All Out 2022 Predictions
Coming off of back-to-back PPVs, the giant collective dust has settled and we are about two months away from All Out. The show’s marquee matches seem to be taking shape, with numerous champions already making follow-up post-Forbidden Door, and being established strongly for the biggest possible matches ahead. Here are some matches that AEW has reasonably teased for the upcoming PPV, mixed in with a healthy dose of speculation.
Jon Moxley (c) v CM Punk (c) (AEW World Championship unification)
The title unification match between World Champion CM Punk and interim World Champion Jon Moxley seems inevitable, and likely to main event All Out, AEW’s staple Chicago pay-per-view. Keyword being “seems,” because Punk hadn’t even spent a week as champion when he suffered an injury in the beginning of June that would require surgery. You can never be sure with injuries, but with Punk walking to the ring with no visible limp or assistance to announce his need for time off, maybe a 3-month recovery period is not entirely out of the question (any longer and you would think this interim title scenario would just be pointless, but alas).
In the interim, Moxley has stepped up to take on the mantle of AEW’s top champion, taking down names like Hiroshi Tanahashi, Brody King, and Konosuke Takeshita to secure his status as—in William Regal’s words—“the World Champion.” No buts, no qualifiers. This dynamic will prove to be interesting: will the majority of fans still accept a returning CM Punk as champion? More significantly, will a returning CM Punk have healed enough to endure Jon Moxley? Either way, expect this returning CM Punk to have new tricks up his sleeve.
(Note: This match seems like fishy, prime bait for MJF to return, with his disdain for both men and where they came from, not to mention the PPV main event slot they will have occupied.)
Swerve In Our Glory (c) v Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW World Tag Championship)
For those who have speculated on and salivated over the thought of the Young Bucks and FTR main eventing All Out for the World Tag Team Championship, you (we) are going to have to wait for the world to explode. Thanks to a little swerve in a three-way tag team title defense at Dynamite: Fyter Fest, the Young Bucks lost their championships (in their first defense) to the team seemingly held together by a thread, Swerve In Our Glory. Despite friction in backstage promos and battle royals, Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland have had a great win-loss record together; still, this friction and unsustainable “we-haven’t-lost-yet” stance has cast a shadow over the team’s success so far.
On the other hand, the team of Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs (the third team in the Fyter Fest defense) have been favorites to win tag team gold since the lead-up to Double or Nothing in May, with fans getting behind their dominant tag and singles wins, as well as the dynamic of a proper, workhorse team like Team Taz. It’s this sheer momentum that they have that may likely lead to another short reign for the tag belts, as Lee and Strickland may not mentally be able to withstand the onslaught of Team Taz.
Jade Cargill (c) v Kris Statlander (TBS Championship)
TBS Champion Jade Cargill has been ducking major names for too long. Her 35-0 streak may comprise of names like Thunder Rosa, Nyla Rose, and Ruby Soho, but most of the names she has defended her belt against recently are either unsigned or not regularly featured on TV at the time. Of course, while the level of opponents makes sense given that Cargill has been wrestling for only about 3 years, a title match against a top name seems set to take place sooner rather than later.
No other name seems more poised for the role of Cargill’s first big name defense as Kris Statlander. Since partaking in the Owen Hart Tournament, Statlander has conveyed that she no longer wishes to be everyone’s bubbly best friend, instead more focused on herself and her victories now than before. She has displayed this focus across a string of dominant singles and trios wins on Dark, as well as a standout match against Red Velvet on Rampage; all this as Cargill and The Baddies (Velvet and Kiera Hogan) torment the likes of Statlander, Athena, Willow Nightingale, and Anna Jay. Statlander may not have had a singles match with someone with a dominant streak like the champion’s, but Cargill has literally never had a singles match with someone like Kris Statlander. Neither woman may be the underdog, but advantage definitely lies with the challenger.
Christian Cage v Jungle Boy
Despite the involvement of a brainwashed Luchasaurus, the natural conclusion for the Christian Cage/Jungle Boy rivalry is a one-on-one match between the two. In 1 segment of television, Cage decided to become the most evil man in all of AEW, in a verbal undressing of Jungle Boy and his family. He “explained” why he decided to take a steel chair to his former mentee’s head, and dared anyone else on the roster to have matches that are remembered for years like he does.
