AEW All Out 9/5/21 Pt. 3

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin

PAS: This was excellent, maybe one of my favorite Punk matches ever. He really leaned into what he does well, and I thought his execution in this match (which was always a bit of a weakness) was precise and excellent. I don't really think of Punk as a stiff worker, but he throws a brutal looking short clothesline, some hard punches and a great looking leg lariat, which is a Punk spot which I had always thought looked sort of crappy. Darby was of course tremendous, he has some of the best offense in the world and is an all time bumper. I loved how the sick ringpost bump led into all of Punk's abdominal stretches, and how hard Darby bumped for simple things like shoulder blocks. He is so fast, that he always seems moments away from winning, and eats offense so well that he is always moments away from losing. They cribbed an opening spot from Bret Hart vs. 1-2-3 Kid, so that is the obvious comparison, but this was a very Bret Hart performance by Punk, and Darby is an even more self destructive 1-2-3 Kid. I honestly think this is a classic match, it easily exceeded my expectations. 

ER: If this match somehow didn't exceed someone's expectations then that person may want to find a new fandom. This was going to be a difficult match to make memorable beyond "return of the guy people have been waiting to return for 7 years". The return was always going to be memorable, but that's no guarantee the match was going to be. Hometown Returning Mega Babyface vs. one of the biggest AEW babyfaces is tough to work around without one of them working heel, and I'm happy that they used Bret/Kid as a loose framework to successfully work around that. Nobody wanted to see either as the bad guy, and so instead they made the match work with some excellent focused work and execution. Punk has always famously been a John Cena bad execution wrestler, but execution is just one facet of a great worker. Here, however, his execution looked as good as any Punk match I've ever seen, and Allin's offense was on another level. Allin is one of the best "body as weapon" wrestlers today, and he was hitting Punk so hard with shoulderblocks and corner body attacks harder than ever, like he wanted every back row Chicagoan to know how hard the hometown boy was getting hit. Allin's ringpost bump was insane, and no matter how redundant it has felt to still be calling Darby bumps insane, he somehow keeps managing to top himself. I've never seen someone take that bump as a cannonball, bouncing back first off the ringpost. 

Punk immediately starts working over Darby's back and it's the most effective use of an abdominal stretch in a big match in who knows when. Excalibur smartly pointed out before the match that Punk's gas tank would be his biggest concern, so I loved how all of Darby's offense was focused on Punk's stomach and ribs. A guy with a iffy gas tank getting pounded in the abdomen makes a ton of sense. Darby was great at moving this show along, taking a mammoth bump through the ropes to the floor off the first Go2Sleep, and I loved the spot where Punk merely sat up out of the way of the first Coffin Drop. Darby made Punk's calf kick look lethal, and Punk made the Diamond Dust really look like something that could break your jaw. Both men really lit it up and the time really flew by. There was no nonsense, no unnecessary outside involvement, and that couldn't have been easy to pass up. This match had to accomplish several things, and they managed to find the best way to balance a huge star's return while having the best match possible and STILL keeping Darby strong. This was a smashing success in every way. 

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall

PAS: This was great for it's spot, I believe in a cooler match, and Wight bumping around some goofs is a great cooler. This was a Women's match spot in the WWE forever, and it is smart for AEW not to demean their women by putting them there. I liked Comoroto not dropping from the punch, that guy has potential and I would be into him and Wight going at it. 

Kenny Omega vs. Christian

PAS: Good main event, focusing on vicious Omega rather then spot guy Omega. Christian took a real shellacking in this match for an older guy, blasted in the mouth with knees, big bumps to the floor, that double stomp with a table on top of him. You get the sense his body was one giant bruise after that match. Omega kept the do-si-doing to a minimum and instead just tried to drive his knee through Christian's head. Some of his facial expressions are too Tom Green for me, but I appreciate violence. That one winged angle from the top rope is a great looking super finisher. Adam Cole debuting post match is sort of a bummer, but I am excited to see what Danielson can do in this stage of his career. 

2021 MOTY MASTER LIST