AEW All Out 2025

AEW All Out 2025

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - September 2025

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, "Hangman" Adam Page was the AEW Men's World Champion, Toni Storm was the AEW Women's World Champion, the TBS Champion was Mercedes Mone, the TNT Champion was Kyle Fletcher, the AEW World Tag Team Champions were Brodido (Brody King and Bandido), the AEW Trios Champions were Shibata, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Samoa Joe, and the AEW Unified Champion was Kazuchika Okada.

AEW All Out 2025 began with a very crowd-pleasing video of Adam "Cope" Copeland and Christian Cage walking backstage and running into hockey legend Wendell Clarke and Trailer Park Boys' character Bubbles, two Toronto favorites. It was fun stuff. Their opponents in the opening contest were FTR, the team who had put Copeland on the shelf for several months. Christian and Dax started things off with Christian hitting some big offense before tagging in Edge. Cash came in and tried to slow things down to take the crowd out of it but got taken down by a Lou Thesz Press and in came Christian to deliver a double-team move, the former Edge and Christian showing off why there were once among the best teams in the business. Wheeler and Dax re-took the advantage, though, as the crowd sang and sang. Cutting the ring in half, Christian played face-in-peril as FTR maintained control until Christian caught a lucky break and got his feet up on an attempted Vader Bomb by Wheeler. Edge came in and took out both members of FTR but took some time getting up. In a ridiculous and crowd-pleasing moment, Edge hit a big back drop in the center of the ring and then a Five Knuckle Shuffle and Attitude Adjustment for 2 (with commentary going silent and letting the moves and audience do the talking). It was a fun nod to the well-known Edge/Cena TLC match from Toronto 19 or so years earlier. Edge and Copeland looked like they were in control but Stokely got involved and drew their attention on the floor. Edge and Christian looked like they were going to pay homage to the Hardy's but got hit by the Power & Glory combo by FTR instead. They went for the Shatter Machine by Christian came in for the save with a spear and then Edge hit a big reverse DDT for 1...2...Stokely pulled the ref out! Stokely was then taken out by Beth Copeland! Edge hit a spear in the ring but only got 2! Beth carried Stokely down the aisle, neutralizing him. Wheeler attempted to nail Cope with the bell, leaving Dax alone in the center of the ring with Cope and Christian. They attempted a spike piledriver but Wheeler grabbed Christian and powerbombed him into the announce table! Dax hit Cope with the ring bell! Spike piledriver for 1...2...somehow Cope kicked out! I'm not sure that shouldn't have been the finish, even with this being in Toronto. Edge was left alone and FTR attempted a Shatter Machine but Edge hit a pair of Impalers! Christian was still selling on the outside as Edge looked to finish Wheeler off with a spear. But he ran into a Shatter Machine instead for 1...2...and, again, Edge kicked out! Then they hit another, but instead of going for the cover, FTR continued their attack. This opened things up to allow Christian to hit Wheeler with an uppercut and grab hold of Dax to leave Wheeler susceptible to a huge spear for the win. This was really, really good and a great way to start the match, though, I'm not sure we needed Edge kicking out of multiple finishers or the post-match moment of Mother Wayne and Nick Wayne distracting the babyfaces so that the heels could beat down on Christian, spike piledriving him while Edge was handcuffed in the corner. This led to Beth Copeland trying to fight off FTR but getting spike piledriven as well. If the goal here was to put a ton of heat on the heels, it was certainly effective, but why not let FTR get the win too? Booking decisions aside, this was great. (3.5/5)

Eddie Kingston made his AEW return to take on Big Bill (accompanied to the ring by Bryan Keith). This match had some TV build as Big Bill challenged Kingston because he was angry that Kingston was considered the tougher "New Yawker." I think most fans really wanted Kingston to come back on a bigger stage with a more meaningful story, but this wasn't a bad way to kick the tires. Unfortunately, the chemistry just wasn't there between these two. Big Bill has improved since his early days in the WWE, but is still a better tag guy than he is in singles and the departure of Chris Jericho, a blessing in some ways because of how stale and overexposed Jericho became, did Bill and Keith no favors at all because they were left rudderless. The finish of this - Kingston hitting his Awesome Kong-inspired backhand but clearly missing (as Tony Schiavone noted on commentary) - is what will be remembered most, which is a shame because while this wasn't a great match, the crowd was into Kingston and it wasn't terrible as a whole. The post-match, which saw HOOK make his return, was another poorly-executed decision that felt completely shoehorned-in for no reason aside from Kingston and HOOK being from the same city. HOOK's return, like Kingston's, deserved better than something you'd expect on an episode of Collision. (1.5/5)

