15 Match Star Ratings For AEW All Out 2022

7. Ricky Starks Vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Jon Moxley CM Punk
AEW

When there are two very long-running grudge programmes on a premium quarterly PPV - and both Must Continue - this indicates a problem, yet again, with the mammoth and unworkable roster Tony Khan has assembled.

With so much to get through, it's possible that Khan sensed the big babyface triumphs couldn't resonate, and didn't go through with either. Bryan Alvarez tends to know an injury when he sees one, as a former/part-time wrestler. He called Becky Lynch facing months on the shelf before anyone, and suspected that Christian Cage had suffered a bicep injury. So there is that - but if you can't blow-off one of two blood feuds when fans have paid money, that's a problem.

This match was very good for what it was, and aimed to tell the story that Ricky Starks was too vengeful and heroic to take the match when he was truly ready. There simply wasn't enough time to adequately tell the story.

Powerhouse Hobbs got his beautiful Spinebuster over as a shocking kill-shot, so there's that, but this was an angle on pay-per-view elevated by the gruesome viciousness of Hobbs' work.

Star Rating: ★★★

 
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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!