WrestleMania is the biggest event in all of wrestling, and it only continues getting bigger with each passing year. Those are undeniable facts, no matter which wrestling promotions you watch, don’t watch, like, dislike, and so forth.
As an event, WrestleMania broke all sorts of records for WWE, bringing in what will likely be an obscene amount of money, both for the company and for the cities of Los Angeles and Inglewood, California. In the event, when looking strictly at match quality, it is probably the best WrestleMania of all-time, with great matches up and down the card on both nights and both main events getting perfect ratings from me.
That’s great for WWE and the WWE Universe, but time marches on.
WrestleMania is now in the rearview mirror. Now it’s time to look ahead.
When this column goes live to the world, we will be 48 days away from AEW’s Double Or Nothing, pay-per-view. Double Or Nothing is AEW’s version of WrestleMania, being its biggest event of the calendar year. It is now AEW’s turn to see what they can deliver when the spotlight is shining brighter on them than it will be at any other point this year.
If you listen closely, you can already hear some of these WWE tribalist dorks mashing their fingers on a keyboard to chime in with some sort of comment about how WrestleMania is so much bigger than any event AEW could ever put on. Like the rest of life, we’ll pay them no mind. This isn’t about one company being bigger than the other, nor is it about one company being “better” than the other.
Right now, approximately seven weeks away from Double Or Nothing, does it FEEL like we’re leading up to the biggest show of the year for AEW? Does it FEEL like we’re on the verge of AEW’s “WrestleMania” event?
To figure that out, you have to look at the rumored card. It has to be rumored, because there aren’t any confirmed matches as of now. The main event has been heavily hinted at being a battle between the “Four Pillars” of AEW… MJF, Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy, and Darby Allin. That’s a fascinating matchup, in my opinion. One of the biggest complaints about AEW, whether it’s fair or not, is that they spend way too much time and effort focusing on ex-WWE names instead of working on turning their own homegrown talents into mega stars. There have been several stretches in AEW’s existence where I would agree with that line of thinking, but now isn’t one of them. Up until this last episode of Dynamite, six of the seven acts with championships in AEW were people who don’t have previous histories in WWE, with House Of Black (at least with Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews) as the Trios Champions being the only exception. That’s a major shift in focus, but names like Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, Adam Cole, Christian Cage, and others remain important parts of the overall AEW product, giving things a nice balance.
If we’re getting that match, the three challengers have all been built up really well. Jungle Boy hasn’t lost a singles match in six months and probably would’ve been at this level sooner if his feud with Christian Cage didn’t get paused for a few months so Christian could deal with an injury. Sammy Guevara hasn’t lost a singles match in four months, and although his act isn’t as “hot” as it once was, almost solely because Chris Jericho drains the life force out of any act he is connected to for longer than four minutes, he remains a heat magnet that is capable of putting on an exciting match against anyone. Darby Allin has only lost two singles matches in the last five-plus months, and both of those were against Samoa Joe as they had their back-and-forth feud over the TNT Championship.
Then, of course, there’s the AEW World Champion himself. MJF hasn’t lost a match since last year’s Double Or Nothing, when he was squashed by Wardlow. Yeah, yeah… he has only wrestled six times since then, but my point remains. Four of the hottest acts in all of AEW are on the verge of colliding at the company’s biggest show of the year. It isn’t as “random” as some people have been accusing it of being recently. The only potential issue I have with this grouping is a glaring one. If you combined the promo ability of Darby, Sammy, and Jungle Boy, they wouldn’t equal the promo ability of MJF. AEW needs to find a way to keep any build for that match creative. Week after week after week of MJF handing his opponents their asses on a silver platter on the mic runs the risk of ruining things, and could even lead to the crowd “turning” MJF before Double Or Nothing arrives.
