411’s AEW All Out 2022 Preview

Hello 411 guys, gals, enbies, and everyone else! Welcome to 411’s AEW All Out preview! I’m Jeremy Thomas as always, and man lemme tell you, the next time that AEW and WWE schedule three PPVs in a two-day weekend I’m finding Tony Khan, Nick Khan, and Stephanie and kicking them all in the shins. Anyway, we have a HUGE card set for Sunday evening as AEW presents fifteen — FIFTEEN — matches between the main card of All Out and the Zero Hour pre-show. That is a lot of matches for one show — I dare say, too many. But they’re all good or at least interesting matches, so for now I’m just gonna hope we revert to a more rational level of matches next time around. Obviously that means we have a lot to get into, so let’s shut up get to it!

House of Black vs. Darby Allin, Sting, and Miro

Image Credit: AEW

We’re starting off our preview with one of three trios matches on this card, The House of Black has been getting the wins, but they’ve still been stuck in a sort of meandering state in the midcard. Meanwhile, they’re going up against three important parts of AEW’s roster in Miro, Darby Allin, and Sting. The story behind this has had some twists and turns, but it hasn’t been the most engaging thing and arguably the most intriguing development has been (as yet unconfirmed) rumors that Malakai Black has asked for his release. I’m not sure how or even if that plays into what happens in the finish here, but either way the House of Black feels like it needs momentum behind it. Black himself aside, there’s a lot of good talent there and a lot of time invested into this group. A loss to the Redeemer, Allin, and Sting wouldn’t be a nail in the coffin of House of Black, but a win could do some really good things for them if handled properly. I could absolutely see this going either way, but the smarter booking is having House of Black win, perhaps leading to a Miro vs. Black one-on-one match later.

WINNER: House of Black

Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Image Credit: AEW

This battle between former friends has had a very personal storyline to it, with Starks’ surgically-repaired neck being targeted by his ex-ally. That’s added a little heat to what has been a really enjoyable midcard feud between two guys who could parlay their way into becoming much bigger stars in AEW. Hobbs and Starks have very different styles, both as characters and performers, and there’s a case for them being built up to being top challengers in the promotion. But we’re not there quite yet, because even if they have the skillsets they don’t have the upper midcard feel at the moment. We’ve seen enough of these kinds of matches to know how this will likely be booked, as Hobbs’ power and brutality will be used to dominate Starks and give the latter an underdog feel during the match. This is another match that could easily go either way, because a win would benefit both men. I think Starks has a little bit more “star” factor to him though, and in the end I expect to see him get the win for this battle.

WINNER: Ricky Starks

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage

Image Credit: AEW

Not all of AEW’s storylines have been stellar, but I’ve really enjoyed the Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy feud. The wily, traitorous veteran vs. the dynamic young babyface is a classic trope of wrestling feuds, but it’s a trope because it works and these two have played their parts really well. Cage’s promo work has been fantastic and Jungle Boy has stepped up in terms of being able to sell the emotion of the storyline. The in-ring work for this match is something I’m not worried about at all; both of these two guys are obviously great in the ring and they match up very well. But in the end, this has to go to Jungle Boy. The feud has been going on long enough and there’s no way that you put Cage over one of AEW’s pillars. As much as I love Christian, that would be a disastrously bad decision.

WINNER: Jungle Boy

Wardlow and FTR vs. Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns

Image Credit: AEW

Listen, I can’t say I give even the slightest shit about Jay Lethal’s stable either. Nothing against any of them, but I just don’t have any investment in them as a group. But that said, we’re going to see the the Motor City Machine Guns in AEW battling FTR and I am here for it. Plus, Wardlow is in there for the added fun, and while I don’t care about Lethal’s group we all agree that he’s great in the ring. So from a workrate perspective this should be a blast and hopefully that will override the “meh” aspect of the actual story of this match. When it comes to the result, I think the answer here is simple. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley aren’t signed to AEW, and while I would love to see them get an extended feud with FTR I don’t think it’ll be happening in AEW any time soon. And Wardlow needs to get past this feud as soon as possible. So expect the former Pinnacle members to pick up the win here and hopefully move onto something more interesting afterward.

