Before AEW’s third annual Double or Nothing PPV kicks off, our very own Bill Bodkin (@BodkinWrites) and Murjani Rawls (@MurjaniRawls) give their Double or Nothing 2021 Predictions.
The Buy-In: NWA Women’s World Title Match: Serena Deeb © vs. Riho
Bill Bodkin: A rematch from the Women’s Eliminator Tournament from earlier this year — featuring the pre-COVID era and the COVID era aces of AEW — is one hell of a way to kick off AEW’s first capacity show since March 2020. Serena Deeb has been one of the true aces of AEW as she has delivered great match after great match for the company. Riho has been sporadically in AEW since 2020 and there’s a rumor and innuendo she’s finishing up tonight.
Regardless of the rumors, Deeb is going to win this match and head into the NWA’s PPV to defend against (likely) Thunder Rosa and Kamille. On that note, would love to see Kamille show up in AEW, even if for a stare down from the crowd towards Deeb. It’d be a hell of a way to promote the NWA’s show.
Murjani Rawls: Serena Deeb has been a delightful addition to the AEW women’s pantheon of wrestlers. She’s solid in the ring and able to use her veteran acumen to work with all different wrestlers. Riho has just recently moved to the U.S.A. and this is going to be a solid match between the two. However, I agree that NWA wouldn’t drop the title to her.
Afterward, I think we get a Thunder Rosa stare-down or challenge. Serena beat her for that title and this will set things up for the next NWA event.
Casino Battle Royale: Christian Cage, Matt Sydal, Powerhouse Hobbs, Penta El Zero Miedo, Jungle Boy, Matt Hardy, Marq Quen, Isiah Kassidy, The Blade, Evil Uno, Colt Caban, #10, Griff Garrison, Brian Pillman Jr., Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, Dustin Rhodes, Lee Johnson
Bill Bodkin:
The Joker: The Joker has had an odd history in AEW. Brian Cage and Hangman Page have won from this position while Matt Sydal and Mercedes Martinez have fared just decently. This has a lot of potential though. Rumor and innuendo was last year it was going to be Nick Gage and not Sydal at the Royale at All Out. Hot off of Dark Side of the Ring, it’d be easy to see MDK storm the ring to a thunderous ovation.
Some have predicted Paul Wight, but that seems too WWE to do (although having someone from this match get in his face wouldn’t be a bad thing). Other options include Moose (who’s stated he’ll be in Jacksonville) to put the onus on his match with Omega for the Impact title or Andrade to promote the Triplemania match for the Megacampeon.
The Winner: Christian Cage is going to outwork everyone and be a challenger for Kenny at a special event like Fyter Fest or Fight for the Fallen.
Murjani Rawls:
The Joker: Well, it will not be Daniel Bryan on C.M. Punk. Sorry to bum everybody out in reader land. Andrade is an intriguing possibility, even though he is challenging Kenny Omega at Triplemania. I’m going to temper my expectations and say that it’s Paul Wight. He’s said that he’s itching to get back in the ring. The crowd will cheer for him. There you go.
The Winner: Yea, there’s no way that Christian Cage doesn’t win here. Three months until All Out and Kenny Omega is going to need a challenger before then. AEW has stated that they want to do big events on TNT. A Christian/Omega match headlining would fit that bill. However, my wild card is Jungle Boy. Give him a shot, man.
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Brian Cage (w/Team Taz)
Bill Bodkin: AEW rarely does 50/50 booking, so this is a curious one. I feel Brian Cage picks up the win here, and we get a Cage/Omega match where Omega collects the FTW Title. As for Hangman, if he doesn’t end up in the Casino (where I’d predict he wins), it could be one of those “Hangman hits bottom” moments, and then we get the build to him and Omega, especially when live crowds return.
Murjani Rawls: I think that Hangman Page picks up the win, and you build him to being a contender for the title long term. When Cage loses, they’ve been hinting at him possibly leaving Team Taz in the past. If he does, I could see Team Taz turning their back on him. Then, he can go to war with various guys in that faction – Powerhouse Hobbs, I’m looking in your direction.
