AEW All Out featured a number of surprises that caught the wrestling world by surprise and is keeping them talking. Here’s a look back to rank those surprises at the end of the night.
The 2021 edition of AEW All Out is receiving rave reviews around the wrestling world. The show wasn’t only packed with an atmosphere like no other and fantastic wrestling matches, but also a few really fun and shocking surprises.
Ruby Soho, Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson, and Minoru Suzuki all made their presence known at the NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois for the show. All of these surprises were fantastic and don’t need to be compared to one another, but for the sake of fun, we’re gonna do it.
Here is my personal ranking for the four All Out Surprises.
4. Minoru Suzuki
I’m pretty convinced that the forbidden door simply doesn’t exist anymore. Minoru Suzuki was one of the first few people that I got into the outside of my WWE bubble and honestly, who doesn’t love Suzuki? He’s just an angry old man who loves to beat people up.
It was hard ranking these because all of them were phenomenal, but my reasoning for putting it last is only because we’ve seen Mox/Suzuki before. I can’t express how excited I am to see the match again, this time in an AEW ring, but if I had to choose one to rank last – this would be it.
I heard a few people in the crowd singing along to “Kaze Ni Nare”, which was really cool to hear. Suzuki isn’t only in the US to fight Moxley again though, as he has a murderer’s row of opponents lined up for him including Jonathan Gresham, Davey Richards, Daniel Garcia, and more.
3. Ruby Soho
I’ll just let famous punk rock band Rancid take this one for me.
Ruby Soho was severely misused in WWE, point blank period. There’s a ton of fresh, new matchups that await her in All Elite Wrestling, and right off the bat, she’s feuding with AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker, which is a great choice.
Soho is a 10-year veteran and I believe she will play an integral part in shaping the rough edges of the AEW Women’s Division. Although she was heavily rumored to be debuting in the casino battle royale, it was still a heartwarming moment and she got a fantastic reaction.
I’m really excited to see what is in store for “The Runaway” next.
2. Bryan Danielson
When Kenny Omega kept talking after Adam Cole came out and did his thing, I had a feeling things weren’t done just yet. Although Danielson’s impending debut had also been heavily rumored, this was still such a shock to see. This guy main evented Wrestlemania only five months ago, which is just asinine when you put it in perspective.
I feel like a broken record but Bryan is going to benefit the company in at least five categories. He’s arguably one of the greatest American wrestlers to ever live and have I mentioned he only main evented Wrestlemania five months ago? Bryan got the loudest reaction out of the four surprises and it’s truly a defining moment that you’ll look back on in ten years as a tide-shifter for the company.
1. Adam Cole
The tide-shifting moment wasn’t only due to Bryan Danielson’s debut, but also Adam Cole’s debut that came only moments before Danielson’s. Cole was a heavy topic headed into All-Out but amid rumors that he was a 50/50 chance of staying with WWE, there wasn’t any solid confirmation that he’d be at the show.
I love the wordplay Kenny used in his promo after his match with Christian Cage and when he said one of the few people that could beat him was dead, my heart sank and I knew he was coming.
Everything about this debut was done to perfection. From the facial expressions of disbelief from The Elite to the great superkick that Cole planted Jungleboy with, everything was just excellent. Cole is going to play a really strong part in the Elite’s downfall and it’s gonna lead to some really good story advancement.
Side note, Cole’s new theme was really good as well.
Overall, All Out produced some of the most memorable moments, matches in wrestling history. It’ll go down as one of the best – if not the best – AEW pay-per-view of all time, and possibly even one of the best wrestling shows ever. The company has brought in some major players over the past number of weeks and the direction that AEW is headed seems to be a bright one.