All eyes are on All Elite Wrestling’s world title picture. Following AEW World Champion CM Punk’s foot injury two months ago, AEW President Tony Khan elected to crown an interim champion, setting the stage for an inevitable unification bout for whenever Punk was cleared for competition. That temporary titleholder would go on to be Jon Moxley, who defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to claim the Interim AEW World Championship at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door. Since then, Mox has defended the strap against the likes of Brody King and “Lionheart” Chris Jericho ahead of Punk’s comeback. The Best in the World returned on the August 10th edition of AEW Dynamite, coming to the aid of his current rival.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Punk then kicked off last week’s AEW Dynamite, addressing the audience for the first time since announcing his injury months prior. Unexpectedly, Punk began his promo by calling out Hangman Page, the man he defeated for the AEW World Title at AEW Double or Nothing, for a rematch. This challenge was reportedly not involved in the show’s script, as many believed Punk went into business for himself by calling out his former foe.
The Lineal AEW World Champion would then turn his sights to Moxley, who eventually hit the ring and sparked a brawl. While it was broken up by security and AEW officials, this brawl would continue later in the broadcast. The inseparability of the two champions was enough to fast track their unification bout by two weeks, as it was announced that this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite would host Moxley vs. Punk for the Undisputed AEW World Title.
With the expected main event of AEW All Out arriving 11 days before the pay-per-view, fans are left in the rare position of not knowing what the world title match is on arguably AEW’s biggest show of the year. That said, AEW has plenty of options for what will fulfill that main event slot.
CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley
The clearest option for AEW All Out remains what was initially scheduled: CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley. This could be due to Wednesday’s unification match never beginning, as professional wrestling promotions are no stranger to teasing upcoming pay-per-view matches on television, or it reaching an inconclusive ending.
Punk or Moxley could cheat to win, giving either man a claim to a rematch at the pay-per-view. The match could finish in a count out or disqualification, which means neither title can change hands, or someone could interfere before either man claims victory.
CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page
While Hangman Page is very much roped in an AEW Trios Titles Tournament storyline with the Dark Order at the moment, the former AEW World Champion does not technically have a match scheduled at All Out. The latest edition of Being The Elite teased that Hangman could wind up tagging with the Dark Order in the tournament rather than simply being in their corner, but that is far from confirmed.
Hangman seemed distant from the world title picture until Punk’s promo. Reports say that Punk’s challenge to Hangman was a shoot, but AEW has never been shy about turning unscripted moments into a worked storyline. The buzz generated around Punk’s promo could be enough to insert Hangman into All Out‘s main event, making it a triple threat match between himself, Punk, and Moxley. That could be due to an inconclusive finish on Dynamite, meaning the All Out match is still to crown an undisputed champion, or it could be a standard title match with either Punk or Moxley holding the undisputed title come the pay-per-view.
Most AEW World Title matches have been singles bouts, but the promotion has run a three-man contest before. AEW Double or Nothing 2021 saw then-champion Kenny Omega defend his strap against Orange Cassidy and Pac.
CM Punk vs. Hangman Page
Another combination of the three most recent AEW World Champions is a singles rematch between Punk and Page. This could be put in place following Wednesday’s unification bout, as after Punk theoretically defeats Moxley, Hangman could hit the ring to belatedly answer the challenge.
Pivoting to this match would be uncharacteristic of AEW, as just about every one of their pay-per-view main events has been set in stone weeks before the shows go down. That said, the company loves to capitalize on buzz, and a rematch between Hangman and Punk coming off of this freshly reported bad blood could be seen as a bigger money match-up than Punk vs. Moxley.
Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page
In one of the more unlikely scenarios, there’s a chance that All Out‘s main event doesn’t even include CM Punk. Some of the reports following last week’s unscripted promo claimed that Punk was so frustrated that people backstage believed he could quit the company altogether. Punk’s recent Instagram post disputes that, as he indicated that he’s here “until the wheels fall off.”
That said, Punk’s absence from All Out is still on the table. If Moxley walks away Wednesday with the Undisputed AEW World Title, Hangman could emerge as the next challenger, effectively leaving Punk off of the show completely.
Still, with All Out being in Punk’s hometown and the Lineal AEW World Champion being the most popular star in the company at the moment, it’s extremely unlikely that the Second City Saint will sit on the sidelines next month.
CM Punk vs. MJF
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.”
Maxwell Jacob Friedman uttered those infamous words to a bludgeoned Punk ahead of their dog collar match at AEW Revolution, and there’s a chance they could ring true again soon. Recent rumblings indicate that MJF is expected to be back on AEW programming sooner than later, as the company is preparing for a big fall. The outspoken star has been away from AEW since June 1st, where he cut what many are already calling an all-time promo. MJF ran down the locker room, the fans, and AEW President Tony Khan en route to an explicitly-riddled plea to be fired.
While this situation apparently began as real life frustrations, AEW’s allowance of a live mic to MJF on that night indicates that the star’s anger is being woven into a storyline. That storyline could write its next chapter this Wednesday, as fans have speculated that AEW’s consecutive returns of Punk and Kenny Omega could continue with MJF.
There’s a universe where MJF shows face on Dynamite, attacking his old rival in Punk following his unification victory. From there, AEW could book Punk vs. MJF III to go down at AEW All Out, with the Salt of the Earth threatening to mirror Punk’s WWE Title victory at WWE Money in the Bank 2011 by officially walking out of the company. This would be another last minute pivot, but given the promo history of Punk and MJF, the two really only need one week to talk people into an arena.
What do you believe the AEW World Title match at AEW All Out will be? Let me know on Twitter @LiamTCrowley!
