Presenting a night filled with violence, surprises and star-making performances, AEW All Out 2025 once again presented itself as the alternative mainstream promotion with its latest iteration of the landmark pay-per-view.
Returning for the 7th time, All Out took a break from its traditional location of Chicago to instead air live from Toronto, Canada. With a packed crowd in the Scotiabank Arena, the card was loaded up ahead of time with 11 bouts advertised, 3 of which with weapons being encouraged.
Following a backstage skit involving Cope and Christian Cage, the 2 Canadian veterans received a hero’s welcome as they officially kicked off the show against FTR. Although the veterans had the match won, the interference of Stokely Hathaway played a factor and kept the match alive for the heels. That was until unknown music played and Beth Copeland [FKA Beth Phoenix in WWE] made her surprise debut to neutralise FTR’s manager. Had Cope hit a spear and won the match here, then this would have been the perfect finish. However, the match then outstayed its welcome as Cope was hit with the ring bell and multiple big moves before kicking out at 2. Cope hit another spear to win the match before FTR began the post match beatdown, which brought Beth back out. FTR ten hit a spike piledriver onto Beth that would have been more devastating had Cope not been hit with the move repeatedly earlier in the match and kicked out. That being said, the surprise was a fun one and will likely lead to the Hall of Famer tagging with her husband one last time on the retirement tour.
Next came one of the most anticipated matches of the night as Eddie Kingston made his return to action after more than a year away in a match against Big Bill. Although this was a fun reminder of what Kingston is all about, the finish came suddenly and was flat as the returning AEW star blatantly missed his finishing strike, but Big Bill still sold it for the 3 count. Truthfully, it will be more interesting to see where Kingston goes from here.
The violence jumped up greatly next as MJF and Mark Briscoe looked to settle things in a tables and tacks match. This was as expected, a lot of fun with semi-comedic spots of MJF avoiding going into the tacks before finally receiving his comeuppance. In the end, Briscoe emerged the victor after hitting the Jay Driller in tribute to his late brother and may have won the rivalry as MJF may return to the World Title picture. While some may say that this type of match in beneath MJF, it once again shows that the former World Champion has range when it comes to wrestling and can be a part of the more light hearted side along with the super serious angles.
Once the carnage had been cleared, Ricochet and Gates of Agony, now known as The Demand, took on The Hurt Syndicate following their angle back at Forbidden Door that caused Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin to lose their Tag Team Championships. Ricochet was great at taking the power offence from Lashley and Benjamin in the match and it was great to see MVP in action once more. In what was a logical finish, MVP was the one isolated, allowing Ricochet to take advantage and pick up the win.
Mercedes Mone defended the TBS Championship against Riho next in a match that had the same problem as the main event, no one believed there would be a title change. Although the match was fine and had a few fun spots, this felt more like filler than a big match on one of the biggest shows of the year.
The pace picked up substantially in what was the match of the night as Kazuchika Oakda defended the Unified Championship against Konosuke Takeshita and Mascara Dorarda. Filled with high spots and a showcase for Mascara Dorada, Okada sneaked out the win with The Rainmaker on Dorada. However, the bigger news story was the inevitable match between Okada and Takeshita, which may be a match of the year contender.
The second of 3 stipulation matches was up next as Jon Moxley faced Darby Allin in a coffin match. For those who like blood and wince-inducing spots, they got it here as Mox bled heavily from the ear and Allin took multiple bumps that could have shattered his spine. Ultimately, it was the return of PAC and interference from The Deathriders that sealed the deal for Moxley. However, Allin got the last laugh later in the night as he set Mox on fire.
While most matches were predictable, the Women’s Title match was definitely a surprise. Of the 4 competitors involved, Toni Storm, Thekla, Jamie Hayter and Kris Statlander, it was Statlander who looked least likely to emerge the victor. However, following a seatbelt pinning combination, the former TBS Champion captured the top women’s prize in AEW in what the Toronto fans chanted was a well-deserved win.
The four-way ladder match followed the formula most now expect from the stipulation in AEW with high spots from the get-go and The Young Bucks being heavily featured, which will divide opinions. When all the carnage had subsided, it was Bandido who grabbed down the titles for him and Brody King to retain the titles, but the biggest story was what came next. Following the return of Jack Perry, who received a babyface reaction after at one point being the most hated man in wrestling, Luchasaurua also made his return to reunite Jurassic Express. With the Toronto crowd bursting into a rendition of “Tarzan Boy”, it appears that all is forgiven when it comes to Perry.
Then it was time for the main event as Adam Page defended the World Championship against TNT Kyle Fletcher, who would be stripped of the title of any of The Don Callis Family interfered. With this in mind, it was pretty much a lock that Page would retain the gold. However, that was not the point of this match. Much like Page a few years ago, this match was to show the fans that Fletcher will be a World Champion very soon, and this will be the match fans will look to when it comes to the start of his rise. Page sent the fans home happy to bring the show to a close. While there was no shock ending, the show did end on the right note when in the past many AEW pay-per-views have fell flat.
AEW All Out Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, AEW All Out was a fun show with more highs than lows and enough great matches and moments to make it worth purchasing. Granted the show didn’t need this many matches; some could have played out on the September to Remember special, and the Eddie Kingston match had an unfortunate ending, but the in-ring quality of the big bouts made up for it on top of the surprise appearances.
Graned this was not the best AEW PPV of the year and not the best iteration of All Out, but many had the overall consensus that this was the best show that took place on September 20. But above all else, All Out proved that when it comes to wrestling, there really is an alternative out there.
Featured image: AEW
