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Double or Nothing was the first AEW pay-per-view in the unforeseen circumstances that the world finds itself in. This was certainly a bittersweet moment for me as I would have been at Double or Nothing in Las Vegas tonight originally. Pandemics certainly are a spoilsport.
AEW put on a strong pay-per-view on Saturday night. They really did their best to put on an excellent wrestling show during these trying times. I do really believe using the wrestlers as a crowd does help the feel of the show.
The other thing that really helped the show was the quality of matches put up which was quite strong and the show was full of fun surprises. AEW booked a surprising debut, new champions, a brutal world title match, and a crazy Stadium Stampede.
While I try to figure out why Darby Allin puts himself through so much pain, I present my list of the five most surprising moments of AEW Double or Nothing:
#5 Brian Cage makes AEW debut
The Casino Ladder Match was a real chaotic mess. I certainly don’t mean that in a bad way. The unique format of waiting for all nine competitors to enter the ladder match and multiple interferences by others who were not in the match was an interesting choice. This certainly made the match longer and hard to follow at times. Also, does Darby Allin need to take so many risks?
Brian Cage entering the match as the mystery opponent was a real surprise. He has been a free agent for a while now and is a unique mix of power with athleticism. Once we saw him in the match, it wasn't surprising that he won the Poker Chip and a future title shot. With Tazz by his side, he comes across as a legitimate threat who should be fun to watch.
#4 Cody wins the AEW TNT Championship clean
The TNT Championship final was the classic storytelling you have come to expect out of a Cody match on AEW. Lance Archer was portrayed as the monster heel that he was and controlled the majority of the offense. Cody seems to really love being in peril, doesn’t he?
The ending of the match was interesting. Jake “The Snake” Roberts tried to interfere but was stopped by Mike Tyson. I can only dream to be in such a good shape as Mike Tyson at 53 years old. I am not even in that good shape as of now. Coming back to the match, following this intervention Archer fell after taking Cody’s finisher twice in the match before he was defeated in the end.
It was a nice surprise to see Cody win a major pay-per-view match. He will be a great TNT Champion for the company going forward. However, given the kind of monster that The Murderhawk has been billed as, it was rather surprising to see him lose clean.
#3 Hikaru Shida wins the AEW Women’s Championship
You cannot deny that Hikaru Shida has been one of the trailblazers of AEW's women’s division in recent months. She has been one of the few female wrestlers who has appeared on the show constantly during the empty arena era. Besides her amazing winning streak, she is constantly the best technical wrestler of the division. So why did so few people gave her a real chance on Saturday night?
The match told a simple story. Shida was the face who constantly withstood the physical dominance of Nyla Rose. It didn’t matter what Rose did, she could not stop Shida. It was really a shock to see Shida withstand all the physical pain and win the AEW Women's Championship.
She will be a great champion but it is surprising to see Rose’s reign end after just 101 days. and a few defenses. This match was one of the best that AEW's women's division has ever produced at it will be interesting to see if it leads to better things going forward.
#2 Jon Moxley makes Brodie Lee pass out
It wasn’t much of a surprise that Brodie Lee and Jon Moxley had one of the better matches on the AEW Double or Nothing card. These two have always had good chemistry and a truly motivated Moxley has had some of his best matches in the last year. It felt worthy of the occasion of an AEW World Championship defense.
It was a strange choice that a match that wasn’t billed as a street fight became one. It would be nice to have rules hold meaning in an AEW match. But the physical nature of the match made it more enjoyable. We had brutal table spots, use of poker chips, and the great spot where both crashed through the ramp.
As both recovered from the ramp spot, it led to the surprising finish. Moxley was unable to put Lee away with his normal finisher. So he choked him out instead. It was a surprise to say the least. Where does Moxley go from here? I hope Lee doesn’t vanish from the main event scene either. He has proven himself as a worthy competitor.
#1 The entire Stadium Stampede Match
Well that was certainly one of the most insane matches that AEW has put up. In fact, the Stadium Stampede Match was one of the most insane wrestling matches you will ever see. It is truly hard to describe the number of surprises and laughs the 34-minute match at AEW Double or Nothing provided. Kudos to the hard work of everyone involved in this cinematic match. Maybe cinematic matches are best suited for these difficult times.
There were too many highlights in this insanity. We had football style entrances complete with jerseys. We had Hangman Page chase Sammy Guevara with a horse across a football field. We had Matt Jackson moonsault from a goalpost.
The action continued to be crazy with many moments in the stadium pool. We saw multiple versions of Matt Hardy. We had Santana trapped in an ice chest. We had a literal bar fight. Matt Jackson did suplexes worth the entire length of a football field. We had a lot of football-related jokes. The match ended with Omega performing a One Week Angel from 15 feet in the air on Guevera and then pinning him for a landmark win in AEW.
The goal of the main event was to entertain the fans and it did so in spades. The Elite winning was the right choice. This match will be hard to top for sure. It was a wonderful way to end AEW Double or Nothing.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
