AEW goes ALL OUT on Sunday, which means Steve Cook lets you know what bets he’s ALL IN on! (See what we did there?)

If it’s Labor Day Weekend, All Elite Wrestling is going All Out. The third edition of the event will be taking place this Sunday in Chicago, where apparently every single wrestling promotion runs all their shows now. Crazy times in the Windy City.

You know the deal by now. BetOnline gives us the odds, we tell you how to make some money. A little secret though…the favorites have been doing pretty well. SummerSlam saw one underdog win, and since it was Charlotte Flair, it’s tough to call her an underdog at any point. AEW’s booking for PPV events tends to be predictable as well, so I’m not expecting to see a ton of underdog victories this Sunday.

Nevertheless, let’s break down the card!

Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor & Wheeler Yuta) & Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) vs. Matt Hardy, Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) & TH2 (Angelico & Jack Evans)

The Buy-In match seems like a good way to get the fans happy heading into the show. Take some of your popular babyfaces, have them beat some heels. Simple enough, right? Should odds become available here, OC, Chucky T, Wheelie, JB & LS seem like the pick.

Casino Battle Royale (Winner Gets A AEW Women’s Championship Match):
Nyla Rose vs. Thunder Rosa vs. The Bunny vs. Big Swole vs. Tay Conti vs. Diamante vs. Penelope Ford vs. Red Velvet vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Emi Sakura vs. Jade Cargill vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Abadon vs. Leyla Hirsch vs. KiLynn King vs. Rebel vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Anna Jay vs. Riiho vs. Skye Blue vs. TBD

With Julia Hart taken out, Tony Khan rewarded local talent Skye Blue with a spot after Friday night’s Dark taping. There hasn’t been a line set as I write this, so let’s break this one down real quick.

No Chance: Big Swole, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King

No offense to anybody mentioned there, but we have to be honest. Can you see any of them winning based off of their portrayal on AEW television? I can’t. Maybe one of them gets it as a swerve, but I can’t tell you to bet on a swerve.

Little Chance: Nyla Rose, Red Velvet, The Bunny, Penelope Ford, Rebel, Jaime Hayter

Nyla & Red already got their title shots. Bunny & Ford are kind of in the same boat: they wouldn’t make sense as a challenger for a heel Dr. Baker. Rebel & Hayter are Britt’s friends. They’ll try and take out some of the competition, but they won’t be the competition.

Not Yet: Jade Cargill, Leyla Hirsch, Anna Jay, Skye Blue

Jade’s time will come, but this will serve as a stage for her to eliminate a bunch of people & look impressive in the process. Hirsch has potential but the booking isn’t quite there for her yet. Anna needs more experience. Skye Blue would be a fun story with her local ties, but I’m not sure they go that far with her yet.

The Contenders: Thunder Rosa, Tay Conti, Hikaru Shida, Abadon, Riiho, TBD

Well of course we’d like to see Thunder take on Britt again. Tay definitely deserves a chance. Shida’s been nowhere since losing the championship, deserves a bit better than that. Riiho’s back now. As for Abadon, I think the segments with her & Britt could be amusing. If “TBD” is Ruby Soho, you have to like her chances.

If I have to pick one, I’m going with Thunder Rosa. If Riiho has some long odds, I’d lean her way.

Jon Moxley (-600) vs. Satoshi Kojima (+350)

.@JonMoxley will take on the former #IWGP Champion #SatoshiKojima (@cozy_lariat) of @njpw1972 at #AEWAllOut THIS SUNDAY, Sept. 5 LIVE on Pay Per View!
Find out how you can watch #AEWAllOut: https://t.co/xu27F2B7IW pic.twitter.com/9wJNNExKRZ

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 2, 2021

This is kind of a throwback to the era of Super Indy Booking. In lieu of challenging for the AEW World Championship, Moxley has been issuing open challenges to the best of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Which isn’t a terrible idea with the Forbidden Door being a thing, and it’s interesting to see who they can get to come through.

