AEW heads back to Vegas for their fifth-anniversary show in Double or Nothing. This year the stakes are extra high as Team AEW looks to finally take down Team EVPS in Anarchy in the Arena so that they can get their company back under control. With all of that being said, let’s predict the show.
AEW International Championship: Roderick Strong vs Will Ospreay:
Kimmy: Poor Strong. With all of the momentum behind Ospreay right now, he has to win this match. Strong could have done more with the title and should have had a longer reign, but I understand the reasoning behind why Ospreay has to win here. Hopefully Strong and the rest of Undisputed Kingdom can move on to other things on the AEW scene and not the ROH scene.
Winner: “And New” Will Ospreay
Bill: After declaring that he wanted to go wrestle for SGW in Uganda, it seemed inevitable Ospreay would take the International title. Strong is a workhorse and won’t get hurt by a loss, but AEW really needs to invest more time into him. The curious question here is — does Ospreay not headline Wembley for the title as many predicted?
Winner: “And New” Will Ospreay
AEW Trio’s Championship: Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin, and Colten Gunn) vs Death Triangle (Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix):
Kimmy: The Lucha Brothers are finally back together again! This match should be good and in my opinion, is one of the sleeper matches on the show. I think somehow the Guns will cheat to help them get the win leading to another match between these two teams down the line.
Winners: “And Still” Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin and Colton Gunn)
Bill: Man, if you think the discourse around Jay White in AEW is bad now, if the BBG drops these belts this quick, you’ll never hear the end of it. Ultimately, BBG needs to cheat to win, and we need to get a whole bunch of matches between this combination of six men, ultimately leading to a nice blood match.
Winners: “And Still” Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin and Colton Gunn)
AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm vs Serena Deeb:
Kimmy: On paper, this is going to be an amazing match however the build-up has fallen flat. They have not built up Deeb as a viable contender for Storm as she just came back and only racked up a couple of wins. With how they were featuring Anna Jay I thought they were going to do that or run back her and Deonna Purrazzo. Storm will get the win here and I hope the match is better than the feud has been.
Winner: “And Still” Toni Storm
Bill: Deeb didn’t get the big babyface reaction, but I think the angle on Dynamite was the right audible to call and people are firmly behind Toni, and are ready to boo Deeb. In this match Deeb needs to cut off all the Toni-isms that make the fans love her. This is a sleeper match on the show, and is going to over-deliver.
Winner: “And Still” Toni Storm
Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match for the AEW TNT Championship: Adam Copeland vs Malakai Black:
Kimmy: This match is a must-win for Black. Since House of Black has lost Julia Hart due to injury HOB has lost its steam. Black winning the title can bring prestige back to the group and also turn Copeland to the dark side. The stipulation for this match is that if Copeland loses then he has to go on one knee and praise Black and that is why Black will be the new face of TNT.
Winner: “And New” Malakai Black
Bill: This is make-or-break for Malakai Black. He’s essentially been a non-factor in singles competition in AEW since his Cody Rhodes feud back in 2021. His match with Kyle O’Reilly was very good, and if this is the Malakai we’re getting from here on out, then it’s a big win for all involved. Having Cope “bend the knee” to HOB, really works. Cope and Brody King as a tag team would be one hell of a unit. He also needs to a bit of a character change outside of the Terry Funk babyface (which he’s been great at), and having him in a new angle makes things really interesting.
Winner: “And New” Malakai Black
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley vs Konosuke Takeshita: Don’t sleep on this match, it is in the running for the best match of the night. Moxley will get the win here and do not be surprised if his Forbidden Door opponent comes out at the end of this match to confront him.
Winner: “And Still” Jon Moxley
Bill: This is a weird one. Moxley and Takeshita for this title would definitely help elevate Takeshita across all boards.
Trent Baretta vs Orange Cassidy:
Kimmy: There are a lot of layers to this match. Although Chuck Taylor may not be able to return to action I do expect him to get involved in this match. He will help Cassidy by delivering either a punch or something minimal for the full Best Friends moment. I also feel as if the whole Don Callis and Orange Cassidy partnership is a fake and Callis will side with Baretta instead. However, with all of this going on, Cassidy will still get the win.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
Bill: I think Trent gets the W on PPV here, and that’s in large part due to Don Callis’ involvement.
Winner: Trent Barretta
FTW Championship: Chris Jericho vs Katsuyori Shibata vs Hook:
Kimmy: This is another example of how triple-threat matches in wrestling are only made to protect people. Jericho will pin Shibata to protect Hook, leading to the eventual Hook vs Jericho match at Forbidden Door in Hook’s hometown of NYC.
Winner: “And Still” Chris Jericho
Bill: While Jericho desperately needs a hiatus to refresh himself, he has somehow gotten The Learning Tree over. Jericho will retain here, and like Kimmy said it’ll be him and Hook one last time at Forbidden Door … where Taz will get involved for one last moment of in-ring action.
Winner: “And Still” Chris Jericho
AEW TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale vs Mercedes Mone:
Kimmy: Sorry to all of the people who want this to be the main event because that is not happening! There is something that does not sit right with me having the mid-card women’s championship be the first women’s pay-per-view main event. As well as the fact this is Mone’s first match back she will have ring rust and the match may not be as good as people think it may be because of that. Remember she was not cleared until two weeks ago. However, Mone will bring the publicity that AEW needs. The red carpets, sports games, award shows, and more AEW needs to capitalize on it and that is why she will win this match.
Winner: “And New” Mercedes Mone
Bill: Mercedes gets the W here for all the reasons Kimmy said. However, I see this as the moment that Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway turn on Willow. It’s been planted for long enough and it gives Kris the opportunity to do something new, allows Stokely to be the mouthpiece for Mercedes and we’re off to the races. I would also have Mercedes align herself with The Elite at some point too.
Winner: “And New” Mercedes Mone
AEW World Heavyweight Championship: Swerve Strickland vs Christian Cage:
Kimmy: Although I was not super thrilled when they announced this was going to be the match on the pay-per-view the feud has picked up. If Adam Page is not seen in Anarchy in the Arena I do believe he comes out at the end of this match to confront Swerve to lead to another match between them down the line. As far as this match is concerned this is Swerve’s house he’ll get the win in a hopefully great match-up.
Winner: “And Still” Swerve Strickland
Bill: Last time I checked this was still Swerve’s house. Christian has been great in his role, and I feel this needed maybe another week or two to really brew into a fully heated affair. However, the story is good, and it’s a nice placeholder feud till we find out Swerve’s opponent for Wembley … which very well may be Hangman Page.
Winner: “And Still” Swerve Strickland
Anarchy in the Arena: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Jack Perry, Matthew, and Nicholas Jackson) vs Team AEW (Bryan Danielson, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Darby Allin):
Kimmy: Let’s get a couple of things out of the way. One, do not be surprised if Tony Khan gets involved in this match to help Team AEW win. Two, until I physically see Allin in the match do not count out the fact that Garcia or MJF may replace him in the match. Finally, this match is going to be insane. Meaning how dominant Team Elite has been throughout this feud it will only make sense for Team AEW to be standing tall with Tony Khan standing by their side right?
Winners: Team AEW (Bryan Danielson, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Darby Allin)
Bill: Don’t be surprised if we see a wild Christopher Daniels, MJF and/or Hangman Page get involved in this match. This is going to be bloody, violent, someone’s getting lit on fire and it’s going to be a hell of a good time. The argument could be made that The Elite needs to remain a big winner, but a victory for AEW is the way you need to end the night.
Winners: Team AEW (Bryan Danielson, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Darby Allin)
The current record in Bill vs Kimmy is 4-2-3, in favor of Bill
