to the floor to win the match. The pop for Soho was huge and she is a huge injection of life into a developing women’s division. Ruby Soho won the Casino Battle Royal. Grade: B
MJF vs. Chris Jericho: MJF spoofed the old Jericho “Y2J” entrance. Jericho made his entrance to just a live guitar rendition of “Judas” as the crowd sang along. The match quickly went outside the ring where Jericho hit MJF in the head with a metal pole. Once the match went back into the ring, MJF focused on attacking Jericho’s arm. The attack on the arm did not stop before MJF hit Jericho with a Heatseeker on the apron, almost scoring him the win by count out. Jericho managed to fight back after hitting a powerbomb, driving MJF’s lower back into the edge of the apron. Jericho scored a near fall after a lionsault. Jericho went for a huricanrana from the top rope but MJF countered into a powerbomb, though the move hurt MJF’s own injured back. Wardlow began making his way to the ring but was stopped by Jake Hager. The distraction allowed MJF to use Jericho’s baseball bat to hit Jericho in the head and then landed Jericho’s own Judas Effect to score the pin, despite Jericho’s foot being on the ropes. A second referee came to the ring to say that Jericho’s foot was on the ropes, leading to the match being restarted. Jericho nearly immediately scored a pin but JMF locked up an armbar. Jericho countered into a pin and then locked in the Liontamer to force the tap and save his career. Not the best match on the show, but a good enough showing from both men and an effective use of the classic pro wrestling “Dusty Finish.” Chris Jericho def. MJF via submission. Grade: B-
CM Punk vs. Darby Allin: The crowd was red hot for the match, as expected. Allin hit an armdrag immediately but Punk came back with a shoulder tackle. Punk and Allin went into some chain wrestling, with Punk working a headlock before Allin drove him to the mat with a shoulder tackle. Punk nearly caught Allin in position for the Go To Sleep as Allin went for a leapfrog. Punk launched Allin through the turnbuckles into the ring post and began to work over Allin’s back and ribs. Allin broke Punk’s momentum by hitting a flip-over stunner. Allin rolled up Punk in a series of near falls before scoring yet another two count after hitting a code red. Punk managed to hit the Go To Sleep, but the move shot Allin through the ropes and to the floor. Punk seemed happy to take the count out but Allin managed to get back to the ring at the count of nine. Punk exploded with strikes and signaled for the GTS again but Allin fired back with elbow strikes, forcing Punk to slide out of the ring where Allin hit him with a suicide dive. Allin went for a Coffin Drop but Punk sat up to avoid the move. Allin reversed another GTS into the Last Supper for a near fall before Punk hit a huge leg lariat. Punk finally hit a second GTS to score the pin. This was a very professional “professional wrestling match.” Maybe not the most wild of matches but really picked up steam down the stretch to provide some extremely exciting near falls and showed that Punk still has plenty left to give in the ring. CM Punk def. Darby Allin via pinfall. Grade: B+
Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall: Marshall tried to fire up right away with punches but ate a headbutt and a massive chop to the chest. Marshall tried to work over Wight’s hip, but Wight threw off a Marshall attempt at a cutter. Wight hit a chokeslam to score the pin after fighting off several members of The Factory. This was just to bring the crowd back down between the Punk match and the main event and played out exactly as such, not delivering much of anything beyond a Wight win. Paul Wight def. QT Marshall via pinfall. Grade: C-
AEW World Championship — Kenny Omega (c) vs. Christian Cage: Omega tried to get the jump before the match, but Cage moved and the two exchanged punches before an Omega rana sent Cage to the floor. After sending Omega into the guardrail, Cage came crashing onto Omega from the top rope to the floor. Omega came back and laid a table over Cage’s body on the floor before hitting a double stomp to shatter the wood. The action finally went back into the ring, though that didn’t last long before Omega knocked Cage from the top rope to the floor. Again back in the ring, Cage managed to hit a rana from the top rope. Omega tried for the One-Winged Angel, but Cage managed to escape and nearly locked in a cloverleaf before Omega grabbed the hair to escape. Cage hit a reverse DDT for a near fall. Omega fired back and began to hit V-Triggers and snapdragon suplexes to wear down the challenger. Cage definitely held up a middle finger before eating another snapdragon and another V-Trigger that shot him through the ropes. Cage and Omega battled on the ring apron, both men trying to drive the other through a table set up on the floor before Cage speared Omega off the apron and through the table. The table broke in an odd way, with the legs coming through the top and cutting Cage’s ribs. Cage locked in the cloverleaf and The Good Brothers ran to the ring, forcing Cage to fight both off before countering a One-Winged Angel into the Killswitch for a near fall. Don Callis ran into the ring to distract Cage, causing just enough of a delay for Omega to counter an attempt at a top-rope Killswitch into an avalanche One-Winged Angel to score the victory. A very good match between Cage and Omega once again, though the crowd had clearly started to burn out a bit by the finish after sitting through a long, stacked card of action. Kenny Omega def. Christian Cage via pinfall to retain the title. Grade: B+
Adam Cole made his AEW debut. Omega and The Elite attacked Cage after the match before also fighting off Jurassic Express as they attempted to make the save. Omega said that there’s no one who can beat him for the belt when the lights cut out and Adam Cole made his AEW debut. After getting in Omega’s face, Cole turned and hit Jungle Boy with a superkick before celebrating with The Elite.
Bryan Danielson made his AEW debut. Omega explained that, of course, Cole would be on their side since he’s one of their best friends. Omega then said he’d send the crowd home happy but Danielson’s music hit and he made his debut, coming to the ring before attacking The Elite and helping chase them off before celebrating with Jurassic Express and Cage to end the show.