10 Match Star Ratings For AEW All Out
4. Riho Vs. Hikaru Shida
Much like the previous match, this suffered from a burned-out crowd - a byproduct of AEW's strange decision to structure All Out like a WWE pay-per-view, on which matches are fated to die by following something that cannot be followed.
The story was absorbing enough to pull the crowd into it by the finish; Hikaru Shida brutalised Riho's back, which Riho sold with an authentic agony. The dynamic was worked well; Shida, having just made one AEW appearance, positioned herself as the superior and stronger (storyline) performer by cutting off Riho's fiery babyface offence. When Riho attempted an arm drag, Shida stopped still and applied an arm bar.
This eventually picked up and erupted into a festival of backbreakers and foot stomps traded at a gripping tempo, but the lack of build undermined the heft of the story; the audience was asked to receive and get behind Riho as a spirited babyface, but the emotional connection simply wasn't there.
Neither was a true, masterful sense of craft, which again, was showed up by the decision to present Kenny Omega and PAC so early. Shida clung to the ropes for the Alberto Del Rio foot stomp, revealing the artifice after a true showcase of the art.
Star Rating: ★★★½