Fortunately, things picked back up considerably with MJF and Mark Briscoe's Tables-and-Tacks match. This was a bloody, violent, but still smile-inducing fun match with MJF putting on a great old school heel performance with his reactions and viciousness and Mark Briscoe delivering a great performance in his own right and taking some hellacious drops into the tacks. My only real criticism was the super-suspenseful segment in the corner as MJF and Briscoe battled to see who could send the other through a table that MJF had covered in thumbtacks. They spent so much time building up to what was seemingly going to be a match-ending death move - a piledriver off the top like the one MJF gave Garcia, a Jay Driver (which would've been insane and could've likely led to someone getting paralyzed), or even a powerbomb from the top rope - but the teasing led to a comparatively pedestrian pair of elbows instead. Aside from that, this was great, but maybe a hair short of "must see" unless you're super into both guys and their feud. A surprise ending too, but one that made sense because, with so much emphasis on Jay Briscoe's passing, it would've been quite deflating to see Mark take the L. (3.5/5)

I wasn't expecting much out of the next match, but it was perfectly fine, helped a ton by the tremendous work of Ricochet as he paired with Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona (now known as The Demand rather than The Gates of Agony) to take on The Hurt Syndicate's Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP. The crowd was not super into this but I reckon that was because The Gates of Agony/Demand have been treated like low midcarders for years, aren't particularly great in-ring performers, and are in desperate need of a makeover in terms of their presentation (which should've absolutely happened now that they are under Rico's wing). You could practically hear a pin drop when Lashley and Liona had their "face off," which was clearly designed and laid-out to get a "Meat" chant going, for example. On the more positive side, Ricochet and Benjamin have great chemistry and they showed it off here, MVP's signature moves all got good reactions, and the finishing stretch really picked up nicely once they took the fight to the floor. (2.5/5)

The TBS Championship followed as Mercedes Mone took on Riho, who was the first AEW Women's World Champion. Mone's entrance was glorious as she has become a "belt collector" with a number of chiseled dudes each holding one of her championships for her. Riho controlled early, working on Mone's arm at first before eventually hitting her with a big 619. Mone rolled to the floor and Riho hit her with a nutso double stomp off the apron and onto the floor and then did it again off the announcer's table! They looked painful as all hell. Rihio went for a third in the ring but Mone evaded it. Riho hit a beautiful low dropkick and then a nasty crucifix bomb, the kind of offense that reminds you why she was the inaugural AEW Womens' Champion. Mone went back to the floor and pulled Riho off and behind the apron before bashing her into the announce table. Mone then hit a Meteora off the announce table and to the floor for 2. Dang. That could not have felt good on Mercedes' knees. Mone applied a submission in the ring, the match slowing down a bit after a very fast-paced, action-heavy start. Mone hit Riho with a dropkick that looked like it could've legitimately broken Riho's neck as her foot connected with the middle of her throat. Mone applied a surfboard, but Riho escaped and grabbed hold of Mone's leg, slamming her knee into the mat and then applying a half-crab. It wasn't the smoothest sequence of all time, but I'll give credit to them for the effort as the mat wrestling led to crossface, a roll-up, and then yet another nasty double stomp from Riho. A strike exchange followed with Riho dumping Mone on her head for 2 with a German suplex straight out of 90s joshi. Mone hit a dizzying number of vertical suplexes (after first hitting a superplex), no-selling any of the limb damage from earlier in the process. She went to the top for a frogsplash but telegraphed that Riho would get her knees up and then missed a Meteora in the corner. This led to one of my least favorite spots as Mone held herself up just so Riho could deliver another double stomp for 2.9. Mone came out swinging, though, hitting a "front-stabber" (?), a sunset-flip powerbomb, and then a Meteora in the corner. Again, the lack of selling was hard not to notice at this point, but hey, this was a "fireworks show" and the crowd was eating it up. Mone went for a Shining Wizard but Riho countered it into another submission. It was too close to the ropes, though, allowing Mone to grab hold of the bottom one to break it up. Mone hit a big knee to the face on the apron and came off the top again but got dumped on her head once again for 2 from a Riho German Suplex. Riho went to the top and hit a crossbody for 2 and then an overhead suplex for another nearfall. Riho went for what I assume was her finish, but Mone grabbed hold of the referee and countered it into her signature reverse powerbomb-into-double knees thing (I'm not sure what she or anyone else calls it) and then hit the Moneymaker to end things. The long-term selling was simply not there. There were some bits of telegraphing that were hard to ignore. The submission section and counters were not seamless. But...this was entertaining as all hell and further evidence of Mone being an exceptional, all-time talent that can go into a rather "cold" match and deliver a Match of the Night-caliber bout. Very good and, if the finish had been remotely in question, probably more "must see." (3.5/5)

