Reverse Hipster's Reviews
Black Jack Battle Royal International Title match 7.6/10 C
Orange Cassidy won the match, and that was the correct winner. This match will be an excellent stat for Orange Cassidy. However, the match itself wasn't that good. Despite the match being loaded with awesome talent, the moves were very typical. The best move of the battle royal was a Canadian Destroyer by Dustin Rhodes.
Also, Orange Cassidy just rolled around most of the match, and nobody really tried to remove him, which is strange because he is the champion. Even if Orange Cassidy was saving up for the match between him and Swervre, it still wasn't that good a final fight.
Adam Cole Vs.Jericho 7/10 C-
I'm happy Adam Cole made it back to wrestling, and overall I like him. However, he hasn't felt right since he returned. He isn't a good babyface, but I think he felt forced to play that role because of the return.
His match with Jericho was very bland. They did enough to pass, but I just couldn't get interested in this match, and then it ended in a finish that even JR said the fans won't like. The match ended by ref stoppage due to Jericho being unable to defend himself. Maybe Jericho and Cole can have a better match down the road but it was not their day at Double or Nothing.
FTR Vs.Jeff Jarett & Jay Lethal AEW Tag Titles 7.9/10 C+
This match started out basic, but when Brisco went down, and FTR hit the Shatter Machine with no ref, it reached its potential. Guitars were flying, bodies were dropping, and it looked like Jarret would steal the titles until he hit the ref one too many times and got knocked into a Shatter Machine and lost.
Wardlow Vs. Christian TNT Title 8.1/10 B
This match was easily the best match of the card so far. Wardlow was placed in the position to overcome a lot in this match. He had to deal with Christian and Luchasaurus. Too much for one guy, right? Wrong Wardlow did a Swanton Bomb off the ladder onto a table, taking out Luchasaurus, and then he knocked Christian off the ladder and caught him in a powerbomb before climbing the ladder and winning the match. It's still Wardlow's world.
Toni Storm vs. Hayter AEW Title 8.1/10 B
I think AEW did an excellent job working around Hayter's injury. Attacking Hayter before the match and spraying her with paint during the match really set up the idea that this match could end at any second because Hayter is nowhere near 100 percent. This made Hayter's offense look more valiant; however, Storm overwhelmed Hayter and won the title despite her best efforts. This booking made Toni look like a despicably clever heel who stacked the deck for herself and came through. Hayter looks valiant in defeat, and Toni is the right woman to carry the title. Toni is the best AEW Women's Champion I've seen so far.
House of Black Vs.The Acclaimed Trios Tiles 8.2 B
My largest pop of the night came when the Acclaimed answered the House of Black's Challenge. Max Caster delivered one of his best opening raps. He Hilariously called Murphy a cuck and said Aleister was doing blackface because of his black-painted face and then said how can you be the House of Black with no black guys.
The Acclaimed came out just as hot in the match showing the Trios champions what former tag champions could do. However, House of Black kept giving The Acclaimed problems, and eventually, the Acclaimed ran out of answers, but this match was entertaining before the bell even rang down to the last second of the match.
Jade Cargill Vs. Taya Valkyrie TBS Title 8.4/10 B
This Double or Nothing match was Jade's best match of her reign. From the beginning, Taya has felt different from any other challenger Jade has faced. They have chemistry, and Taya has always been a threat to Jade, and this match was no different. Taya had some of the most dominant offense and convincing two counts in TBS Title history. Jade even upped her game coming off the top rope.
Jade overcame Taya and won her 60th match. My major complaint with this match was the ending. It makes no sense that Taya would hit her finisher, and Jade would kick out, and then Jade would hit the same finisher, and Taya wouldn't kick out. Also, side notes both women had excellent entrances, and Jade had the best one of the night.
Kris Statlander Vs Jade TBS Title 2/10 F-
This was an absolute shit show of a booking. First off, Kris Statlander came out to lukewarm cheers because she was hot a long time ago; briefly, that wasn't gonna stay the same after all this time. Kris isn't a superstar yet, and in fact, she was changing her gimmick the last we saw her.
