Chris Jericho Wins AEW Championship

AEW held its All Out pay-per-view on Saturday night from the Sears Center outside of Chicago, Ill. The main matches on the show featured Pac defeating Kenny Omega, the Luchs Brothers beating the Young Bucks and Chris Jericho beating Hangman Adam Page to become the first-ever AEW World Champion.

Here are full results from Saturday’s show:

(1) SO-CAL UNCENSORED def. JURASSIC EXPRESS

The announce team did a nice job of pumping this as a big win for SCU, and I liked how they openly talked about how neither team had a win yet in AEW and this was a big match for both sides. The announcers also played up that it was SCU’s experience, both in terms of overall years in the ring and as a team, that helped them get the win in the match. Jurassic Express stayed strong, with Ross saying that the team will see better days and Excalibur noting that it will be fun to watch that group mature as a team.

That’s how you can put both sides over in a wrestling match. It’s not that difficult and it doesn’t require 50/50 booking.

(2) PAC def. KENNY OMEGA

I really like the booking behind the finish to this match. The story is an easy one to tell. Omega was preparing for Jon Moxley, and then had a new opponent. That put him at a disadvantage. The match itself was very good, so now you have the ability to go back to Pac vs. Omega, only this time Omega can claim that he’ll be fully prepared knowing which opponent he’ll be facing.

Omega’s “losing streak” in AEW, or whatever you want to call it, will make his ultimate road to the championship even better. I still believe we’ll see Jericho win the title later tonight and then Omega begins his reclamation once the company hits TNT. That way Omega is “created” as a star to the American fans who are unfamiliar with him. Those fans will get to follow Omega’s journey back to the top of the company.

It makes a lot of sense.

(3) JIMMY HAVOC def. DARBY ALLIN & JOEY JANELA – No Disqualification

Well, that was crazy.

I feel like a broken record, but if you like this type of match, then you probably loved this. If you dislike matches that don’t tell a story, then you probably hated this match.

There were some interesting spots — like tacks in Havoc’s mouth — and you can’t question the work ethic of all three guys, but there was definitely something was missing. Matches that use a lot of weaponry and blood can be great, if there’s a storyline behind the match that makes the weapons and blood necessary. If that doesn’t exist, then the match is a bunch of dangerous spots for the sake of dangerous spots. This match definitely was the latter.

Again, the guys all worked really hard and I wouldn’t want to take the bumps they took in the match. I just think it would have been more worth it had there been a reason for all of the tacks, staples and Cracker Barrels.

(4) THE DARK ORDER def. BEST FRIENDS

I’m sorry, but I can’t get into the Dark Order. I just can’t. Honestly, I have a hard time getting into the Best Friends. A lot about both teams is just goofy.

Sean Radican (@sr_torch) just pointed out on Twitter — and I couldn’t agree more — that the way AEW is handling its title situations is all over the place. Why was this match for a first-round bye? Why is no one else getting a match for a first-round bye? Has there been an explanation I missed? Why is one Women’s Champion contender crowned in a battle royal and the other in a one-on-one match? Can anyone explain this to me?

I feel like we can give AEW some leeway here, because they haven’t had weekly television to tell their stories, but they could still do a better job of filling us all in on what the methodology is.

(5) RIHO defeated HAKURA SHIDA

Good match, but the crowd seemed like it was lacking energy (at least that’s how it came across on the broadcast). Again, it feels like there is no reason as to why this match determined a No. 1 contender.

That being said, the post-match interaction, with Nyla Rose coming out on the stage and then the camera panning to the title belt inside of the glass case, was a cool production element. The announcers were also a little over the top (particularly Ross), complaining that the referee wasn’t breaking holds up against the ropes, but I thought it worked.

(6) CODY def. SHAWN SPEARS

A few random observations from this match …

1. Cody is a star. He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand on his entrance and throughout the match.
2. I know they couldn’t have seen it coming, but stop using the poor dog as a prop. Pharaoh was terrified after all that pyro. He was legit trying to run back into the tunnel and they just kept shoving him out to the stage, with his tail between his legs. That poor dog has no idea that there’s a show going on. If you want to use him in pre-produced videos, then fine. But as someone who has a real soft spot for dogs, it bothered me watching that poor dog shaking and terrified and then being shoved out onto the ramp.
3. Spears did a great job as a heel. I don’t think he has the WWE stink on him at all. He’s not using the same name, and his look is different enough that he feels like a new and fresh character. He’s not a different version of Tye Dillinger in AEW. He’s a completely different character.
4. The Earl Hebner spot, where he got into Spears’ face, shouldn’t have been in this match. There was too much heat between Spears and Cody to work in some goofy referee comedy like that.
5. The Arn Anderson spot was really cool, and the crowd exploded for that moment.
6. Everyone — and I mean everyone — on Twitter expected MJF to turn on Cody during the match. I was glad he didn’t, because if he did, you would have to question why everyone saw it coming, and Cody didn’t.
7. Last, but not least, Cody has the best entrance music in wrestling.

(7) THE LUCHA BROS. def. THE YOUNG BUCKS in a ladder match to retain the AAA Tag Team Championship

This match was absolutely insane. As in, the competitors were absolutely insane with some of those spots they ran.

I wasn’t sure the Luchs Bros and Young Bucks could take this match to the next level, because their prior matches were all very good, but this delivered if you expected a lot of high-flying, dangerous spots.

I’ll say this … while a lot of the high-risk spots (especially in the last 10 minutes of the match) could have made some feel uncomfortable, at least there was a story in the buildup of the match to justify all four men putting their bodies so much on the line.

Santana and Ortiz debuting in the post-match attack was well played out. They’re going to do great things in AEW and it’s a huge get for the company, with WWE also rumored to be interested in them. AEW has the best tag-team division in wrestling, and it just got stronger.

(8) CHRIS JERICHO def. ADAM PAGE to win the AEW World Championship

This makes a lot of sense.

Now, Kenny Omega’s redemption story will come up against Jericho as champion. Jericho gives AEW a familiar face to brand its show around when it debuts on TNT.

Let’s face it. A lot of fans AEW is going to try to attract have no idea who Kenny Omega is, and they definitely don’t know Adam Page. Jericho can help bridge the lapsed audience to AEW, and then once they’re there, AEW can begin to educate their new audience on how great Omega and Page are. That’s smart.

I know Jericho’s gimmick is that AEW needs to thank him … but in a way, he’s kind of right.