A triple threat match for the AEW Unified Championship followed as Kazuchika Okada defended his title against Mascara Dorada and fellow Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita. I'm an unabashed Takeshita mark so I knew going into this that I was likely to enjoy it. The match may have gone a touch too long, but it was a ton of fun and I loved the interactions between Okada and Takeshita. Dorada was the wildcard in this match but delivered some insane high-flying. I didn't much love his showboating at times as it took away from the urgency of the match, but without it, Dorada would likely be seen as "just another lucha guy" so I'll give him credit for trying to get the crowd behind him and keep them engaged. At Cagematch this has a whopping 9.11 score and I'm not surprised, but I'm also not going to go as high on it. As good as the action was and as good as the character work was, at a certain point, the crowd's interest seemed to have "peaked" and there was an audible dip in excitement as they may have simply done too much, loading up a 20-minute match with so many nearfalls and false finishes that the match reached its crescendo a minute or two before it got to its tacked-on finishing sequence. Still, one of the best mixes of wrestling styles ever put in the ring together as Dorada's high-flying, Takeshita's incredible striking and power, and Okada's expert timing and perfection of the "little things" came together beautifully. (3.5/5)

Jon Moxley faced Darby Allin in a Coffin Match next. You knew going into this that it would be brutal and violent and that the crowd was going to be 1000% behind Darby. However, what I wasn't expecting was one of the best returns in AEW history as PAC cost Allin the match, tossing him - in Razor's Edge fashion - from the ring onto a coffin on the outside. It was a hellacious and nasty bump and, as deflating as it was for the audience, it was a heck of a "capper" to this match. Other highlights included Darby going at Moxley's forehead with a fork, the crowd chanting "This Is Murder" after Allin attempted to suffocate Mox with a plastic bag (a great throwback to what he had done to Bryan Danielson at the start of this whole storyline), Allin using his body as a weapon to dive into Moxley into the coffin on the outside, and the aforementioned Danielson's impassioned commentary. What "moved the needle" for me compared to the previous match or the Riho/Mone match, which I enjoyed a whole ton, is that this had the emotional pull that those matches didn't offer and the feeling that this was the culmination of a heated rivalry (even if its finish did not offer the conclusion most were hoping for). (4/5)

"Timeless" Toni Storm defended her AEW Women's World Championship against Thekla, Kris Statlander, and Jamie Hayter in the next contest. There were some clunky moments sprinkled through this otherwise very good match. For every somewhat awkward sequence or small bit of telegraphing, though, there was something like Statlander's piledriver on Thekla on the floor, Storm's always-incredible hip attack in the corner, or Thekla's double-tarantula on the ropes. If this is the worst or second worst match on a 10-match card, you're probably watching one of the best shows ever produced and, up till this point, All Out 2025 was already in the conversation. Plus, the shocking, somewhat out-of-nowhere finish really worked here because, coming into the match, it seemed very likely that this was just another "showcase match" to highlight the rest of the division in a losing effort to dethrone the champ. Instead, we get an intriguing storyline development with Statlander getting the upset and seemingly under the mentorship of Wheeler Yuta. (3/5)

The AEW World Tag Team Championships were on the line in the next match - The Young Bucks, Hechicero and Josh Alexander, and "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight all challenging Bandido and Brody King in a 4-way Ladder Match. If you were looking for psychology and pacing and all that, this was the wrong place to find it, but some moments were particularly egregious (such as Brody King holding up a ladder with his partner on it and doing nothing to prevent Mike Bailey from crashing onto him or Bandido hitting a ridiculous sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder rather than trying to grab hold of the belts to win the match later on). That being said, if you're into ridiculous spots, this one packed a ton of them into its 25-minute runtime including a few that I don't think I'd seen before, including Bailey hitting his backflip double knees onto Hechicero on a ladder (it was gnarly). It was impossible to be bored by this but I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea either. Personally, I can't watch ton of these matches in a row, but I like that AEW offers one at almost every big show and that they almost always deliver. (3/5)

