10 Next Steps AEW MUST Take After Double Or Nothing
Double Or Nothing was an awesome start, but AEW's hard work is just beginning.
A new power is rising in professional wrestling.
All Elite Wrestling stuck the landing at Double Or Nothing, somehow living up to their monumental hype levels with an all-action pay-per-view that'll likely go down as one of the year's finest. It wasn't perfect, but Jon Moxley's electrifying debut, the emotional beats of the Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes bloodbath, and the Young Bucks and Lucha Bros' berzerk tag battle helped AEW deliver a show that far outstripped anything WWE's main roster has delivered in 2019.
Things are looking bright for AEW. DoN's critical response has been overwhelmingly positive, and early estimates have it scoring a 200,000 buyrate - almost four times ALL IN's numbers. A TV deal described as "unprecedented for a start-up" is in place in the US, and in the UK, AEW will broadcast on a channel that reaches 27 million viewers. Everything looks promising, basically.
Regardless, Double Or Nothing was only the beginning of AEW's journey to the top, and long-term prosperity requires an effective follow-up. The next few months are critical. Any kinks in the product must be ironed out before the TNT deal kicks in, and working through this checklist would help in that regard...
10. Sign Double Or Nothing's Standouts
One of the most heartening things about Double Or Nothing was the supporting cast of lesser-known wrestlers, all of whom worked their hearts out to make an impact. This will have been comfortably the biggest show that some of these men and women have ever wrestled on. They treated it as such, and while the likes of The Young Bucks, the Rhodes brothers, and Kenny Omega all came through with electric showings, some of DoN's biggest standouts were wrestlers who aren't even under AEW contract.
The 6'5" Luchasaurus looked like a beast as he Chokeslammed Joey Janela through a table to the outside, immediately becoming the WhatCulture office's new favourite wrestler in the process. CIMA has signed, but Strong Hearts teammates El Lindaman and T-Hawk aren't, despite shining in the PPV opener. Hikaru Shida is the only contracted wrestler of the six joshi talents that collided in their showcase bout. Brian Pillman Jr. exuded pure star power in the Casino Battle Royale. The list goes on.
It'd be great to see AEW sign these talented men and women up. They'll likely be used on a regular basis going forward anyway, but they've earned the security of a full-time deal.