AEW Double or Nothing Review - May 30, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Buy-In: NWA World Women's Champion Serena Deeb def. Riho

Deeb defending against Red Velvet a few weeks ago didn't make a whole lot of sense because Velvet didn't do anything to earn the opportunity, but Riho actually pinned Deeb in her first AEW match back earlier this year, so I appreciated that they went back to it here. Deeb played the heel role and was remarkable. This was also the best bout I've seen Riho have in AEW to be honest. They put on a clinic and had the crowd invested in the action every step of the way. Riho wasn't never going to win, but she had a hell of a showing in defeat. My only nitpick is that it happened on the pre-show.

"Hangman" Adam Page def. FTW Champion Brian Cage (Non-Title)

Good lord, Page is OVER! Just listen to that reaction he received when he walked out. He may be spinning his wheels in various rivalries at the moment, but he certainly hasn't cooled off as far as audience reactions are concerned. Cage is great in his own right and they had an awesome opening match filled with sweet spots and an electric atmosphere in the building. Cage said on Friday's Dynamite that he wanted to win on his own, hence why he rejected the interference from the rest of Team Taz. We'll see if that leads to further dissension within the group or if they'll get over it like they did coming out of Revolution. As for Page, he's just another step closer to contending for the AEW World Championship, either at All Out or Full Gear.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks def. Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston

Say what you will about the Bucks, but they never cease to deliver on pay-per-view. This was no exception. It was a tremendous tag team match that told a strong story with Moxley and Kingston having to battle back throughout and having the crowd behind them every step of the way. Moxley and Kingston are an awesome duo and I was pulling for them to win, so the Bucks retaining the titles was a bit deflating. The way in which they won was also slightly underwhelming, but the rest of this match was top-notch and the best bout of the night in my opinion.

Jungle Boy Won the Casino Battle Royale to Earn a Future AEW World Championship Opportunity

I hate how overdone the Battle Royals are in AEW, but this was among my favorite ones they've done to date because of how well executed it was. Christian lasting the entire time (up until his elimination, that is) was great as he got to interact with a variety of opponents. It was smart of AEW to go with Jungle Boy as the winner as I feel Christian likely would have been booed if he won instead with how popular Jungle Boy is. There were some fun moments sprinkled throughout the match, including the debut of Lio Rush. I don't believe he's signed with the promotion, but it was a cool one-off. The biggest issue with these Battle Royals is that the winner almost never goes onto win the title, though I am looking forward to Kenny Omega against Jungle Boy on an upcoming episode of Dynamite.

Cody Rhodes def. Anthony Ogogo

This entire storyline has been beyond bizarre. I couldn't have cared less about when QT Marshall and his pupils turned on Cody back in late March. That program fell flat, but I was hopeful it would led to Cody putting Ogogo over strong on this show. He's elevated plenty of people since coming to AEW, so I thought this would be a similar situation. The build to this bout wasn't great, and on top of that, the match itself was fairly basic. The crowd was hot for Cody coming in, but there was nothing special about this whatsoever and Ogogo was beat as clean as a sheet. I fail to see how this elevated him in any way.

AEW TNT Champion Miro def. Lance Archer

I knew this was going to be a hoss fight going into it and that's exactly what it ended up being. They slowed down the pace at certain points, but at least it was a hard-hitting affair from start to finish. Miro just captured the championship earlier in the month, so although there wasn't a ton of suspense surrounding the outcome, I thought Archer looked credible in defeat. He's one of those guys that never wins when it matters most, so hopefully he can win whatever feud he has next. The commentators played up the time limit, but I had no issue with this being around 10 minutes long with how lengthy most of the other matches on this show were.

Britt Baker def. Hikaru Shida to Win the AEW Women's World Championship

I thought this would be one of the better women's matches AEW has had to date because of the talent involved and because of how shockingly physical their last match against each other was, but it merely ended up being slightly above average. There were a handful of clunky spots and they simply didn't gel as well as I was hoping. If we didn't get that gem of a match between Deeb and Riho on the pre-show, then maybe I would have had a higher opinion of it. The nearfalls down the stretch were well done, but some of the shenanigans were a bit too over-the-top with a bit too much interference. At the very least, Baker is champion as she should be and that was what the crowd wanted to see happen.

Sting and Darby Allin def. Scorpio Sky and "All Ego" Ethan Page

The outcome was never in doubt for most people (including myself), but this wound up being an absolute blast. Allin and Sting have turned into a terrific team that's benefiting them both equally: Allin is getting the rub from working with Sting while Sting is protected in these singles matches. I'm sure Sting will be wrestling a singles match at some point, but it's smart to help him get his feet wet in tag team matches first to make sure he can still go, and he certainly can as seen here. Sky and Page played their roles well and the out-of-nowhere Scorpion Death Drop finish came off really well. This was everything it needed to be and then some with the crowd eating up every second of it.

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega def. Orange Cassidy and Pac in a Three-Way Match

I mentioned that the previous match had an obvious outcome. Well, this was the most predictable match on the entire show. There was no chance Omega was losing that title to either of these two men at this point, even with the three-way stipulation. However, that didn't stop the fans in attendance from buying into some of those nearfalls down the stretch. I don't blame them because this was a hell of a three-way. The action was exciting, Cassidy was mega over, and Pac was the glue that held it together. AEW doesn't do three-ways and four-ways too often, so this felt special for a pay-per-view card. Needless to say, it would have been dumb for Omega to lose, and the shady way in which he won was perfect. I figured he'd pin Pac to save Omega vs. Cassidy one-on-one for down the road, but I guess you can still do that since he essentially stole the victory from him.

Inner Circle def. The Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede Match

Personally, I preferred the first Stadium Stampede match over this one, but that's not to say this wasn't entertaining because it definitely was. Everyone went off and did their own thing, and it had its moments. It was definitely more intense and less comical than last year, which I appreciated given the nature of the feud. My only major nitpick of it was that it was a little long, especially considering the event ended at midnight. This was honestly one of the few pay-per-views AEW has done where I didn't mind it being a four-hour show because the card was stacked, but putting a cinematic match on last was questionable. I would've liked to see Inner Circle lose and be broken up, but going off the air with the happy ending was acceptable as well. I'm curious to see what the fallout will be because I'm ready to move on from this.

Overall Show

I've seen plenty of praise for this pay-per-view online and it's hard to disagree. I'd definitely say it was one of the stronger shows AEW has ever done, and that's saying something because they've had their fair share of stellar shows since its launch in 2019. Just having a packed, rowdy crowd in the house played a big part in that. Rhodes vs. Ogogo was unremarkable and the outcome made me roll my eyes, but pretty much everything else on this show was up to the usual AEW standard, including the pre-show match. The four hours flew by, even though they lost some momentum in the middle. Two thumbs-up for Double or Nothing 2021. The atmosphere was so electric that I almost bought my hotel and flight for All Out in Chicago as soon as I saw the commercial for it, which I'm currently planning on attending.

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