Jim Ross says Jon Moxley has turned himself into the closest thing AEW has to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he expects a strong night from the company at All Out.
Ross went through the card on the latest episode of Grilling JR, starting with the main event, where Will Ospreay defends the AEW World Championship against Moxley. All Out takes place Saturday, September 26 at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, outside Chicago.
“It’ll be dramatic. It’ll be athletic. Ospreay is kind of an athletic freak of nature. He’s got great balance and leaping ability, all that,” Ross said. “And of course, Mox continues to make himself into about the closest thing that AEW has to Stone Cold right now.”
Ross, who called Austin’s entire peak run in WWE, said the comparison goes beyond what Moxley does in the ring.
“He’s in a leadership position, whether officially or unofficially, in AEW. I know he’s highly regarded by the decision makers, and as they should,” Ross said. “He has a lot to offer. I think those guys that have that kind of background and ability are hard to discount on a big game day. You just don’t do it.”
Ospreay won the title from Kenny Omega at All In at Wembley Stadium last month. Moxley, who leads the Death Riders, is the reigning AEW Continental Champion and beat Ospreay in a Continental Championship match at Dynasty earlier this year.
Ross also picked Andrade El Idolo to retain the AEW National Championship against PAC, and had more to say about the champion than the match.
“I think El Idolo will win the match. I think it’ll be a hell of a match. Two unique styles,” Ross said. “A British-born competitor like PAC, who we talked about what William Regal said about him last week. He’s a stud now. He’s a genuine stud, no doubt about that.”
The bigger praise went to Andrade.
“But I have been overwhelmingly impressed with the repackaging, so to speak, of Andrade El Idolo,” Ross said. “He’s never been better in WWE and in AEW than he is right now. They’ve done a great job of booking him, and he’s done a great job of his hair and his ring attire. He’s just a real pro, and he’s a real good worker, man.”
Ross said Ric Flair, the father-in-law of Grilling JR host Conrad Thompson, flagged Andrade’s ceiling as soon as he arrived in AEW.
“Your beloved father-in-law told me when Andrade first came into AEW that he has potential to be a big star, and that’s a true assessment,” Ross said. “He has become, he’s becoming a big star.”
The match Ross said he is really waiting on is Andrade against Ospreay.
“I can only rub my hands together in anticipation for when El Idolo fights Ospreay, because that match will be off the page,” Ross said.
On the tag match pitting TNT Champion Darby Allin and Steven Borden against the Don Callis Family’s Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight, with a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship for the winners, Ross expects an offense-heavy match and warned about the risk of overdoing it.
“Lots of offense. Lots of offense from both teams,” Ross said. “A lot of guys leaving their feet voluntarily, which can bite you in the ass if you do too much, and it becomes predictable. Everybody’s going to try to outperform their adversaries.”
Ross picked Allin and Borden, though he allowed that Thompson’s pick of Fletcher and Knight was reasonable.
“You could be right. I mean, it’s viable. It’s possible,” Ross said.
Borden, the son of Sting, debuted on Dynamite on September 9 after a run of dark matches and is unbeaten so far. All Out is his first pay-per-view appearance. Ross said having his father to review his work with is a real advantage.
“Borden is new, and he’s going to be special. And I’m sure his dad has some influence there,” Ross said, describing the kind of feedback a father could offer after a show: what should have been done differently, what looked good, how his dropkicks are coming along, how his body keeps improving.
“I think Borden’s going to be a big star in AEW, without question,” he said.
Ross said AEW’s track record on major shows is what makes him confident about the card overall.
“Nobody surpasses AEW in effort on these big events. Nobody,” Ross said. “You’ll see great performances out of these guys. It’s a good card too, Conrad. It’s well booked.”
He said the sellout should only help.
“A sold out crowd in advance is a blessing, because the anticipation will continue to build for these individuals,” Ross said. “They know they got one of the few tickets available, and they’re going to go to the event because the card is impressive as hell.”
The rest of the card includes Kazuchika Okada defending the AEW International Championship against Tommaso Ciampa, a three-way ladder match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, a Chicago Street Fight for the women’s tag titles, and Willow Nightingale against Thekla to determine the next challenger for Mercedes Mone.
