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AEW just held its third annual Double or Nothing event this past Sunday at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The event marked the first professional wrestling event of its caliber at a full capacity crowd since the start of the pandemic. The presence of the live crowd made the show feel more alive and that the world of professional wrestling has finally returned to normal.
The show featured ten matches on the card and was jammed packed with surprises from start to finish. The AEW Double or Nothing Buy-In match was for the NWA Women’s Championship featuring the champion, Serena Deeb, defending against former AEW Women's Champion Riho. The main event was the Stadium Stampede match, which saw The Inner Circle vs The Pinnacle.
The event featured matches that involved many legends in the business as well. For example, Sting was in a match for the first time in over 6 years. Christian Cage and Matt Hardy were featured in the Casino Battle Royale. Paul Wight (FKA The Big Show) was on commentary for the Battle Royale as well. During the main event, Tully Blanchard and Konnan played active roles. Not to mention that Chris Jericho lead his team to victory.
There is a long list of exciting moments that took place at Double or Nothing, but there are six things that stuck out that made the show a phenomenal watch. These things will also play a huge part in what is to come for AEW in the near future.
#6 The AEW debut of Lio Rush
Lio Rush is a former WWE star and a world-renowned star on the indie circuit. At only 26 years old and 160 pounds, Rush has a long list of accomplishments in the professional wrestling world. His latest is a debut as the Joker Card in the Double or Nothing Casino Battle Royale.
After he was released by WWE during the spring releases of 2020, Rush’s career was up in the air and he disappeared for a little while. When he reappeared it was for mostly independent shows where it seemed that Rush was going back to his roots.
He has been appearing at more and more events as of late but now it appears he might be a rising star in AEW. His high-flying style and dynamic personality are a great fit for what AEW already has to offer. He will also have many more opportunities in this company than he was given with WWE.
Though he did not last long in the match, his athleticism was shown and shocked those unfamiliar with his splendid fast-paced offense. Rush is a star who can keep a crowd on the edge of their seats every single time he is in the ring.
He has the personality to be both a face or a heel so it should be interesting to see how that plays out in AEW. It's been reported that Rush has actually signed a deal with NJPW, meaning he's another name on the list of talent the company has allowed AEW to use to continue to hype up their brand. Hopefully we'll see more of the Man of the Hour stateside, as there are many matches that fans would love to see.
The possibilities are endless for him if he is to become a regular star on AEW programming. Rush in a match against someone like Matt Sydal or Rey Fenix could make for great fast-paced matches. He and PAC would also put together a classic. Rush also has a musical background so maybe joining a team like The Acclaimed could make for some entertaining segments.
No matter what AEW has planned for Lio Rush, he has the ability to do big things in the company, NJPW permitting.
# 5 The Young Bucks retaining their AEW Tag Team Championships
The Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson, have been at the heart of AEW’s tag team division since the company started. They are currently the AEW Tag Team Champions and defended their titles against Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston at Double or Nothing.
The two were successful in retaining their titles and celebrated with their friends The Good Brothers, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, after the match. Their storyline has played out with the two teams and Kenny Omega in the spotlight of AEW’s championship picture.
Moxley and Kingston have been battling the five men for quite some time now but there was no benefit to having them defeat The Bucks. There is a lot that could still happen with this feud and it is still going strong so to have it peak so soon would be a waste.
The Young Bucks and The Good Brothers have many enemies in multiple promotions. Since the Good Brothers are part of IMPACT Wrestling and are currently feuding with Sami Callihan, it would be cool to see that cross-over into AEW.
Many fans have been calling for Callihan to join forces with Moxley in this feud. The two have a history together as the Switchblade Conspiracy and have great chemistry with one another. It would be a missed opportunity for both companies not to capitalize on this.
NJPW’s FinJuice is also a group that has a history with the Good Brothers. Now might be the time to bring them into AEW considering they have not been appearing on IMPACT as of late.
With recent rumors of WWE and NJPW working together not being confirmed, putting the AEW Tag Team Titles on Juice Robinson and David Finlay would make for a bold statement. A feud involving FinJuice, Moxley, Kingston, and Callihan teaming together to take on Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers, and The Young Bucks would make for an exciting storyline.
#4 AEW’s major announcements
There were some major announcements made at the Double or Nothing event that will set up the future of AEW for the rest of the year.
As stated, Double or Nothing made for the first major wrestling event at a full capacity crowd. AEW used this event to talk about the future events that they have planned.
The company will be touring again in July with a few dates announced already. Before the pandemic, the company was going strong with their touring schedule and it seems now that they are ready to get back on the road.
AEW announced that they would be taking the show to Chicago for their annual pay-per-view event All Out. The event will take place on Labor Day weekend in September and will be the event's return to its roots since it started in Chicago.
They also announced that Full Gear would be taking place in November in St Louis. This now confirms that AEW plans to stay on the road as long as the circumstances stay the same. It also means that they have big plans set for the future.
Part of those plans leads to another huge announcement they made at the event. Now, AEW has already announced that they will have another show that will soon be airing on TNT. The show is called AEW Rampage and will air on Friday Nights going head to head with WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown.
AEW confirmed that the first episode of the show will be taking place on Friday, August 13th. The shocking announcement that went along with this was that WWE Hall of Famer “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry will be a commentator and coach for the show.
