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AEW All Out is in the history books and was the company's greatest, and arguably, the best pay-per-view of the year across any promotion.
All the matches served a purpose, Lucha Brothers and the Young Bucks had an all-time great steel cage match and, well, there were four debuts on the show, two absolutely huge ones: Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole.
CM Punk made his in-ring return with an excellent match against Darby Allin but the biggest return of the night saw Paul Wight fka the Big Show take on QT Marshall...well not really.
Despite doing most things right and giving fans a lot of moments to cherish, there were a few things that could have been different or done better.
Let's look at the four mistakes AEW made at All Out 2021.
#4. AEW's women's roster was not adequately represented at All Out
The booking of the women's division has plagued AEW programming since the company began and it was apparent once again at All Out. There were two matches involving women, and both revolved around the AEW Women's Championship.
AEW needs to start booking non-title feuds with the kind of talented women they have. In recent weeks we have seen the likes of Tay Conti and Anna Jay have heat with the Bunny and Penelope Ford. Diamante and Big Swole have their differences but we need to see more of them and more women to be involved.
Prior to the Casino Battle Royale, we could've seen a standalone match between any of the stars involved in non-title feuds. Hopefully, the inclusion of Ruby Soho will provide a boost to the women's division and things will change in AEW as the women have shown they are capable of putting on bangers.
#3. AEW booked themselves into a corner with the Chris Jericho-MJF stipulation
Chris Jericho's in-ring career with AEW was on the line as he went into his match against MJF. The Demo God had previously lost two singles matches to MJF and could ill-afford a third. The Salt of the Earth only accepted the match because of the prospect of retiring Jericho.
As it turned out, AEW booked itself into a corner with the stipulation. The company clearly sees a path for Le Champion in the future, meaning MJF had to take a loss there. MJF has now built enough credibility to take one loss to a star the size of Chris Jericho.
But did he really need to lose? Instead of the fifth labor taking place on Dynamite, the match could've been kept for All Out. MJF could've gotten a big win on pay-per-view and put an emphatic end to the feud once and for all.
#2. Paul Wight vs QT Marshall did not need to happen at AEW All Out
Paul Wight, fka The Big Show, is a legend of the industry and has done a great job on AEW Dark: Elevation. His in-ring return was a feel-good story but it should have been kept for AEW Dynamite or Rampage.
QT Marshall vs. Paul Wight was sandwiched between the main event and CM Punk vs. Darby Allin so it was clearly intended to be a cooldown match. The World's Largest Athlete's return was better suited for one of AEW's weekly shows.
Considering the fact that the likes of Brian Cage, Malakai Black, Ricky Starks, Scorpio Sky and Lance Archer didn't have a match at All Out, we could've seen a better match instead of what we got.
#1. Interference in the AEW World Championship match...again
Interference in any matches involving the Elite members has become commonplace. While it works and adds to the story sometimes, AEW needs to hold back on interference in every match. Kenny Omega is the World Champion and he's a damn good professional wrestler, he can and should win most matches without help or distractions.
During the All Out main event for the AEW World Championship, Don Callis once again made a nuisance at ringside, providing crucial distractions at important junctures during the match to hand the Best Bout Machine an advantage against Christian Cage.
It worked as the Belt Collector put away the former WWE World Heavyweight champion with an Avalanche One-Winged Angel. Another win, another successful title defense, another asterisk. The asterisk being another win which wasn't 100% clean.
With the likes of Mike Nakazawa, Brandon Cutler, the Good Brothers, the Young Bucks and Don Callis to call upon for help, it almost feels inevitable that a Kenny Omega match will see outside involvement. If done sparingly, it adds a new subplot to the match story. AEW probably goes a little overboard, and at All Out, Kenny Omega should have won clean.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