So she comes out to answer an open challenge of Jades, and this is such a stupid wrestling booking. It was bad when Hulk Hogan came out and beat Yokozuna after he had just beaten Brett. It was bad when Charlotte beat Ronda the day she returned after Ronda had just successfully defended her title, and it was bad when Statlander beat Jade on her first night back after Jade had had a match already.
It makes the challenger look weak like they can only win because the champion already had a match. It's also such a waste of Jade's 60 days for her loss to mean absolutely nothing and her accomplishment of 60 wins to be stomped on by a lukewarm Statlander. Also, if someone was gonna beat Jade, why not Taya? She is the one who put in all the work and proved herself to be a credible challenger.
Statlander just got back. She didn't do anything. She was just gifted this title. Jade's reign should have ended in a great feud where she put someone over and made them a star for beating her, but we were robbed of that moment by this terrible booking, and we can't get it back. I hope AEW doesn't tarnish Jade by getting her lost in the shuffle.
MJF Vs.Darby Vs. Sammy Vs. Jungle Boy
AEW Title 9.1/10 A
This match had tons of action and story.
All four members used their mentor's moves at one moment. MJF used the Crossroads, Jungle Boy used the Killswitch, Darby did the Scorpion Death Lock, and Sammy did the Walls of Jericho.
There were also other great story moments like MJF telling Sammy to lie down for him and take the money for Sammy's incoming baby. Then there was the moment when Jungle Boy had the chance to take Darby out with the title belt but decided he wanted to do things the right way instead. I didn't take anything off the match grade for this, but it seems like Jungle Boy should have used the belt, considering it was a no-DQ match, and he supposedly learned to be violent in his feud with Christian.
There were some fantastic spots, like Sammy doing a Spanish fly with Darby to the outside of the ring or all four guys simultaneously putting each other in a submission hold. However, I still thought this match could be a B or an A, depending on the finish.
The finish made me laugh out loud. It was perfect. When Darby and MjF fought years ago, MJF humiliated Darby by finishing him with a headlock takeover. Darby tried to do the same thing to MJF, but Jungle Boy broke up the pin. However, right before Darby could land the coffin drop, MJF put the title belt on Jungle Boy, and Darby jumped right into it. Mjf hit him with a headlock takeover, beat and humiliated Darby again, and retained his title.
Blackpool Combat Club Vs. The Elite Anarchy in the Arena 9.6/10 A
What a match, as usual, this started immediately as the entrance music was still playing. Nobody was safe in this match. The ref got busted open the lead singer of the band that played Moxley's music got super kicked.
The wrestlers were split in half on top of chairs, dunked into tacks, and even punched with tacks in their mouths. They were hit with screwdrivers and forks and low blows and exploding shoes. This fight was everywhere on the ramp in the parking lot, the stands, and the concessions. It was an intense, thrill ride with me on the edge of my seat. Several times I feared The Combat Club would lose or thought there was no way The Elite could escape, and then they did.
Bryan Danielson and Claudio especially looked really impressive against Omega, and I hope we can see some more stuff with them down the road. However, one of the best features of this match was that in the end, after these amazing world-class wrestlers had this incredible match, they gave the rubs to two newer guys.
Konosuke turned on the Elite, joining Don Callis and costing the Elite the match. Wheeler Yuta won the match for his team, pinning Kenny Omega. What day for these two young men, and what a finish.
