‘AEW: Double or Nothing 2020’ PPV Review
Welcome to this review of All Elite Wrestling: Double Or Nothing, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we lost Hana Kimura, Shad Gaspard and Larry Csonka. Shad and Larry have GoFundMe pages you can donate to here and here. When I was Pam Grier, my sweet, black ass always loved to watch half-naked people grab each other real hard and I’m doing that now as Double Or Nothing begins…now.
Match #1: Best Friends defeated Private Party
My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was a sparkly match. Sparkly is the word I’m sticking with…sparkly out the ass. While no Steiners/Road Warriors clash of maniacs frenzy, this was an encouraging sign for AEW’s tag division, as PP did better than they have in the past, while the BFs line-danced their way to the win.
Match #2: Brian Cage defeated Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Orange Cassidy, Joey Janela, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian and Luchasaurus – Casino Ladder Match
My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – This was a wild melee with Cage making his debut and first victory in his first AEW run. Think of this like a really good Money In The Bank match and you’ve got the gist. I felt like John Lone watching this match. Not all of my references make sense, mother-f—–! Allin tried to kill himself about a thousand times with those damn ladders, which is only about half as much as usual (slacker). Every-body added their own thing to this, but they never got in each other’s way…except when they attacked each other. Cage winning was the way to go under the circumstances and it’s nice to see him get a fresh start in AEW.
Match #3: MJF defeated Jungle Boy
My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – This was a fine match that had the right winner, but gave the loser plenty of time to shine. MJF was his usual “let’s flip off the kids” self, grinding into JB in more ways than one. I can say that this match was as close to an idealized version of 1980s Jim Crockett singles wrestling as you’re likely to get in the 21st century. There’s way too much upside with these two to not have them get some World Title shots this year, virus or not (unless it would kill them, then don’t). Joss Ackland ain’t no groovy-ass chicken-b—- and this match was a low-down, bad-to-the-bone classic that should not be missed.
Match #4: Cody (Rhodes) (w/Arn Anderson) defeated Lance Archer (w/Jake Roberts) – TNT Championship Match
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was a pretty damn good way to debut this strap, which sounds like a casual way to endorse BDSM sex, but it’s not, you fool! Cody sure as hell has gotten a hell of a lot better than when he was that Stardust f—–. Lance was great here and his new gimmick really added to the mystique. This felt important, which ain’t bad for the debut of the AEW TV Title. If you like watching two grown men knock the s— out of each other for a Texas cow-ribbon strapped-up with Looney Tunes-sticks, then give this fella a whirl.
Match #5: Kris Statlander defeated Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian)
My Opinion: 2.7 out of 5 – Not much for a PPV match and that’s really all there is to say about it, except that they got short-changed on time and were put on too late in the card.
Match #6: Dustin Rhodes (w/Brandi Rhodes) defeated Shawn Spears
My Opinion: 2.3 out of 5 – What a waste of time. Why not have a full match? Is some-one hurt? Why put out a hurt guy? This lasted all of three minutes (some s— like that) and didn’t have much action, let alone for a PPV fight.
Match #7: Hikaru Shida defeated Nyla Rose – No Count-Out & No Disqualification Match For The AEW Women’s World Championship
My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – These guys had a good one that looked pretty rough, which ain’t bad for stipulation match. Shida beating Rose feels a bit pre-mature, but Rose is already over enough that she can lose at any time and still looks formidable. If you like watching women smack the s— out of each other for money, then this is your lucky day.
Match #8: Jon Moxley defeated Brodie Lee – AEW World Championship Match
My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – These guys put up the dukes and just brawled for a long time, which worked well here. This didn’t feel like the match it should have, but it succeeded despite the lame build-up.
Match #9: (Main Event) The Elite defeated The Inner Circle – Stadium Stampede Match
My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – There was a lot of silly s— here, but the brawl was a vast blast from the past. S—…I rhymed…cutesy-wutesy bull-s—. This was equal parts cinematic wrestling and plunder-fest, which was booked well this time, so it worked. This shouldn’t have been the main event, but the real main event was so lazily promoted that you almost had to pick this to close the card. Overall, Matt Hardy stole the show with his weird Mick Foley-inspired identity crisis angle with the pool, but I still didn’t give a s— about it either. Well, that’s mean. It’s not bad at all, but this just felt like a quirky free TV match, rather than some-thing I’d wanna pay for.
News Of The Night:
- Brian Cage finally debuted and gained Taz as his manager.
- Britt Baker will inform the world of her return date (if any) on Dynamite this week.
- Jake Roberts was almost creamed by Mike Tyson.
- All Out comes this September.
Final Verdict: 3.7/5
This was a very strong show before the last third dipped for a while, but it saved itself at the end.
