Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Ethan Neufeld and Greg Coleman will be reviewing AEW All Out 2020.

All Out was a strong event for AEW, however the show has became notorious for the head injury sustained by Matt Hardy. This is a real shame as the event was strong, although it cannot be noted enough how lucky Hardy is to have not sustained long term damage. Should his match have been stopped? Is Orange Cassidy primed for a run at the top? And should MJF have become AEW World Champion?


ALLSOPP: I feel the match should never have resumed. Head injuries are a serious issue, and with how prevalent concussions are within the business, it would have been safer to end the match there and then. I understand the match stipulation resulted in the match continuing, but I'm sure AEW's fanbase would have accepted the match resuming at a later date. AEW's style is much stiffer than WWE's, but this incident feels like a genuine accident rather than resulting from a violent act. I would say that Sammy Guevara needs to be more careful as this is now the second time he has inadvertently injured Matt Hardy.

NEUFELD: This is a complicated issue to address because there are so many elements in the moment that must have been difficult to judge at the time, and these are far easier to assess from the viewer’s seat looking back at the situation. Bottom line though, this was handled very poorly. The biggest issue to me is that Aubrey Edwards threw up the X not once, but twice. That needs to be a respected thing in wrestling that communicates that the match is over. It seems like they planned to end the match and rang the bell, but then reversed the decision and continued. Even if Matt Hardy was actually okay, this looks convoluted and unprofessional for AEW. Furthermore, if this was an actual medical professional evaluating Hardy, then this person needs to be reprimanded by the medical board because this man was clearly concussed to anyone with a single working eyeball. At the same time, we have no clue what was getting said in the heat of the moment by the production team, the doctor, or Hardy himself. As far as what this is a sign of exactly, I’m not sure. AEW does present a lot of absurd and dangerous things, far more so than their competitor. And to me, these moments really aren’t all that amazing or compelling. Mick Foley taking a dive off the cage was stupid and reckless, but it was reinforced by years of hard work and credibility by Foley himself and months of story building. Hardy taking a dive towards cement or Darby Allin taking blind powerbombs in a bodybag is also stupid, but it’s not earned or backed up by anything substantial.

COLEMAN: With what we know about head injuries, it’s always best to err on the side of caution, so with that being said, AEW should’ve played it safe and stopped the match. Maybe the stipulation that if Matt Hardy lost he would leave AEW factored into the decision to restart, but it shouldn’t have. The health of the performer has to be priority number one. The match should’ve been stopped or someone should’ve attacked Sammy Guevara to enable Hardy to still win.


NEUFELD: Had the match been on a better show overall, I think it would have been viewed more favorably. It was entertaining enough and both guys did a good job of teasing getting their opponent's whole body in the mimosa per the stipulation. I just feel that they crafted legitimate heat between these guys in the build up, so the blowoff being getting soaked in a mimosa bath really doesn’t do it for me. Orange Cassidy won the rubber match in a clean fashion, and by beating the legend and premiere World Champion Chris Jericho, this is a huge notch on his belt. I honestly can’t ever see Cassidy being taken seriously as an AEW World Championship contender any time soon. I could see him challenging for the AEW TNT Championship or perhaps even winning it down the line, but the AEW World Championship really needs to be taken seriously.

COLEMAN: The stipulation was fun and it suited them based on the whole orange juice association for Orange Cassidy, with the bubbly suiting Chris Jericho. This shouldn’t be done again. Cassidy winning the feud certainly moves him up the card, but I wouldn’t say he’s a main eventer yet. He should be a contender for the AEW TNT Championship though.

ALLSOPP: This was a good match, but it was missing something special to make it more memorable. It was a goofy stipulation, but Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho made it work against all odds. Cassidy is now a bona fide star in AEW, although it will be hard to force his way into the AEW World Championship picture. He can easily build towards a semi main event feud with the likes of Kenny Omega, Brodie Lee and MJF, but it will take a year of engaging in these types of matches to become a believable threat to the big belt.


COLEMAN: I was in the minority of people who felt Hangman Adam Page should’ve won the AEW World Championship over Chris Jericho in order to establish AEW as fresh, new, and different. I certainly understand why Jericho was the first Champion and why Jon Moxley is the current Champion. AEW need to be willing to take a chance on some of their younger, newer talent and build new stars. MJF should’ve beaten Moxley for the AEW World Championship at All Out. It was the perfect opportunity to make him Champion in the most heelish way possible without weakening or hurting Moxley. An undefeated MJF as AEW World Champion would’ve been heel gold in the making. At this point, the person who should dethrone Moxley is a heel Kenny Omega. Lance Archer is good feud for Moxley at Full Gear, but ultimately it should be Omega who gets the honour of ending Moxley’s year long title reign at Revolution 2021.

ALLSOPP: I wish MJF would have won to become AEW World Champion as it would have been a breath of fresh air. He has worked hard during his AEW tenure, but I understand why Jon Moxley retained. He has name value and is putting on some of the best matches of his career. This is why I feel Lance Archer will not be the wrestler to beat him. Archer won't move the dial in the war against NXT, but Moxley does. Kenny Omega has announced he is returning to singles competition, so once he has dealt with his issues with Hangman Adam Page, a programme with Moxley over the belt would be welcomed. This would hopefully result in The Cleaner becoming the top star in the company.

NEUFELD: The result of Jon Moxley retaining was completely okay by me due to the manner in which it happened. MJF looked like a legit contender in the ring, pushing Moxley to his limit. He cheated here and there like a good heel should, but it never felt like he needed to cheat, only that he was doing it because it was quicker. Wardlow was not much of a factor and even helped Moxley win, so MJF’s credibility was also preserved there. Moxley still feels special, so it’s not like keeping the title on him is a bad thing. All in all, there was some smart booking and psychology here that kept the title on Moxley, but most importantly maintained MJF’s credibility. I can’t see Lance Archer beating Moxley at this point. Moxley is far more of a star than Archer, therefore it would be a downgrade in terms of visibility. They could build Archer up and make a win over Moxley feel legitimate, referencing their history in NJPW for example. But - and maybe this is because WWE has conditioned me to think this - Archer just seems like the big scary monster man that kills jobbers and midcarders, but ultimately can’t win the big one.