The other talk surrounding the main event… actually, scratch that. It’s something that people are discussing about the main event, but it’s also something that people are discussing for multiple places on the card, involving multiple people. As a matter of fact, it’s something that people are discussing for every show AEW does. Of course, I’m talking about the will-he-or-won’t-he return of CM Punk. Some people are absolutely, positively sure that he’s returning to AEW at some point. Even people who feel the post-show stuff at All Out was 100% shoot feel that there’s simply too much money on the table for Punk, The Elite, and Tony Khan to let bad blood get in the way of a Punk return. Your personal opinions about CM Punk (or Phil Brooks, for that matter) aren’t important here, because… again… there’s too much money, and creative juice, on the table here, and it would behoove everyone involved to man up and at least be able to work together. Does that mean it’s going to happen? Nobody knows at this point. You can’t deny that it would be yet another arena-rocking pop if “Cult Of Personality” hits at some point after the main event. The beauty with that is it almost doesn’t matter who won the match itself. MJF? Put him up against Punk. Sammy? Put him up against Punk. Darby? Put him up against Punk. Jungle Boy? Put him up against Punk. It all works.
In 2020 and 2021, Double Or Nothing took place at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville because of COVID, and both years saw Stadium Stampede matches, where two teams of five brawled and fought their way all throughout TIAA Bank Field, the stadium that the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars call home. TIAA Bank Field is right next door to Daily’s Place, and it made for some insane “cinematic” matches. Last year, with companies able to travel and perform in front of live crowds once again, Double Or Nothing returned to the Las Vegas area, where the initial DON pay-per-view took place. Instead of Stadium Stampede, last year saw an Anarchy In The Arena match. Once again, it was two teams of five brawling all over creation, and it was yet another insane spectacle that was almost impossible to keep track of.
Could we see Anarchy In The Arena return this year? One, it would be a great idea, as it not only continues “tradition” with DON events, but it also gives AEW something unique that helps them and their show to stand out. Two, it sure looks like we’re building to a major showdown with The Elite and “Hangman” Adam Page on one side, and the Blackpool Combat Club on the other. If injuries are healed in time, this is an amazing group of in-ring performers that are sure to make jaws drop in a setting such as this.
I can’t talk about Double Or Nothing without discussing yet another rumor that has been floating around on Salma Hayek’s internet for at least a couple weeks now. It’s a rumor that, if it ends up being something AEW moves forward with, will go down as one of the most controversial decisions Tony Khan has ever made. Two words, folks…
Bill. Goldberg.
Now, first and foremost, is Goldberg a big name in this wild, wacky world of professional wrestling? He sure is. Is he going to move the needle in any way, shape, or form for AEW? That’s a tricky one. I suppose you could make an argument that a big name from the past can attract lapsed fans who haven’t been watching pro wrestling in recent years. Then, in the ideal scenario, those lapsed fans would tune in to see Goldberg and find themselves blown away by the younger talents on the roster, and boom, you have some new AEW fans that are ready to tune in regularly. Proponents of AEW bringing Goldberg in immediately cite the company’s signing of Sting, and how well that has worked out. Sting remains one of the most popular performers on the entire roster, and even at the age of 64, he is able to get in the ring and entertain the fans time and time again. Goldberg is eight years younger than Sting, in better physical condition, and has considerably less tread on his tires, so to speak. I just don’t see where Goldberg fits in with AEW when it comes to his in-ring ability at this stage. Admittedly, I felt the same when Sting signed with the company, but he has shown a great willingness to change things about the way he works, and the company has booked him in situations that accentuate the positives and hide the negatives, old school ECW style. I have no doubt that Goldberg could be booked like that. His formula is pretty difficult to screw up, anyway. If you’re putting him in 20-minute matches, you’re a moron. However, what in Goldberg’s entire career makes anyone think he’s willing to change things about his in-ring style? Can you imagine him performing dives off of balconies in the second match of a random episode of Dynamite? I certainly can’t.