WINNER: Wardlow and FTR

Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho

Image Credit: AEW

Bryan Danielson and Chris Jericho have done battle before, but this is their first time in one-on-one action in AEW. I know Jericho gets a lot of crap (some of it deserved) for comments he makes online, but when the chips are down he can still deliver and it goes without saying that Danielson can as well. The pairing of these two in the ring has me excited enough, but making this a battle of the angle and devil on Daniel Garcia’s shoulder throws in a nice added wrinkle. Garcia has been stuck between these two for a little while now, and it seems like an obvious build toward getting Garcia into the Blackpool Combat Club. AEW could absolutely subvert expectations and have Garcia return to the dark side that is the Jericho Appreciation Society, but that feels like reductive booking to me and I hope they don’t do it. The only question is whether Garcia’s final decision is made during the match, after it or even on Dynamite. Whichever the case, I think Danielson picks up the win here as it shows Garcia that the BCC way isn’t a loser’s path. Whether Jericho flips out after his loss and goes on an attack or tries to get Garcia to get involved during the match is unclear, but in the end I see no reason that Jericho picking up the win would be in anyone’s best interests.

WINNER: Bryan Danielson

AEW TBS Championship Match
Jade Cargill vs. Athena

Image Credit: AEW

Jade Cargill is currently 36 – 0 in her AEW career, and she faces one of her tougher challengers yet in Athena. The former Ember Moon has had her eyes on Cargill and the TBS Championship since she arrived in the company at Double or Nothing, and that makes her seem like the biggest threat to Cargill’s win streak and title reign to date. She provides another talent that Cargill can further season herself against and the match has a lot of potential behind it. All that said, I have to wonder if AEW would break the Cargill win streak before it hits a number like 40. Athena could certainly use this win to freshen up the division, and Cargill has had her title well past long enough that losing it would hurt her. But I don’t think she’s at the point where she HAS to lose it yet and nothing about this match strongly suggests to me that now is the time to put Athena over Cargill. I expect Baddie shenanigans to come into play, costing Athena the title shot, and perhaps they can run it back at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam where the result might be different.

WINNER: Jade Cargill (STILL AEW TBS Champion)

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
Swerve In Our Glory vs. The Acclaimed

Image Credit: AEW

I’m really enjoying Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee’s tag team work and am glad to see them as champions, but this match doesn’t have much behind it. It very much comes off as a thrown-together thing in order to get a title match, the champs, and the fan-favorite Acclaimed on the card without much forethought into anything else. I’m not complaining too hard about that because the competitors are great, but it also means the match is low on my list of anticipated bouts on the PPV. The Acclaimed just got (kind of) out of their feud with the Gunn Club and are riding that relative high, but they don’t feel like contenders right now the way previous Tag Team Championship matches have had. I don’t see a valid argument for taking the titles off Swerve In Our Glory, who would have the rug pulled out from them a bit with a loss here, so I’m going with the champions retaining in a fun match that sees Lee throwing the Acclaimed around a solid amount.

WINNER: Swerve In Our Glory (STILL AEW World Tag Team Champions)

Casino Ladder Match
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs.
Rey Fénix vs. Rush vs. Andrade El Idolo vs. Dante Martin vs.
The Joker

Image Credit: AEW

The Casino Ladder match is always fun, and in my book it tends a better match than the Double or Nothing Casino Battle Royals for some obvious reasons. This one should be a hell of a lot of fun to watch, with seven guys who can absolutely go in the ring and a big question mark as always in terms of the Joker. Typically, the Joker is where Tony Khan debuts a new signing, but there are a number of guys who could come in here as returnees to action. It’s not lost on me that we have a lot of ROH-associated guys in Claudio, Yuta, RUSH and Andrade, which makes me think it might be Samoa Joe. There’s been some speculation that this is where MJF returns but I feel like his return needs to be more impactful than just popping up in a multi-person ladder match, even this one (and also, MJF would demand a title shot at this point, not earn it). Outside of The Joker I think that the big threats to win this are Castagnoli or Andrade, but I do think that whoever it is, we’ll be seeing The Joker take this win to earn an AEW World Heavyweight Championship match.

