9 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW All Out 2023 (Results & Review)

1. Orange Cassidy Vs Jon Moxley

All good things must come to an end, and Orange Cassidy's deliriously great International Championship run climaxing with a loss to Jon Moxley landed more powerfully than any surprise upset or heel chicanery ever stood a chance of doing.

Debates of Orange Cassidy's multifarious abilities are now in atrociously bad faith, or dead. He has killed it and killed them in 2023, morphing into enough of a complete professional wrestling champion that he stood every chance of defeating the almost-unbeatable Jon Moxley in one-on-one competition. This is praise enough for the development of the Cassidy character and previously-meaningless lower card strap, but the match defined the journey he's taken with it better than all the rest. With or without the title he ultimately lost, Cassidy effectively became Moxley. He has bled with the Blackpool Combat Club boss (a known mark of mutual respect), and in proving how much Mox wanted a belt he'd disavowed just days earlier, highlighted the links between them.

It clearly extends beyond the on-screen now too - this was the crystal clear making of 'Freshly Squeezed' as a main eventer-elect, and here's hoping the unfortunate timing of MJF's babyface act going down a storm doesn't derail a magical train headed straight for the top.

Since 2019, Orange Cassidy's AEW run has been funny, it's been relatable, it's been a much-needed distraction, it's been heartfelt and of late, it's been genuinely gripping.

On this night - and particularly because of the defeat - it became profound.