All Elite Wrestling’s roster has been plagued with injuries throughout much of 2021. Following his defeat at AEW Full Gear last November, Kenny Omega has been on the shelf nursing multiple injuries. During the time that the Best Bout Machine has been recovering, top talent like Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Santana, Bryan Danielson, and Jungle Boy all suffered setbacks that kept them out of action for various periods of time. One of the bigger injuries came with AEW World Champion CM Punk, who suffered a broken foot just days after capturing the promotion’s top prize.
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Since Punk has been out of the ring, AEW has crowned an Interim World Champion in the form of Jon Moxley. After defeating New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Hiroshi Tanahashi at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door for the title, Mox has successfully defended it against the likes of Brody King and “Lionheart” Chris Jericho. Following his defense against the latter, Moxley was subject to a beatdown at the hands of the Jericho Appreciation Society, just for the Blackpool Combat Club to make the save. While the numbers game still outmatched Mox’s faction, “Cult of Personality” hit.
AEW World Champion CM Punk made his long-awaited return this past Wednesday, clearing the ring of the JAS and staring down Interim Champion Moxley in the process. Despite this looking like a clear sign that Punk and Moxley are on a collision course for AEW All Out next month, that is not yet officially the case.
As reported by Fightful Select, AEW plans on running CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley to determine the undisputed AEW World Champion as All Out‘s headlining match. That said, the report emphasizes that Punk is still rehabbing his surgically-repaired foot. Punk was said to still be in pain as of a few weeks ago, and only recently abandoned his walking boot. To ensure Punk is close to 100% for All Out, Fightful Select notes that he will likely not wrestle before the pay-per-view.
Looking towards Omega, signs are pointing towards the master of the One-Winged Angel making his return next week on AEW Dynamite. The Young Bucks are in need of a partner ahead of their AEW Trios Titles Tournament match against Andrade El Idolo, RUSH, and Dragon Lee, and with Hangman Page declining their offer, all eyes are on Omega being the final piece. PWInsider reports that it is “very likely” Omega ends up being that mystery partner.
As for Omega’s All Outย plans, the former AEW World Champion has plenty of options. The clearest path for Omega would be joining the Young Bucks in the trios tournament and making it all the way to the finals, which are scheduled to go down at the upcoming pay-per-view. If The Elite fail to make it all the way, Omega could find himself in trios action alongside Matt and Nick Jackson against Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly. The Undisputed Elite recently turned on the Bucks, attacking the former AEW World Tag Team Champions on the August 3rd edition of AEW Dynamite. As of this writing, both Cole and O’Reilly remain uncleared for competition.
Besides the trios options, Omega has a number of singles opponents ready and waiting. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a rematch between Omega and Danielson, who wrestled to a 30-minute time limit draw last September at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam. While he is not under AEW contract, Will Ospreay finds himself on the same side of the trios bracket as Omega. If they don’t cross paths in the tournament, they could meet each other in singles competition at All Out. For anyone who has followed either man over the past few years, it’s evident that there is no love lost between the two former IWGP Heavyweight Champions.
“This is the reason I don’t like Kenny. This is where some people can relate. When you say something to me, look me in the eye, and speak to me, when you talk to me and tell me this and then go to fans and talk differently, that’s where we have a problem. You have my number, if we have a problem, call me and we can f–king talk about this,” Ospreay said of Omega in July. “I don’t have anything to say to him. Be all, end all, I’m sure if everyone was in the same room, I would slap him. The worst thing is, people are gonna listen and be like, ‘They’re building to something.’ We’re not building up to anything. He’s a c–t. I will slap that boy and remind him, ‘You’re a f–king 40-year-old man and you’re f–king fragile. Do you really want to get with me? I will end you.’”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for further updates on the AEW All Out card.