All the while as Cage’s stock continues to skyrocket from seemingly out of nowhere, and Jungle Boy’s ex-tag partner Luchasaurus is being rebuilt as an unlovable monster, Jungle Boy recovers from home without a word. Again, without a clear timeline and details on the injury, this match will be penciled in on the virtue of being a possibility, with the results clearly favoring Cage.
Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli v Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara (Tornado Tag)
This singles rivalry has been going on since February. Pieces of this faction rivalry have been going on since December of 2021. Maybe we should have expected this going in (it is a Chris Jericho rivalry after all), but despite the terrific Revolution opener and the “Barbed Wire Everywhere” match 5 months later, the Eddie Kingston/Chris Jericho rivalry does not feel conclusively done, and will likely end at All Out. Across different stipulations and team members involved, Kingston has indicated that he wanted to put Jericho “in the ground,” and to “taste the blood of a coward.” But perhaps what he really wants is much simpler. In the lead-up to Revolution, Jericho promised he would shake Kingston’s hand if Kingston beat him. That night, Kingston went so far as to make Jericho tap out, but the handshake never came. If this rivalry began because of a handshake, then it should probably end with a handshake.
But with so many other characters already dragged into the mix (and to have clearer paths to get them onto the All Out card), this story may not have to be settled one-on-one, not when Jericho already lost so decisively in a singles match, and the two have already had numerous No DQ fights together. Kingston may have to team up with Claudio Castagnoli (with Blackpool Combat Club’s Bryan Danielson still inactive with injury) to take on Jericho and Sammy Guevara, with the former team decimating the latter, and Jericho finally extending the handshake to his rival to once-and-for-all put an end to this feud.
(Then, Castagnoli extends a hand to Kingston…)
Others:
Andrade El Idolo and Rush v Lucha Brothers
This has been a tag match in the making since Rush debuted in AEW in June costing Rey Fenix a win against Andrade El Idolo. Even going years back to Andrade’s debut, his first targets in the company were the Lucha Brothers. Now, with a proper tag team partner, this rivalry can reach its full potential. We’re likely to get various singles matches leading up to the straight-up tag match, and with Andrade and the Lucha Brother getting bumped off of Forbidden Door for reasons outside their doing, this encounter may be saved for All Out.
House of Black v Sting, Darby Allin, and *Adam Page or Wardlow
After Brody King’s nasty elimination of Darby Allin from the Royal Rampage battle royal, and the former’s failed attempt at capturing the interim World Championship, Sting and Allin went to congratulate King on his great effort, which King refused. A trios match between the House of Black and the Sting/Allin camp is likely to take place on a stage fit for “The Icon,” but who joins the latter tandem is still unclear. The two most probable options are, (1) “Hangman” Adam Page, whose association with Dark Order put him on HOB’s radar on the July 13 episode of Dynamite; and (2) Wardlow, with the TNT Championship being the link to the tandem, and the TNT Championship not being defended on pay-per-views anyway, with the last occurrence of it during Miro’s reign at All Out 2021 (If the TNT title does get defended, Wardlow v Miro might be his match.)
Thunder Rosa (c) v Hikaru Shida (AEW Women’s World Championship)
With many top names busy working their way back up, Hikaru Shida finally reclaims her status as the women’s division’s top attraction, outside of the champions. No other challengers seem poised to take down World Champion Thunder Rosa, who has seemingly cleaned up the top of the division beating names like Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, and Serena Deeb. But with a loss to the “Ace of TJPW” Miyu Yamashita on Dark, perhaps the cracks have already shown in Rosa’s reign, setting in motion a second reign for the cornerstone of the pandemic, and the longest-reigning champion in all of AEW, Shida.
Pac (c) v Konosuke Takeshita (All-Atlantic Championship)
With the new All-Atlantic Championship appearing to be like the promotion’s traveling title, there may be no better PPV challenger to Pac’s title than Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita has had a string of great performances on television against the likes of Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and Adam Page, with more and more people becoming believers in the “Ace of DDT.” Pac and Takeshita appear to be equals in terms of overall athleticism and agility, which should steal the show if it does end up happening.
