What's new, acolytes of acrobatic absurdity?!
Well, your boy has gone and done it. I'm officially married! And what a wedding it was. I won't bore you guys with the details, but it was a weekend I won't soon forget. For better and, unfortunately, for worse. Unrelated to the wedding itself, thankfully. We lost a dear pet on the big day and we're both taking it pretty hard. One day at a time. I knew all I'd be able to manage this week would be All Out and, as I draft this intro on Thursday evening, I'm in the middle of watching Hanger and Fletcher, the match I had pencilled in for this weeks review. It's some major eleventh hour work going on at Wrestling Vault HQ.
But, I've never let that stop me before! The show must go on! So, dear reader, read on and find out just how goo this shows main event really was
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| @scottlesh724.bsky.social |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
AEW All Out 2025
Despite not living too far from where this show took place, the idea of an afternoon wrestling show for my soon-to-be wife and I less than 24 hours from our big day was a bit too daunting for us. We were more than content with out little London show during the week. I knew I'd need to catch up on this one during the week and, I'll be totally honest, I had to break this one up over a couple of days just to get through it with everything going on. But it was an excellent show with a great card from top to bottom. Here's my two cents on each match.
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. FTR
A great way to star off the night of wrestling, Cope and Cage open the show in their home city to a huge reaction. Cage does his best not to smile at the "he's our asshole" chants after he's in the ring. The smirk is there, even if he's doing his best to hide it. FTR continue to prove why they are in the conversation for the greatest tag team of all time with another stellar performance. I think it's safe to say that they did the majority of the heavy lifting in this match, even if Cope and Cage are more than capable in their own right, Dax and Cash have the age and lack of ring rust on their side. It's everything you come to expect from FTR and everything you could hope for out of a team with the tenure of Cope and Cage. FTR pick up the win even with Beth Phoen- I mean Copeland coming down to make the save for her husband. FTR give her a spike piledriver at the end to keep this rivalry going.
Eddie Kingston vs. Big Bill
I'll be totally honest with you guys, Hangman was almost enough to sell me on going to this show, but once I heard that King was going to be there, I nearly folded. Like was fully ready to say "fuck it, I'm going" just to see Eddie motherfuckin' Kingston. It may not have been a stellar, 5*, instant classic match, but that's not Eddie's style. It was hard hitting, intense, and a return match where Eddie needed to remind not only us watching, but himself, of who Eddie Kingston is again. He threw himself at the biggest guy in the yard to prove that he wasn't washed, that he wasn't out of shape, and that he could still hang. And man did he ever hang. It was fun and everything it needed to be even if the finishing blow did connect more with the holy ghost than Big Bill's big noggin.
Mark Briscoe vs. MJF - Tales N' Tacks Match
A solid contender for the match of the night Briscoe and MJF's blood feud ramped up its intensity in a match type created whole cloth for this feud. Briscoe went for broke right out of the gate by emptying four buckets worth of thumb tacks completely littering the ring and turning it into a veritable minefield. MJF did his best to avoid the millions of pins beneath him, but those efforts proved to be in vain as he ate just as many thumb tacks-in fact, more, than he literally fed to Briscoe. It was gnarly and brutal with the addition of the tables as well, adding another nasty piece of weaponry for both men to use with disgusting effectiveness. Briscoe is the perfect guy to have in matches like these, with completely insane amounts of weapons and ways to inflict violence. He thrives when he can let his utter insanity run wild, and this match let him run completely free range. Go chicken go!
The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Demand
I feel like I've been saying this about the Syndicate their entire run. I enjoy them as a team, I enjoy their promos and presentation, but there's just something about them when they get in the ring that just loses me. I don't know what it is! Is it the combined age and miles of all three men? The decision to have MVP eat the majority of the offence here and essentially just get the snot kicked out of himself most of the match? And y'know what these Gates of Agony fellas aren't exactly clicking for me either. I know, I've praised them in the past, and I still mean it, but this match really didn't do them any favours, I don't think. Maybe it's because they had to follow Briscoe and Max, maybe the lack of gold on the line hinders the heat possible here, maybe I just really don't care for either team a whole lot and don't have a concrete reason as to why. All of this is to say, this match was totally passable and fine. Nothing more. Watch it, enjoy it, carry on with your life. Probably forget about it a day later like I have.