This is a very important time for All Elite Wrestling, and not just because Double Or Nothing is a major event on their annual calendar. In their house, there are television ratings that are slipping (while still remaining in the usual “pocket” that they always seem to be in), no matter what the company is doing. So far in 2023, Dynamite is averaging a little more than 904,000 viewers on a weekly basis. To this point in 2022, Dynamite was averaging about 999,000 viewers. Rampage is even more concerning, bringing in their lowest-ever viewership (287,000) on February 17th, and then bringing in their lowest-ever viewership for their regular time slot (340,000) six weeks later. A spark is needed. Somewhere. Anywhere. When your biggest event of the year ends up being a smashing success, that can create the type of buzz necessary to get some momentum built up. Momentum is extra important for AEW right now because of Tony Khan’s most recent super duper mega special announcement, revealing to the world that the company is heading to England in August for All In(nit) at Wembley Stadium. We haven’t seen any seating configurations for the show, but the venue boasts a capacity of 90,000 people, which means you could easily top the 100,000 mark for a wrestling show with field-level seats. We all know wrestling shows of all sizes don’t always use every possible seat, blocking sections off for stages and equipment, or simply not selling in certain sections off-camera. AEW running Wembley doesn’t necessarily mean they’re aiming for 90,000+ fans to attend the show. With that said, it would be a dumb idea to cap off all dumb ideas for AEW to spend the money that they’ll need to spend to make a show in England happen, only to sell the same amount of tickets they could sell in, say, Chicago or Las Vegas. WWE had WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida in 2021, marking the company’s first show to feature ticketed fans in attendance since the beginning of the pandemic. Raymond James Stadium has a listed capacity of 69,218 people, and WWE’s announced attendance for each night of Mania was 25,675. If you take those numbers at face value, that’s 37% capacity for both nights. Yes, the company wasn’t allowed to pack more people in, but 37% capacity meant that there were a lot of shots that couldn’t be shown on television because of how many empty seats there were. If Wembley stadium gets 37% of its listed capacity for All In(nit), that would mean an attendance of 33,300. That would beat the company’s current record for largest crowd (2021’s Dynamite Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York) by over 13,000 people. Again, though, it would be difficult to show a bunch of shots during the show itself when there are that many empty seats. The stadium would look even emptier if you’re having people sitting at field level.
The name “All In” is very special in AEW history, as it was five years ago, before there even WAS an AEW, that Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks teamed up with Ring Of Honor to put on the biggest independent wrestling show of all-time. They needed to be “all in” to sell 10,000 tickets and “win” the “bet” that Cody had with Dave Meltzer after Tuna Meltz responded to a Twitter question by saying that RoH couldn’t sell 10,000 tickets for a single show “any time soon.” If AEW is using “All In” again, why would we expect them to half-ass anything for the show?
Now that I’ve typed all of that, watch All In(nit) end up being a non-televised house show event and none of the talk about capturing empty seats on the broadcast will matter.
The other side of the “why this is such an important time for AEW” coin is what is currently going on in WWE. There is so much uncertainty in WWE right now. Is Vince McMahon back to having control over the creative side of things? What’s going to happen now that WWE has a deal with Endeavor Group Holdings to merge with UFC to form a new public company? Why didn’t the company pull the trigger on making Cody Rhodes the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania? Will WWE go into a post-Mania “lull” like they often do? Why is Jadakiss as hard as it gets? Nobody seems to know what the hell is going on with WWE, what will be going on in the near future, and so on. There are WWE fans all over the globe who say they’re ready to walk away from the promotion if Vince McMahon is back in the same role he had before. Whether or not you believe they’d actually do it or not isn’t the point. The fact is that WWE fans are becoming disgruntled, and you have to think some of them could be looking to switch to watching AEW in that instance.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Tony Khan and AEW can give us over the next several weeks, as we get closer and closer to Double Or Nothing. It isn’t prediction time quite yet, but that time is coming soon. Now, I want to hear from you. What do you want to see at Double Or Nothing? You can tell me some matches that you’re looking forward to seeing, or talk about some surprises (face/heel turns, debuts, etc.) that will get people talking. As always, hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
WWE Draft: It’s time. I’ve been saying that the Draft needs to be held earlier in the year than a few weeks before Survivor Series, and that’s what we’re getting. With any luck, we’ll be getting some fresh matches and fresh feuds to keep things… well… fresh, at a time when WWE usually takes it easy for a bit as the roller coaster comes down from WrestleMania and before it starts heading back up for SummerSlam.
Wes Lee vs Axiom: The NXT North American Champion is one of the most consistently entertaining performers in the business right now. He keeps having great matches against all comers, and continues to build on one of the longest North American Title reigns in the five-year history of the belt.
SANADA: I still have to find time to watch New Japan’s Sakura Genesis show, but SANADA is the brand new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Kazuchika Okada in the show’s main event to win the title. He left Los Ingobernables de Japón, changed his look up, and was the top guy in New Japan within three weeks. Boss move.
