10 Match Quality Predictions For AEW All Out
1. Hangman Page Vs. Chris Jericho - AEW World Championship Match
Contrary to the consensus, AEW on the Road To All Out has reheated the Chris Jericho Vs. Hangman Page programme.
The less interesting of the double main events - worryingly, the same is true even in spite of the entire lack of build towards the Kenny Omega Vs. PAC replacement match - it was ice cold in the wake of Fight For The Fallen. AEW chose the wrong attraction entirely to put over the time limit draw concept. Page did not look like World Champion material in a muddied failure of a match.
But, when Jericho cut open Page's eye in fairly routine post-match attack, AEW used the resulting injury to put over Page as a badass. AEW has stressed the importance and the stakes of the match very well - Chris Jericho loses his legendary aura in the event of such a huge, early loss, whereas Page confirms his simmering reputation as a failed experiment if he fails to capture the title - but the complexion of the card might undermine it.
The AAA Tag Team Title match is going to be insanely violent. Cody is going to juice heavy in what will be a JCP-indebted old school war. The Cracker Barrel Challenge features three men with acts that rely on batsh*t insane ultra-violence. And, since Jericho and Page can't match the explosiveness of Omega and PAC, both versions of the main event - traditional wrestling or smoke-and-mirrors brawl - may succumb to diminishing returns.
Hangman Page, helpfully, is batsh*t, which should see him bump around Jericho's bloody fun new formula with the unhinged danger of Tetsuya Naito - but will it be too late in the day?
Projected Star Rating: ***1/2