We are now but a day away from AEW All Out. The hype has mounted for months, in spite of a major snag… that being the loss of a marquee bout. Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley were meant to square off in what would’ve undoubtedly been an incredible, furious, Japanese heavyweight-style match. Atleast judging by how Moxley was preparing for it in the form of his run overseas. Unfortunately, going so hard in the lead-up costed him a spot at All Out, with him working with a staph infection until it was no longer an option. Moxley is out. He’s furious about it, as was Omega if you watched the last episode of BTE.
But we have to move on from that now. Because within about a half hour of Mox’s announcement of pulling out, a replacement stepped into the fray. And amazingly, said replacement is a man who may well be even more dangerous…
Indeed, the one and only PAC is finally making his AEW debut. It was supposed to take place months ago at Double Or Nothing. PAC was scheduled to not only face Hangman Page at this event, but he was also advertised as part of a trios match at Fyter Fest. Said trios bout would’ve seen him opposite Omega, funnily enough. However, PAC’s debut ended up not happening. He and Hangman had their match a week before Double Or Nothing at a Wrestle Gate event, which ended with a DQ after PAC attacked the official. Afterwards, he Pillmanized Hangman’s knee, looking to injure him. Believing that Page would not be able to compete at Double Or Nothing, PAC declared his job done and pulled out from not only this event but all future AEW events.
It must’ve stuck in his craw that Hangman ended up not only making the show, but won his way to a world title match… but that’s a story for another day.
PAC has basically said nothing about his AEW status ever since. In fact, even before this, he was uncharacteristically quiet on most matters. His only reason given for even targeting Page was an apparent hatred of the Elite. He wanted to humble Page and the rest of the ‘elitist pricks’ as he put it. What exactly he has against the Elite is anyone’s guess; he seems to just hate the world most of the time.
Fast forward a few months, and a marquee member of the Elite suddenly doesn’t have a match for All Out. And what do you know, who else would step in but PAC? And so it was made official…
PAC vs. Kenny Omega
This is a truly fascinating match to be sure. It may not have the history that Omega and Moxley are brewing, but rest assured, there’s gonna be tension here. Moreover, these are arguably the two greatest athletes in all of AEW squaring off. Speed, strength, stamina… these men exemplify it all. You can’t expect anything less than a breath-taking encounter when two wrestlers of this caliber go one-on-one. And it’s a dream match in it’s own right, the first time that these two have ever shared the same ring.
PAC is a man that initially came to fame for being perhaps the greatest high flier in pro wrestling history. He can make the most staggering of agile feats look effortless. And his chiseled-out-of-granite physique isn’t just for show either. He’s yet to meet someone that he can’t plant with a German Suplex.
He is one of the most complete athletes in the world, period. Not just in wrestling, but across any sport.
He is a man with no weakness. But… one can say very much the same for Kenny Omega. His history speaks for itself. Though even he might struggle to contend with PAC’s agility and power, Kenny probably has the edge in any match-up when it comes to sheer stamina and endurance. Don’t be surprised if that ends up being the story of the match. Is PAC still just as quick and powerful after a half hour of frenetic action? Perhaps so… but we know for a fact Kenny will be.
Still, the intangibles at play here cannot be overlooked. Kenny has spent several months preparing to face Jon Moxley on this date. With merely a week’s notice, he finds that he’s facing PAC instead, an entirely different test. This won’t quite be the unrelenting strong style brawl that we seemed to be heading towards, but rather a test of skill and physical limits.
Of course it’s a week’s notice for PAC as well, but he didn’t even think he’d be on the card at all. One would think the psychological advantage goes to the angry Englishman.
So… who takes the victory?
In a battle like this, you can’t be surprised at any result. Kenny’s looking to bounce back after a disappointment at Double Or Nothing. Losing to Chris Jericho really seems to be weighing on him. You could see this as a motivator, or a handicap… it’s hard to say if his head is in the right place. That’d have been true, even if he was facing Moxley as he planned.
For PAC, for whatever reason, he really wants to stick it to the Elite and beating Kenny here would sure do it. In the event that Hangman becomes the champ later in the night, PAC will have even more incentive than usual to position himself high up the totem pole. In this way, he might be a bit more motivated in addition to being in a better place mentally. I realize that seems like a crazy statement when you look at him, but… the headspace he’s usually in does tend to work out for him.
So I’m picking PAC to take advantage and take the victory here.
Either way, the winner will pick up a ton of momentum as we head into AEW‘s TNT debut coming October 2nd. This match may well decide the first challenger for AEW’s inaugural world champion.
AEW All Out takes place on Saturday, August 31st. It hails from the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois. It will be airing live on Pay-Per-View and streamed on Fite.tv and B/R Live.
