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After AEW All Out, we cannot deny one crucial fact. AEW has just put on its best show to date and arguably one of the best pro-wrestling shows in years. Wrestling can sure be fun sometimes.
AEW All Out was an all-time classic. The rowdy Chicago crowd was rewarded with a plethora of truly surprising moments. We had a fun opening match, the arrival of a New Japan legend, an all-time cage match classic, a surprising Casino Battle Royale winner, a tremendous in-ring return for CM Punk, and two huge debuts after the main event. AEW is well-positioned as a company to look out for in the years to come.
As we continue to try and figure out how we got Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson’s debut within the space of a few minutes, we should try to distract ourselves and look at some more surprising moments from AEW All Out 2021:
#5 Minoru Suzuki debuts at AEW All Out
It was an exciting choice for AEW All Out to have Jon Moxley fight Satoshi Kojima. Kojima is a solid veteran of New Japan for sure, but he certainly isn’t near the top of anyone’s list of dream matches at this point in his remarkable career. Kojima put in a great effort on Sunday night, but it seemed he was just a prelude to a much bigger surprise.
As Moxley began to celebrate his victory at AEW All Out, Minoru Suzuki’s music played. Suzuki, the scariest 53-year-old man in professional wrestling, has earned the respect of the pro wrestling world with so many great matches over his legendary career. Suzuki and Moxley had a great match in New Japan in February of 2020 as well. This “Forbidden Door” being opened sure has opened the door to some great matches for AEW and professional wrestling fans to enjoy. The announcement of a Suzuki versus Moxley II was a surprise on a great show for sure.
#4 Lucha Brothers win the AEW World Tag Team Championship at AEW All Out 2021
The tag team match was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated on the entire AEW All Out card. The Lucha Brothers and The Young Bucks have put on some great matches in the early days of AEW’s brief history. Could they possibly live up to the hype? The answer is a resounding yes in arguably one of the best matches of the entire year.
The tag team match was an all-time classic from two of the best teams in all of professional wrestling. For twenty-three minutes, they pulled out all the stops. Using a thumbtack shoe in the match? Wild. Penta hitting a Canadian Destroyer on Matt Jackson from the Top Rope? That is crazy. How about a dozen Superkicks in about a minute? We had it all in this classic match.
The match ended with Fenix hitting a crossbody at the top of the cage, followed by an assisted piledriver to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. After two years of close calls, the Lucha Brothers finally won the titles. It was an emotional moment as Penta celebrated with his family at ringside. It was a special moment on an unforgettable night at AEW All Out.
#3 Ruby Soho debuts and wins the Casino Battle Royale at AEW All Out 2021
At AEW All Out, the company got a desperately needed debut. We are not referring to Adam Cole or Bryan Danielson. If you can have a major criticism of All Elite Wrestling, it would probably be the company's women's division. The division has some natural talent, but a lot of those wrestlers are pretty green and inexperienced. They needed a jolt to the division on Sunday night. At the AEW All Out Casino Battle Royale, that certainly changed for the better in a significant way.
The match was solid, with some solid moments for multiple wrestlers in the Women's Division. But it was the "Joker" that was the most surprising moment of the match. Ruby Soho, formerly WWE's Ruby Riott, made her much-anticipated debut to the appreciative Chicago crowd. The Battle Royale came down to two crowd favorites, Soho and Thunder Rosa. They had an excellent mini-match, with Soho taking the unexpected victory. Ruby Soho, in her AEW debut, has already accomplished more than her entire WWE run. Based on the enthusiastic reactions from her former co-workers, AEW is getting an exceptional talent that will benefit them extensively for a long time to come.
#2 CM Punk impresses at AEW All Out 2021
At AEW All Out, CM Punk's first professional wrestling match in seven years was likely the most talked-about match of the entire show. The issue with that is the pressure it placed on Punk as well at AEW. He hasn't been in the ring in so long. Will he be ready for such a high-stakes match? After Sunday night at AEW All Out, the answer is a resounding yes.
It certainly took two to make a great match, and CM Punk was lucky to be in the ring with Darby Allin. Allin has become well-known for his death-defying stunts, but that also ignores his technical skills in the ring. It is doubtful people will doubt his in-ring skills as we advance. The match started at a slow pace but quickly picked up momentum as it went along. Darby Allin had some believable near falls and took some substantial risks throughout the match. It will surprise no one that CM Punk won his return match and did it with the GTS. It was fantastic to see CM Punk, Darby Allin and Sting - three generational talents in the ring at the same time.
Both competitors also looked good after that match and the hometown favorite left the victor at AEW All Out. Let's hope we see a lot more CM Punk matches in the weeks to months to come. Pro wrestling is so much better with him in it.
#1 Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson debut at AEW All Out 2021
The main event at AEW All Out was in a tough spot. It came after the highly anticipated CM Punk return match and after nearly four hours of exciting action. It took a while for the tired Chicago crowd to warm up to the World Championship main event at AEW All Out. But they did, thanks to the excellent work by two solid in-ring workers in Omega and Christian. Twenty-one minutes later, Kenny Omega hit a One-Winged Angel from the middle turnbuckle for the victory. But it wasn’t the main event that will get the pro wrestling world talking after AEW All Out.
The Elite naturally came down for a post-match attack. Even Jurassic Express could turn the tables. Kenny Omega, always the cocky heel, said the only people who could beat him are already “dead.” Enter the “dead” Adam Cole. It was undoubtedly a shock to see him at this point in the show. Even more surprising was seeing him instantly turn heel and join The Elite.
But this incredible show wasn’t done. It was time for Bryan Danielson to make his debut, too, and clear the ring. It's tough to say if we have seen a pro wrestling segment like that in a long, long time. We had two huge debuts in the course of just a few minutes. CM Punk, Ruby Soho, Adam Cole, and Bryan Danielson have joined the company in just the last few weeks? It is a great time to be an All Elite Wrestling fan. We cannot wait to see where the company goes next.
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