At one point, Double Or Nothing was the biggest show on AEW’s calendar. That seems to have changed with the addition of All In(nit), but DON remains something special for the company. They’re celebrating their fifth anniversary this weekend, making this an even bigger event for them than usual.
After a solid King & Queen Of The Ring show yesterday, how will AEW respond with Double Or Nothing? Let’s go ahead and find out.
Roderick Strong vs Will Ospreay – AEW International Title Match
A couple minutes into the match, and we nearly had a double injury that shut everything down. Matt Taven and Mike Bennett attempted a Doomsday Device variation, with Bennett hoisting Ospreay up at ringside and Taven doing a dive over the top rope. Unfortunately, Taven got caught up on the top rope going over, and both he and Ospreay landed awkwardly, with Ospreay nearly landing on his neck. Sigh. On top of that, AEW continued their mission to make all of their referees look like complete morons, as Bryce Remsburg was busy attending to Roddy in the ring, but apparently didn’t notice when Taven RAN RIGHT PAST HIM to make his dive. Sigh, part deux.
Gunther gets a lot of attention, and for good reason, because of the chops he delivers in his matches. I think Roderick Strong needs more credit for his chops, though. He has been making people bleed from the chest for years, and his chops sound like gunshots inside the arena.
Sure enough, Ospreay’s chest is jacked up.
Lots of fun stuff here. Both men are known for their physical offense, and they dished out a ton of it in this one. There wasn’t a single person on the planet who thought Ospreay was going to lose this match, and he didn’t. We have a brand new International Champion. You can argue about whether or not the title is “beneath” Ospreay, but he is definitely going to bring added prestige and attention to it. 4 Stars.
After the match, we got Adam Cole coming to the ring for a surprise promo. “Surprise” promo. The commentary team made it like it wasn’t supposed to happen because we have more matches to get to. Cole barely got to speak, when the lights go out and we get an MJF vignette, followed by the return of MJF himself. WHAT AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE THAT DIDN’T LOOK POORLY PUT TOGETHER AT ALL. Speaking of things that aren’t put together very well… MJF has one of the worst spray tans I’ve ever seen. His nose is literally multiple shades of orange, but they’re different shades than the shades of orange that his ears are, and those are multiple different shades of orange than his forehead. He has some running down his sideburns. His chest and stomach look like he’s been rolling around in Cheeto dust, and of course, his back is completely white.
MJF disposes of Adam Cole quickly, and then cuts a relatively bad (for his standard) promo, declaring that he is remaining in AEW. Obviously.
That entire thing took up too much pay-per-view time, and probably would’ve been better suited to happen on television.
Bang Bang Gang vs Death Triangle – AEW Unified World Trios Title Match
After being hyped up for Will Ospreay, Adam Cole, and MJF, the crowd in Vegas has been somewhat flat for the start of this match.
You know what you’re going to get with a Trios match in AEW. That isn’t a knock or a complaint in any way, mind you. I’m just saying that you know the type of action you’re going to get. That’s what we got here, but just when it was really starting to pick up, Juice Robinson made his return and interfered to give the Bang Bang Gang the win. It certainly seemed like they had to cut a good chunk of in-ring time out of the match, perhaps to make time on the show for a promo segment that didn’t need to be there.
3.5 Stars. It was good, and getting even better, before it kind of had to end abruptly.
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs Serena Deeb – AEW Women’s World Title Match
The build for this one has been strange. Deeb has largely been presented as a face, but has been getting more and more of a heel reaction. Storm has been presented as a heel, but has been getting more and more of a face reaction. I don’t think there’s any way to make Toni a true heel at this point. She’s too entertaining.
Serena Deeb is so technically sound in the ring. She’s a lot of fun to watch. It’s not always the flashiest work, but it doesn’t have to be.
To go along with the strange build, we got a strange match. There would be a good stretch, and then there would be an awkward spot with poor timing, then another good stretch, then a span where it looked like they were moving in slow motion, then another good stretch, and so on. It made the pacing all over the place. I really liked the good stuff, though, so I’ll say 3 Stars for the whole thing and move on.
