Just two weeks after Wembley Stadium, an event that garnered mostly positive reviews for the quality that it showcased, All Elite Wrestling is back on pay-per-view this weekend for All Out. Different from last year, the PPVs are two weeks apart rather than just a week, but the problem of selling a clear “B-side” to the equation remains for All Elite management. In truth, and this isn’t a ground-breaking notion, there’s absolutely no reason for the company to run another PPV two weeks after the London event. The current angles don’t justify it, and more importantly, there’s not a demand for it. Speaking of which, in terms of supply and demand, it’s simple economics, when AEW had a few pay-per-views a year, it allowed for an anticipation to build prior to the show, which isn’t the case as Tony Khan adds more pay-per-views to the schedule because monthly events became the trend in the late-90s when pro wrestling was in a boom period so there was a demand for such a line-up. Sure, the counterpoint might be that if the shows are selling on a near-monthly basis then Tony would technically be leaving money on the table otherwise, but I think in the grand scheme of things, there’s a risk of oversaturation that could erode the amount of fans willing to pay those PPV prices that often over the course of a few years. The bottom line is, what can truly be accomplished in terms of importance to the product with only two weeks to promote the card?
At the same time, building a pay-per-view card in two weeks is almost tailor-made for Tony’s booking style or lack thereof. The slapstick approach will allow Tony to justify match-ups with only a few segments behind them to generate momentum so he isn’t tasked with booking compelling programming over the course of a few months to script a selling point for a PPV card. Instead, Jack Perry, who is already the TNT champion, will get a title shot at All Out because he attacked Bryan Danielson last week. Tony doesn’t have to properly structure a grudge or any type of long-term issue for the segment at the pay-per-view. He doesn’t have to truly justify why the match should take place or book an intriguing reason why the fans should want to pay to watch it. Outside of parsing details as to why there’s not a logical basis for the match-up, quite simply, does anyone honestly believe that Danielson is going to drop the championship after just a two-week reign? When the main event is more or less a glorified exhibition bout, doesn’t that provide enough of a reason why the pay-per-view isn’t necessary in the first place?
In some respects, the chance to hotshot every angle on the show is exactly what Tony Khan looks for to book pay-per-view cards, as it mimics his E-fed booking days on the internet, the notion of what sounds good on paper, but something that falls short in realistic execution. There were matches announced on last night’s episode of Dynamite, such as Mercedes Mone/Hikaru Shida for All Out. Why exactly should the fans be invested in this bout one way or the other? Don’t get me wrong, Shida is a solid performer, but she’s on the show very sporadically so it’s not as though she has any momentum ahead of getting a title shot. The same could be said for The Blackpool Combat Club challenging The Young Bucks for the tag team titles, why exactly should the fans care who wins when it was a completely thrown together match?
On the flip side, I understand what they were going for with the Daniel Garcia/MJF segment, but all things considered, was enough time given to allow the fans to view Garcia as a key player in AEW? I don’t think so, he’s clearly not at the level of MJF, and the fact that he’s a vacuum of charisma with a stone face expression most on the time doesn’t do him any favors either. Maybe I’m missing something,but Garcia seems to be a good utility worker that can have a solid match to add substance to the card, but just doesn’t have the star power to be a major draw. The problem is, you could say that about a lot of the current All Elite roster so even his strengths can get lost in the shuffle. Again, maybe I’m being too pessimistic, but working with Garcia, at least at this point, seems like a step down for Friedman, particularly because he’s supposed to be one of the top guys in the company.
Will Ospreay and Pac will probably have a dazzling spot fest that will steal the show, be legitimately impressive, and will allow Dave Meltzer to give it 87 stars in an attempt to bolster the perception of the company. The downside of that is that those types of matches are randomly put on television every week so is that actually enough to justify the price tag of the pay-per-view? Considering that Pac’s appearances are sporadic at best, does the result of the match have any impact on the direction of the product?
Aside from the sizzle of the Pac/Ospreay high spot bout, in theory, the substance of the pay-per-view in terms of a long-term feud is the steel cage match between Adam Page and Swerve Strickland. As disjointed as it is as far as the continuity and the presentation, there’s undoubtedly history between the two that can be used to sell a major match. However, in typical Tony Khan fashion, he managed to muddy the waters for absolutely no reason. Keep in mind, Swerve Strickland organically got over as a baby face when he was initially portrayed as a heel, and that’s ultimately why he had a run with the AEW world championship. It’s one of the few strictly logical booking decisions made in AEW this year, as the fans decided that Swerve was a baby face, and the office ran with it. However, without explanation, Swerve was presented as a heel again in the build up to the match against Bryan Danielson at All In for Wembley Stadium. Now, again without explanation, he’s a baby face again, with the over-the-top angle that saw Adam Page burn down Swerve’s childhood home. This is supposed to be the feud that the fans are invested in enough to watch to see the next chapter at the pay-per-view, but when there are so many switches between the heel and baby face roles, the result is often indifference to the audience.
There’s nothing less of a draw than indifference. There’s a reason that political parties always vilify the other side, because that’s what fuels donations, thus draws money for the campaign. It’s apropos that it’s an election year because politics is more of a work than pro wrestling, and it’s more profitable, too All of this said, the discussion for the most part, and even some of the rightfully criticism is more or less moot. Sure, running another pay-per-view two weeks after Wembley doesn’t make financial or even booking sense, but as we know, profit isn’t the objective for AEW. It’s a vanity project, and there are some coincidences that provide a positive to the industry, as it gives options to the talent and to the fans, but business doesn’t dictate the direction of All Elite Wrestling. The reasons that another pay-per-view is scheduled are that it will allow Tony Khan to book another E-fed card, he can sit next to his favorite wrestlers during the two-hour press conference, and he will see the star ratings that Dave Meltzer gives the show in The Wrestling Observer newsletter after the event.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
