MJF Makes Daniel Garcia a Star and Biggest Takeaways From AEW All Out 2024 Results
Kevin BergeSeptember 8, 2024MJF Makes Daniel Garcia a Star and Biggest Takeaways From AEW All Out 2024 Results0 of 9
MJF and Daniel Garcia delivered an intense battle of rivals that may have just taken Red Death to the next level as a performer.Credit: All Elite Wrestling.
All Elite Wrestling continued the tradition of presenting All In and All Out in short succession as the strongest stretch of action in the year for the company.
Heated battles delivered from Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page and MJF vs. Daniel Garcia.
The Elite successfully defended gold in great athletic showcases for the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada.
Jack Perry stepped up to Bryan Danielson and delivered a career-best effort. Will Ospreay and Pac did exactly what everyone expected and stole the show.
Mercedes Moné and Hikaru Shida delivered on the promise of two of the best women in the world clashing. Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander placed an exclamation mark on their intense rivalry.
All Out may not have been the most eventful night for AEW, but it was a night of pure wrestling action that delivered some important takeaways for the future.
Mariah May Needs a New Rival1 of 9
Mariah May won the AEW Women’s Championship in one of the most memorable matches at All In over Toni Storm. Afterward, The TImeless One walked out and has not been seen since.
It seems likely that Storm will not be back to challenge The Glamour soon, which means someone needs to step up in the meantime.
May defended her title against Nyla Rose in a solid match on Dynamite that was not built up. The next challenger should have a clear story.
On the Zero Hour, May attacked a still-injured Skye Blue, causing Queen Aminata to come out to help Blue.
Aminata is a solid challenger for May, but that segment alone is not nearly enough to build a complete angle, especially since Aminata does not have the obvious momentum to challenge the top champion.
The biggest name threat to May until Storm returns is Jamie Hayter, but that is not a story to rush. Thunder Rosa is also a major challenger for May at the right moment, and she has clear momentum after her feud with Deonna Purrazzo.
Daniel Garcia Is a Made Man After Incredible MJF Opener2 of 9
While Daniel Garcia has still not officially signed a new contract with AEW, Red Death is officially a main event act for the company.
His match with MJF was an incredible heated war that showed what both men were willing to do to hurt each other.
It was scrappy and technical in equal stretches until a finish that came off as only the first act in this rivalry. Given the post-match piledriver, a rematch is coming.
However, the lingering question remains: can Garcia beat MJF? The answer will likely only come after Garcia officially re-signs with AEW.
This could be a moot point if Red Death were to not re-sign with AEW, but given the incredible spotlight on him at All Out, it should be only a matter of time.
This performance may very well have raised the asking price on that contract as he is ready to step up in a big way.
Young Bucks Need More Fresh Challengers to Get Back on Track3 of 9
The tag team division used to be one of AEW’s calling cards. However, the spotlight on the division has fallen off significantly in the last year.
The Young Bucks have carried the division through some of its best and worst stretches. While Matt and Nick Jackson are starting to slow in the ring, they can still deliver in the ring.
The problem is competition. AEW has plenty of tag teams but not ones that seem interested in taking the AEW Tag Team Championships.
FTR and The Acclaimed are the exception, but their feuds with The Young Bucks are played out.
Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta pushed Matt and Nick to compete at a higher level in traditional tag team action for the first time in a while.
Private Party, Top Flight, The Conglomeration, Undisputed Kingdom, The Don Callis Family, The Patriarchy and so many more needs chances to step up.
While some may be involved in the trios division, there is no reason that the talent cannot thrive in both for years to come.
Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander are Ready to Take Over AEW’s Women’s Division4 of 9
Mariah May and Mercedes MonĂ© are great champions at the head of AEW’s women’s division, but two former TBS champions need to get back to the top of the card soon.
Willow Nightingale consistently gets massive reactions, rivaling the top babyfaces in the business. She could very well be the woman to dethrone Mariah May down the line, and it would be a special moment.
At the moment, Willow is CMLL world women’s champion, but AEW does not have control of the booking for that title.
Kris Statlander has been one of AEW’s biggest success stories as an early signing that has become one of the best women’s wrestlers in the company. Her recent heel turn has paid off big time.
