After five years of the All Out event in AEW, some of the greatest matches have taken place at the annual Chicago show.
From the opening bout between SCU and Jurassic Express in 2019 to the Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley bloodbath in 2023, the show always delivers incredible matches and amazing moments.
Tony Khan sees All Out as a tradition in AEW, coming to Chicago on Labor Day weekend and bringing a jam-packed weekend of incredible wrestling action.
In this article, we’ll look at all the best matches from every AEW All Out event, looking at which bouts stole the show at these AEW events:
- All Out 2019
- All Out 2020
- All Out 2021
- All Out 2022
- All Out 2023
Tell us in the comments section about your favorite matches from AEW All Out, once you finish reading this article about AEW All Out’s best matches of all time.
Lucha Bros vs Young Bucks – Ladder Match (AEW All Out 2019)
The best match from the first AEW All Out event in 2019 was undoubtably the ladder match between two of the greatest tag teams in the world.
Nick and Matt Jackson, also known as The Young Bucks, attempted to win the AAA Tag Team Championships from the Lucha Bros, as they did battle with brothers Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr.
Both of these teams had a reputation for incredible in-ring ability prior to AEW, and they proved it in spades in their ladder match at All Out 2019. It was the first ladder match in company history and was for the AAA Tag Team Titles.
Both team went absolutely crazy with dangerous spots and incredible high flying action.
The match was wrestled at 100mph and features some incredible spots off the top of ladders. Not all of it was well received, with some criticizing high-risk moves like the Canadian Destroyer off a ladder and through a table.
However, it is one match you simply cannot look away from and definitely good enough to be AEW’s second five star match.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – 5.25 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 9.17
- Atletifo Rating – 5 Stars
FTR vs Adam Page & Kenny Omega (AEW All Out 2020)
The pandemic forced fans out of the arenas and deeply affected the quality of the wrestling shows in 2020, but that didn’t stop two of the top tag teams from giving it their all.
Tensions were at an all-time high between Kenny Omega and Adam Page during All Out 2020. The AEW Tag Team Champions weren’t on the same page, as Page’s relationship with The Elite was deeply clouding his judgement.
After he cost the Young Bucks in their match against FTR, Page was rewarded with a title defense against Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood – the newly signed tag team who jumped ship from WWE months early.
While it was a good wrestling with some fantastic tag team action and exciting moments, the tiny crowd really stunted any momentum the match might have had.
It was the best match on the All Out 2020 show, but an odd ending and lack of atmosphere really hurt the bout between Page & Omega and FTR.
The post match, however, saw an emotional Omega nearly hit Adam Page with a chair, before allowing him to collapse in the ring and abandoning him, cementing his heel turn.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 7.79
- Atletifo Rating – 3 Stars
Young Bucks vs Lucha Brothers – Steel Cage Match (AEW All Out 2021)
An all-time great show took place at All Out 2021. It was AEW’s biggest selling PPV (over 200,000 buys) and saw CM Punk‘s first match in seven years, as well as debuts for Adam Cole, Minoru Suzuki and Bryan Danielson.
However, it was once again the job of Young Bucks vs Lucha Bros to steal the show, putting on the best match from that year’s event.
The two sets of brothers had an incredible match, confined to a steel cage surrounding the ring. The four men spent 22 short minutes completely destroying each other with destructive results.
One highlight was Matt Jackson kicking Penta and Rey Fenix with a shoe with thumbtacks stuck to the bottom of it. It looked like some ridiculous medieval torture device, and absolutely tore Penta El Zero M’s face to smitherines.
The wrestlers didn’t stop for the entire 22 minutes. It was a fast-paced, all-action thrill ride that needs to be seen to be believed. It is well worth watching this match in its entirety, or else you will not believe anything you have read about this match.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – 5.75 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 9.50
- Atletifo Rating – 5 Stars
Swerve In Our Glory vs The Acclaimed (AEW All Out 2022)
Despite being overshadowed by CM Punk’s post-show press conference and the backstage fight known as “Brawl Out”, the tag team title match really stole the show at All Out 2022.
The crowd really made this match go from good to great, cheering on the entire match and being firmly behind the rapping duo of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens.
The energy of the match was on another level. Both Swerve in our Glory and The Acclaimed played to the crowd perfectly, building when they needed to and having a breather (albeit rarely) when the crowed needed calming down.
The one issue of the match was the finish, having The Acclaimed lose the bout. It seemed like the perfect time to hand them the belts, but other than that it was an exceptionally match.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 9.09
- Atletifo Rating – 4 Stars
Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks – Strap Match (AEW All Out 2023)
There are three matches that could be given the best match of AEW All Out 2023 – and maybe of any All Out event ever.
While Kenny Omega vs Konosuke Takeshita, or the main event match of Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley, are both some of the best matches in AEW history, the finest match on this card had to be Bryan Danielson’s clash with Ricky Starks.
Recovering astonishingly quickly after a broken arm against Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door, Bryan Danielson made a shock return to face Ricky Starks at All Out.
Wrestling in a strap match (which Danielson did in honor of the late Bray Wyatt), the pair gave it their all in a match that wowed the fans in Chicago.
“The last time I was in a strap match, it was with someone I love, and we beat the sh*t out of each other! I don’t love you.. I don’t even like you!” Danielson said.Bryan Danielson references Bray Wyatt before All Out 2023.
Entering to the iconic “Final Countdown” by Europe, Danielson was serenaded by the crowd as he stepped into the ring for the first time in months.
Final Countdown.
Bryan Danielson.
Pure goosebumps.
If Tony Khan actually bought this in perpetuity, then he’s literally god.pic.twitter.com/oeMvEZK4VO— Drainmaker 🌧️ 💵 (@DrainBamager) September 4, 2023
Building on this, Danielson and Starks had one of the hardest-hitting matches in AEW history. Kicks, forearms and simply whipping each other with the strap, nothing was off limits for these two.
Ricky Steamboat even got involved, hitting punches and chips onto Big Bill after he tried to get involved in the finish of the match.
At the end of a bloody war, Bryan Danielson made Ricky Starks pass out by choking him with the strap in the LaBelle lock, marking an incredible return to the ring after injury.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Ratings –
- Cagematch Rating – 9.39
- Atletifo Rating – 4.5 Stars