Rob’s Reviews
Blackjack Battle Royal (AEW International Championship)
This was one of the least built matches on the card, and it made no sense for Orange Cassidy to have to defend his championship in a Battle Royal against 20 other men. However, it made for a damn entertaining opener. It’s easy to complain about how some of AEW’s best talent were shoehorned into this match, but I just tried to enjoy it. However, it was hard when the match made no sense. Competitors were doing high-flying moves and starting outside in a battle royal, which never really was explained by commentary. Ricky Starks took out Bullet Club’s Jay White and Juice Robinson, putting an exclamation point on a feud that I still don’t fully understand. White should be a top star in AEW, but he hasn’t done anything yet besides debut and target Starks with Robinson. Big Bill had a featured spot, being in the final three of this match and having some key eliminations. I would have chosen a few others before him for that feature spot, but it did make him look good. The final two were Cassidy and Swerve Strickland, and it left me wishing this was just a featured match on the card instead of the final two in a battle royal. They had insane sequences that should convince Tony Khan to give us a one-on-one in the near future. Cassidy won in his signature style, and it was a good babyface win against odds to open the night.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho (Unsanctioned Match)
“I don’t care if Adam Cole ever wrestles again. I just hope he’s okay.” These were the quoted words from Cole’s return promo about fans’ relationship with the AEW wrestler. That concept was damned in this match. In Cole’s first big return match, he took unnecessary nasty bumps over and over again. Sabu’s involvement in this match made no sense, but it did provide us with fun, high spots to open the contest. It was dumb that Sabu and Roderick Strong were able to neutralize four members of the Jericho Appreciation Society, but wrestling logic be damned. The run-in from Britt Baker and Saraya was fun, and it set up a follow-up match on Dynamite, but it doesn’t fully make sense in the story because it feels like Cole got his big win against Jericho. Cole won to the point of needing a referee stoppage. I hope this sets him up to be MJF’s next challenger, but I didn’t love this match. Namely, I think Cole and Jericho are both better in a wrestling match than a street fight style, and the slow pace in-ring was kind of boring me by the end.
Final Grade: 4/10 Below Average
FTR vs. Jeff Jarret and Jay Lethal (Tag Team Championships)
I hate to admit that Jeff Jarret trying to do everything to cheat while Mark Briscoe repeatedly had to stop him was fun to watch. However, I don’t think this should have been FTR’s first PPV match, and I don’t think this match needed the time it took to achieve what it did. FTR won, and everything was as good as it could be. I have to admit it was fun and unique anything on the card, but I have to go with this grade.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
Wardlow vs. Christian Cage (TNT Championship, Ladder Match)
The TNT Championship has lost all steam since being hot potatoed and not being featured like other AEW championships. However, Wardlow did his damnedest to make fans pay attention to this feud, going for insane high spots and athletic maneuvers despite his size. The ladders couldn’t quite keep up, but I definitely noticed the effort. What didn’t make any sense is that Luchasaurus didn’t come out with Christian Cage, only to come halfway through the match and just stand outside even though he couldn’t possibly be disqualified if he chose to help. Arn Anderson eventually came and neutralized Luchasaurus, which set up the win for Wardlow. The extra effort by Wardlow, unfortunate botches with the ladders, and bad wrestling logic all cancel each other out.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm (AEW Women’s Championship)
After the match, I learned Jamie Hayter had been working hurt, but I didn’t know that going in. The Outcasts attacked Hayter to give Toni Storm the advantage, but the pacing of the match and spots was horrible and rushed. It took Britt Baker forever to come out and help. If it wasn’t a storyline element, it needed to be explained by the commentators or Baker herself. By the time Storm won, I was back on team AEW must hate women’s wrestling, and the fans need to start a revolution for them. Knowing Hayter was hurt, I still don’t think it’s the best booking, but I understand what they were going for.
Final Grade: 4/10 Below Average
House of Black vs. The Acclaimed (AEW Trios Championships, Open House Rules)
This could have been a really fun match if built properly. Instead, it was under the guise of a House of Black open challenge. I knew the Acclaimed were rumored to be the match, but it was still sort of disappointing to see them instead of a surprise. Also, it was dumb for them not to take advantage of the Dealer’s Choice stipulation. Again, AEW is booking very dumb lately. This proved that the Acclaimed could still go but not much else. House of Black looked dominant again. They spent about half the match building up a hot tag from Anthony Bowens, which eventually went to Billy Gunn, which is crazy in 2023. At least House of Black is finally being presented like a threat, and we get to see good wrestling from them.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
Jade Cargill vs. Taya Valkyrie, Jade Cargill vs. Kris Statlander (TBS Championship)
Taya Valkyrie got some of the best work out of Jade Cargill, and she felt like a genuine threat at times. I felt like it was finally time to get the belt off Cargill, and we didn’t get it out of this match. However, immediately after Mark Stirling issued an open challenge, Kris Statlander responded. Cargill still put up a fight. I thought she was going to win for a moment, but Statlander got her back and got the win. It was a good story of Stirling (and Cargill by proxy) getting what came to them by being too cocky. Cargill should be pissed at Stirling, though finally, a worthy challenger came out to the open challenge. It’s a fresh start for the TBS Championship, as a first-time on not Cargill. I felt bad for Statlander, who got a good, not great, response, but I’m confident she can rebuild her relationship with the fans.
