Here are my final thoughts on All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing 2021!
Serena Deeb (c) vs. Riho (NWA World Women’s Championship)
Reactions: Well damn! Both of these ladies put on quite the banger back on a previous episode of Dynamite and they did it here once again. I’m pretty pleased with the fact that they got damn near 20 minutes to work because I knew they’d make the most of it. Sarena Deeb and Riho put together a cohesive matchup that took everyone on quite the ride from start to finish.
It focused on Riho’s weakened legs as Deeb worked them over and showcased Riho’s resiliency whenever she fought back. The outcome was never in doubt, but there were a couple near falls here and there that made it look as if Riho actually had a shot. With a couple more minutes added onto this one, it would have been even better. As it is now though, this math was overall a good time.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Brian Cage (with Taz)
Reactions: Now that’s how you officially open the main show! I enjoyed their starting matchup and I enjoyed this one even more. And that’s because both men showed us how much they know each other’s game plan and went about it by pulling off a series of cool counters. And whenever someone finally landed one of their signature moves, it felt monumental and got a how crowd reaction.
Brian Cage landed a sick deadlift suplex to the outside ramp and Adam Page pulled off a pretty sick Frankensteiner counter off the top rope. The hot ending came off well as it showed that there’s dissension in Team Taz and that Page’s Buckshot Lariat is not to be trifled with. This was a good opener and I hope we get a tie-breaker in the near future.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston (AEW World Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: Man, I hope Jon Moxley didn’t knock someone out with that water bottle he lobbied into the crowd. This one got a ton of time and used every bit of it to entertain the appreciative audience. There were some slow points here and there that brought the action to a crawl, but I enjoyed it for the most part. The big brawl before the bell officially rang was fun, the hot tags were plentiful, and both teams pulled off a bevy of exciting spots throughout.
Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston looked their best against The Young Bucks, which made me think they should have tagged together much earlier in their careers. The crowd was extra hot for this one and so was I. The finish was pretty deflating, though – those BTE triggers didn’t really come off as devastating enough to eliminate Moxley. Even with those complaints in place, I still got a kick out of this heated tag team encounter.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Evil Uno vs. Colt Cabana vs. Preston Vance vs. Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Marq Quen vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. The Blade vs. Griff Garrison vs. Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Max Caster vs. Anthony Bowens vs. QT Marshall vs. Lee Johnson vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Nick Comoroto vs. Lio Rush (Casino Battle Royale for a Future AEW World Championship Match)
Reactions: This was a cool little piece of business. The action didn’t slow down too much for me to grow tired with it (which happens with many of the battle royales I’ve watched before). And the big surprise being Lio Rush was also a nice touch. My main issue with this one was the way most of the eliminations were delivered – either they were off-screen or happened in a very anti-climatic manner. I was a bit peeved to see a few of my faves get the boot so suddenly (Powerhouse Hobbs and Penta El Zero Mideo in his sick Joker garb, for instance).
But those disappointing eliminations were offset by some pretty exciting exchanges between everyone involved – the big man war between Preston Vance & Nick Comoroto was cool, Lio Rush’s quick bit of offense definitely got a pop out of me, and the final exchange between Christian Cage & Jungle Boy certainly had me on the edge of my seat. The AEW original got the win and that’s all I could ever ask for. This was solid stuff here.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Cody Rhodes (with Arn Anderson) vs. Anthony Ogogo (with QT Marshall)
Reactions: Hey, this ended up being a bit better than I thought coming into this one. For someone that doesn’t have a whole lot of in-ring experience, Anthony Ogogo came off looking really good here. All of his stuff looked crisp and he even pulled off a pretty clean Frog Splash to boot.
The selling was a bit spotty at times, though – Cody took several gut punches and didn’t go down in one final stroke as everybody else has in recent weeks. Even still, I was way more entertained than this than I thought I would be. Ogogo looked great and Cody worked pretty well with him. This one was shockingly decent considering the relatively fresh talent that competed here.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Miro (c) vs. Lance Archer (AEW TNT Championship)
Reactions: When two big behemoths lock up, I tend to be very interested in how it unfolds. Miro and Lancer Archer put on quite an impressive big man match here that showcased their signature traits. Miro put his scary strength on display while Archer went full steam ahead against the TNT Champion.
