11 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW All Out 2021

3. A Match As Inoffensive As It Was Necessary

Paul Wight
AEW

In the end, despite it being allocated far too much TV time, Paul Wight Vs. QT Marshall was a nothing buffer match promoted purely to allow the audience a breather.

This does not warrant an 'Up' in and of itself. Wight was gassed, nobody was desperate to see QT Marshall eat sh*t, and it's some indictment of the apparent beloved legend role Wight is scheduled to play that everybody received this glorified angle with the exact same take:

"Thank f*ck Paul Wight Vs. QT Marshall lasted about three minutes!"

This didn't die a death - some members of the crowd were happy to play along with the old Big Show schtick - but it was a strategic exercise more than it was a good match.

It nonetheless resolved a core issue that has plagued every AEW PPV other than this, even the amazing ones: they all go too long and are sequenced as if everybody shares Tony Khan's boundless energy. They don't.

That can all be written in the past tense now. The crowd was white-hot for everything that mattered, and on such a life-affirming night, virtually everything did.

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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!