Mercedes Mone vs. Riho
Similar to the previous match, I don't really have a lot to say about this match, sadly. I enjoy Mone, as I've mentioned before on here, even handing out a 5* rating to her a few times. But I can't really same the same of Riho, y'know? Something about her just doesn't click with me at all. Maybe it's her size, her style, I really don't know. But I could have done without this match, sadly. She was able to get the upper hand on Mone for most of the match, making it seem like she was going to pull out a victory over the seemingly unstoppable champion, with her double foot stomp being the most valuable piece of her arsenal. Mone, however, proved to be too tough a nut to crack, out wrestling Riho in the closing moments to retain her title. Enjoyable, but nothing special. To me, at least.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mascara Dorada
Meltzer tells the story that one of the main reasons this match happened is because Tony Khan saw a fake graphic for Dorada and Takeshita and thought "you're right! That match would be incredible!" so he got added into this Unified Championship match. Pretty funny, if its true. It should come as no surprise that this match was excellent, and having two of the members of this three way a part of the Don Callis family makes things a bit more interesting. There's moments of teamwork from Takeshita and Okada but also moments where they butt heads and can't get along, a championship on the line further driving a wedge between Takeshita and the family, the story they've been telling slowly over the last while. There are plenty of one-on-one moments that are generally expected in three way matches, more so than is probably necessary, but the real magic happens when all three men are in the ring at once. Okada retains after a Rainmaker on Dorada, with Takeshita visibly displeased at his loss in the match. Sure, the gold stays with the family, but Takeshita still finds himself without the gold. Soon, dear boy. Soon.
Jon Moxley vs. Dary Allin - Coffin Match
The crowd summed this match up pretty well with their chants throughout; "this is murder!" What did you expect to happen when Darbs and Mox mixed it up in a coffin match?! Mox gets jumped before the bell and beaten around the arena floor, they get to the ring with two coffins, a fork, and the world at their fingertips. Mox is, to no surprise, bleeding like mad, and Darby continues to put his body on the line at every single chance he gets. They start to loosen the bottom rope at one point in the match, and I really thought they were gonna tear the ring to pieces in this match, despite having more left in the show, but they restrained themselves. The full force of the Death Riders comes to ringside at one point, but Mox sends them off, wanting to deal with Darbs on his own. A pipe gets introduced as well as a plastic bag, kinda sorta thanks to Bryan Danielson, who gave his word that he would not interfere. He just reminded Darby the bag was there! That's all! It seems like Darbs has the match won until PAC returns! The bastard! Short hair and street clothes to boot! He kills Darby and tosses him in not only a body bag, but also the coffin, giving Mox the chance to kick the lid shut to win the match. Excellent violence from the pair.
Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander vs. Thekla
I think this match kind of suffered a bit, I'll be honest. I hate to blame what came before it, but I definitely feel the crowd was a bit tapped out from the coffin match that the action in this one just didn't match up to a high enough level. All four women put in a fantastic shift and had a really, really great match, even making use of the lack of rules to use a belt as a weapon and choke Thekla with Hayter's scarf, but that aside, nothing in this match truly stood out. All four were excellent, but not in a "match of the night" kind of way, I'm sorry to say. I was happy to see Hayter back in a match after being gone since the Owen and Statlander getting the win was a much needed moment for someone who has put in as much work as she has, but that aside? Nothing to truly write home about here/
Brodido vs. The Young Bucks vs. JetSpeed vs. The Don Callis Family
Y'know, maybe I'm just getting older and disliking what everyone else likes more and more. But I'm getting a bit annoyed by ladder matches, in particular, where everyone seems to completely ignore the fact that the main objective is to climb the ladder and retrieve and object. Yes, I understand the need to wear people down so you can eventually grab said mcguffin, but there were several moments in this match where said mcguffin was well within reach, but mr. wrestler decided that they needed to land some big crazy move first before even considering going for the mcguffin directly above them. It really takes me out of the match in a way that I'm not happy about. All that said, this was still a very fun ladder match. The Bucks were back to their Young Buck ways, Brodido are on fire, Hechicero performed better in this match than I anticipated, and JetSpeed were as good as you'd expect them to be here. Really great, but too many moments where I sat at my desk asking "why haven't you won yet. You could have won already. What is happening."
