AEW All Out: Predictions for each match on Sunday’s card

On Sunday, Sept. 5, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) will present the third annual All Out pay-per-view. Emanating from the Now Arena in Chicago, this show will be the first time the young promotion has aired a PPV outside of Jacksonville, Fla. since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Buoyed by the in-ring return of CM Punk, AEW has promoted this event as the biggest in the company’s history. While that’s certainly debatable, what isn’t is the strength of this 10-match card, which includes four championship bouts.

Given how well many of the wrestlers in these matches have been built up and protected, picking the winners will be a difficult task, but it’s one that’s worth undertaking.

Here are the predictions for each scheduled match at AEW All Out.

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy and Wheeler Yuta) and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) (w/Marko Stunt) vs. The Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Angélico, and Jack Evans)- Buy In

Even though this wasn’t originally set for the pre-show, it’s a good one to entice fans who are deliberating over ordering the show. Plus, it will give the fans in the building some high-octane action to enjoy while they get themselves situated.

As such, expect the babyfaces to get the win to set the tone for the evening, with Orange Cassidy scoring the pin over one of Matt Hardy’s henchmen to continue the ongoing OC/Hardy program.

Prediction: Best Friends and Jurassic Express beat the HFO (Orange Cassidy pins Angélico)

Women’s Casino Battle Royal- Winner gets an AEW Women’s World Title shot

It’s unfortunate that PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo couldn’t happen on this show and it’s telling that it took an unforeseen circumstance to get a second women’s match on the card, but it’s still good to see this battle royal make the main show.

Thus far, AEW has announced 20 women for this 21-woman battle royal, leaving that one spot open for a potential surprise appearance. Could it be Ruby Soho (fka Heidi Lovelace, Ruby Riott)? Could a woman from another promotion make their way through “The Forbidden Door”? Could we see a legendary cameo?

We’ll have to wait to find out, but no matter who it is, it won’t have much bearing on who wins. AEW has a deep cache of women in-house who would make for compelling AEW Women’s World Championship challengers, but who gets the W will depend on who wins the Britt Baker/Kris Statlander match and when the title shot gets cashed in.

The winner will probably get their title shot on television, so they may hold off on a bigger name like Thunder Rosa, Riho, or Hikaru Shida. Big Swole is still feuding with Diamante, so that might take her out of the running. With those obvious choices out of the way, it could open the door (not the forbidden one) for Leyla Hirsch, who has some buzz following her tremendous match against Kamille at NWA EMPOWERRR last weekend.

Prediction: Leyla Hirsch wins

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima

Since his feud with Kenny Omega and The Elite has been moved to the back burner for a bit, Jon Moxley has mostly focused on teaming with Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, and Sting; the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, and cutting great angry man promos.

Now, he’ll get to face the legendary Satoshi Kojima, who still has plenty in the tank as a worker despite being past his prime. AEW also aired some Kojima footage to put the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion over as a big deal, so don’t dismiss this one as a throwaway match.

If you’re expecting a match filled with exciting highspots, you have come to the wrong place. What you should expect, however, is to see Moxley with his hand raised at the end.

Prediction: Jon Moxley pins Satoshi Kojima

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall (w/The Factory)

Look, no disrespect to Paul Wight or QT Marshall, but this match doesn’t belong on PPV. Fans have responded well to this story at the arenas, but it would be hard to convince anyone that Marshall — who is a good hand in the ring, but not much else — should get such a prominent spot over the many other talented members of the roster.

Hopefully, this one won’t last long. Marshall should get a quick heat segment where he targets Wight’s hip, but the rest of the match should be dedicated to the big man dominating before picking up the win.

Prediction: Paul Wight pins QT Marshall

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman- if Jericho loses, he must retire

Please, let this be the end of the neverending Chris Jericho/Maxwell Jacob Friedman feud. It’s time for both, especially MJF, to move on to new things. The question is: Will Jericho’s next thing be a new feud or a permanent spot as the commentator’s desk for AEW Rampage?

