Six Matches From AEW Double or Nothing That You Must Watch

In 2019, AEW announced themselves to the world with a fabulous PPV from Las Vegas. Double or Nothing has quickly become one of the most anticipated PPV’s of the year. This is primarily because of a bunch of amazing matches that took place in 2019 and 2020.

AEW Stadium Stampede

With the onset of the pandemic, wrestling was forced to adapt to the changes and roll with the punches. However, AEW did more than just roll with the punches and landed a knockout blow with Stadium Stampede.

The Elite vs the Inner Circle was thirty-five minutes of bone-breaking wrestling, with every superstar stealing the show. Chris Jericho elbowed a mascot in the face, Matt Jackson performed a moonsault from the goal, Matt Hardy transformed in a swimming pool, Hangman Page entered on a horse, and Kenny Omega hit a One Winged Angel from one level to the one below.

Young Bucks vs Lucha Brothers

The Young Bucks and the Lucha Brothers quickly established themselves as the top two teams in AEW. Penta and Rey Fenix announced their arrival at an AEW Press Conference by attacking the Bucks, but things went a different way a month later in Mexico. In hostile territory, the Young Bucks beat the Lucha Brothers for the AAA Tag Tag Championships.

They met in a rematch at Double or Nothing, and the match delivered in spades. Both teams busted out their insane offence and emptied their arsenals completely.

The Bucks even pulled out moves from their rivals, from the Super Smash Bros blockbuster-powerbomb and even El Generico’s [Sami Zayn] turnbuckle brainbuster.

After Penta kicked out of the Ghetto Stomp and More Bang for Your Buck, the Bucks reverted to the Meltzer Driver to win a brilliant tag-team war. And they somehow topped this match at All Out by using ladders.

Cody vs Dustin Rhodes

No one expected this match to win Pro Wrestling Illustrated‘s Match of the Year award. However, Cody and his older brother Dustin Rhodes put on one of the best matches of all time. Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer even gave it the full five stars, making it AEW’s first five-star rated match.

The drama, storytelling, and wrestling were on point. Cody played the cocky younger sibling, determined to destroy the era his brother belonged to. Dustin wanted to prove to Cody he is AEW material and although he’s old, he can still fight.

Both men threw the kitchen sink at each other until both bled buckets. However, Cody hit his brother with the Cross Rhodes and won a brutal and emotional war.

AEW Joshi Exhibition

The AEW Women’s division did not get off to the best start in 2019. Dynamite did not feature many women’s matches, and Riho and Nyla Rose failed to carry the division into the future. However, the addition of a brilliant set of pro-wrestlers changed their fortunes.

The Japanese joshi wrestlers wrestled a barnburner at Double or Nothing, wowing the crowd and showcasing everything the joshis were about.

Amongst them stood Aja Kong, a stalwart of women’s wrestling, alongside the veteran Emi Sakura and young upstart Yuka Sakazaki. On the other side we had two AEW Women’s Champions, Hikaru Shida and Riho, alongside Ryo Mizunami.

Riho and Shida proved why they deserved to be the faces of the women’s division and registered a wonderful performance. At 48, Aja Kong proved she could still go while Emi and Yuka carried their team.

After this match, we saw Riho and Shida hold the women’s title while Emi and Mizunami challenged for it. As for Yuka, her time will come in AEW and in Japan.

MJF vs Jungle Boy

A battle between two of AEW’s young lions took place at Double or Nothing 2020. MJF and Jungle Boy proved why they’re the ones to carry AEW into the future by putting on a ripper of a contest.

The youngsters threw everything they had at each other and really showcased their genuine characters. Being the biggest heel in wrestling, MJF cheated and schemed to beat MJF, while Jungle Boy showed his babyface fire to get a big win.

In the end, Jungle Boy’s offence proved too quick for MJF who found himself trapped in a genius pinning predicament that cost him the match. Despite there being one winner, both superstars challenged for the company’s top titles within a few months.

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Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho

Of course, the match that headlined AEW’s first PPV had to be here. Kenny Omega came off a successful run in NJPW, halting Kazuchika Okada’s 720-day title reign.

Although he lost the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom, he walked into Double or Nothing with a chip on his shoulder.

As for his opponent, Chris Jericho, this was all about making himself the company’s top superstar quickly. He had to take down the company’s golden boy to be in line for a potential shot at the AEW World Championship.

Similar to the Wrestle Kingdom match from 2018, it was tough, gritty, ugly, featured weapon spots and had a shocking ending. After emptying his arsenal, Jericho connected with a spinning back elbow, which he called the Judas Effect to put Omega down for the count. If the match wasn’t already incredible, Jon Moxley’s debut and brawl with Omega certainly delivered.

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