AEW All Out Chicago 2024 will emanate from the NOW Arena in the Hoffman Estates, IL—a suburb 25 miles outside of Chicago. Only a few weeks removed from the Wembley show, this Saturday feels like a continuation of that show, or the fallout from it. Interference was a theme in two of the most highly anticipated matches on that night, Danielson-Swerve, and MJF-Ospreay, and each of the two losers in that match will attempt to rectify those losses by getting revenge on the guilty party.
As for the two men victorious as title challengers in those matches, both AEW world champion Bryan Danielson and AEW International Champion Will Ospreay top a currently 8-match card.
MJF vs. Daniel Garcia
Without a title, one of the few on the card, the match cannot be seen as the main event, but the work each man has put into this program following Garcia’s return to the screen in London that felt big time. Garcia has been great in spots on the mic during his tenure in AEW, but the raw emotions expressed has allowed him to hang in with there with one of the best promo guys in all pro wrestling.
In the ‘go-home’ episode of DYNAMITE, Garcia got the ‘red light’ when he brought up a sore spot for MJF… his hair. You could hear a producer audibly giving Garcia the ‘back off’ verbal command, which Garcia acknowledged. Garcia might have gotten the best barb, a rarity in an MJF promo, but he was also left bloody and knocked out by the man who cost him against Ospreay, only to have the favor returned to him. The continuity in this one is there, and so is the talent, but it does not have that ‘big fight’ feel that typically accompanies MJF matches.
Prediction: MJF gets back into the win column… as a pilar does. But Garcia delivers enough emotion and skillset to walk away with the respect of the fans in attendance and those watching at home.
AEW World Championship Match: Bryan Danielson vs Jack Perry
The wrestling world was reeling after the Bryan Danielson victory across the pond, but this feud does not feel like the first defense anyone would have even considered a couple years ago. Today, it fits nicely into the larger feud of Black Pool Combat versus The Elite’s corporate reputation. However, it doesn’t feel like the world championship representative of a bad a** faction like BPC is getting its stiffest test in Perry. There is just a disconnect between this feud and the bigger picture.
Prediction: Danielson retains.
Steel Cage Lights Out Match: Swerve Strickland vs. Adam ‘Hangman’ Page
It does not feel like there are any other two wrestlers facing off on this card that have a bigger blood feud than Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page. This program is the product of some excellent long-term booking. They have had some previous matches, and it could be argued that without the title this program is nowhere near as interesting as it could be.
There appears to be a more strategic plan as it relates to presenting Swerve as a face, and after Hangman upped the ante by ‘burning down’ Swerve’s childhood home, the match has been upgraded to a steel cage match with ‘lights out’ rules applied. In what could be the most violent match on the card, it might not be the final chapter in this match, but if one man can put the other away, at least for the night, then the physicality of the match could send off the loser.
Prediction: Toss-up.
AEW TBS Championship Match: Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida
Mercedes Mone needs more than a meaningful win after lackluster reactions to her big PPV showdown with Dr. Britt Baker; she needs to pull off a memorable performance that leaves a lasting impression on fans. The Baker match should have been Mone’s ‘dream match’ realized, but it was instead subjected to ‘con’ side of the list for best ALL-IN matches.
As an opponent, Shida represents the most original of the AEW opponents Mone has faced thus far. In fact, Shida has the chance to become the first woman to win both the AEW women’s title and the AEW TBS title if she can defeat Mone. Many will forget just how vital Shida was to the women’s division as the first champion, but Mone is attempting to reach another stratosphere with the women’s division, and Shida is the kind of opponent that can ‘win’ even in a loss.
Prediction: Mone retains, no surprise… what will surprise me is this match being top three on the card… but it shouldn’t surprise because it’s MONE AND SHIDA!! And, despite being ‘banned,’ Kamille appears.
AEW International Championship Match: Will Ospreay vs. PAC
It is a dream match for AEW, but even that word/idea can lose some mustard when applied weekly. Still, it is difficult to fully underscore the excitement level for this match. When it comes to exposing the entire world to the best wrestling on the planet, there have been no harder-working Englishmen than Will Ospreay and Pac, who represented the best wrestling the top company in the world had to offer while the other locked down the IWC and delivering fans the most ‘bang’ for their buck.
This should be one of the best matches, and it could very well steal the show. Early on in AEW, Pac did the job often, and Will took over that role this year. Now, you have the ‘kid with the bright future’ versus the guy that has been under appreciated and overlooked nearly everywhere he’s been throughout his career. There will be flips, there will be kicks, and there will be sic… as in ‘classic.’
Prediction: Will retains.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Young Bucks vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
THANK YOU TONY! Clap, Clap, CLAP CLAP CLAP… With the quick turnaround, booking can be forgiven for not having cemented plans weeks out, but there started to be a concern the Bucks would book themselves silly. And instead, we got a last-minute banger! Claudio threw down the gauntlet, and Yuta has that look on his face—the intense look he took into his Daniel Garcia feud. This has the potential to ‘steal the show’ in that the reality of it could far outpace expectations. The match plays into the bigger narrative, too, but the Bucks may escape as champs, but, regarding the physicality of the match, certainly not the winners.
Prediction: Heart—BPC/Head—Bucks… Official Prediction: top three match on the card.
Chicago Street Fight: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander
Willow is the darling of the AEW women’s division, and before her days as a human heel, Statlander was seen in a similar light. This is both of their opportunities to elevate each other as digging deep in a match like this is rarely appreciated more than in Chicago.
Prediction: Willow wins… AND CHOOSES VIOLENCE.
AEW Continental Championship Match: Kazuchika OKADA vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD— 4-WAY
Okada will face off against the winners of three singles matches on a Friday edition of “Collision,” leading to a 4-way for the Continental title:
- Orange Cassidy vs Bryan Keith
- Lance Archer vs Mark Briscoe
- Konosuke Takeshita vs The Beast Mortos
Prediction: Takeshita and Okada give us a small taste of the best rivalry we never knew we wanted. Briscoe and Cassidy would be fun, but odds are one of them loses based on interference from Jericho or whatever faction they continue to feud. AEW will have missed a huge moment if Briscoe and Okada don’t interact with one another, and that is why Briscoe goes on to the PPV and, while he doesn’t win, is one of the match’s standouts.
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