It was an extremely hot night in Jacksonville for All Out, and this probably caused the performers to be – not necessarily lethargic, but simply more focused on how miserable the conditions were outside as opposed to their performance. The result was that the action was not quite as fast-paced, and while the event was very well executed it was not as fluid as normal. Think about it – when it is hot and humid outside, you are more focused on those conditions than anything else and you don’t perform very well if you are doing something physical.
Mox retains, but here comes Lance Archer
Maxwell Jacob Friedman proved he belonged in the main event scene in AEW after holding up his end of the bargain in his first Pay-Per-View main event against one of the best in the company, Jon Moxley. I have a theory on why MJF did not win the AEW World Championship at All Out – Vince McMahon made the mistake of making Randy Orton into a world champion at 24 years old when he clearly was not ready for that responsibility and did not have nearly enough maturity. Tony Khan may have decided to take a different path with MJF – who happens to be the exact same age – and let him build a little more of a reputation and experience before he becomes world champion (there is absolutely no doubt he will be many times over since he was already placed in a main event position this early into his career).
Friedman’s match at Double or Nothing with Jungle Boy in May caught the attention of many wrestling fans because the match had a very rhythmic flow given the fact that both wrestlers are so young and relatively inexperienced. This very well may have been one of the major signals to Tony Khan that Maxwell Jacob Friedman might be ready to hang with the big boys. He looked very comfortable and had an excellent grasp on what he was doing when he was put in a position where he was leading the match just a few months ago (an experienced wrestler like Cody can make anyone look good).
MJF is clearly most comfortable with a microphone in his hand because he has an innate ability to command the attention of an audience. This quality is so rare in such a young person. It took someone like Jon Moxley years to develop this sense of comfortability in front of a crowd, but Friedman has this at just 24 years old (and it will only strengthen over time).
It was a brilliant idea, by the way, to orchestrate the match so that MJF could connect with a Cross Rhodes at some point during the match to subtly comment on his long-standing rivalry with Cody. This started with MJF throwing in the towel for Cody in November at Full Gear 2019 and culminated at Revolution in February with a singles match between the two men. This might set up another encounter between MJF and The Nightmare down the line – maybe even a year or two from now.
A potential feud between Friedman and his stooge for now Wardlow was also hinted at because Wardlow distracted the referee in an attempt to create an opening for MJF, but instead this opened the door for the world champion Moxley to connect with Paradigm Shift (which was originally banned for the match – MJF played this up in typical heel fashion, with a walker and more).
Moxley is incredibly consistent, delivering in every scenario imaginable. AEW clearly works best for his character because the company is a little rougher around the edges and somewhat more innovative. The company will allow Jon Moxley to be more authentic to himself, which is always beneficial. Audiences will feed off that authenticity and it causes them to respond better to Moxley because they are feeling more energy circulating throughout the arena since Moxley is more invested in his character. More energy is therefore circulating throughout whatever building – or outdoor arena – he is in, cool vibrations in other words.
The man to take the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley may be Lance Archer. This possibility seems much more plausible than Maxwell Jacob Friedman – who will be a world champion many times over, just not quite yet. Archer on the other hand has 20 years of experience in the wrestling business (he has spent the last decade in Japan), so he knows how to do everything required in the wrestling business to be a champion. The Murderhawk Monster is 43 years old, so if he’s ever going to be World Champion in AEW now is the time for Tony Khan to act on it before he is out of his prime. Archer has been built up for nearly a year (since February 2020) into a legitimate threat, and now might be the time to pull the trigger by making him AEW World Champion.
Chris Jericho puts over Orange Cassidy in the first-ever Mimosa Mayhem match
Chris Jericho has spent the pandemic months building a brand-new star in professional wrestling in the form of Orange Cassidy. Jericho debuted a new concept with the Mimosa Mayhem match by mixing The Bubbly, his own invention, with orange juice (obviously for Orange). This was very similar to 2005 when Jericho created the concept of the Money in the Bank ladder match for WWE which is still in use today.
Because Cassidy won this match, this means he wins the entire feud. Jericho won the first match; Orange won the second match in mid-July along with this one. Chris Jericho is one of the best in the business at creating new stars in the industry – and this rivalry with Orange Cassidy has created yet another one. Now it’s up to Orange to stay there. Right now, he and “Hangman” Adam Page have the keys to the future of AEW.
New Tag Team Champions after over seven months of Omega and Page
This was the longest, most seamless and well-paced match of the evening. The performers had plenty of time to do what they needed to do to tell a good story with that many layers. FTR have earned everything that is coming to them – they simply were not getting enough opportunities to showcase their talent in WWE.
It’s been an impressive run for Kenny Omega and Hangman Page (they became tag team champions in January, but the division is too good to keep the belts on one team for much longer than that). Plus, the time seemed right considering The Young Bucks kicked Page out of The Elite and Kenny Omega is now distraught over losing the titles. AEW is proceeding with the long-term story of The Elite slowly disintegrating (which we started to see evidence of starting last year, followed by what was possibly the greatest tag team match ever at Revolution at the beginning of the year).
Britt Baker and Big Swole became stars in the AEW Women’s Division with their match in Britt’s Dental Office at All Out
AEW can get away with creating innovative concepts like the Novocain shot because Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is a legitimate dentist, so she knows what she’s doing. AEW has really done a great job of building Britt’s character (because she was the first woman signed to the company, so a high degree of emphasis was placed on making her a star), but the characters of other women like Big Swole, Hikaru Shida, and Penelope Ford (I am not even mentioning Kris Statlander because she is rehabbing an ACL).
The AEW Women’s Division is beginning to pick up steam]; it just took a few months to develop the characters because they were all so new, whereas we already kind of knew a few of the guys (from WWE, among other places).