This is a busy 24 hours for me. In the span of 12 or so hours, I’m aiming to have this review, an NXT Battleground review, and my normal weekly column posted.
I love having a bunch of wrestling to watch, but it definitely makes things hectic. Double Or Nothing and Battleground are airing at the same time, but Double Or Nothing gets to go “first” for me. It’s a bigger show, and I spent more money to watch it, so I’m watching it live. Battleground will come later at some point.
Double Or Nothing is a nine-match main card. There are three titles on the line, a Stretcher Match, the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup finals matches, and Anarchy In The Arena. As almost always seems to be case, AEW has a loaded show for us. It’s time to see if they deliver on the promise that the card has.
Jamie Hayter vs Mercedes Moné – Women’s Owen Hart Cup Final (Winner Gets An AEW Women’s Title Shot At All In)
The crowd is red to get things started, with loud dueling chants of “C-E-O” and “Ja-mie Hay-ter” going on.
We’ll see what happens, but the two women’s matches tonight are in the unfortunate spot of having “obvious” outcomes. Everyone and their mothers is expecting Mercedes to win here and go on to face “Timeless” Toni Storm at All In. It’s the biggest women’s match AEW can give us right now, so having it take place at the biggest show of the year makes sense. I’m not sure if I’ve seen anyone predict a win for Jamie Hayter or Mina Shirakawa tonight. Again, though, we’ll see what happens.
Smart offense by Mercedes so far. She continues targeting the back of her opponent. Jamie Hayter, of course, missed 15 months of action with two herniated discs in her back that she says nearly forced her into an early retirement.
Jamie’s power game works really well at any point, but it looks like a million bucks against a smaller-framed bump machine like Mercedes. Whenever she gets her hands (and feet) on Mercedes, the AEW TBS Champion ends up flying all over the ring.
Mercedes has hit Jamie with FIVE Backstabbers thus far in the match. Career-threatening back injury or not, Ms. Hayter is going to be sore in the morning.
As expected, Mercedes picks up the win. That was a blast. I’ve said this on many occasions in the past, but it’s worth repeating… Mercedes might very well be the best in-ring performer that women’s wrestling has ever seen. She has been doing this for years, and it should come as no surprise that she continues to have performances like this. 4 Stars. Great clash of styles from both women, and they both had plenty of time to shine.
Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuinness vs FTR
LOL @ a fan in the front row flipping the bird to Dax Harwood, even with Dax right in his face, only to have Cash Wheeler run up and act like he was going to punch the fan… and the fan didn’t even flinch. Ouch. That didn’t exactly make FTR look like tough, scary dudes.
Nigel has a crystal clear hand print on his chest, with each individual finger outline visible, after a few chops from Dax Harwood.
FTR continues to torture Tony Schiavone at ringside. They keep reminding him that any physical damage delivered to Nigel is Tony’s fault, and that Tony talking spicy on commentary is what got this entire thing going. I mean… they’re right. Tony has always been someone to talk tough on commentary, as if he was going to do something physical to dastardly heels. When he and Mike Tenay were on commentary together, they were damn near insufferable because of it.
This has been a really physical match so far. All four men are throwing heavy hands.
Dumb ass Schiavone leaves his seat at ringside to check on Nigel after a Shatter Machine on the floor, and he damn near gets his ass kicked by FTR in the process. I was really hoping that they’d lay his ass out, but instead, they just bully him back to the announce desk until they get back in the ring. Damn.
Garcia passes out from the pain in a Dax Wheeler Sharpshooter. FTR wins. As I said, it was a really physical match. Nigel appears to be bleeding from the mouth somewhere after taking the Shatter Machine on the outside. The match was a bit slow in spots, but nobody was expecting Blitzkrieg vs Juventud Guerrera with these four men involved. Good stuff, either way. 3.5 Stars
Mark Briscoe vs Ricochet – Stretcher Match
Whenever they play the clip of Mark calling Ricochet a “shiny headed scalawag,” it makes me laugh.
“Bald” chants during Ricochet’s entrance. Whole bunch of bullies in the crowd.
