What Should Be the AEW All Out Main Event?

AEW All Out is scheduled for September 4 in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago has always been a hub for AEW, and even more so since the First Dance, which saw the return of CM Punk to professional wrestling.

The main event of every AEW pay-per-view to date has been the AEW World Title match. But as we head towards the next pay-per-view, there is no clear direction for the main event of All Out.

The Chris Jericho/Jon Moxley program should be heading towards a conclusion at the Quake by the Lake episode of Dynamite this Wednesday and looking up and down the roster, it is hard to see a clear contender to Moxley in the All Out main event.

The no-brainer, slam dunk match would obviously be unifying the AEW World Titles with a match between Jon Moxley and CM Punk in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.

But as the event date continues to creep closer and closer, AEW has likely already lined up alternatives if Punk is not medically cleared to compete at the show.

If CM Punk is unable to compete, who should challenge Jon Moxley for the interim AEW World Title at All Out?

There are a few names that stand out as challengers that would create an intriguing main event for All Out, two of which reside in the same faction as the interim champion himself.

Both Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli would make interesting choices. And with Moxley making it crystal clear that he has no issues fighting someone from the Blackpool Combat Club when he said he did not care who won the match between Wheeler Yuta and Chris Jericho in their interim AEW World Title eliminator match last week, Danielson and Castagnoli are plausible choices.

Samoa Joe could also be someone to consider. Fresh off of turning away Jay Lethal at Death Before Dishonor, Joe does not have a direction, and pairing him and Moxley together would be something of a symphony of violence.

That being said, we saw Moxley and Danielson wrestle at Revolution earlier this year and Castagnoli and Joe could possibly be defending their Ring of Honor World Title and Ring of Honor Television Title on the same show.

Because of this, the best option to take on Jon Moxley at All Out is a returning Kenny Omega.

An Omega and Moxley main event at All Out makes sense for a number of reasons.

There is long-term storytelling between the two that dates back to the very first AEW show, Double or Nothing, in 2019.

At that show, Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega in the main event, but it was Moxley making his AEW debut that stole the show. Mox would make his way through the crowd at the match’s conclusion and proceed to attack both Jericho and Omega and the show would close with Moxley standing over Omega.

Fast forward to the Winter is Coming episode of Dynamite in December of 2020, and Omega would align with Don Callis and use underhanded tactics to defeat Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title.

And then, of course, who could forget the infamous Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch at Revolution 2021?

Omega making his return, possibly as soon as at Quake by the Lake, to challenge Moxley would make good sense and set up a big main event at All Out.

But with rumors suggesting Omega’s return will be centered around the new AEW Trios Titles and Adam Cole’s turn on The Young Bucks, there is an obvious reason why AEW may not choose to go the route of Moxley vs. Omega in Chicago.

However, should that be an option, the story is an easy one to tell.

Omega could hold his 2-0 record (Moxley’s previous AEW win over Omega happened in an unsanctioned match) over Moxley as a way to talk his way into a title match.

Moxley, who rarely needs to be talked into accepting a challenge, would only have to think about the ways that Omega has screwed him over in their past encounters to be apt to accept.

This program would allow AEW to bring back the star power of Omega, and when Moxley is able to defeat him at All Out, Omega can seamlessly transition into the existing storyline that is the implosion of the Undisputed Elite.

While this is a matchup we have seen before, it has been eighteen months since the last installment of this rivalry. And AEW pay-per-views have consistently had marquee matchups at the top of their pay-per-view events for the most coveted prize in the promotion.

Kenny Omega’s first match back would go a long way to drumming up excitement for the All Out card and help to minimize the letdown of hometown boy CM Punk not being able to compete just yet.

That’s why at All Out, renewing the rivalry between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley is AEW’s best option without Punk.