Final Grade: 5/10 Average
MJF vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy (AEW Championship)
Everyone here got a special entrance except Jungle Boy for some reason. Darby Allin had a Vegas Wedding themed entrance, Sammy Guevara brought back the picture-in-picture signs to announce he and Tay Melo were having a baby, and MJF came down in a hydraulic chair to an orchestra that made him feel like the company’s biggest star (and he probably is). Guevara’s announcement made me want to root for him again. AEW made a mistake by not cleaning up the confetti from the match prior, and it distracted from the contest. However, once in the ring, this was the easy match of the night. The psychology and work rate of this match was out of this world. I was impressed by how technically talented all these wrestlers are. The submission and rollup spots shined in between high spots and dives.
MJF looked brilliant for booking this. His opponents all shined in AEW’s main event scene, proving to be worthy pillars. Guevara stood up for himself and wouldn’t lie down for MJF. Allin had the match won a few times, needing someone else to break up the pin. Jungle Boy hit a series of smooth Canadian Destroyers that looked inhuman. They all had a crazy work rate, while MJF worked smarter, not harder, to retain his championship with a few big moves still sprinkled in. He made me laugh out loud throughout the match, shouting expletives as his opponents pulled out crazy moves. But in the end, he won with a smart placement on Allin’s coffin drop and a headlock takeover to win. Jungle Boy was the biggest missed opportunity in this match. In a big moment, he decided not to use the championship but try to win honorably, and the fans booed. He was the only one with no special entrance, the least likely to win, and according to MJF, lacking the killer instinct to win. I suppose that’s what let MJF win. The result was never in question, but they took us for an absolute ride.
Final Grade: 9/10 Amazing
Anarchy in the Arena
Maybe it seems counterintuitive to not let the match of the night go last, but in this case, it made sense because it was a less predictable match, and hard for anything to follow the violence of this type of match. However, this match felt like a cheap imitation of the last Anarchy in the Arena. They redid the Wild Thing spot from last year with a live band. It wasn’t more violent than most of Jon Moxley’s matches this year. A lot of the guys disappeared for a good portion of the match in backstage brawl-style fights. Moxley and Kenny Omega played with barbed wire and glass, but it wasn’t even a focus with everything else going on. I think, overall, the match had a lot less storytelling too. For that reason, its best moments were when Omega and Adam Page had to team up for a last stand and Don Callis got Konosuke Takeshita to take out Omega. With it suddenly being 5-on-4, it was sort of baiting someone to come out and help the Elite (Kota Ibushi, anyone?). By the end, the Blackpool Combat Club winning was kind of a letdown, and it felt like a hold for the story to keep going instead of the final chapter of a feud between the two biggest factions in AEW.
Final Grade: 4/10 Below Average
Rob's Final Thoughts
AEW PPVs have been so good that the bar was set high for this. Maybe that’s the cause for the low grades. However, to me, it feels like AEW is losing its identity. They have an overdependence on stipulation matches, they underdeveloped stories, and they’re losing focus. Think of how many things seemed to slip through the cracks booking this PPV. Overall, the only positive grade for this PPV is from the Fatal 4 Way. That should be the ultimate proof of let the AEW originals have their time to shine, develop new stars, and pay MJF whatever he wants.
Overall Grade: 4/10 Below Average
Reverse Hipster's Final Grade of AEW Double Or Nothing 7.6/10 C
The PPV was decent. The night started out slow and slowly started to pick up. There was a genuinely horrible match that got my second-lowest rating of the entire PPV weekend, but before and after that match, the card was at its best. Some matches held Double or nothing from reaching their full potential.
If this PPV had been shorter, I would have had a way better rating.
If AEW started the PPV at Toni Storm's match and did the matches before that happened on tv, plus trashed the Statlander booking, this would be a much higher-rated show.