• • • • •
Adam Page vs. Kyle Fletcher - AEW All Out 2025 - 09/20/2025
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Verbal barbs. AEW |
Man oh man, what a matchup this is on paper. Fletch and Hanger have already had a five star banger against each other earlier in the year on the 04/30/2025 episode of AEW Dynamite en route to Hangman winning the Owen, so I was well and truly excited to see how this match would turn out. The mere idea of double belts Fletcher is awesome, even if it means that Hanger has to lose (please don't until 2027 at the minimum), so all the pieces were in place for this one to be a main event of the ages.
They did something interesting with the lighting for the beginning of this one, keeping the ring lit with spotlights while keeping the rest of the arena fairly dark. It gave it a really moody feel for the opening moments, and I couldn't decide if I enjoyed it or not. Watch for yourself and let me know how you feel about it.
Right from the word go, Fletcher takes control, pushing Hangman into the corner out of a lockup, the much taller and more built of the two men pressing his advantage early on. A top wristlock forces Hangman to roll through to release the pressure, allowing him to switch around to a hammerlock in the middle and a side headlock before getting shot off the ropes. He rebounds with a shoulder tackle that pushes Fletcher back into the ropes himself, firing back with a shoulder tackle that drops Hangman to the canvas. It should be noted that, following Fletcher's brainbuster through a table on the September to Remember show, Hangman is coming into this match with his neck and shoulder taped up, trying to take some of the pressure off so he can wrestle this match with as little hindrance as possible.
Fletcher flexes over the body of Hangman before taking off for the ropes himself, getting caught with a cowboy boot under the jaw for his troubles. Heavy handed chops lace the chest of Fletcher, but the Protostar doesn't back down, responding with chops of his own. Back and forth they trade shots, with a thrust kick under the jaw breaking up their exchange and sending the Cowboy to the ropes. Whipping Hangman from corner to corner, Fletcher tries for his corner boot but Page ducks out of the way, leaving Fletcher to fly over the top and out to the apron. Acting quickly, Hangman lands a triangle lariat that crushes Fletcher, drilling him into the apron below.
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Crash landing. AEW |
Fletcher isn't down for very long however, with Hangman sliding out to the floor only to get caught with a punt to the chest, flattening the champion in an instant. They tango on the floor with Fletch sending Hanger out into the crowd, with Fletcher diving over the barricade and colliding with Hangman on the floor. Hangman checks on a few people he collided with on impact, proof he's a true champion, before sending Fletch back over the barricade and into the ring. Building his own momentum, a backbreaker into a lariat sees Hangman go for the first cover of the contest, only scoring two.
The champion shops his chumpy compadre in the corner, with Fletcher fighting out with knees to the gut and elbows to the back of the head. He gets dumped out to the floor with Hangman following to the apron and ascending to the top rope. This proves to be a bad call, with Fletcher ascending to the apron and shoving Hangman off and to the floor, miles below. A powerbomb on the apron has Hangman holding his weakened shoulder after landing in a heap on the floor, with the TNT Champion standing in the ring to gloat, forcing his World Champion adversary in Hangman to roll back inside the ring on his own power.
Driving his full body weight down with each shot, Fletcher boots the champion in the corner over and over again, his target the taped shoulders of Hangman. Ducking to the floor, the challenger pulls out a table and sets it up ringside, more than likely wanting to recreate the brainbuster that put his opponent in this compromised state again, all but ensuring his victory tonight.
"Mine! Mine!! MINE!!" Fletcher shouts, pulling Hangman to his feet on the apron and into position, ready to drill him with the brainbuster again. Hangman is able to fight out and lariat the Protostar back inside the ring, booting him back as he sets up for the Buckshot lariat. He pulls back and gets ready to take flight, with Fletcher connecting under the jaw with a thrust kick that drops Hangman across the top rope. Seizing at this opportunity, Fletcher pulls Hangman out by his head, draping him on the top rope for a big 'ol DDT. Fletcher goes for the cover, but Hangman survives.
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| Buckshot got sniped. AEW |
Ducking a chop, Fletcher shoves Hangman back to the ropes before pulling him up and around for a michinoku driver, again going for the pin and again, the Cowboy survives. A bodyslam and a kick to the neck softens him up further before climbing to the top and landing a big elbow drop. Another pin, another escape. Snatching Hangman's legs, Fletcher bends and twists him around into a high angle Boston crab, putting buckets of pressure on the neck and shoulder of the champion. He's able to get to the ropes to break the hold, with Fletcher marching around the ring, proud of his work thus far.
