Biggest Takeaways from AEW All Out 2021 Results

All Elite Wrestling has been running at a fever pitch lately, and it all reached a crescendo at All Out on Sunday night.

This event saw the return of CM Punk to in-ring action, most of the company's gold on the line, Chris Jericho's career on the line and some of the hottest young talent the industry has to offer.

It was a show that sought to firmly plant AEW as undeniable competition to WWE.

Now that the pay-per-view has finished, let's reflect on All Out and discuss some of the biggest takeaways from the show.

• 10-man tag team match: Best Friends and Jurassic Express defeated The Hardy Family Office by submission.
• Miro defeated Eddie Kingston by pinfall to retain the TNT Championship.
• Jon Moxley defeated Satoshi Kojima by pinfall.
• Britt Baker defeated Kris Statlander by submission to retain the AEW Women's World Championship.
• Steel Cage match: The Lucha Brothers defeated The Young Bucks by pinfall to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
• Ruby Soho won the Casino Battle Royale to earn a future title shot for the AEW Women's World Championship.
• Chris Jericho defeated MJF by submission.
• CM Punk defeated Darby Allin by pinfall.
• Paul Wight defeated QT Marshall by pinfall.
• Kenny Omega defeated Christian Cage by pinfall to retain the AEW World Championship.

Ever since the creation of AEW, there has been a running theme of taking wrestlers WWE didn't consider to be top talent and proving that mentality wrong.

This has been a running theme in the company, and Cody Rhodes even hosted a show entitled From Undesirable to Undeniable.

Of course, there are plenty in AEW who have never been in WWE and are making names for themselves without that albatross of trying to prove themselves despite how they were booked by Vince McMahon and Co. But All Out showcased a healthy number of wrestlers who fit that mold and have done some of the best things in their entire careers.

Christian sat on the shelf for years and wasn't cleared to compete. When he did step back inside the ring, it didn't seem as though WWE wanted to prioritize him. Sunday, he fought for the AEW world title.

Paul Wight was essentially on a Legends contract as an ambassador for WWE. Here, he fought QT Marshall and looked like he was having fun for the first time in years.

This show had Matt Hardy (always second behind his brother, Jeff), Tay Conti (who never had much momentum in NXT), Jon Moxley (arguably treated as the bronze-medal performer of The Shield), Chris Jericho (passed up for the main event of WrestleMania 33 in favor of Goldberg) and Miro (the butt of a joke in a silly divorce angle and now a dominant champion).

And, of course, Ruby Soho, CM Punk, Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson would have been among fans' biggest highlights of the entire show just for appearing.

Over the past few months, this idea of the "Forbidden Door" between promotions being open has manifested itself through partnerships between AEW, Impact Wrestling, NWA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

The latest example came with Jon Moxley's victory over Satoshi Kojima, followed by a surprise appearance by Minoru Suzuki.

Whether you follow every promotion in the world or not, the idea of watching a fresh match between two different companies is a hugely interesting one.

The fans who do are always pumped to see these surprises, too. That energy is undeniable and upgrades what could have been a generic filler match into a noteworthy segment.

These are win-win scenarios. Fans get to see something fresh and special, both companies potentially gain new followers, and AEW continues to look like a company that is willing to work with others.

The Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers have been feuding since the start of AEW and have had some of the best matches in the company's short history.

Over the years, they've fought in every combination possible: regular matches, individual singles competition, alongside other tag team partners and even a ladder match.

Now that they've fought inside a steel cage, what is there left for them to do other than continue rinsing and repeating what has already been done?

That's not to say they couldn't still have great matches. Every time they've stepped in the ring together, they've put on a brilliant show. And Sunday was a Match of the Year candidate.

But they've essentially exhausted the gimmicks that can freshen up the formula, especially since this match included a sneaker with thumbtacks on it.

Considering how there are so many talented teams in the company, it would be better for them to stay apart for a while until revisiting this feud feels fresh again.

Going into The Final Fight, it was hard to believe Chris Jericho would lose and be forced to retire. However, having a pinfall where his foot was on the ropes and referee Aubrey Edwards didn't notice had the crowd getting nervous.

Had that been the actual end of the match and set up another angle to carry out in the coming weeks, it would have been an interesting direction. But even better than that was the moment of relief when the other referee came out to get the match restarted.

Going through the emotions of shock and anger to pure joy is among the best feelings you can have while watching a professional wrestling show.

This also gives MJF a means to complain and say he had the match won and the referee's call should be final, but Jericho continues to wrestle. It's the best of both worlds.

An honest approach to CM Punk's return to the ring is a mixture of pros and cons.

The sheer fact that he's back is wonderful. He had one of the biggest pops in wrestling history from his initial debut, and the buzz heading into this event was largely down to his appearance.

Compared to something like the steel cage tag team title match or even Jericho vs. MJF before it, though, this wasn't one of the strongest matches on the night.

A slow start was expected, but it took too long for the ball to get rolling. Once that happened, however, things picked up considerably.

At the end of the day, though, what matters most is that Punk is back in action rather than anything that happened in the match itself.

Following a solid main event between Christian Cage and Kenny Omega, fans were primed for a surprise return. Knowing there was a good chance Bryan Danielson would be that surprise, AEW had the perfect response to throw everyone off.

Omega's promo set up expectations for someone to show him up and Adam Cole unexpectedly arrived. A few moments later, he showed his allegiance is still with The Elite.

The moments following that where some fans would be disappointed the bad guys were standing tall was then met with Danielson's entrance to send everyone home happy.

Having two more major signings shifts the momentum even further toward AEW, which is continually gaining new followers while WWE struggles to keep viewers tuning back in each week.

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.