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The AEW ALL OUT 2023 TIP SHEET

AEW will present All Out 2023 tonight in Chicago at the United Center.  After another tumultuous week, here is our take on what should go down!

Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks - Strap Match.

Dave: Well, due to Tony Khan being scared for his life, CM Punk is out and Bryan is in.  It doesn't make much logical sense, but either does a lot of Tony's booking.  I hope Bryan isn't coming back too soon and to bring him back in a strap match?  What could possibly go wrong.  On the one hand, you don't bring Bryan back to lose.  On the other hand, Starks should get the win.  So the right way to book this?  Not have the match in the first place!  I would have Starks win.  If I was Bryan, I would sneak up behind Tony and yell BOO!  Maybe he will send me home for putting his life in danger. 

Mike:  Well, they made their decision and CM Punk is gone.  So, Bryan Danielson is brought back (early?) for a strap match.  I think they would have been fine without adding this to the show, but that’s me.  The question now is do you keep pushing Starks and have him beat the guy who just beat Okada?  I guess you do.  Time to build him.  The usual mindset is you have the guy subbing win.  I say you go the other direction here.

Cory: As much as they want to make Ricky Starks a huge heel, Bryan Danielson coming back the way he did makes him a massive babyface, and you can't have a massive babyface lose on their return match. Sorry, Ricky, but you get to take a psycho knee and tap out tonight.

ROH Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF vs. The Dark Order

Dave: Now we get into the FIFTY BUCKS FOR THIS part of the evening.  When Tony announced he was doing PPVs back to back weeks, I wondered how he would build the Chicago show.  The answer?  Just don't bother!  This match is indicative of that (and why good seats still remain for the show).  Tony will probably overbook it and have The Dark Order win, which will be music to the ears of no one.

Mike: I expect new Tag Team Champions after Roderick Strong and The Kingdom  get involved.

Cory: They are looking to rebuild the Dark Order, but it is far too early to have a story where Cole and MJF lose the titles.  They should retain as we figure out what they are going to do from here.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley.

Dave: I would rather stick a screwdriver in my own head than watch this.  Mox will gore himself and probably Cassidy too, to see if his blood is orange.  I couldn't care less about this match because what Mox has become is unwatchable to me.  Let Cassidy retain.

Mike: I think Orange Cassidy’s entire deal is that he’s their most versatile competitor.  I think he beats Moxley here in the main event but not before getting the living crap beat out of him.

Cory: After Cassidy’s “Rah Rah” speech on Dynamite, he is the mascot for the AEW and needs to win over Moxley to keep his story moving.  Cassidy is hitting the point where him losing the title will be a HUGE moment.

ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor.

Dave:  WHO?  Come on man, I like Taylor and all but most fans don't know much about him and this came out of nowhere.  Joe just lost a match to Punk where I guess Tony was so scared for his life he didn't make the smart decision to change the finish and have Joe go over, so he had better win here.

Mike: This could be the sleeper match of the show, just two big tough SOBs beating each other around the ring.  Taylor should get a very much needed spotlight here, but I don’t see Samoa Joe losing at all anytime going forward.

Cory: Shane Taylor is great, but there has been absolutely no build for this.  Taylor should have a good showing so that people take him seriously if he is going to stick around, but Joe retains.

AEW TNT Champion Luchasaurus vs. Darby Allin.

Dave: I love Darby and all but no part of me believes a guy his size can beat a guy of Luchasaurus' size with Christian at ringside.  So in Tony's world, NEW CHAMPION!

Mike: Darby is apparently really banged up coming out of London, so my guess is he will take another beating here.  Luchasaurus retains but Sting makes the save and they set that up for down the line.

Cory: While I love Christian Cage’s gimmick with carrying the title for Luchasaurus, there is nothing on this show that will give fans a big Feel Good moment other than Darby winning the title.

AEW TBS Champion Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho.

Dave: Ruby has lost her oomph.   Statlander retains.

Mike: On paper, if they are given time, this could be really good.  I don’t see the title changing here.

Cory: I love Ruby, but she was always the one who took the losses for The Outcasts, so having her win the title here makes no sense.  Statlander retains.

Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita.

Dave: For the second day in a row, Kenny gets a win (as long as he doesn't scare Tony Khan before the match).

Mike: My gut here is that Takeshita gets the Omega experience and Kenny has the win, but Don Callis interferes and causes yet another loss.  The big moment they should be building to is Omega beating the living piss out of Callis.

Cory: Kenny lost at All In, so he needs to win here. Takeshita is good, but they have used him to take the fall in multi-man matches, so unless Don Callis has something up his sleeve, Kenny gets his win back.

Bullet Club Gold vs. AEW Tag Team Champions FTR & The Young Bucks.

Dave: Man, this is so ridiculously rushed.  That should lead to issues with the makeshift team and Bullet Club wins.

Mike: I feel like this was rushed coming out of the FTR-Bucks moment at All In, but the most logical thing would be to have Bullet Club on the run but an errant superkick or something leads to FTR getting pinned, so they have heat with both other teams.

Cory: Jay White shows at All IN that he is ready to be a huge star. Bullet Club Gold should capitalize on the issues between FTR and the Bucks to get a win and further push Jay White up the card.

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston & ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata vs. ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta.

Dave: Tony will probably have Yuta pin both guys.  He sees something in Wheeler that isn't there yet.

Mike: This can and should be fun on paper, built around Claudio and Eddie trying to kill each other.  I feel like Yuta is here to beat Shibata.

Cory: Eddie vs Claudio is the best feud they have going, and they are building to a big solo match between the two.  To keep that build going, Eddie’s team needs to lose via Yuta and Claudio cheating.

Powerhouse Hobbs versus Miro.

Dave: This is legitimately the only thing on the show that I want to see.  Two believable big guys pounding each other.  I have Hobbs go over.  He should be getting the big push.

Mike: In matches like this, I always look for the upside in the younger star.  To me, Miro should be putting over Hobbs.

Cory: This is a designated Hoss fight, and as much as I see a lot in Hobbs,Miro hasn’t been back long and needs to obliterate him.

 

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