10 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Double Or Nothing 2021

1. At The Drive-In

Wardlow Hager
AEW

Elements of Stadium Stampede II were amazing. The realisation of why AEW promoted a cinematic match in front of a crowd was amazing. A fair amount of Stadium Stampede II was not amazing.

Wardlow and Jake Hager beat each other up in a fake walk-in freezer against a backdrop of fake pig carcasses. Cinematic doesn't excuse fake, immersion-breaking bullsh*t, particularly since this wasn't played for laughs in heightened quasi-canon. This was a blood feud that happened to be filmed cinematically, or at least that was the idea. The pig blood almost sparkled. It looked like sh*t. The wall that wasn't a wall looked like sh*t. The party that Ortiz and Santana crashed to beat up FTR meanwhile looked depressing. There was a real party going on in Daily's Place. This juxtaposition in itself underlined that promoting this very match wasn't a great idea.

It went long, too. Two separate Wardlow Vs. Jake Hager scenes weren't remotely necessary, and using the word "scenes" after watching so much of this incredible show just feels curious. "Scenes" is a word that belongs in 2020. One would hope, anyway. It's debatable, whether the symbolism of the final act was ultimately worth it.

But the final act was incredible...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!