LOL @ Briscoe placing Ricochet on a stretcher, only for Ricochet to hop off and exaggeratedly sprint from the stage area to the ring.
Briscoe with the “bang, bang” and the finger guns as he runs across the ring apron and drops an elbow onto Ricochet, who was atop a stretcher. Cool homage to Mick Foley there. Even better coming from someone who has some missing teeth like the Mickster, too.
Briscoe puts Ricochet in a headlock, then sprays Ricochet’s head with some cleaning product, followed by wiping his head with a towel. Ladies and gentlemen, the comedic stylings of Chicken!
Unfortunately for Mark, all that did was seem to piss Ricochet off. He has busted Briscoe’s head wide open, and he slammed his head against the stretcher repeatedly, getting blood stains and splatter everywhere.
Man, Mark is an absolute mess. He looks like a living, breathing crime scene. Both him and his late brother were always heavy bleeders when their matches called for it. This is no different.
Ricochet uses his golden scissors to “stab” Mark in the forehead, and then uses a second pair of scissors to jab Mark’s head some more. That, and a kick to the little Marks is enough to put Briscoe on the stretcher and place him in the ambulance. Ricochet wins. This was fun. A really good mixture of hardcore brawl, high flying action, and comedy wrestling. 4 Stars
Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin vs Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara – AEW Tag Team Title Match
Man, Bobby and Shelton are presented as being several levels above every other tag team in the entire company. They feel like they should be the tag champs for the next several years.
Dustin Rhodes celebrated his 56th birthday last month. I need to point that out because I’m still amazed at how good he looks in the ring at this stage of his life and career. He’s in great physical condition, and having been clean and sober for over a decade-and-a-half, he is in a great state of mind, as well.
On multiple occasions, MJF has tried to interfere in the match, only to have his interference backfire.
The champions get the pin and the win to retain. Dustin and Sammy tried, but again, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are on an entirely different level. 3 Stars
Kazuchika Okada vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey – AEW Continental Title Match
Even after all my time as a wrestling fan, it blows me away to see wrestlers who choose to work barefoot for whatever reason. So much can go wrong in a wrestling match, and that’s amplified when you don’t have any protection whatsoever on your feet and ankles.
Tony Khan has an absolute fetish with making his referees look stupid, but especially so with Rick Knox. Knox just counted a three for Bailey, but called the pin off because Okada had his hand on the bottom rope before three. Then, we see the slow motion replay to find out Knox wasn’t even looking at Okada’s hand, so the three count should’ve counted. Come on, guys.
Don’t get my lack of “coverage” get it twisted… this was a fun match. I didn’t type a ton for this one, but mostly because I was busy watching. In the end, though, Okada gets the pin and the win. Speedball has had a really good run in AEW, but I don’t think many people thought he was coming out of this with the championship. 3.5 Stars
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs Mina Shirakawa – AEW Women’s Title Match
Dueling chants of “let’s go, Mi-na” and “To-ni Storm” from the crowd, who has remained hot all night.
Super randomly, one fan screamed out “GET HER A BODY BAG” during a quiet moment. Ah, good ol’ Karate Kid references. RIP Rob Garrison.
LOL @ Luther pounding the mat during a down spot in the match for what seemed like a good 15 seconds, but the crowd refused to clap along. That was rough.
This has been a bit of a slow match. Whether that’s an issue for you depends on what type of match you like. It’s just worth pointing out. Toni Storm isn’t exactly Usain Bolt in the ring these days, but with Mina focusing on attacking her leg in this match, Toni is moving even slower.
Hey, Luther pounding on the mat actually got a couple dozen people to clap along! We’re moving in the right direction! Only a few dozen more attempts, and we might be able to hear a noticeable difference in crowd reaction.
As everyone expected, the champion gets the pin and the win to retain. Like I said earlier, both of the women’s matches tonight had very obvious outcomes going in, to the point where a surprise booking decision almost would’ve been to the detriment of the overall company direction. Good match, even if it never quite reached the top gear. 3.25 Stars
LMAO @ Taz on commentary saying “Hey, sometimes friends kiss. It’s Phoenix, right?” as Toni and Mina share a kiss after the match.
Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, Katsuyori Shibata & Willow Nightingale vs Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta & Marina Shafir – Anarchy In The Arena
Shit is about to hit the fan.
Swerve with a badass Predator cosplay for his entrance. He looks like a star.
Samoa Joe is conspicuous by his absence. He didn’t come out with Hobbs and Shibata, and the face squad is in the ring down a man already.
The Death Riders music hits to almost zero crowd reaction. Yikes. They get a bit more crowd noise as they actually make their way down the stairs and head to the ring, but not by much.
The Bucks are introduced with a “Founding Fathers” speech from Justin Roberts, and they come out dressed like this is the 1700’s. Okay then.
At the sound of the ring bell, Samoa Joe appears behind Claudio at the concourse area, and the brawl is officially underway.
The Bucks’ flute-y, Civil War drum music continues to play during the match, until Omega motions to the truck to change the music. Then, “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters begins to play. For a moment, Omega and Swerve are confused, but then they start dancing.
Omega then says the music doesn’t quite fit the mood, calling for some 2000’s alternative rock. “Bodies” by Drowning Pool hits, and the crowd loses their minds. Let’s fucking go! The crowd is singing along! Omega has a microphone and is having people in the front row sing along. This is already pure insanity.
During the wildness, Mox somehow got his hands on a fork, and he has already busted Hobbs wide open, stabbing him in the forehead repeatedly.
This has turned into a concert and a hardcore match mixed together. Wild stuff. The Bucks still look fucking ridiculous, though.
It’s almost impossible to keep track of everything going on here. Anarchy In The Arena is crazy to begin with, but this match features extra competitors.
Marina has padlocked Willow to the ring post, with the lock being through Willow’s ear. My Lord. That doesn’t look comfortable at all.
Nick Jackson with a Swanton from the top of the stage setup, putting Hobbs through a table on the stage. It looked like Nick hit his head on the ground upon landing, but after a minute or so, he’s up and moving around, so maybe he’s alright.
Matt Jackson with a staple gun, and he drives a staple into the back of Powerhouse Hobbs. It did nothing except piss Hobbs off. A staple to Hobbs’ head does nothing, as well. “He’s been shot before! You think a staple is going to bother him?!?” Good point, Tony Schiavone.
Marina Shafir takes a fallen Swerve, pulls his tongue out of his mouth, and uses the staple gun on it. Swerve is out of his fucking mind.
It’s Hook! He makes his return and takes Claudio out with a golf club, before walking out again.
Gabe Kidd has arrived, breaking Mox out of a Coquina Clutch. Kidd takes damn near the entire face team out with Moxley’s briefcase.
Mark Briscoe is back out! Briscoe evens the odds for the face squad again, brawling with Gabe Kidd near the area where the ambulance is parked.
The Death Riders and Gabe Kidd all get thrown into the back of the ambulance, and the door is closed behind them.
Prince Nana pulls a shoebox out from underneath the ring. Inside of the box is a pair of Swerve’s new Reebok Answer 3 shoes, but these ones have been modified with thumbtacks attached to the bottom. Oh, no. Swerve Stomp from the top rope! That’s enough to get the win for the face squad. Jesus Christ Almighty. After the match, Swerve directs the camera to zoom in, and we get a close up shot of the staple embedded in his tongue. Again, I say… Swerve is out of his fucking mind.
It’s very difficult to rate these types of matches, but that was a blast, and everything you would want a match like this to be. 4.5 Stars. Plenty of blood and guts, mixed with comedy spots, and overall insanity from everyone involved. I’m so happy that I didn’t need to deliver play-by-play for that madness.
Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander
Good fucking luck following that last match. I have no doubt this match will feature a good quality, but they’re not matching what we just witnessed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the crowd is exhausted. I know I am.
Sure enough, the crowd is giving nothing more than polite applause for most of the spots here. They were loud for the “ADAM COLE, BAY-BAY” spot in the pre-match, but nothing much beyond that.
