15 Match Star Ratings For AEW All Out 2022
13. Zero Hour: PAC Vs. Kip Sabian
There's a twinge of guilt here, because the man has put a lot of effort into it, but this new Kip Sabian character isn't terribly convincing.
Aspects of this reinvention from d*ckweed heart-throb to unhinged comic book villain almost work. He stomped the sh*t out of PAC in the corner early. That was good. And then he did this strange bit where he invited the audience to cheer, and boo, then cheer, then boo, like some "conductor of chaos". He tried (probably) to convey that he didn't care what they thought - underrated/over it - but it was powerfully lame. It was so obviously a man trying to play a character, and he isn't remotely helped by the fact that AEW in general feels all too real at this point.
Insofar as the action goes, this was strong. It was a PAC match, for starters, and Sabian is a fine athlete who knows his way around the modern hybrid style. This master manipulator character work however is just not "it". PAC looked more like an idiot for running into a low bridge than Sabian appeared intelligent.
If he's a sort of Batman baddie composite, it's closer to Leto than Ledger.
Star Rating: ★★¾