10 Times AEW Got Into Serious Trouble

5. When Matt Hardy Got Knocked Out

Chris Jericho Cigar
AEW

All Out 2020 was a bleak show.

Held amid stultifying conditions amid Floridian humidity so thick that (as recently revealed by Dax Harwood) Cash Wheeler temporarily lost his sight in his Tag Team title win over Kenny Omega and Hangman Page, it was a grim shock of reality following the impossible escapist levity of Double Or Nothing.

The quasi-canon of that brilliant show could not hold; any more of it, and the charm would fade. AEW had to resume as normal, but normal wasn't possible. The night was so hot that even the new normal wasn't possible; the extras tasked with generating an artificial atmosphere were too exhausted, and they weren't even working. Somehow, match quality was tremendous in places. Young Bucks Vs. Jurassic Express was a typically dizzying Bucks sprint, and MJF Vs. Jon Moxley was a cracking story that unfolded differently depending on where the action was set.

The quality of those matches was immaterial in the end, because the show was overshadowed entirely by Matt Hardy's bump from a cherry picker in his Broken Rules match with Sammy Guevara. He missed the table, knocking himself unconscious, and while muscle memory allowed him to carry on - despite turning purple and being feared dead for a few, terrifying moments - he should have forbidden him from doing so out of an abundance of caution.

AEW was excoriated, rightly so, and in the aftermath implemented an improved two-way communication system between medical and the officiating team to prevent further incidents.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!