Another AEW pay-per-view in the history books! Double or Nothing 2022 was overall a fantastic show with many memorable moments. I say “memorable” loosely, as the majority of humans will likely forget once the “next memorable moment” comes up or like the majority of fans, have the attention span of a TikTok video and will forget within minutes of a hate thread popping up on Twitter.
Sarcasm aside, I wish the best for MJF. I really do. He loves Twitter as much as I do.
The opener on the pre-show saw Hook and Danhausen, tandem known as Hookhausen defeated Tony Nese and “Smart” Mark Sterling. Fun way to entertain the fans before the ppv proper. Sterling takes the L, with Hook allowing Dan-o to get the cocky pin.
The PPV kicks off with The Symphony of Squash. Unless you’ve never heard of the internet, or have no friends to speak wrestling with, Wardlow destroys MJF in predictable fashion. Regardless of this whole “is MJF working us” bit – Wardlow was going to win. MJF being taken out on a stretcher gives AEW time to work with the Saltiest Salt of the Universe to hash out their grievances, unless we’re being fools.
Wardlow did something great during the onslaught. Not just the ten powerbombs, but the facial expressions when he knew he had MJF’s number. Euphoric? Satisfaction? All of the above. Great comedy during the match too. Prior to the demolition derby, MJF went for the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but was caught in hilarious fashion by both Wardlow and referee Bryce Remsberg. Ref just plucks it off his finger, and thus began the end.
More on MJF later. Maybe.
The Hardys defeated The Young Bucks
As much as I anticipated a “dream match” taking place once again, the past month was full of concern for Jeff Hardy. I am not knocking the guy at all. His recent matches were off. He seemed to either slow down, lose confidence in some of his typical routine signature moves, or perhaps, like many, wear, tear, and age just slow us down.
Unfortunately, this match had all of it. Jeff took a spill early on and the rest of the match was left to brother Matt to fend off the Bucks. It was still a good match with Matt doing what he could, but the end with the numerous superkicks clearly showed both Hardys tiring out. In the end, the overzealous nature of Nick and Matt Jackson would be their undoing as the Hardy would quickly capitalize and win by pinfall.
My opinion, this should be it for Matt and Jeff Hardy. They’ve had their last run, it’s been great, and now time to call it a break from active competition. Become AEW coaches. I don’t want them fading away, but they should go out on a high note.
As for the Young Bucks, they’ve been in limbo for quite some time, and with Forbidden Door nearing, this would be an opportunity to see them have a feud with OG Bullet Club or another yet-to-be seen duo. The Bucks help run AEW, they don’t need the spotlight, but I don’t want them to fade off either.
Jade Cargill retains the TBS Championship against Anna Jay
Notable mention – John Silver clobbers an already hurt Mark Sterling with a brainbuster on the arena floor. Gotta love Johnny Hungie.
The match was decent. Sorry, I know Cargill is training with Danielson and all that, but there is something still off and I can’t figure it out. Her promo skills haven’t improved at all, relying too much on vulgarity and questionable clothing to be intimidating. The additions of Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet are okay, but their sole purpose is for distraction and misdirection. If only there was someone who could really cut a promo on behalf of Cargill… If only…
Stokely Hathaway (formerly Malcom Bivens of NXT), makes his debut to provide a shocking assist, helping Cargill defeat Jay. As the post-match beatdown continues, Kris Statlander arrives, and the sides are evened when… Athena (formerly Ember Moon from NXT) arrives! There’s two “moments” right there, with Athena being ‘holy ****” one.
Anna Jay was the true MVP of the match. While my initial thought was no way for a title change, Anna Jay made me believe it could have happened. That’s how good I think Anna Jay is.
House of Black defeated Death Triangle
What. A. Match. This is one of my top three matches of the night. The opening introductions were ominous and theatrical in a way which I could not have expected. Amazing production.
The trios match ticked all the boxes for being fantastic. Wrestling, check. Stiff-hitting, check. High-flying and high-risk, check. Pace just kept going, regardless of when one side was dominating. The action didn’t stop. Even when Brody King nearly tumbled to his death on a dive. Hey, the guy tried.
There was no clear picture who would win at any point in the match. However, as it appeared PAC was about to finally finish off his adversary, the lights go out, and come back on to reveal JULIA HART HAS TURNED! She spits the black mist, allowing PAC to fall prey to Malakai Black.
