Quick Thoughts: AEW Double or Nothing 2021
In what is shaping up to be the premier event for AEW each year Double or Nothing was the first PPV to emanate from Daily's Place and the last one of this era of AEW as they return to the road. In what they would hope you be a fitting send off this was a stacked card. I found the build to the whole show odd it never really felt like they were building to a PPV until the last two weeks but it was still a card I wanted to see. It would be a good gauge for AEW with a full crowd for who is truly over and who isn't it's almost the perfect test to see what is working on the show and what needs reworking. This can be especially good with the addition of Rampage and in 2022 the 4 Super Cards they will have on TNT. With that all in mind let's break down the card.
The Buy In: NWA Women's Championship Match: Serena Deeb (c) vs. Riho
Two things before we talk about the match. I've seen a lot of talk that Riho has now moved Stateside which is a massive plus for AEW and the women's division as a whole she's a great talent and the crowd loves her so it's a good face to have. As well as this while the NWA continues to fall down the pecking order in relevance as a whole with Power behind a paywall it seems only people who review the show pay for it needs to be noted how well both Serena Deeb and Thunder Rosa were at carrying the Women's World Title for the NWA and getting attention to it. Serena is so good and the way she wrestles is unlike any of the other talent in the division it makes her stand out. I think the comparisons she gets to Bret Hart are fair she is a phenomenal wrestler. These two have great chemistry and I'd love for them to have a tie breaker they make great opponents. Deeb really is on a role and to be honest I'd love for her to get a good feud or program away from the NWA title so they can full push her as an AEW talent.
Hangman Adam Page vs. Brian Cage
Much to the relief of many Hangman Page very much over in front of a full crowd. I still have it as him winning the AEW title at All Out and I feel the crowd pop he got here is justification to move with that. This was also a good match for Brian Cage I think it's the best he's looked in a match he got all his moves in and looked like a killer. I think the match slowed down in the middle put went into overdrive right at the end to the benefit of the match. They seem to now be going back to Brian Cage leaving Team Taz and with them coming out being the downfall of Cage in this match after he said for them to stay backstage is a good touch to advance the story and I'm interested to see where it goes next. If you ask me Powerhouse Hobbs will win the FTW title and at All Out Adam Page SHOULD win the AEW World Title.
AEW Tag Team Championship Match: Young Bucks (c) vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston
Mox and Kingston as a team have been a delight to watch, while the whole Elite/Bullet Club group has lost a lot of its edge seeing them feud with Mox & Kingston helps having two guys clearly having fun and working well off of each other. I felt this match was good but not if a bit long I was surprised it went as long as it did mainly due to the several near falls. In the end I think the right team won. If Mox and Kingston were to win I only think it would've been a quick reign before The Bucks got it back. Regardless Mox and Kingston look good and it took a lot for the Young Bucks to win. On their AEW matches alone the Young Bucks have a hell of run I wonder who is next for them as not really face teams have been built up to challenge them for the moment or even if this is the end of this feud. It'll be interesting to see where Mox and Kingston go now as well but I think that'll be made more clear what the direction for these four men will be on Dynamite. If you asked me to pick a team to beat The Young Bucks for the belts at this point I'd say Proud and Powerful I think they should get that push now.
Casino Battle Royale
I think I've come around to the casino format of a battle royale now and quite enjoy them. I get you need a gimmick to it so you just don't copy the Royal Rumble so this works. AEW does a good job in these matches of giving me ideas of matches I want to see much like how the Revolution Tag Battle Royale got me wanting PAC vs. John Silver and Fenix vs. Jungle Boy I really wanted to see Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Nick Comoroto that will be a money match in the future. As far as Lio Rush as the joker I was surprised. I had been expecting Nick Gage or No BS Paul Wight so this was a shock but a nice one I'm glad Lio Rush is getting a run in New Japan and hopefully AEW now. I was shocked that Jungle Boy won and not Christian which seemed the set up. I think Jungle Boy has all the potential in the world to be the top face in AEW down the road the whole package is coming on with him and his world title match should be a strong part in his build to eventually winning a title. I can see him winning the TNT title down the line. Special mention to Max Caster getting the big pop I was so happy I love The Acclaimed and it turns out everyone else does as well.
Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo
This build needed more weird promos that Cody thinks is his Hard Times promo and more running down of people coming to America to work. I don't like Cody now he sucks his weird ass promo and his now Homelander attire which he no doubt thinks he was the face in The Boys. Ogogo should've won quite simply put he should've won. Ogogo looked great and he has a lot of potential but man Cody needs to go away for a while this is a feud from the 1980s in a southern territory not 2021 in a worldwide company. Dumb premise of the feud wrong person won and Cody can go away. Not a fan of Cody give Ogogo all the belts though.
AEW TNT Championship Match: Miro (c) vs. Lance Archer
This match had a rushed build. While a decent match I'm struggling to remember anything outside Miro throwing the snake on the stage. Miro has really come along well since the introduction feud with the Best Friends ended (even with that being too long imo) he is good in this role on his own away from Kip. The right call was made to keep Miro as champ he's doing some of his best work now and I hope this continues.
AEW Women's Championship Match: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.
Britt Baker has been nothing short of phenomenal since her heel turn. A real highlight to AEW and really you could argue is the face of the division. Hikaru Shida as a dominate year plus champion you could argue the same. These two have great chemistry and was a fitting send off for Shida's reign. The right person won and it is good to see Britt Baker win the title. Between a rematch with Shida, Thunder Rosa only getting a win where it doesn't count and the likes of Riho, Serena and Tay Conti I think the future is very good for the division. I think Shida has to be given a lot of credit as champion and holding down a division while they dealt with a host of injuries and a lack of talent with real experience. I hope in the future she gets a moment winning this title or a Women's tag titles whenever they are introduced as she deserves it. All in all both of these women are great and I'm very excited to see what happens with the title going forward.
It was always going to be a very interesting match to see with Sting returning to a ring and how he would do. I don't think there's many better than The Men of the Year in Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky to have this match with Sting to make sure he doesn't get hurt. Darby and his want to take these insane bumps is a sight to behold I don't think anyone else would get thrown into the crowd onto their own family but here we are. If I had one criticism I would've had Darby get the pinfall but that is a very minor nitpick. Overall the idea of this match was to show Sting can still go in a normal sanctioned match environment and he exceeded my expectations and I think this helped the other 3 men as well by being associated with this match and story. I've made not of several people who could be future faces of the company and what not but add Darby to the list on that as well, his run as TNT champion was a massive success and he will one day be AEW World Champion.
One benefit for when the pandemic is over and travelling will be easier is PAC won't randomly disappear for week on end (I hope). To marvel over PAC for a minute he's one of my favourites on the roster currently and I just wish he would be able to string several months together constantly being on TV as he's a tremendous asset. If AEW do get Trios titles I really think Death Triangle has to be considered if not actually the first group to hold those belts but it really depends on travel status. This does feel like the Death Triangle vs. Best Friends feud was inserted into a world title match because they nobody else for Omega at this moment in time with how the card is mapped out. That's not a criticism it's just odd and you imagine Omega will have a true one on one match come All Out. It is good to see Orange Cassidy is still as over as he was before the Pandemic I was worried he would've lost some of his steam in front of a live crowd but that's not the case. I do hope he does get another big marquee win for himself soon outside of the Jericho matches he's lost all his big singles matches (I mean he lost 3 TNT titles matches I think and now this) while he's still over big loss after big loss can hurt in the long run so I do hope he wins gold soon or at least wins a big match. As for this match itself I felt this was a good match. I always worry with triple threat matches it turns just into one person sells and a singles match happens on rotation which can suck sometimes but these three worked well together and kept a strong pace. I'm a big fan of the Kenny belt collector gimmick as referenced by my previous posts on the matter (https://ramblingsofenglishman.blogspot.com/2021/05/whats-next-for-belt-collector-kenny.html) and the spot of him using each belt in one to hit PAC. Despite expecting Kenny to win as his story hasn't finished as champion they did a good job at some near falls making thing he was going to lose. All in all a good match with the right winner in my opinion Omega's time to drop the belt isn't for a few more months.
Comments
Post a Comment