With Hangman backed into a corner, Fletcher lands a pair of his signature running corner kicks, rearranging the dental work of the champion. He rolls back for a third, but Hangman has enough juice left in the tank to fire out with a decapitating lariat, killing Fletcher where he stands. Both men are flat out after that devastating shot, trying to recover and collect their thoughts.
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| Sent to the nosebleeds! AEW |
With both men vertical, a back body drop opens the door for a fallaway slam by the Cowboy, clutching at his neck after the landing and kip up. The seconds he takes to nurse his wound nearly costs him as he turns around to a charging Fletcher, nearly getting caught but he's able to catch his challenger and toss him into the corner with another fallaway slam. A cover attempt is made, but it's unsuccessful. Trying to whip Fletcher, he holds onto the ropes and forces Hangman to exert extra pressure on his bad arm to try and wrench him free of the hold. Hangman reels back off the whip attempt, almost getting caught by Fletch again but again, is able to counter and hold him upside down on his back and shoulder.
He tries for Deadeye but Fletcher slips free, trying to half-and-half suplex the champion but he breaks free. A boot under the jaw rocks Hangman as Fletcher goes to rebound off the ropes, only to get caught by a champion nipping at his heels, sending him crashing to the floor with a lariat the second he turns to hit the ropes. Using the ropes for extra momentum, Hangman flies to the floor and crushes Fletcher beneath him, his face flushed with focus and determination. His shoulder may be racked with pain, but the champion is undaunted.
Climbing the apron, and now the corner, Hangman fights Fletcher off the apron before soaring through the air with his Orihara moonsault, again crushing his challenger beneath him. Rolling Fletcher back inside, one pop-up powerbomb leads into another, the second a sit out with Page holding Fletcher's legs down for thr- no! Only two!
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| The Cowboy flies! AEW |
A Deadeye is attempted, but Fletcher holds onto the top rope to prevent himself from going fully vertical. Shifting his stance, Hangman turns 180 and boots Fletcher in the gut, driving the wind out of his lungs and forcing him to land. Page puts himself in the corner now, springboarding out and catching Fletcher in a reverse DDT at first before pulling him up into the tombstone position. Fletcher counters by slipping back and pulling Hangman into the tombstone position himself, but the champion keeps his momentum and slips behind, shoving the Protostar into the corner. They jockey for the corner with Hangman taking it again, trying for another springboard flip out with Fletcher catching him under the jaw, dropping him to the canvas in a heap. Fletcher rips Hangman up and drills, and I mean drills him with a Liger bomb, but the champion survives!
Assaulting the champion with kicks to the back while near the ropes, Fletcher rips at the kenisio tape on his neck and shoulder, pulling off strips and tossing them aside. Arrogantly, Fletcher pulls Hangman out to the floor in a front facelock, looking around at the crowd as his victim stands limp. But not for long! With sudden quickness, Hangman springs to life and lands a huge tombstone piledriver on Fletcher! Getting Fletcher in a front facelock now, Hangman gives Fletcher a taste of his own medicine, landing a draping DDT off the apron and into the floor. Nasty.
Climbing back to the apron, Hangman climbs the corner again and flies! He lands on his feet and eats a nasty running kick from Fletcher, his momentum carrying him into the time keepers area. Standing on the table and using a chair to help elevate Hangman, Fletcher fucking obliterates him with a brainbuster. Don Callis puts it best on commentary; "that's it!"
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| Brainbustaaaaaaaa! AEW |
Holding the piece of gold he has yet to win, Fletcher barks in the face of the referee before going back to Hangman, tossing his corpse in the ring. He follows close behind and lines him up in the corner, firing out with his vicious corner boot. He catches Hangman as he droops out of the corner, placing him back in position before going for a second kick, pulling the champion up and drilling him with a sheer drop brainbuster. Fletcher covers, and the referee counts thr- no! It's still only two! Hangman survives!
The AEW faithful in Toronto let Fletcher know exactly what they think of him as a "you're not ready!" chant starts to build in volume.
Taking Hangman to the top rope, Fletcher tries for something but Hangman fights out and sunset flips over, getting his challenger into powerbomb position, but Fletcher breaks free! A thrust kick is caught and redirected, with Hangman scoring with a rolling forearm shot. He rebounds off the ropes for extra damage but this time, Fletcher's thrust kick finds its mark, stopping Page in his tracks. Hanger lands a boot when Fletcher hits the ropes but the Protostar gets the advantage back, a kick and a knee dropping Hangman against the ropes once again.