WINNER: The Joker

AEW World Trios Championship Match
The Elite vs. Hangman Page & The Dark Order

Image Credit: AEW

I know that people have been questioning whether AEW has too many titles — okay, that’s a misnomer. People have been simply stating that they have too many. Still, I do believe that a Trios Championship is one that at least makes a lot of sense. AEW has been dedicated to its trios for quite a while and this is a title that I think works perfectly for the company. The Trios Title Tournament has been pretty fun so far, and we’ve had some pretty decent matches throughout it. It’s nice to see the Dark Order getting a chance at a spotlight, and it’s a smart way to get Hangman Page onto the All Out Card. That said, there’s no way that this win isn’t going to The Elite. Tony Khan famously delayed the tournament so that it could happen once Kenny Omega came back, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t so that Omega and the Bucks could lose in the finals. The match gives us a chance to see Hangman work opposite his old tag team partner and the Bucks, which should be fun, and John Silver and Alex Reynolds should be able to hold their own nicely. The result seems like a foregone conclusion to me, but the road to getting there will almost certainly be an enjoyable experience.

WINNER: The Elite (NEW AEW World Trios Champions)

Interim AEW Women’s World Championship Match
Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida

Image Credit: AEW

This match to crown an Interim AEW Women’s World Champion is a pivot after Thunder Rosa was forced out of her match with Toni Storm due to an injury. That’s an unfortunate situation, but I am definitely looking forward to this four-way bout that has two former champions and two women who are about ready to step into a title reign in their own right. The dynamics of this match should be fun as Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker have their alliance tested, while Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida play the spoilers for the benefit provided by that alliance. There’s no need to put the title on Baker or Shida, and doing so would not send a great statement about how AEW views its women’s division that it needs to go back to already-established wells. That leaves Hayter and Storm, both of whom would make interesting choices as Champion. A Hayter win would push her to a new level and set up some interesting storylines, but as the woman who was set to face Rosa at the PPV I think you have to go with Storm. She’s a talented performer who is ready to carry the division and it sets up the match between Rosa and Storm at a later date with Storm in an even stronger position than before. That’s the smart move, and the one I hope they go with.

WINNER: Toni Storm (NEW AEW Women’s World Champion)

AEW World Championship Match
Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk

Image Credit: AEW

AEW fans were shocked when two weeks ago, Jon Moxley defeated CM Punk to unify the AEW World Championship in a match that went all of three minutes. It was a weird booking choice, one made all the more interesting by the reports of Punk having issues with certain things backstage in AEW. Whatever you think of what happened previously, this match is their chance to really go all out with Moxley and Punk. I find it hard to believe either man won’t deliver. Moxley getting the quick win previously did add some intrigue to this match, as I think most would expect that Punk would win the title in his hometown. I think that’s still the case here, but there’s at least more reason to wonder about to it. The big question is whether they pull the trigger on Punk’s heel turn that seems to be coming, an act which would be tricky to pull off in Chicago. There’s also a question about whether MJF shows up, as now is a perfect time to do so and he has had feuds with both men in the past. That part is anyone’s guess, but I have high expectations for this bout and I do believe at the end of the show we’ll see Punk standing tall with the title, perhaps by some dishonorable tactics to push him further away from a babyface status.

WINNER: CM Punk (NEW AEW World Champion)

And that’s all (“all”) we have for AEW All Out! That is a whole lot of matches and I’m hoping at some point Tony Khan calms down and starts booking a few less bouts, but most of these matches at least have real potential behind them. Thanks once again for reading and remember that we will have live coverage of the show courtesy our own Steve Cook right here on 411mania.com. I’d better run before MJF shows up and starts yelling at someone to fire him…

Image via Tenor