15 Match Star Ratings For AEW All Out 2022
6. Swerve In Our Glory Vs. The Acclaimed - Tag Team Title Match
This will scan as eye-rolling mark-out sh*t, but Tony Khan actually deserves more credit than he does when operating at the peak of his powers. The most critically acclaimed North American promoter of the century is capable of outdoing himself.
He did here.
The storyline that built this match was poor, just to undermine that statement, but nobody thought this was going to be much of anything.
A fun showcase filler defence to stuff more names on the card to appease the roster.
An uninspiring and inessential replacement for FTR Vs. Young Bucks III.
Khan had the utmost faith in one of his favourite homegrown acts, and allocated them 22 minutes to grab their career-making moment. They did that to a frankly extraordinary extent.
A quick word on the defending champions: while the match was clearly laid out with advance knowledge that the Acclaimed are the more over act - and they played situational heel accordingly - there was still an excellent improvisational quality to their selfless performance. Anthony Bowens was the heart of what was the most improbably great match in AEW history. He terrified fans by selling what is a legit suspect knee in a masterful performance. Before his incredible comeback, he looked shoot hurt - and Swerve Strickland drop-kicked the sh*t out of it to drive the drama. Max Caster, known as the mouthpiece, performed a sensational, holy sh*t FU on Keith Lee. It was incredible, as was the entire match, which was nothing short of a career-making masterpiece. Dramatic, deafening, as modern as it was classical, the result was the only bum note.
Did anybody watching not beg for an audible?
Star Rating: ★★★★¾