AEW All Out Match Finish Reportedly Changed Due To Daniel Garcia Contract Situation

Maxwell Jacob Friedman emerged victorious over Daniel Garcia at AEW All Out, but according to a new report, the finish was originally scheduled to swing in the other direction.

Following MJF's win, Ibou of WrestlePurists indicated (via X) that initial plans called for Garcia to cleanly defeat the former AEW World Champion at All Out. Garcia, a former ROH Pure Champion, first signed to All Elite Wrestling in October 2021. Fast forward to 2024, Garcia's current contract is reportedly set to expire during this upcoming fall season. Per Ibou, AEW officials are expecting Garcia to stay with the company moving forward, but as of All Out, he had yet to officially ink a new deal. As such, AEW ultimately decided to book MJF in the winning column at All Out instead.

While Garcia did not score the win over MJF at All Out, he did stand tall in the end. As MJF looked to surprise Garcia with a kick after the match, Garcia evaded it and low-blowed MJF in retaliation. With MJF rocked, Garcia then nailed him with a piledriver off the second rope, before mockingly shaking his neck. This move could have potentially been done to write MJF off of television, as Ibou also noted that MJF is now expected to go film a movie. Further details on the respective film or how long MJF will be filming were not disclosed.

Two weeks before All Out, MJF unsuccessfully defended the AEW American Championship (now reverted to the International Championship) against Will Opsreay, partially due to the interference of a returning Garcia.