The only problem is the fact that fans tend to get their hopes up. When Hiroshi Tanahashi made an appearance on AEW & won the NJPW US Championship in Los Angeles, and word came around that Tanahashi would be appearing in the United States more often, everybody decided that meant Tanahashi vs. Moxley would be at All Out. When Kojima was announced instead, some were disappointed. Which is insane, because even at 50 years old, Kojima should be a big deal to American wrestling fans familiar with Japanese wrestling.

The one downside to me: it’s more predictable. Jon Moxley isn’t losing here. The outcome of the eventual Moxley vs. Tanahashi will be harder to predict.

Paul Wight (-600) vs. QT Marshall (+350)

You fans can tag TK and complain all you want, but I'll say it again for those in the IWC who apparently can't comprehend what's happening ….

QT is on your TV!
QT is on the ALL OUT PPV!
QT has become a thing!

See you Sunday, MARKS!#TheFactory #AEW #AEWALLOUT @AEWonTNT @AEW pic.twitter.com/ocMOrJDAzL

— QT Marshall (@realmmarshall1) September 2, 2021

One argument hardcore WWE fans have always liked to make against something a non-WWE fed does is “If WWE did this, you’d hate it!”. How many times have we heard this over the years, against things that practically nobody is defending? See, when you’re a fan of a promotion instead of just a fan of good pro wrestling regardless of where it comes from, you feel compelled to defend everything that promotion does, regardless of the quality. Hardcore AEW fans shouldn’t feel compelled to defend this match, which WWE fans can rightly say people would hate on WWE television.

Hardcore AEW fans should feel annoyed that QT Marshall is taking away TV time from tons of people on the AEW roster with more viability. Yes, it’s nice that QT does a lot of valuable backstage work, but it never looks good when a guy that helps format the TV shows makes room for himself when nobody’s asking for it. (Key distinction there. Sometimes in the past, people with a lot of backstage power gave themselves lots of TV time, but it was ok because most fans wanted to see it.) Granted, in the big scheme of things QT’s amount of time on Dynamite & Rampage isn’t much, but it’s still more than a lot of deserving talent on the roster gets.

There’s really no reason to give this match much discussion, as Paul Wight will make short work of QT. I just felt it was important to note that not everything on a show deserves your effort of defending it.

If Chris Jericho Loses, He Retires:
Chris Jericho (-250) vs. MJF (+175)

"I am going to have the distinct honor of ending one of the greatest runs in professional wrestling!" – @The_MJF with a heavy warning for @IAmJericho prior to their match this Sunday at #AEWAllOut on PPV!

Tune in to @tntdrama NOW to watch #AEWDynamite! pic.twitter.com/VtRbbij9tv

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 2, 2021

Does Chris Jericho want to retire?

That’s what this comes down to. I could see Jericho deciding that the Rampage commentator gig isn’t a bad spot at this point, opening him up to do other things. Reviews of his recent matches have been mixed at best, as his body’s breaking down at a more rapid rate than other wrestlers of his age. Given the age of most people in main events these days, we can’t use age as a guide of when a wrestler should retire.

Then again, I find myself wondering when I started buying into wrestler retirements again. Jericho could retire here, then pop up in WWE. Or he could retire here, then pop up under a mask in AEW not long afterward. Or they could just do the Last Stampede angle every once in awhile where Jericho is drawn back into the ring by circumstances. What I will say is that Jericho seems determined to make MJF as big as he can be, and I wouldn’t be shocked if MJF won here to send Jericho away at least for a little while. Most importantly of all, MJF’s gloating after a win here would be glorious.

So out of your underdogs going into this show, MJF is one of the better bets.

TNT Championship Match:
Miro (-400) vs. Eddie Kingston (+250)

The Wu said it best… You best protect your neck.@MadKing1981. @ToBeMiro. This Sunday at #AllOut pic.twitter.com/JbEzrdJ9sY

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 2, 2021

Miro has been operating on another level lately, so it’s tough to see him losing the TNT Championship soon. Especially when you consider that Eddie’s mostly been operating in tag team situations with Jon Moxley. The drawback about the booking is that they didn’t give these guys six weeks to cut promos on each other. Should be a decent match, they’ll work fairly stiff & lay the lumber in, but yeah, Miro’s winning here.