AEW TNT Title Match: Miro © vs. Lance Archer (w/Jake Roberts)
Bill Bodkin: Miro is out of the arcade and is the destroyer we all wanted to see. This is my sleeper match of the evening as it’s going to be an absolute hoss fight. Archer is in this incredible run as a top worker in AEW, and he’ll put on a show. However, Miro’s going to pick up the W as it’s too early to take the belt off of him.
Murjani Rawls: It sucks that Lance Archer is going to be in another TNT title match where he’s going to come up empty-handed. I think it’s too soon to take the title off Miro, especially when you finally established him as a force. It’s going to be an athletic, big-man battle, but Miro is going to keep the title.
Stadium Stampede: The Pinnacle vs. The Inner Circle:
Bill Bodkin: The Pinnacle has to win this spectacle, and it has to be a serious, violent affair. Last year’s match was a good combination of serious and silly and was more designed to be entertainment for a world ravaged by the pandemic. This, however, needs to be the final faction battle between the two. Since part of this will take place live, I believe MJF will slap his ‘Salt of the Earth fujiwara armbar on Jericho and tap him out as members of the Inner Circle watch in horror. It’d be poetic that the man who brought The Inner Circle together is the reason it disbands.
From there, AEW needs to put the spotlight on Santana & Ortiz and those two need be tag champions before the year is out. Sammy Guevara is due for a babyface run and when they hit his home state of Texas, the pop will be massive. Hager can hang around as an ally of Jericho or someone else’s muscle, while Jericho can tour, recover from his injury, and be involved in commentary and when healthy move on to another feud.
Murjani Rawls: It’s Stadium Stampede, so there are bound to be some funny spots, but I agree it has to be serious. The Inner Circle has been together since AEW’s inception and that’s a long time for a wrestling faction to be together. You stated a lot of good reasons to break them apart, and I would agree with Guevara and Santana and Ortiz in particular. An Inner Circle loss would solidify The Pinnacle as the top heel faction in AEW.
I don’t think that this is over yet. The Inner Circle lost Stadium Stampede last year. I think AEW is going to think of a way for both these factions to have a rubber match at All Out. I’m going to say that The Inner Circle wins and the feud continues with a last battle down the road.
Sting and Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page:
Bill Bodkin: It’d be a layup to pick Sting and Darby give Darby’s massive popularity and this being Sting’s first live match in six years. However, a loss for Sky and Page would derail both competitors. I’m in the minority, but I’ve enjoyed the alliance between Page and Sky as I see it as just that an alliance, not a team.
Can they team together? Of course. Can they roll into singles matches? Yes. And that’s where this is going. Ethan Page and Darby Allin are destined to fight this summer. Sky and Sting? Not sure about that. However, Sky potentially tapping Sting out catapults him into the position he deserves to be in — as a legit contender for any title and a main event caliber performer.
Murjani Rawls: It’s a tag match, so that covers how much activity Sting can do wrestling-wise. He was in a cinematic match, so you could get creative with how you use him. Here, I expect Darby to take most of the damage and Sting gets a hot tag. The crowd is going to eat that up.
As for who wins, I always saw Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky as single competitors aligning to take out a common enemy. Ethan Page has a good singles runs ahead of him. I felt Scorpio Sky did as well, but that seems like it got snuffed out. Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky will win this match, but if they lose, they’ll probably be an angle where one turns on the other one.
Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo
Bill Bodkin: One of the toughest matches to call. Cody Rhodes coming out on Memorial Day Weekend under his dad’s moniker feels like you can’t bet against Cody. He’s also never lost at Double or Nothing (yes there’s only been two). However, you can’t have Ogogo lose.
The comprise here is a referee stoppage or a towel throw-in (yes, they’ve done it with Cody before). Ogogo pummeling Cody to where Cody can’t get up and the match being stopped protects both men. Cody can eventually return to be a conquering hero, and the Guvnah of AEW looks like an absolute killer. Ogogo looks and sounds like money, AEW just needs to show us a little more of that in the ring, and he’ll be a made man going forward.
