AEW Double Or Nothing Review
A really good pay-per-view that could have been great with some minor tweaks.
When it comes to providing quality wrestling during this crazy time, AEW has been one step ahead of everybody else. The one-year-old promotion has placed wrestlers in the previously empty crowd, invited drones in the arena and choreographed some unbelievable stunts. Going into Double Or Nothing, expectations were high and for the most part, AEW delivered. But it still missed the mark in a few areas. Here is my Double Or Nothing review and how the show should have been booked:
Best Friends over Private Party was the right call. We’ve seen Best Friends constantly since the COVID-19 crisis started. Meanwhile, Private Party is a strong and upcoming team that just needs to be on our television screens more before they get that big push. Best Friends are now in line to challenge Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page in what should be a very entertaining Tag Team Title match.
The Casino Ladder match wasn’t the greatest ladder match ever produced, but I do love the feel of it. A mix between Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble, two men start then a new challenger comes in and is added to the mix of trying to grab the guaranteed title shot. I love Brian Cage, but I don’t love him winning. Aren’t wins and losses supposed to matter in AEW? We kind of went the WWE route with having established and semi-established stars do crazy spots only to be moved to the back of the line in favor of the new, big, shiny toy. Cage could have still debuted and wrecked everyone in his path. Set him up to be a monster because with no pinfalls in this match, he can still lose and not be hurt by it.
Enter The Dark Order. No, I don’t mean Evil Uno gets the win, but Mr. Brodie Lee would have been the best fit. Instead of challenging Moxley so soon into his run, he could have truly earned an AEW World Title shot here. His Dark Order followers could have taken out the field and distracted Cage while Lee retrieved the magic poker chip. This could have also set up a future battle of the big men between Lee and Cage.
MJF vs. Jungle Boy was a very entertaining match for hardcore wrestling fans. Everything MJF does is gold and Jungleboy even in defeat came out looking like a real workhorse who just needs something to sink his teeth into.
Now I’m not one who thinks Cody is pushing himself too hard, after all, he always gets one of the biggest pops of the night. But this wasn’t his match to win. After Jake Roberts’ devilish promos and Lance Archer’s dominance in the tournament, the Murderhawk should have laid waste to Cody. I know Mike Tyson is a big fan and brings star power, but we aren’t selling out stadiums here and Iron Mike’s influence probably didn’t affect the buy rate. Giving Cody the title wasn’t exactly Tyson helping usher in the Austin Era.
Archer needed the win to establish himself in AEW and break the mold because as it stands, all AEW champions are babyfaces. We like the good guys to win, but their victories are so much sweeter when they finally take down the bad guy. AEW missed a chance to create a monster heel, something it currently lacks.
The next few matches were thrown together last minute. Everybody adores Dustin Rhodes, but Shawn Spears shouldn’t be turned into yet another comedy act. Talent keeps getting used like that and the greener pastures outside of WWE won’t look so green. As far as the women’s division goes, until you give them more TV time to develop their characters, we aren’t going to care.
If Brodie Lee won the Casino Ladder match, who should have faced Jon Moxley here? PAC! He has choked out Omega, taken Mox to the limit and beaten just about everyone in both singles and tag team action. He is a wonderful heel and another example of a WWE guy who left for better and hasn’t got anything to show for it.
The Stadium Stampede…wow. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor because it not only gives you good wrestling, it’s entertaining as hell. Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho are two vets trying new things and getting younger guys over in the process. Sammy Guevara has gone from the jobber of the Inner Circle to the most entertaining member besides Jericho. My only gripe is Inner Circle should have won, so that at the eventual Blood And Guts match, the good guys could have won the war.
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