Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Final Picks for CM Punk, Kenny Omega and AEW All Out 2021 Match Card

Anthony Mango

AEW All Out 2021 is almost upon us, with the pay-per-view set to take place at the Now Arena in Chicago on Sunday night.

With CM Punk's return to wrestling, Chris Jericho's career on the line against MJF and multiple championships up for grabs, this could be a landmark show in the history of All Elite Wrestling.

Before the show starts, let's take one last look at the card and give a final round of predictions for who will come out on top in the contests.

(Buy In) 10-Man Tag Team Match: Best Friends and Jurassic Express vs. The HFO

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The lineup saw some restructuring when Andrade vs. PAC was postponed because of travel issues.

As such, the Casino Battle Royale was moved to the main card and this 10-man tag team match was put in its place for the Buy In.

Going with a happy result is a better strategy to keep the positive vibes going for the PPV, so considering the popularity of Jurassic Express and Best Friends, it seems easy to predict the babyfaces will win after scoring a pin on someone like Jack Evans.

Prediction: Best Friends and Jurassic Express win.

AEW Women's World Championship Match: Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Britt Baker has too big of a presence as champion to drop the AEW Women's Championship anytime soon. Her title reign is in virtually no danger at All Out.

However, Kris Statlander is great in her own right and has come a long way during her time with the company. She will be a fine champion one day, but now is not the time.

Baker has been groomed to be the star of the women's division from the very start of AEW. She's going to run through everyone before she loses this title, and there are still many names left to check off on the list.

Prediction: Baker retains.

Casino Battle Royale

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW plays loose with babyface and heel characters, but keeping in mind Baker is the likely champion the winner of the Casino Battle Royale will face, it makes more sense for a babyface to win this.

That should eliminate Nyla Rose, who already had her title shot, as well as the likes of The Bunny, Penelope Ford and so on. Red Velvet had her opportunity, too, so she's likely out of contention.

Big Swole would make a lot of sense to reignite her rivalry with The Doctor, and Tay Conti is also worthy of a shot at the title. Thunder Rosa vs. Baker was one of the highlight matches of the year, so there's undoubtedly interest in running that back.

However, for the sake of a shocker more than anything else, let's go with the surprise entrant winning. Former WWE star Ruby Riott is now going by the name of Ruby Soho, and her 90-day no-compete clause ran out Tuesday. She'll be a great fit on this roster and a great challenger for Baker.

       

Prediction: Ruby Soho wins.

MJF vs. Chris Jericho

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

If Chris Jericho fails to beat MJF, he has said he will no longer step inside the ring and wrestle. It's a challenge the heel couldn't pass up, but his pride will be his downfall.

To keep this story going as long as it has been—MJF initially turned on Jericho in Marchonly for the veteran to continue losing and eventually retire would be rather depressing.

Granted, that would be just the type of swerve Jericho would want, but there are too many other wrestlers in the company that he should still want to work, which would stop him from retiring.

It's too hard to believe Le Champion will be finished after this show, but it's a good hook to give the match greater stakes.

      

Prediction: Jericho wins.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

CM Punk's return is already a win to so many fans that his credibility won't take the slightest damage if he loses to Darby Allin.

That doesn't mean he's losing, though. Far from it. In fact, Allin stepping into the ring with Punk and working his comeback match is a win for the younger man as well. He should have no problem skating by this loss like it was nothing.

Punk likely handpicked the 28-year-old to work with because he's a fan and knows he can carry him if he's a little rusty. But since the former WWE Superstar will be the bigger deal at All Out, it makes sense for him to not lose on his return.

Punk should hit the GTS, get the win and put Allin over by giving him props after the match and allowing him to put up a great fight inside the ring.

        

Prediction: Punk wins.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

QT Marshall probably wouldn't have been the first choice for most fans when looking for opponents for Paul Wight, but the match is happening nevertheless.

This should be a straightforward squash in favor of the veteran. Marshall is a weasel heel who isn't in the upper echelon of the roster and depends on strength in numbers with The Factory to get any proper advantage.

Wight's size and experience give him the edge, as well as how he probably isn't going to lose his first match in AEW or it'll seem like he's stuck in the same poor booking territory he was in with WWE.

          

Prediction: Wight wins.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

All signs pointed to Jon Moxley facing Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, but something unknown has stopped that from happening.

As a result, Satoshi Kojima will take on the former AEW world champion instead.

It's nowhere near as important a match in comparison, so Moxley has to win to maintain the momentum for a clash with Tanahashi in the future.

Kojima will put up a fight and Moxley will show him respect afterward, but he's likely someone New Japan Pro-Wrestling has sent over without concern for the match result.

            

Prediction: Moxley wins.

AEW World Tag Team Championship Steel Cage Match

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The Young Bucks and The Lucha Brothers have traded wins and losses since the inception of AEW. They've even traded the AAA World Tag Team Championship back and forth.

Now, after having fought in a ladder match at All Out 2019, the battleground has changed to a steel cage.

Given the skill level of Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo and how well they know Nick and Matt Jackson, there's room to say they could walk out with the titles. But The Elite are on too much of a hot streak and the Bucks are doing too well as heel tag team champions to not say they're the favorites to retain.

The steel cage might not be able to keep The Good Brothers and Brandon Cutler from interfering, which should be how the champions manage to hold on to their belts.

          

Prediction: The Young Bucks retain.

AEW TNT Championship Match: Miro vs. Eddie Kingston

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Arguably the easiest match to predict on the card is Miro's TNT Championship defense against Eddie Kingston.

The Redeemer has been on a tear. Even when someone manages to get some good hits on him, he still ends up ripping them to shreds.

Kingston can take many hits and is among the toughest on the roster, but even he is going to fall to Miro and tap out.

                

Prediction: Miro wins.

AEW World Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Christian Cage scored an upset when he defeated Kenny Omega to win the Impact World Championship, but he's going to have to settle on that being good enough. It's not happening again at All Out.

Omega couldn't hold four belts for too much longer without it taking attention away from the top prize in AEW. Taking the Impact title from him was undoubtedly also a call made by that promotion, which might have specifically wanted Cage to be the one to merge the two belts and re-retire the TNA Championship.

That's quite the tip of the cap to Cage, who has been on a high note since returning to wrestling after nearly a decade in forced retirement.

Cage is undefeated and has already beaten The Best Bout Machine once. That's all the accolades he needs. Now, it's time for Omega to prove why he's champion and even the score between them, even if he has to use underhanded methods to win.

One way or another, he's hitting the One-Winged Angel, and Cage isn't kicking out.

             

Prediction: Omega retains.

                          

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.

   

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