This is big news considering Henry has also stated lately that he is interested in getting back into the ring. He has made a huge body transformation in preparation for it so maybe this means that we will see him get one more run at in-ring competition.
#3 Jungle Boy Wins the AEW Casino Battle Royale
It is undeniable the “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry is one of the most talented stars that AEW has to offer. If the fans singing his iconic theme song “Tarzan Boy” at Double or Nothing wasn’t heartwarming enough, add the cheering of him winning the battle royale to that mix.
At the age of 23, Jungle Boy will be getting a championship title shot at Kenny Omega’s AEW Championship in the near future. Now, even if he doesn’t win the match against Omega, the fact that he won the battle royale shows that AEW has a lot of faith in him.
Jungle Boy is an AEW original, competed in the first ever Casino Battle Royale, and instantly became a fan favorite from there. After the win, his Jurassic Express brothers, Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus joined him in the ring to celebrate.
Since Jungle Boy is so young, no matter what the outcome we get for the championship match there is no doubt that he will be a champion at some point in his career.
He can hold his own as a tag team wrestler and a singles competitor and has already competed against some of the greats. His match against Chris Jericho has been one of the highlights of his career so far.
With more and more experienced stars joining the company, he will be able to learn a lot from them and ultimately become an expert in his craft. They even teased a match between him and Christian Cage during the battle royale. Jungle Boy last eliminated The Instant Classic to win the match at AEW Double or Nothing.
Christian Cage and Jungle Boy have a lot in common as is. Both men are great singles and tag team wrestlers; they have a similar build and have a similar wrestling style. It would be nice to see these two men go against each other in the future.
Overall, this is a huge win for Jungle Boy and it means that he can only improve his career from here. Big things are yet to come.
#2 The AEW Women’s Championship Match and AEW Championship Match Outcomes
The AEW Women’s Championship and AEW Championship were both put on the line at Double or Nothing. Hikaru Shida lost to Britt Baker, making her the new AEW Women’s Champion, while Kenny Omega retained the AEW Championship in a match against Pac and Orange Cassidy.
Much like the situation with The Young Bucks, it just would not make sense to take the championship off Kenny Omega at this time. Omega is not only the AEW World Champion but also the IMPACT Wrestling World Champion and AAA Mega Champion. The second he loses one of those titles, it will be downhill for the self-proclaimed “Belt Collector”.
In his story with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston, there is still potential for this feud to continue and morph into an even greater story. They're clearly not done with each other.
Omega is continuing his story and has stated that he actively wants to pursue other championships. It's still a long time before that title leaves his waste.
Now, in the case of the AEW Women’s Championship, Hikaru Shida was the champion for over a year. At Double or Nothing, she lost the title in a hard-fought match against Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
It surprised many fans that it took Baker this long to become the AEW Women’s Champion given the fact that she was seen as the face of the women’s division since the start of AEW.
She's competed all over the world and was one of the more experienced women’s wrestlers on the roster. Since AEW has faced a lot of criticism over their women’s division, this change should spice things up a bit.
With a new champion and a new show coming up, there is a world of opportunity for the competition to step up on the women’s side of the company. It will be interesting to see what feuds are yet to come for Britt Baker.
1# The Inner Circle goes Double or Nothing in AEW Stadium Stampede
AEW Dynamite's main focus has been the ongoing war between their two top factions. The Inner Circle has been battling against The Pinnacle for a few months now.
They faced off against each other in a Blood and Guts match that saw MJF convince Sammy Guevara to surrender on behalf of The Inner Circle just for MJF to toss Chris Jericho off the top of a cage. As tensions were rising, this match was made and if The Inner Circle lost then they were to break up for good.
At AEW Double or Nothing, The Inner Circle defeated The Pinnacle in what made for a very exciting Stadium Stampede match. The match ended up taking place all over the arena and had fans questioning what could happen next.
The match kicked off with a spectacular entrance from The Inner Circle as they tethered down from the top of the scoreboard. After a short battle on the field, each member of both teams ended up in scenarios that made for some intense battles.
Chris Jericho and MJF ended up battling all of the Jacksonville Jaguar’s office area until they made it back to Daily’s Place bloody and bruised up. The two then ended up fighting in the upper-level of AEW's crowd section.
Two of AEW's top teams, Proud and Powerful and FTR, battled it out in the club area of the arena. Tully Blanchard was there to help FTR while Proud and Powerful’s former mentor Konnan was there to back them up.
Jake Hager and Wardlow were fighting throughout the kitchen area and were literally throwing each other through walls.
Finally, Sammy Guevara and Shawn Spears met each other in a battle of chairs. Spears dominated most of their fight but Sammy eventually gained the upper hand. The two made it back into the ring at Daily’s Palace and from there Sammy Guevara gained the pinfall in the AEW Double or Nothing main event. The Inner Circle is now allowed to stay together for the time being.
No matter what the future holds for The Inner Circle, Sammy Guevara solidified himself as a key member of the team with this win, not to mention a major player in AEW. This could mean big things are yet to come for him since he was trusted with this task.
The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle are now 1-1, which means we can expect another exciting match from them as the tiebreaker.
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