Orange Cassidy vs Trent Beretta
Even with hints at a potential working relationship between Cassidy and Don Callis, AEW fans remain firmly behind the two-time International Champion.
I think this match ran a little bit longer than it needed to, but it was still enjoyable. Perhaps it just felt like it was too long because there were some purposely done slow stretches. This wasn’t something that is going to be referred to as a Match Of The Year candidate or anything, but that’s fine. 3.25 Stars
Chris Jericho vs Hook vs Katsuyori Shibata – Three-Way Match for the FTW Title
Because everything needs to have a gambling theme here, Jericho pulls out a bag that usually means thumbtacks are about to be involved, but this time, it’s hundreds of dice. It doesn’t really work out well for Jericho, though, as he is immediately dropped onto the dice by Hook, and then dropped onto them another time by Shibata. That couldn’t have felt very good.
Say whatever you want about Chris Jericho, but he is taking an ass whooping here. Since that previous paragraph, he was taken another drop onto the dice, and he also got his back completely torn up by kendo stick shots from both of his opponents.
It was a fun enough match, but then things came to a bit of a screeching halt when a masked man in a hoodie came out to attack Hook and Shibata. We had already seen Big Bill get involved in the match, only to end up going through a table at ringside, so we knew it wasn’t him. It ended up being Bryan Keith, and the crowd went mild. Poor Bryan. His interference allowed Jericho to win and retain the title. 3.25 Stars. Good match, but another in a string of matches that don’t quite live up to the hype and expectations of AEW pay-per-view bouts.
Also, can we stop giving Chris Jericho stables in this f*cking company? Please?
Jon Moxley vs Konosuke Takesh*ta – IWGP World Heavyweight Title Eliminator Match
Here’s to hoping that this can get the show back on track with a great performance by both men.
“We know that Moxley will never quit… because he’s stupid.” Nigel McGuinness got a legitimate chuckle out of me with that one.
So far, the pace has been slow, but mostly because Moxley is wrestling the match with one arm after being attacked by Takesh*ta on Collision last night. Credit to the talent in the ring, though, because even with that slow pace, things have been really good.
Tony Khan, Will Washington, or anyone even remotely involved in a creative capacity in AEW should be arrested for what they’ve done to Konosuke Takesh*ta. Moxley was a one-armed man for pretty much the entire match… and he took the majority of the offense here… and this was only an Eliminator Match for a shot at Moxley’s title, not a match for the title itself… but Mox still picked up the win. It doesn’t make any sense! The only saving grace was that the match was really entertaining. 4 Stars. Now I’m just sad.
Adam Copeland vs Malakai Black – Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match for the AEW TNT Title
Time for some violence!
sh*t… we got about 20 seconds into the match before Copeland grated Malakai’s face with a strand of barbed wire. Black is dripping blood all over the place.
Oh, hey, now Copeland is bleeding from the forehead about a minute later!
These two are beating the hell out of each other. It’s great.
Copeland just placed Black on a table, then wrapped Black in barbed wire to keep him on the table, then climbed all the way up to the top of the cage to deliver an elbow drop. Good Lord. Mr. Copeland decided it wasn’t dangerous enough, though, because he jumped off and basically landed on his feet to drop the elbow. That’s a good way to blow out 50-year-old knees or snap 50-year-old legs.
A kick from Malakai knocks Copeland through the cage door, sending him to the floor. This brings Brody King and Buddy Matthews out, and the tease aligning with Copeland, only to attack him seconds later. That was actually pretty funny, although I don’t think it was supposed to be.
Gangrel is here! As the entire House Of Black was looking to take Copeland out, Gangrel pops up from through the canvas and lays Brody and Buddy out before he gets taken out with a Malakai kick smooth to the grill. His interference was enough for Copeland to get back on the offensive, though, and he gets Black to pass out to a Crossface that was supposed to be barbed wire assisted, but it wasn’t even close to touching. Still… a fun, violent affair with a cool cameo from Gangrel. 4 Stars.
Copeland is limping pretty badly after the match. Even if it’s just selling, he can’t feel good after making that jump from the top of the cage.