Folks, the match was good, but it was definitely hurt by having to follow Anarchy In The Arena. The Callis Family picked up the win. Everyone worked hard, but it was never going to truly succeed with that placement. 3 Stars
After the match, the heel squad are joined by Lance Archer, Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta for a beatdown. Brody King and Tomohiro Ishii come out, and then Hiroshi Tanahashi’s music hits to a big pop from the crowd. Poor Tanahashi’s legs are shaped like this ( ) now, and he is clearly walking gingerly. He needs to stop putting himself in the ring. The faces clear the ring to a good reaction. Forbidden Door is coming soon, so it makes sense to see all of these crossovers.
Will Ospreay vs “Hangman” Adam Page – Men’s Owen Hart Cup Final (Winner Gets An AEW World Title Shot At All In)
Justin Roberts just referenced the show being in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s the 1095th reference to Phoenix during the show. One problem, though… they’re in Glendale, Arizona. They’re approximately 20 miles away from downtown Phoenix, Chase Field (where Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks play), and PHX Arena (where the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns play). It would be one thing if they were in a tiny suburb of Phoenix, but Glendale has 250,000+ residents. This isn’t like when shows take place at the Allstate Arena (formerly the Rosemont Horizon), listed as Chicago, but actually in Rosemont, Illinois. Rosemont has a population of around 4,000 people. It’s just weird to me.[/rant]
One thing you can never take away from AEW is how dedicated their fan base is. This show is just about to hit the four-hour mark, and if I had to guess, we’ve probably got another 20 or so minutes of airtime left. Throw in a 90-minute pre-show, and you have fans that have been sitting in the building for a really long time. They’ve been super loud for almost everything all night, though. There’s about 8,500 fans in attendance, but it sounds like a lot more than that.
I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that these two are beating the hell out of each other. They wrestle like this to begin with, but it’s the main event, they’re competing for the Owen Hart Cup, and looking to earn a World Title shot at the company’s biggest show of the year. They also have to follow Anarchy In The Arena, with many people already saying that match should’ve been the main event.
Hangman goes for a Buckshot Lariat, but as he goes to jump over the top rope, Ospreay kicks him smack dab in the face. Ouch. That’s one way to do it.
After a near fall, Hangman slaps the mat twice, and that gets the entire arena to clap along in rhythm. Poor Luther.
Sweet Jesus, we almost witnessed a disaster. Both men were standing atop the announce table, but the table broke just before Hangman could attempt a Deadeye. Hangman was able to rotate Ospreay just enough to avoid Ospreay landing head-first on the floor. Definite shades of Kurt Angle vs Triple H at SummerSlam 2000, with the table giving way early during a Pedigree attempt, causing Angle’s face to hit the floor, giving him a concussion.
A STIFF Hidden Blade to the mush of Hangman during a Buckshot Lariat attempt, followed by a Stormbreaker from Ospreay, gets a 2.99999 count. That was amazing. Ospreay goes for another Hidden Blade, but Hangman collapses at the last minute, and Ospreay misses. That was a very well done spot.
Wow. What a match. After some insane back-and-forth action, and a blistering final stretch, Adam Page picks up the pin and the win. That’s a bit surprising, to be honest. To me, it seemed like this was going to be the time when Ospreay finally made his ascension to the top of AEW. Don’t get me wrong… I have zero issue with Hangman winning. They’re telling quite the story with Hangman’s “redemption” recently. I’ll go with 4.5 Stars here. That might even be underselling things a bit. Great stuff.
After the match, Hangman walks up the ramp, then decides to return to the ring. He and Ospreay shake hands, and then Hangman leaves again. We go off the air with Hangman celebrating on the stage with the Owen Cup championship belt and standing next to his newly won trophy.
What a show. Nothing below the 3 Star mark, and a couple of potential Match Of The Year candidates sprinkled in. I’m exhausted, but it’s time for me to take a break for a few minutes before getting right back in the lab again to watch NXT Battleground. Double Or Nothing gets a definite recommendation from me if you didn’t already watch the show. AEW delivers on pay-per-view yet again.