The post-match saw Jack Perry return and it was...awful. I'm not an anti-Perry guy, but this had to be one of the dumbest return angles in wrestling history as Perry showed up to attack his former pals The Young Bucks and almost immediately got superkicked, falling prey to the numbers game because - duh - it was a 2-on-1 situation. This made Perry look like a total moron. Then, the lights went out and a video played of Perry "revitalizing" Killswitch/Luchasaurus. When the lights turned on, the Bucks were, inexplicably, still focused on Perry, their backs turned away from Killswitch/Luchasaurus because they'd seemingly never seen a pro-wrestling show before. Just woefully executed stuff. Luchasaurus gave them a double chokeslam and then hugged it out with Perry. Why did Killswitch return to TV several weeks ago at Forbidden Door in August? And as a heel? Why did Perry come out still in the same all-black gear he wore as a heel before he was taken off TV? Are we to assume that Perry's plan, all along, was to come out and get superkicked before playing a return video on the screen to explain why Luchasaurus was back on his side? Whoever was behind this segment gave it worse than zero thought, they gave it all bad thought. This would've been so, so, so much better if it had been a Dynamite segment of some kind where the Bucks were doing something heelish and the reunited Jurassic Express came out for the save out of the crowd or something. (-1)

After a commercial for WrestleDream, we cut to the back where Jon Moxley gave a eulogy to Darby Allin and then sent the Death Riders off. Allin then sprung out of the coffin and put Moxley in a body bag and looked to crack him in the skull with a pipe but decided instead to spray him down with lighter fluid and light the body bag on fire. 