Willow Nightingale vs Mercedes Moné – AEW TBS Title Match
Two-and-a-half months after making her AEW debut, we’re finally getting the first AEW match for the former Sasha Banks. Her momentum has cooled off BIG TIME over those two-and-a-half months. Can she bounce back with a strong performance here? She’d better hope so. People are already calling her the biggest bust signing in AEW history. That’s probably not ideal.
Mercedes appeared to be emotional during her entrance. Makes sense. It’s her first match in over a full calendar year, her AEW debut match, and just an overall return to the sport that she clearly loves so much.
Fun story being told so far in this match. Mercedes is looking for revenge by targeting the ankle and knee area of Willow, while the champion, on the other hand, has been targeting what she feels is the “weak” ankle of Mercedes.
4 Stars. Really good stuff from both women. Mercedes is the new champion, but she almost had to be. After all that hype, and undoubtedly all that money to get her signed, she wasn’t about to lose her first match, no matter what the story was. It doesn’t appear that Mercedes has missed a step in her time off.
As if things weren’t bad enough for Willow, she just had Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway turn heel on her after the match. She just can’t catch a break.
Swerve Strickland vs Christian Cage – AEW World Title Match
I’m a little surprised that this isn’t the final match of the night. Then again, the power-hungry Elite are involved in Anarchy In The Arena, so a kayfabe explanation that they made sure they were in the last match would make a ton of sense.
I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media from people who think that Swerve doesn’t FEEL like a World Champion to this point in his reign. Most of those posts blame AEW for the way he has been booked, but all of those posts will probably continue on after this match didn’t get the true main event spot.
Another really fun match. I’m not sure it was enough to change the minds of people who feel that Swerve’s World Title reign has been disappointing in any way, but it was good nonetheless. 3.5 Stars. Without all of the interference and the attempted interference, this probably could’ve been even better. Swerve retains, and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
Bryan Danielson, Darby Allin & FTR vs The Elite – Anarchy In The Arena
I thank Joe Pesci, once again, that I don’t have to handle play-by-play for this match.
Darby is clearly still injured. He limped on his way to the ring, and he is wearing a thumbtack-studded mask to protect his recently broken nose. Dude is out of his mind.
During the match, the Bucks decide to debut their brand new entrance music… only for it to be interrupted by Danielson, who demands to hear the best entrance music in the business… and “The Final Countdown” plays while everyone beats the sh*t out of each other like a New Jack match in ECW.
Dax Harwood is bleeding. Bryan Danielson is bleeding. Darby Allin may or may not have been hit by another bus, this one driven by Jack Perry. Matthew Jackson angrily cut Danielson’s music off, declaring that it costs the company $200,000 every time the song plays. This truly has been anarchy in the arena.
Darby Allin has his flame thrower again, and he uses it to… set Jack Perry’s pants on fire. That’s the problem with using a weapon like that in a pro wrestling contest. Obviously, they can’t really and truly set Jack on fire, but in kayfabe, why would Darby use the weapon in a way that would provide the least possible damage to his opponent? That would be like bringing a shotgun into the match and using it by throwing it at someone. What’s the point?
Dax Harwood was just hit with a steel chair that literally exploded on contact. Like… kaboom… explosion. Now, we’re getting the tried-and-true spot with The Young Bucks putting shoes on that have thumbtacks on the bottoms. This match has gone completely off the rails, and not necessarily in a good way.
They tied Darby Allin up by his ankles and had him raised upside down in the center of the ring, and the Bucks kicked the f*cking hell out of him with those shoes. Darby has been hanging upside down above the ring for several minutes now. There’s a “please help Darby” chant, but then the wind gets completely taken out of the arena when Perry pins Danielson to get the win for The Elite.
That was something. It was entertaining, but didn’t quite live up to the previous editions of the match. There was just way too many dumb, overly contrived spots for my liking. Again, it was entertaining, but too many of those take-you-out-of-the-moment spots really… you know… take you out of the moment. I’ll definitely praise the good, though, by giving it 3.5 Stars.
There were ten matches on the main card, and the “worst” of them still got 3 Stars from me. I’ve already seen some on Twitter say that this was the best AEW pay-per-view in history, and that’s probably ridiculous to think about, but my stats don’t lie… it was really good, with a little bit of something for just about every type of wrestling fan there is.