Finding himself neaer the table he set up earlier in the evening, Fletcher pulls Hangman to the apron and begins to pull him in for another brainbuster through the table, ready to kill the champion if that's what it will take to finally win the gold. He pulls him up but Page slips free, whiffing a lariat that turns him 180, allowing for Fletcher to land a kick to the back of his head. Yikes. Again, he tries for a brainbuster and again, Hangman slips out, this time able to take Fletcher onto his back before landing Deadeye through the table!
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| Deadeye? No, deadhead. AEW |
Clutching his neck, Hangman pulls Fletcher up and rolls him back inside the ring, wanting to capitalize on the damage he's dealt so far. Standing on the apron, he scopes in Hangman and fires, whiffing his Buckshot lariat by inches. Fletcher dodged the shot by pure luck and exhaustion alone, collapsing to his knees and then stomach as Hangman flies towards him. Both men barely get to their feet before the 10 count of the referee, but it's Hangman who stays on his feet. A gun to the sky, he calls his shot, firing, and then charging across the ring with a V trigger! Shades of Kenny Omega! He hoists Fletch onto his shoulder, looking for the finishing move of his former tag team champion partner, the One Winged Angel! If his shoulder wasn't as banged up as it is, he may have landed it, but he was forced to drop Fletcher back to the canvas.
A discus elbow is attempted but a thrust kick stops him, with Fletch pulling Hanger in for a powerbomb but Page lands another Deadeye! He lays out for the cover, but it's not enough! Justin Roberts announces that 30 minutes have elapsed, we're halfway through the time limit, with Hangman no stranger to wrestling a full 60. He's done it before, he can do it again.
Hangman goes for a lariat but Fletcher ducks, rebounding off the ropes with- WHAT?! AS hidden blade?! He holds Hangman in tight for the pin, but it's still, somehow, only two! Both men pulling out the best moves of their most iconic opponents, Fletch goes for Ospreay's Stormbreaker, only for Hangman to counter into Swerve's Big Pressure! My lord!
On the apron again, Hangman lines up Fletcher for the buckshot, desperate to finish this match before it goes much deeper. He fires and conne- no! Fletcher snags the lariat of Hanger and rolls through, turning it into a small package pin! He holds him for one! For two! For thre- no! No! Only two! Not releasing the facelock, Fletcher transitions right into his sheer drop brainbuster but hangman slips out, using the ropes to hold Fletch down with an o'connor roll. Wether he wanted this to end the match or not, it doesn't matter to Hanger, as he used Fletcher's kickout to put him in the perfect position for the Buckshot.
Back on the apron, he fires! He connec- NO! What?! Fletch twists the arm of Hanger into a sheer drop brainbuster! That's it! That's gotta be it! He covers! No! Two! Only two!
Disrespectfully kicking the head of the champion, Fletch is practically begging Hanger to do something. From his knees to his feet, the champion is on jelly legs but refuses to give in. His lariat barely staggers Fletcher, with a series of kicks leaving Hangman out on his feet. A massive short arm lariat folds Hangman, with Fletcher choosing to go for absolute broke in the main event, ripping the padding off the top turnbuckle, exposing the metal eye. Positioning Hangman chest first on the eye, Fletcher rolls to the opposite corner and fires, cracking Hangman in the back with a huge kick.
Seating Page on the top, he goes for a top rope brainbuster, wanting to drill the champion head first into the metal eye- but Hangman fights back. Desperate, he dribbles Fletcher off the eye and positions his head between the legs of Fletcher, landing a massive top rope Deadeye! With Fletcher all but out on his feet, he stumbles to centre and finds himself in the crosshairs of the Cowboy. Hangman lines up Fletcher, and lets loose with a Buckshot lariat, connecting with the killshot. He covers, the referee counting three. The Hangman retains his title, but only barely.
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| The hunter finds his mark. AEW |
Wow, what a match. Honestly, every expectation was met and exceeded. I knew these two could, and would, create magic in the ring, and this was exactly that. Hangman fought valiantly from beneath and more than proved that Fletcher can hang with the big dogs at the very top of the card, once he's ready to be put in that spot. Which, if you want my opinion, Fletcher is already there. Without a doubt. The story of the neck kept the champion vulnerable throughout and gave Fletch a weakness to isolate and work on from the opening bell. Can't tell a much tighter story than this one, honestly.
• • • • •
Another week down, onto the next!
Until next week. Take it easy, be well, and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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