While it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see MJF retire Jericho, him having three wins over Jericho likely means that the “Le Champion” will finally get that elusive win with his career on the line. An MJF loss wouldn’t damage him given how protected he’s been since the company’s inception. Plus, he can get his heat right back on the microphone the following Wednesday.

Prediction: Chris Jericho pins MJF

Miro (c) vs. Eddie Kingston- TNT Championship match

These men received just a couple of weeks to get fans excited about this title match, and they paced past that goal with the speed of a Formula 1 driver. It helps when you have a simple, captivating story to tell: Kingston plans to attack Miro’s neck, which has proven to be the TNT Champion’s only weakness thus far.

Like Moxley vs. Kojima, this will be light on flash and heavy on brawling and power moves (from Miro). With Kingston being the biggest threat to Miro’s gold (and one of the most over babyfaces in the company) look for the champ to retain, but also for Kingston to get a visual pinfall to necessitate a rematch at Arthur Ashe Stadium later in the month so Kingston can get the win in his home state.

Prediction: Miro beats Eddie Kingston via ref stoppage, retains the TNT Championship

The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) (c) (w/Brandon Cutler) vs. The Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix) (w/Alex Abrahantes)- Steel Cage match (AEW World Tag Team Championships)

Aside from Blood and Guts, AEW has only booked one steel cage match: Cody Rhodes vs. Wardlow. That match didn’t feature the shenanigans usually seen during WWE cage matches, so that’s a good sign for this one.

The cage is there to neutralize interference via The Elite, so picking a title change here is a safe bet. Plus, The Bucks have run through just about all the teams in the division, so despite how outstanding they’ve been since turning heel, it’s time for a change.

Prediction: Lucha Bros. beat The Young Bucks, win the AEW World Tag Team Championships (Penta El Zero M pins Nick Jackson)

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D (c) (w/Rebel) vs. Kris Statlander- AEW Women’s World Championship match

At some point, the cheers for Britt Baker will force a babyface turn. In the meantime, AEW has plenty of quality babyfaces for her to face, and for this show, they picked a good one in Kris Statlander.

While Baker and Statlander are still somewhat green, both have improved leaps and bounds during their time in AEW, so it will be interesting to see how they mesh on PPV. Expect the fans to be split between these two, too.

Statlander would make a great champion, and she’ll probably win the title sooner rather than later, but Baker will probably hold onto the title for a while, so look for the doctor to leave Chicago with the belt while Statlander gets protected in defeat.

Prediction: Britt Baker pins Kris Statlander, retains the AEW Women’s World Championship

Kenny Omega (c) vs. Christian Cage- AEW World Championship match

Given that this match was AEW’s Plan B after “Hangman” Adam Page took his paternity leave, the promotion deserves some credit for heating this match up quickly, helped greatly by Christian Cage beating Omega for the Impact World Title on the premiere episode of Rampage.

The added story wrinkle of Don Callis booking Cage for Cage’s first big show only to fire him not long after will probably lead to Callis getting involved screwing Cage out of the victory, as that would allow Omega to keep the belt without dinging Cage too badly. Much like the Rampage encounter, though, the match should be great.

Prediction: Kenny Omega pins Christian Cage, retains the AEW World Championship

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin

While CM Punk going to AEW became the worst kept secret, the promotion has wisely left some mystery regarding how will Punk will look in his first match. They could’ve easily given him a tune-up match on Dynamite or Rampage, but the route they ultimately chose has built even more anticipation for the big All Out match, which will likely main event the show.

Also, given that much of the story is centered around whether Punk is washed or not, it was the smart move.

Under normal circumstances, picking Allin to win here would make a lot of sense. But with this show being in Chicago and it being Punk’s first televised match since 2014…well, we all know how this is ending.

Prediction: CM Punk pins Darby Allin