Dragon Lee vs Nathan Frazer: I know that Dragon Lee needs to be winning matches right now. Not only is he a big international star, but he’s set to compete for a shot at the NXT Championship soon, so he needs the victories. However, it would be nice to see Frazer win some matches, too. It has been six months since he won a televised match in NXT. Yes, some of that time was spent on the shelf with an injury, but he still hasn’t won since returning. He deserves more.
Jamie Hayter vs Riho: At this point, I’m not sure that I want to see Hayter lose the AEW Women’s Title at all. She is delivering such a great title reign, and is such a different overall package than anyone else in the division. AEW has something special in her.
Brawling Brutes vs Imperium: As good as the matches are, and as much as I enjoy them, I’m hoping we see Imperium end up on a different show than the Brutes or Drew McIntyre when the Draft is over. I just want to see something fresh for a little while, you know?
Darby Allin vs Lee Moriarty: Moriarty has been officially signed to AEW for a year-and-a-half now. He has basically averaged one match on television for every month that he’s been signed. That’s not enough. He’s capable of a lot more, but that can be said about a ton of people under AEW contract at the moment. There’s only so much television time to go around. Perhaps they shouldn’t sign every name physically possible. Just an idea.
Dominik Mysterio: He has really grown to become a heat magnet, drawing some of the best heel reactions of anyone in the business. This episode of Smackdown might have been his biggest reaction yet. He’s doing such a great job of getting under people’s skin. Watch him win a title soon, and his character will become even more insufferable.
FTR: When The Gunns had “Many Men” by 50 Cent for their entrance music, I thought they were winning the match for sure, which meant FTR would be WWE-bound. I was wrong, like a lot of you were. FTR are the new AEW Tag Team Champions, making them only the second team (The Young Bucks being the other) to have more than one reign as champions. It seems like forever since their previous reign, so I had to look it up. They lost the titles at Full Gear 2020, which means they went 29 months until their second reign. That’s crazy. Now, of course, everyone is talking about whether or not Vince McMahon’s return, in whatever fashion it is happening, made Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood decide that AEW was the place for them.
Indi Hartwell vs Zoey Stark: Is it just me or does it seem like Zoey Stark is 0-85 in matches for the NXT Women’s Title? She has only had three televised shots at the title, but it just seems like a lot more. Good win for the new champion here, as Indi continues to build momentum after being nothing more than an afterthought for a long time. Looks like she’ll have some new challengers, because…
Cora Jade: …Cora’s back. She looked like she was going to become the top heel in the women’s division after Mandy Rose’s departure from the company, but then she just disappeared. It was reported that she was dealing with an undisclosed injury, but whatever it was, she was gone for almost three months, but upon her return, she made it clear that she’s coming for the NXT Women’s Title.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs The Street Profits: I got the WWE Draft information I was hoping for on the Raw/Smackdown After WrestleMania episodes, but I did not get the Street Profits split that I was hoping for. Can’t win them all, I guess.
Jay White: Like FTR, we’re left to wonder if the uncertainty surrounding Vince McMahon’s current and future role with WWE cost the company a chance at signing “Switchblade” to a contract. He was one of the top free agents in the business, and all the buzz said that WWE was closing in on him, then… he becomes All Elite. Now we see if he can become a big deal in AEW, or if he’ll become yet another big signing to get lost in the mix there.
AEW Heading To England: It’s a huge move whether they’re looking to get 100,000 people at Wembley Stadium or if they’re looking to get 20,000 people. AEW is becoming more and more popular in the United Kingdom, regularly getting bigger ratings than WWE there. It makes sense for AEW to try and capitalize on that popularity by holding a massive show in London. Big news for the UK, with All In(nit) taking place at Wembley Stadium about two months after WWE holds its Money In The Bank pay-per-view at The O2 Arena an hour or so southeast of Wembley.
Shinsuke Nakamura: We haven’t seen Nakamura wrestle on WWE television in five months, but it was announced that he is returning this week. Frankly, I have missed him and his still-awesome entrance music.