Main event time - the reigning AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher defending his AEW World Championship against "Hangman" Adam Page. Don Callis joined the commentary team for this one. Fletcher and Page did some mat wrestling to start things off before going into a chop duel that ended with Fletcher hitting a thrust kick to send Page to the ropes. The finish to this match was never really in question - this being Fletcher's first AEW pay-per-view and Page having only won the title in July - but the fun of this match was seeing if The ProtoStar could live up to the "main event lights" and have another career-defining performance the way he did against Will Ospreay earlier this year (or was it 2024?). They went to the outside where Fletcher hit a crazy dive over the barricade and onto the arena floor, doing more damage to himself than to Page. Back in the ring, Page hit a backbreaker-lariat combo and got sent to the floor moments later. Page went to the top to go for a moonsault, but Fletcher shoved him off and sent him crashing into the barricade. Fletcher hit a powerbomb onto the apron and then some boots in the corner, fully in control at this point. Fletcher pulled a table out from under the ring, which I'm not sure they needed (especially after the last bout), but in their defense, it was a call back to the build of the rivalry. Fletcher went for a brainbuster on the apron but Hangman countered and nailed him with a clothesline that sent him back into the ring. Hangman went for a Buckshot Lariat but Fletcher blocked it with a superkick and nailed him with a top-rope Hangman DDT. Fletcher followed it with a Michinoku Driver, a scoop slam, and then a huge leaping stomp to the back of the neck, everything executed beautifully. Fletcher hit a Savage-esque elbow drop from the top rope for 2 and then a high angle Boston Crab, not dissimilar to the Walls of Jericho. Hangman reached the ropes to break the hold, though, and Fletcher played to the crowd a bit instead of keeping his attention on the champion. Fletcher hit a devastating running boot in the corner and then another but got clobbered with a lariat on the third attempt. Dang. Hangman rallied from here, hitting a back body drop and then a pair of his trademark fallaway slams for 2. A great sequence followed as Page went for a Deadeye, Fletcher escaped, strikes were exchange and Page launched himself over the top with a stiff crossbody before returning to the top to hit the moonsault to the floor. He immediately tossed Fletcher into the ring and hit him with a powerbomb and then a pop-up Ligerbomb for another 2.5. This led to another great sequence of counters and reversals, a super stiff mule kick, and then an anti-air superkick by Fletcher and a massive Ligerbomb for another great nearfall. Damn. Back out of the ring they went where Page hit Fletcher with a tombstone piledriver to the floor, the kind of move that, 30 years ago, would've led to a months-long injury angle. Page followed it up with a Hangman DDT off the apron and on the floor for good measure, the crowd practically silenced by the brutality of it. Hangman went back to the top rope but Fletcher dodged the moonsault and then caught him with a running boot. Fletcher cleared the timekeeper's area and connected with a brainbuster through the timekeepers' table! Back in the ring, Fletcher hit a running boot in the corner to the back of Page's neck and then another to the front - both looking absolutely brutal. Fletcher then delivered an picture-perfect brainbuster in the center of the ring for 2.8. This led to the crowd chanting "You're Not Ready," which drove Tazz insane on commentary. Personally, I loved the story of Fletcher having all the physical tools and ability but constantly getting distracted by the audience and losing focus when it looked like he was on the brink of closing things out. Back to the apron they went, but this time it was Page who got to hit his signature move, a crazy Deadeye off the apron and through the table that looked like it could've paralyzed the challenger. Insanity. Page rolled Fletcher into the ring and went for a Buckshot but Fletcher collapsed before Page could hit it and Hangman ended up falling onto the mat as well. Both guys sold exhaustion on the mat but were able to beat the count at 9 by getting to the ropes. Hangman stared down the challenger, pointing his finger at him, and hit him with a V-Trigger and went for a One-Winged Angel - a brilliant callback to Fletcher putting Omega on the shelf - but Fletcher managed to escape and hit a superkick. Page recovered quickly and we got a series of counters leading to another Deadeye in the center of the ring for 2.9! At this point, an announcement was made that 30 minutes had gone by, but it had been so spectacular from beginning to end that it didn't feel like it at all (especially compared to some of the other matches on the show that seemed like they had gone a couple minutes too long). Fletcher hit a Hidden Blade off the ropes and went for a Tiger Driver but Hangman somehow countered it into an incredible Storm Cradle Driver/JML Driver (one of Swerve's signatures) for another crazy nearfall. Wow. A "Fight Forever" chant broke out at this point as Hangman went to the apron. Hangman went for another Buckshot but Fletcher caught him in a small package for 2. Another Buckshot attempt but Fletcher nailed him with the Brainbuster at 2.9! A loud "Yes!" chant broke out in reaction to Danielson losing his cool at ringside followed by a "This Is Awesome" chant. Danielson's enthusiasm was infectious as he was clearly floored by what he was watching. Fletcher hit some lazy kicks and some slaps, no selling Page's strikes and clotheslines with incredible cockiness. Fletcher hit another thrust kick and a lariat of his own before ripping off the top turnbuckle to expose the steel. Fletcher's told the ref to "shut the fuck up," hit a boot to the back of Page's head as he hung over the exposed buckle, and then went for a top rope brainbuster on the turnbuckle but Page fought out and hit him with a series of headbutts, slammed him into the buckle, and then somehow managed to hit him with a Deadeye off the top rope! This one looked even uglier than the first one. Page hit him with a Buckshot Lariat soon after but, by this point, it almost seemed like a mercy killing because Fletcher looked dead on his feet. The precision and execution of everything they did was just incredible and, though they continuously upped the ante with crazier and crazier sequences and spots, Page's selling of his damaged neck was great and, though one could argue they could've stretched things even longer, they did let things "breathe" as much as one is ever going to get in a match like this. Another performance out of Fletcher that makes it obvious that, if he can somehow not kill himself in the ring, will one day be the top star in the entire industry. An instant Match of the Year contender despite there not really being in question who was going to win, a testament to the story they told and Fletcher's performance. Incredible, incredible match. (4.5/5)

Earning a rather incredible 3.15-out-of-5 Kwang Score despite a runtime of well over 4 hours and a total of 10 matches, All Out 2025 is in the discussion of AEW's best ever pay-per-view events, especially if you can overlook the Jack Perry return angle or weren't too disappointed by Kingston's return match. The main event was an instant Match of the Year contender, both hardcore matches delivered the kind of ultra-violence that the WWE won't and can't and will probably never supply again, both Womens' Championship matches were good-to-great, the Edge & Copeland match wasn't an all-timer but was fun nostalgia and a hot opener for the local crowd, the triple threat match gave us a great clash of styles and furthered the Okada/Takeshita tension, and the tag team ladder match was the exact type of spotfest stunt show it needed to be. The only thing "hurting" this show was its duration and the fact that, at 10 matches, only an AEW completist would likely feel the need to watch every single minute. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand