Jim Ross Comments On Booking Of AEW All Out's Casino Ladder Match

In the grand scheme of storytelling, sometimes you just need to move a story from point A to point B. It may not always be exciting, but it is necessary. Good ol' Jim Ross recently appeared on an episode of the "On Demand" series on AdFreeShows and thinks the muted reaction to the then-anonymous winner of the Casino Ladder Match at All Out was one of these situations.

"It did have a unique reaction," JR said of the palpable hush that fell over the crowd when Stokely Hathaway and a group of wrestlers interfered and stole the Casino Ladder Match poker chip from high above the ring. Only then did a masked individual emerge from the back — to the tune of The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil" no less — to claim the guaranteed title shot token and be declared the match's winner.  "I don't know if it was good, bad, or indifferent, but it was a unique reaction, to say the least." That individual was later revealed to be MJF at the conclusion of the show.

"I didn't hear any complaints, at least on my timeline," JR continued, sarcastically suggesting that the timeline is the final word. "I didn't have an issue with it. It was a piece of the show that needed to be told to take us to the next location. Simple as that."

Admittedly, MJF's Casino Ladder Match win, much like most of All Out, was quickly overshadowed by the backstage incident that followed the show, which stemmed from the now-infamous post-show media scrum. However, since his return to AEW programming that evening, MJF has been a focal point of "AEW Dynamite," lording over the championship scene with his poker chip.