AEW Women’s Championship Match:
Dr. Britt Baker (-600) vs. Kris Statlander (+350)

Can’t wait to be back in #Brittago this week.

D👇🏻M👇🏻D👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/3XHZogYel9

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) August 31, 2021

Way too soon to take the title off of Dr. Baker. As much as I like Statlander, Baker’s reign needs some challengers properly built up to her level. Whether or not AEW is willing to do that or not can be debated given the womens’ positioning on the shows since Baker won the title. They seem to be trying a bit more lately, featuring Tay Conti, Penelope Ford & The Bunny on the last couple episodes of Dynamite & Rampage. Frankly, most of them just need more time. Red Velvet & Jade Cargill will get there someday.

Until then, Dr. Britt Baker will have to do the best with what she’s given.

AEW Tag Team Championship Steel Cage Match:
The Young Bucks (-110) vs. Lucha Brothers (-130)

Well I guess it’s come to this. One of our greatest rivals, The Lucha Bros in a steel cage? Get ready to bleed, boys. #AEWAllOut pic.twitter.com/ccWfwjMkt9

— Young Bucks® (@youngbucks) August 28, 2021

It really seemed like Jurassic Express was being set up for this match for a minute there. We get Fenix & Pentagon instead, which I will never complain about because they are Fenix & Pentagon. Also, they have a bit of history with the Bucks, which justifies the presence of the fifteen-foot high steel cage to a certain extent. It should be completely insane action that you’ll either love or hate depending on your opinion of the Young Bucks & Lucha Brothers. You know what you’re getting from these guys. A cage might change things a little, but probably not too much.

People are trying to tell me the Lucha Brothers should win here. I wouldn’t be offended by it, but it feels like the Young Bucks‘ run still has some more juice in it. More good guy challengers out there than evil ones.

AEW World Championship Match:
Kenny Omega (-700) vs. Christian Cage (+400)

An All Out assault by #TheElite on @Christian4Peeps and the #LuchaBros before #AEWAllOut this Sunday on PPV. This is sickening! pic.twitter.com/nBJYQQURzW

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 2, 2021

It still kind of feels like this should have been Hangman Page’s match, but they’ve certainly done their best to heat up this issue the last couple of weeks. Christian got the big win over Kenny for the Impact title, there have been a couple of Elite beatdowns, Don Callis being called a carnival piece of excrement…fun for the whole family! For a last minute piece of business it’s not the worst I’ve ever seen.

Match should be great too. I still don’t see much of a way that Kenny Omega loses this match. All due respect to Christian, who’s gotten an unwarranted amount of flack for his less than thrilling debut on AEW television. He can still go and should be a good asset for AEW in the years to come. He’s just not going to beat Kenny Omega at All Out.

CM Punk (-600) vs. Darby Allin (+350)

.@DarbyAllin and @Sting helped @CMPunk fight off an attack from @GarciaWrestling and #2point0 on #AEWDynamite. Cannot wait for CM Punk vs Darby Allin this Sunday at #AEWAllOut LIVE on PPV!

How to Watch: https://t.co/29mWMvL76S pic.twitter.com/2gghhjDL0K

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 2, 2021

The interesting part here has little to do with the result. CM Punk should probably win his first match in over seven years. If for no other reason that the Chicago crowd will likely riot if Punk doesn’t get his hand raised. No, what we’ll all be watching in this match is Punk’s performance level. Can he still go?

That doesn’t matter as much for CM Punk as it does for other top wrestlers of his era. Guys like Bryan Danielson & AJ Styles need to be able to perform at a very top level. They don’t have as many other intangibles to make up for it as Punk does. Punk’s main strength is his ability on the microphone, and as long as he has his voice & mental faculties, he won’t lose that. However, if Punk goes out there and stinks the joint out, it’s going to change things. Might make it easier to turn Punk heel!

We’ll hope to see an impressive performance from Darby, who’s getting quite the push from some very established talent. If CM Punk & Sting are working with you, you better be a top star eventually. Losing won’t affect him as long as he does something crazy, which seems like a foregone conclusion.

OK, so this is looking like another show where the favorites reign supreme. Should still be a fun one though, and maybe I’ll be wrong!