We’re not expecting much title turnover tonight, considering the proximity to All In London, but all eight matches have the potential to deliver high-impact entertainment — particularly Will Ospreay vs. Pac. Here’s how we see the night unfolding.
AEW World Championship match – Bryan Danielson (c.) vs. Jack Perry – Danielson just won the championship less than two weeks ago, so him dropping it here would be a complete stunner. With AEW running Grand Slam in New York later this month and WrestleDream at the Tacoma Dome in Danielson’s home state of Washington next month, another title change would derail some serious momentum. Even with a loss, Perry will likely come out looking strong as he’s among the top heels in AEW right now. Prediction: Danielson retains the AEW World Championship.
AEW International Championship match – Will Ospreay (c.) vs. Pac – Similar to Danielson, Ospreay’s reign isn’t even two weeks old yet. On an absolutely loaded card, this showdown certainly has the potential to overshadow everything else. Not going to overcomplicate things with the pick here. Prediction: Ospreay retains the AEW International Championship.
AEW TBS Championship match – Mercedes Moné (c.) vs. Hikaru Shida – Shida is a three-time AEW Women’s Champion and has the longest combined reign in the company’s history, so she’s always justifiably in the mix for any championship match at a pay-per-view. On the other hand, Moné is one of the top female talents in the business right now and the right move is to have her continue to stack wins in the women’s division. Prediction: Moné retains the AEW TBS Championship
AEW Tag Team Championship match – The Young Bucks (c.) vs. Blackpool Combat Club – Double champions are rare in pro wrestling, so considering that the BCC already owns the AEW Trios Championship, I can’t see them walking out of Illinois with even more gold. It’s probably the right move for the Bucks’ third reign to end sooner rather than later — just not at All Out. Prediction: Young Bucks retain the AEW Tag Team Championship
AEW Continental Championship match — Kazuchika Okada vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Orange Cassidy vs Konosuke Takeshita – Easily the most volatile of the five championship matches on the card, I suspect we’ll see a title change here. Cassidy or Briscoe would ignite the crowd, but ultimately I think Takeshita capitalizes on the chaos and end’s Okada’s run. Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita wins the AEW Continental Championship.
Swerve Strickland vs. Adam ‘Hangman’ Page in a lights out, steel cage match – Look for Strickland’s stellar 2024 to continue with what should be an extremely violent match against Page. Throughout this year-long feud, Strickland has almost exclusively had the upper hand against Page, and I expect the same thing to happen tonight. Page is always going to be a big draw and a win really doesn’t put a bow on the feud to free these two up for fresh rivalries. Strickland losing would be a disservice to him and fans considering how the year has played out thus far. Prediction: Strickland wins
MJF vs. Daniel Garcia – Considering the back-and-forth nature of this budding rivalry so far, MJF is due to come out on top after Garcia cost him the International Championship at All In London. A win on either side won’t end the feud, so there’s relatively lower-than-usual stakes here for a pay-per-view match. Prediction MJF wins.
Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander in a Chicago street fight – AEW can’t go wrong with either winning this contest. Nightingale picked up a victory over Statlander in a mixed-tag match at All In London, so a victory here would wrap up this feud which started back at Double or Nothing. On the flip side, Statlander winning could potentially set up a trilogy match between the two and help build her into a bigger heel in the women’s division. Ultimately, I think there’s more to squeeze out of this story. Prediction: Statlander wins