This is the version of Miro I’ve been dying to see ever since he arrived in the company – ruthless, aggressive, and full of vigor. Archer was equally great here as he pulled off his usual sweet rope-walk assisted moonsault and a massive chokeslam. Miro launching that “snake” down the ramp was pretty hilarious, by the way. This was a fast-paced war between two brutes that I hope to see again in the near future.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (with Rebel) (AEW World Women’s Championship)
Reactions: Welp, she finally did it! We got a NEW Women’s World Champion and it’s the famed D.M.D. of AEW. The right woman was crowned here, for sure. As for the match itself, it felt a bit off at points. There were some sloppy exchanges here and there that made the long runtime feel even longer than it actually was. The best moments came during the closing stretch when both women pulled out all the stops in an effort to overcome the other.
I’m not even gonna front – Rebel’s errant swing with her crutch into Britt Baker had me thinking that would ultimately be her downfall. But in the end, Britt made a comeback and locked in the winning submission to claim the championship everyone wanted her to claim. The match itself was a bit awkward at times, but it was still solid enough for me to stay engaged. Congrats, Britt!
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Sting and Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page
Reactions: Well I’ll be damn! Sting looked like the good old “Stinger” we all know and love here. Watching him take that stiff suplex on the ramp and immediately getting up to drop a splash onto Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page off the poker chips was pretty hype. It was so cool watching Sting wrestle in the ring for the first time in years and look great from start to finish.
Darby Allin certainly held up his end of the bargain on the offensive and took some sick bumps as well – Page launching him into the front row was wild as hell! Sky and Page played their parts well as the vicious, cocky upstarts and gave the crowd every reason in the world to want to see them get their asses kicked. Sting came in to give the crowd what they wanted by locking in a classic Scorpion Death Lock and countering Sky with a slick Scorpion Death Drop for the win. This was a fun celebration of the face-painted greats here.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Kenny Omega (c) (with Don Callis) vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Pac (Three-Way Match for the AEW World Championship)
Reactions: I knew this one was gonna slap! Kenny Omega, Orange Cassidy, and Pac definitely showed out here with a perfectly paced Three-Way Match that had the crowd on its feet the entire time. Each man got the chance to pull off some sweet moves – Orange laid in some nasty Orange Punches, Pac pulled off a sweet 450 Splash & a rare Red Arrow, and Omega landed a slew of nasty suplexes.
This was full of some wild multi-man exchanges, a couple of near falls that really had me thinking Orange had this one in the bag, and an always game Pac. Omega’s series of belt shots to Pac was a pretty unique way to build anticipation to the hot finish and I was left completely satisfied by the end of it. All three men were on their A-Game here and put on a crowd-pleasing matchup for AEW’s most important championship.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
The Pinnacle (MJF, Wardlow, Shawn Spears, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (with Tully Blanchard) vs. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz) (Stadium Stampede Match; If The Inner Circle Lose, They Must Disband)
Reactions: THE INNER CIRCLE LIVES! They finally got retribution for the wrongs done to them back at Blood and Guts by The Pinnacle after a wild and raucous Stadium Stampede match. This one took place all over the arena – we got a freezer fight between Wardlow and Jake Hager, a barroom brawl between FTR and Santana & Ortiz (with a special sighting by Konnan), and some even a biker chase.
This was a pretty cool way to bring the show to a close. The sights of Chris Jericho planting MJF with a powerbomb near the rabid fans and Sami Guevara prevailing over Shawn Spears in the ring with a devastating 630 Splash were pretty dammed riveting. There were some dull moments here and there that kind of killed the pacing, for sure. But all in all, the second-ever Stadium Stampede match proved to be a wild ride that ended on a high note.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Match of the Night
Kenny Omega vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Pac!
Final Verdict
The third-ever Double or Nothing excelled thanks to a super lively crowd and a card full of entertaining matches. Some of the match results were a bit questionable (Cody and The Young Bucks winning their matches was a bit deflating). But from an overall quality standpoint, this PPV ended up being an easy watch.
The Three-Way Match was the definite highlight of the night, the surprise appearances from Lio Rush & Mark Henry was cool to see, and watching Jungle Boy get a much-needed victory over Christian Cage was a welcome sight. Even the Stadium Stampede was a nice way to cap off this return to normalcy for AEW. The hot crowd added a lot of life to this PPV and it was awesome to see. Check this show out if you missed it.
Final Score: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
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