AEW All Out 2026 began with a three-match Tailgate Brawl pre-show that mixed pivotal singles action, a women’s tag team bout and a football-themed eight-man clash. Jack Perry, the Sisters of Sin and the Bang Bang Gang each emerged victorious, but the most significant development of the opening stretch came after Perry’s difficult win over Katsuyori Shibata.
Perry entered his match with Shibata seeking to clear a path toward Samoa Joe. He did get past the former ROH Pure Champion, though not in decisive fashion. Shibata controlled much of the contest early, pushing Perry into a battle built around the veteran’s physical strikes, submissions and relentless pressure. Perry eventually found the opening he needed, capitalizing on a sequence in which Shibata’s attempt to use the PK was countered.
Jack Perry Escapes Katsuyori Shibata
The Perry-Shibata match established its tone quickly. Shibata took command during the early stages, forcing Perry to absorb punishment before he could generate a meaningful response. Perry later mounted a flurry that changed the pace, opening the door for a more evenly contested exchange between two wrestlers with sharply different approaches.
Shibata looked to land his trademark PK, but Perry caught him in the Snare Trap instead. Shibata escaped the hold, preventing Perry from ending the match there. Perry then connected with a Tiger Driver and attempted a cover, only for Shibata to kick out.
For more background on this topic, read Harley Cameron Reveals Knee Injury During AEW All Out Buy In Performance.
Shibata answered by applying a sleeper and appeared to be working toward another PK attempt after wearing Perry down. The finish came when Perry used Shibata’s positioning against him, rolling him into a cover and securing the pinfall. The result gave Perry the win, but it also underscored how close Shibata came to shutting down Perry’s pursuit of Samoa Joe before it could advance.
Perry did not take long to turn his attention toward Joe after the bell. He called out the former AEW World Champion, drawing the other members of the Opps to the ramp. Their appearance preceded Joe’s return to the ring area, where he finally came face-to-face with Perry.
What followed was not the handshake Perry appeared to want. Joe initially moved as though he would leave without offering a response. Perry stopped him and pulled him back into the confrontation. Joe laughed, then dropped Perry with a headbutt before departing alongside the Opps.
Perry defeated Shibata, but Joe delivered the final physical statement of the segment.
The exchange leaves no doubt about the hostility surrounding Perry’s desired contest with Joe. Perry earned a victory in the ring, but Joe did not offer approval, respect or a formal response to the challenge. Instead, his headbutt ended the confrontation on his terms, giving the issue a sharper edge heading beyond the Tailgate Brawl pre-show.
Sisters of Sin Defeat Queen Aminata and Mina Shirakawa
The second match featured Chicago’s own Sisters of Sin, Skye Blue and Julia Hart, against Queen Aminata and Mina Shirakawa. With Blue and Hart working in front of a hometown crowd, the pairing picked up the victory when Blue put Shirakawa away with Code Blue.
Blue and Hart’s alliance has given the duo a clear identity, and the pre-show result added another win for the Chicago tandem. Aminata and Shirakawa brought a formidable combination to the match, but the finish belonged to Blue. Her Code Blue on Shirakawa gave the Sisters of Sin the three-count and ensured the hometown side left the bout with the win.
The match also continued the variety of the Tailgate Brawl card. Rather than placing all the emphasis on the looming Perry-Joe situation or the event’s football theme, AEW presented a conventional tag team contest with two established pairings. For Blue and Hart, the result represented a successful All Out homecoming in Chicago.
Bang Bang Gang Wins the Tailgate Brawl
The final pre-show contest was the namesake Tailgate Brawl, an eight-man match built around the Bang Bang Gang’s Jay White, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn and Ace Austin against the Death Riders’ Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta, who teamed with the Dogs, David Finlay and Clark Connors.
Juice Robinson accompanied the Bang Bang Gang in a different capacity for the occasion, dressing as the group’s head coach. That presentation matched the football influence throughout the match, which featured both football-related weaponry and physicality. Finlay and Connors wore pads, while the Bang Bang Gang brought a football into the action and used the pigskin in their exchanges with the opposition.
The stipulation and presentation created a chaotic setting, with the two sides brawling through a contest designed around the tailgate concept rather than a standard tag format. Garcia and Yuta represented the Death Riders alongside Finlay and Connors, while White led a Bang Bang Gang lineup that included the Gunn brothers and Ace Austin.
In the end, White delivered the deciding move. He connected with the Blade Runner to score the winning fall for his team. The result gave the Bang Bang Gang a high-profile pre-show victory and sent White, Austin, Colten Gunn and Ace Austin into the main All Out event with momentum behind them.
Robinson’s head-coach attire was a notable part of the match’s atmosphere, while the pads worn by Finlay and Connors reinforced the football motif from the opposing side. The Tailgate Brawl was the night’s most overtly themed bout, and it closed the pre-show with the Bang Bang Gang standing tall after White’s Blade Runner.
Three Different Stories Set the Tone
AEW’s Tailgate Brawl pre-show offered three distinct outcomes, each with its own significance. Perry’s win over Shibata was followed by an immediate escalation with Samoa Joe. The Sisters of Sin earned a clean tag team victory in front of Blue and Hart’s Chicago supporters. The Bang Bang Gang prevailed in a multi-man spectacle that leaned fully into the event’s tailgate concept.
Perry’s match was arguably the most consequential from a storyline standpoint. Shibata presented a major obstacle, and Perry had to withstand an extended stretch of offense before finding a way to win. His victory technically moved him beyond the challenge placed in front of him, yet his post-match encounter made clear that getting Joe into a match is a separate matter. Joe’s response was brief but emphatic: no handshake, no verbal concession and a headbutt that left Perry on the floor.
The Sisters of Sin’s win was more direct. Blue’s Code Blue on Shirakawa produced a definitive ending and gave Blue and Hart a successful result in their home city. Their victory placed the Chicago duo among the pre-show’s winners without the need for post-match controversy or an extended confrontation.
For the Bang Bang Gang, the Tailgate Brawl result was a showcase of numbers, presentation and group identity. White’s Blade Runner supplied the decisive conclusion, while the football props, pads and Robinson’s coaching look gave the match a distinct visual character. Garcia, Yuta, Finlay and Connors brought a formidable lineup of their own, but they could not stop White and his team from taking the final fall.
AEW All Out Opens With Momentum and Tension
By the end of the Tailgate Brawl pre-show, AEW All Out had already delivered a demanding singles contest, a hometown tag team success and an unconventional eight-man fight. Perry, Blue, Hart, White, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn and Ace Austin all left with victories, while Shibata, Aminata, Shirakawa, Garcia, Yuta, Finlay and Connors came up short.
Still, the closing image from Perry’s segment may be the development that carries the most weight. Perry had asked for Samoa Joe and backed up that desire by surviving Shibata. Joe answered the challenge in his own manner, laughing off Perry’s attempt at a handshake and leaving him down after a headbutt. With the Opps at Joe’s side, the confrontation established that Perry’s pursuit has become personal as well as competitive.
The pre-show’s results ensured that the main portion of All Out began after a lively opening stretch. The Sisters of Sin celebrated in Chicago, the Bang Bang Gang won the Tailgate Brawl, and Jack Perry got the victory he needed—though Samoa Joe made sure Perry did not get the final word.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.