Murjani Rawls: That Dynamite promo withstanding, they’ve been trying to build this match with an early 90s WWF feel. Like how Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior vs. St. Slaughter/General Adnan/Col. Mustafa at Summerslam ’91 was. The U.S. vs the U.K. Cody taking on ‘The American Dream’ nickname for one night is a dead giveaway for how this match is going to go. The problem is, that promo has turned a lot of people on Cody, rather than with him.
While they’ve been building up Ogogo’s punch, I feel like it’s going to be a situation where Cody takes multiple of them. I slightly cringe that this is the reason that you built it up for. Once that believability is gone in a move, you can’t get it back. Especially, noting you can have a future star come out on the other side. That being said, we got fans back. I don’t think Cody passes up an opportunity to be the conquering hero, so he will win.
AEW World Tag Title Match: The Young Bucks © vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston
Bill Bodkin: While “The Wild Things” have been an incredible pairing, this is The Summer of the Bucks. The new arrogant heel version of The Young Bucks has been a lot of fun to watch and unless they have something bigger for The Bucks than the title (e.g. New Japan talent), I can’t see them losing. Of course, Moxley and Kingston, with a title run, would be a hell of a lot of fun.
Murjani Rawls: A Moxley/Kingston tag title reign would be extremely fun to witness. I don’t think the Elite crumble is going to start tonight. That is going to happen at All Out. A win by the Bucks here would be a feather in their heel run cap. AEW has a ton of tag teams and you have ample time to build one up to be a considerable threat.
AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D:
Bill Bodkin: The era of DMD begins tonight. Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida have been two of the pillars of AEW’s burgeoning Women’s Division, which went through a serious amount of growing pains during Shida’s run. Shida has been an awesome champions, rarely with a bad match to her name, and she’s going to show out big time. Baker, on the other hand, is just too hot right now to deny the belt to. She’s propelled herself to not just the face of the division, but one of the true stars of the company. AEW does have a number of women like Riho, Red Velvet, Kris Statlander and eventually Thunder Rosa to battle the good doctor.
Murjani Rawls: 372 days. Hikaru Shida has held the AEW Women’s Championship at a time when the AEW women’s division was trying to find its footing. There’s a huge influx of talent that they have pulled from on Dark, Elevation, and Dynamite. I hope that continues in the future. Shida was the stability that the division needed.
Since Britt Baker has turned heel, she’s been great. Her promos and matches have all gotten better because she really bought into that character. AEW loves their long title reigns, but it’s time that they pass the torch to a heel champion. I think Britt wins and thus, you can create a bunch of babyface challengers for her. A rematch with Shida, maybe Thunder Rosa, and an eventual clash with Kris Statlander is what I’m seeing.
AEW World Title Match: Kenny Omega © w/Don Callis vs. Orange Cassidy vs. “The Bastard” PAC
Bill Bodkin: This match does not have (no pun intended) the juice behind it as many of Kenny’s, Moxley’s or Jericho’s title matches. Will this be a fantastic wrestling match? Absolutely. Will the crowd explode in joy if OC wins? You bet. However, Kenny’s not done with his reign. I feel there will be more belts collected in the future (looking at you Brian Cage, and maybe even a few of you in Japan). I feel that this PPV ending with Kenny holding the title wouldn’t be the best pay off for the audience. So, I’m wondering if Kenny wins and we get something else, something more. Could it be someone like Hangman coming out and declaring he’s coming for the belt? Yes. Yes, please. I think there’s something more to the end of this though.
Murjani Rawls: I saw this match, and I thought about a couple of things:
1. Double or Nothing is going to be in front of a full capacity crowd. They are going to be fully behind Orange Cassidy. If you wanted to send everybody home happy, OC pulling off a championship win would be the way to go.
2. Ah, not so fast. In reality, I never really thought that Kenny would lose the title in this match because he will lose the Impact and AAA championships first. The money match that you want is Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega at All Out in September. The history with Hangman initially being ‘the guy’ when AEW started and their tag team fallout is money. Kenny retains, and you can start the build from there.
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