Unfortunately, both top women’s champions are heels, so she may be waiting a while. Beyond a shot at Willow’s CMLL World Women’s Championship, she will need to find a new rival until the championship picture changes.
Both women though are AEW originals that can carry the division on their backs. It is time to commit to them.
AEW Must Make the 2024 Continental Classic All About Konosuke Takeshita5 of 9
Any time a champion must defend in a multi-person match, it is interesting to watch which wrestler the champion prioritizes. Kazuchika Okada was most worried about Konosuke Takeshita in his Fatal 4-Way defense.
That played out well as Okada was able to get Takeshita out of the way before picking up the win over Orange Cassidy.
This could be setting up Okada vs. Takeshita in the coming months, but more importantly, it likely guarantees that Takeshita will be involved in the Continental Classic.
As the lone AEW representative in the G1 Climax for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Takeshita turned heads with the performance of the tournament.
He can do the same in the C2, and AEW should let him. This is a chance to build up Takeshita as one of the top stars in the company.
Mercedes Moné Still Needs to Prove Her Claim to Be the Best6 of 9
Mercedes MonĂ© made a strong claim when she signed with AEW, calling herself greatest women’s wrestler of all time.
While she has had multiple quality matches since returning to AEW, she has struggled to break through the performance ceiling in the company.
Her Double or Nothing contest with Willow Nightingale was phenomenal as well as her work with Stephanie Vaquer at Forbidden Door, but she is not reaching that same level with others yet.
She and Hikaru Shida had a good match that was still the weakest match of an admittedly great match.
This is following up an unfortunate match with Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. at All In that AEW has mostly ignored since it happened. Even if that was The Doctor’s fault, The CEO set herself a high standard she has yet to fully meet.
MonĂ© did set a new standard for the women’s division with her contract, and it will hopefully lead to bigger contracts for talent like Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander and Mariah May when the time comes.
Still, it would be nice to see her push AEW to commit to the women’s division at the highest level, perhaps finally getting a true main event women’s match on pay-per-view.
A small step in the right direction would be to move away from the Moné Maker finisher, which is not landing even with her best opponents.
Bryan Danielson Gives Jack Perry His Career-Best Match7 of 9
Bryan Danielson is on the final stretch of his career. Every match is an important one for The American Dragon. It was telling that his first opponent was Jack Perry.
The Scapegoat has struggled to fully showcase himself as worthy of the moniker of top star in AEW, but he brought everything in his arsenal to his biggest match.
Perry delivered as did Danielson, as expected. This was the best match The Scapegoat has ever performed in by a wide margin.
It always helps to work with one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, but this was also a match well worth the legacy of The American Dragon.
He helped the rising 27-year-old phenom look like a true star. He can carry this forward as TNT champion and should be tough for anyone else to beat for a while.
Blackpool Combat Club Finally Matters Again8 of 9
When Blackpool Combat formed, it was supposed to be a super group, aligning the toughest men in AEW.
Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta took over the business for a while. However, the last year has been a struggle for BCC.
While The American Dragon and The Death Rider were finding success, BCC as a group came off secondary, isolated from that wider success.
That all changed with Moxley turning the crew against Danielson. Suddenly, the drama of BCC is the heart of the AEW World Championship scene.
Nothing is certain yet, but it seems likely that BCC is ready to end Danielson’s career, perhaps considering it a mercy to The American Dragon with his current neck health.
Marina Shafir and Pac seem to be in while Danielson is out. Yuta’s status is less certain. This is enticing television that will play out over months, even beyond the end of The American Dragon’s full-time career.
Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page is the Greatest Feud in AEW History9 of 9
When Swerve Strickland first came out to confront Hangman Adam Page, no one could have expected what it would lead to.
The Mogul invaded Page’s house. The Cowboy drank Swerve’s blood. The Mogul became AEW world champion. Page burned down Swerve’s childhood home the same day that The Mogul finally got the money to buy it back.
It all led up to an intense Lights Out Steel Cage match where both men bled all over the ring while possible shortening their careers. The ending was so brutal that the commentators were in shock.
It was an incredible moment in this feud that could have ended it, but given the intensity of this rivalry, it is likely that Swerve and Page will always be connected.
While AEW has told many great stories over the years, including Hangman’s own rivalry with Kenny Omega, this feud is AEW’s greatest moment, the gold standard that the company will seek for years to come.