After a long, long, long build. Julia is now one with the House of Black. Poor Brian Pillman Jr.
Adam Cole defeated Samoa Joe to win the first Owen Hart Memorial Cup
It’s strange to say, but it felt somewhat predictable for Cole to win. I really wanted Samoa Joe, just because I wanted Joe to be the winner. No bigger reason than that.
I felt it was a great match, but perhaps the specter of knowing Cole would win took it down a few notches. The finish really felt deflating. Bobby Fish, with some interference, allowed Cole to regain himself, ultimately outlastling all the punishment Joe dished out and prevailing after Lowering the Boom.
It hurt because Cole could have won on his own. That’s how good of a match it was. It would have been believable for Joe to lose cleanly here. Is Samoa Joe a wrecking machine? Yes, no doubt. But is he unbeatable? No. No one is.
Again, great match, but the heel-ish finish for what should have been an honorable tournament final hurt the outcome.
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. defeated Ruby Soho
Soho is played out to the ring by… RANCID. I popped huge for them, despite noticing how old they’ve gotten.
They put on a good match. Very fast paced and this time, there was no interference to speak of. Thankfully. Clean finish. Soho wrestled superbly tonight and despite losing, still looked like a winner to me. However, just like the men’s tournament final, a great match, but something missing. Soho was built up to be an uber-underdog, who has been clawing for a high-profile victory, and once again denied. It also appeared odd for two heels to be the first tournament winners, ones who are dating no less.
However, this being said, Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker are two of the best wrestlers in AEW. Two of the best. They’ve earned their due, but even I have to admit, it’s starting to feel like they are getting way too much attention out of others on the roster. Could I be wrong? Sure.
Following the tournament matches, Dr. Martha Hart presented the happy couple with matching Owen Hart memorial championship belts and displayed the Owen Hart Cup, which will have their names engraved on it. She gave an emotional speech about how wrestlers all over saw Owen as a source of inspiration, both in and out of the ring.
She had a strange hat. Come on, we all thought it.
Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page, and Paige VanZant defeated Frankie Kazarian, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti
This was an awkward match. Not the wrestling action, but it was hard to like anyone going into it. The only true “face” was Frankie Kazarian. Everyone else is booked as a heel, despite Sammy having played the face when warning Kazarian about Sky’s change in behavior.
The match was decent, VanZant appears to be successfully training well as she was able to take out Conti.
One comedy spot where Paige dropped Conti face first into Sammy’s groin. Ha Ha Ha.
Scorpio took advantage of the dissension on the opposing team to advantage, hitting his former SCU brother with the TKO for the win. This means neither Sammy nor Frankie could challenge for the TNT Championship as long as Scorpio is titleholder.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Darby Allin
Despite the build to make Darby the hero, Kyle winning was the right decision. They put on a great match, really fast paced even when O’Reilly had Allin grounded, it felt it.
Not a long match, and to be fair, at this point it was getting late. I checked my watch twice to be sure, but with four big matches to go, I had a bad feeling this was going past midnight.
Darby had some solid spots, but one looked pretty scary, where his signature lower ropes dive went wrong, clipping the ropes and rolling the arena floor with his head. He even took a big kick to the face, bloodying his mouth.
He may yet steal the ol’ chants for Paul London… You know the one… “Please Don’t Die.”
Thunder Rosa retains the AEW Women’s Championship against Serena Deeb
This is my next top pick for the night. Yeah, yeah, their promos aren’t the best, but both Rosa and Deeb do their talking in a wrestling ring. What a fantastic matchup. AEW has some great women who put on mat-based clinics.
Rosa brings fire and drama into the in-ring tale, while Deeb just oozes the overconfidence and wrestling intensity seen by the greats from years past. Deeb as The Professor is 100% correct.
Rosa getting the win was a surprise, I thought Deeb would be the one to dethrone her. Not to say she wouldn’t in the future, but tonight wasn’t the night.
If AEW can take some of the spotlights off Jade Cargill and Dr. Baker, the women’s division could really shine.
The Jericho Appreciation Society defeated The Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz
This is my third top pick for the night. This felt like an old school Bunkhouse Brawl with an ECW-esque vibe. The carnage was ridiculous. Wrestling? When Danielson got in the ring, we got our wrestling.
The coolest part was “Wild Thing” playing out on continuous loop, reminding me of New Jack’s music playing during his brawls. Unfortunately Jericho broke the sound system.