Brock Lesnar: While I was enjoying his work as a face, mainly because it was so different than what we’ve seen from him in recent years, it’s clear that Brock is at his best when he’s a monster heel. It might not be the direction many people wanted for Cody Rhodes, but I have no doubt a match between Cody and Brock is going to be a ton of fun. Now, if Brock wins that match, I do expect folks to lose their minds. Time will tell.
House Of Black vs Best Friends: The AEW Trios division remains on fire. No surprise there. The matches are so much fun to watch, full of non-stop action, no matter who is involved.
Tony D’Angelo & Stacks vs Pretty Deadly: Honestly, I’m not sure why Pretty Deadly is even in NXT anymore. They’re more than ready for the main roster, but with the Draft coming up, perhaps they will have a chance to show that in a matter of weeks.
Orange Cassidy vs Dralistico: Almost every match in the history of AEW’s Battle Of The Belts features a champion facing a “lesser” opponent that they would never face on Dynamite, and probably not face on Rampage. This was no different. It did provide Orange Cassidy another opportunity to continue his very entertaining reign as the All-Atlantic/International Champion, even though the title continues to mean very, very little in the grand scheme of things.
Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar vs Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio: I really dig the pairing of Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar. Some of that is because everyone assumed Escobar was going to turn on Rey immediately, but also because they’re both incredibly entertaining and are forming a fun group with the LWO, however long that lasts.
Nigel McGuinness: I’m not sure what happens here, as AEW currently has 800 people who call matches on television, but Nigel is really good at what he does, so I’m glad to have more chances to hear him do it.
Bad Bunny: Kudos to the man for taking a bump the way he did on Raw. He was absolutely rag dolled through the announce table from a Damian Priest Chokeslam, landing on the back of his neck and folding like an accordion. It looked really painful, and now, it helps to set up a potential Rey Mysterio & Bad Bunny vs Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio match at Backlash in Puerto Rico. That’s going to be a lot of fun. Four Latino talents, two of which are Puerto Rican (Priest wasn’t born there, but was raised there), pretty much guarantees a wild crowd.
Hook vs Ethan Page: Page was able to take Hook out into a lot deeper water than he’s used to being in. Hook, to his credit, not only prevented himself from drowning, but he showed that he’s a better swimmer than a lot of people thought he was.
Jade Cargill vs Billie Starkz: Starkz (at EIGHTTEEN YEARS OLD) was able to take Jade out into a lot deeper water than she’s used to being in. Jade, to her credit, not only prevented herself from drowning, but she showed that she’s a better swimmer than a lot of people thought she was.
Bron Breakker: A really unexpected heel turn. Not because the story wasn’t going in that direction, but because almost everyone assumed Bron would be on Raw or Smackdown after losing the NXT Title at Stand & Deliver. He could still be heading to Raw or Smackdown after the Draft, but it looks like we’re getting at least one more match between him and Carmelo Hayes. You have to assume Bron will be added to the #1 Contender’s Match this week, with the winner getting a title shot at the Spring Breakin’ event that hasn’t been given a date yet. I would’ve ranked this higher, but I’m someone who feels Bron needs to be away from NXT already.
This Week’s Playlist: “CAREFUL” by NF & Cordae… “SUFFICE” by NF… “Lost” by Linkin Park… “Fighting Myself” by Linkin Park… “More The Victim” by Linkin Park… “Blackout” by Joyner Lucas & Future… “Dreamlike” by Dead By April… “New Messiah” by Fear Factory… “Into The Abyss” by Unearth… “Unholy Hell” by Mystic Prophecy… “Risk Of Rain” by Shredhead… “Fever Dreaming” by Dayshifter… “WAM” by A$AP Ferg & MadeinTYO… “Celebrate The Life” by Rittz, Fleetwood Fred & Tate228… “Who” by Rittz & Project Pat… “Feelings Mutual” by Rittz… “Gladiator” by Rittz, Emilio Rojas & King Iso… “All I Do” by Somethin’ For The People… “What You Won’t Do For Love” by Bobby Caldwell… “We’re In This Love Together” by Al Jarreau… “After All” by Al Jarreau… “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” by George Benson… “Give Me The Night” by George Benson… “Breezin” by George Benson… “Through The Fire” by Chaka Khan