But let me tell you this. This wasn’t a wrestling match nor meant to be one. This was an all-out war. Blood shed everywhere, broken bodies, insane spots. Santana and Ortiz came off ladders, forks and utensils were used.
The image of the night was a battered, bruised, bloody, gasoline can-toting Eddie Kingston staggering his way to the ring, ready to start some ****. He pours presumably gasoline on Jericho and winds up also pouring on Danielson, which prompts the faces to turn on each other. This allows for Jericho and Hager to choke out Danielson for the win.
Brawls like this are fun yet at the same time hard to watch with all the bloodshed. Eddie Kingston, something about his persona, just makes it all work. He has IT.
Let’s talk about the JAS winning their feud, which I imagine greatly disappoints fans of Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz, and the recently formed Blackpool Combat Club. There was no revenge tonight, no reward, just disappointment that the bad guys won.
Well, that’s life. Is the feud over? Doesn’t seem clear. Will we see a feud between BCC and Eddie’s boys? Likely. Will Jericho kick back and shoot fireballs like Mario? For sure, because he’s a wizard!
Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus defeated Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs and Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships
Damn this was a great match too. Another one in the non-stop category and truly a match where any team could have believably won.
Best spot of the night – Keith Lee CLEARING the top rope with a dive to the arena floor. Ho-Lee-Crap.
The benefit of this match was re-energizing the live crowd and the fans watching at home after over four-plus hours of wrestling.
The big question is where does each team go from here? Subtle hints at a possible turn by Christian Cage did not surface tonight, but possibly in the future? Not sure at this point if it would make sense for a turn, given he’s been the Jurassic Corner Man. What would a singles feud do to benefit either man?
Starks and Hobbs make a great team, but truly their futures will be in singles wrestling. Same for Swerve and Lee. Granted they’ve been established as a tag team, name and all, but at some point they’ll go off on their own.
It seems the clear path is for FTR, absent from the PPV to be next to challenge for the tag championships. That would make sense to me.
Main Event of AEW Double or Nothing 2022 CM Punk defeats “Hangman” Adam Page to become the new AEW World Champion
This was a really good match, but I can’t say it’s going to be “memorable” or a “match of the year candidate.” I can’t. It was good, but maybe because the show had already gone on so long, it felt drained. Page always brings the passionate persona, Punk playing the resilient, battle-hardened veteran who doesn’t have quit in him. I did not feel the outcome was predictable. I viewed it from both sides. Punk winning would show he still has it in him to be the top guy and given the chance, could easily sway a heel turn and elevate a slew of new challengers and create the next big babyface. Or, he could remain the face and a top heel could dethrone him.
Hangman retaining would have sealed the story of being able to top the veterans. Fresh heels could challenge, or hell, he could embrace a heel turn of his own. Either way there were options open.
I can see giving Punk the championship opening more doors. Punk could take on a few challengers before Hangman gets his rematch. A championship run is not only about the title holder, but about who is chasing the championship. Hangman was chasing the championship and his victory had the feel good moment. Punk’s win was not a “feel-good” moment but more of the better man winning.
In my fantasy booking world, I’d love to see Eddie Kingston be the guy to dethrone Punk. They’ve taken shots at each other since their first meeting, both on screen and online.
AEW, make it happen.
Overall, I really enjoyed AEW Double or Nothing 2022. I did. However, it was too damn long. Fans complained years ago when WWE’s events stretched for hours, and WrestleMania becoming an all-day thing was the straw which broke the fans backs. It was almost 1 a.m. (12:40am to be as close as possible) when we turned off the television. Not counting the pre-show that’s almost five hours long. When AEW first ran PPVs, they would go about three to three-and-a-half hours. That’s fine. But over the past year, the length slowly has increased.
It’s not a good thing. I get they wanted to showcase as much as possible and give everyone plenty of time. Those are good things, but being realistic, it’s impossible to maintain it. Fans will burn out, matches like Page vs. Punk should have had us glued to the TV screen, instead I’m struggling to stay awake. Sure, it took place in Vegas, so they had the advantage of being on Pacific Time, but being in the arena for that long still tires fans out.
AEW, you guys know better. You have seen what works and what doesn’t. Great matches work, long shows don’t.
Once again, I enjoyed the show, everyone did a fantastic job performing. At points it felt like a mix of ECW and NWA, or elements of NJPW with modern era American wrestling.
That’s all I’ve got to say about that. What are your thoughts?
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