11 Match Star Ratings From AEW Double Or Nothing 2023

4. The House Of Black Vs. The Acclaimed - World Trios Title Match

Kenny Omega Bryan Danielson
AEW

In what was another disappointment, the House of Black went over the Acclaimed in an Open House match. I expected this to be a sleeper hit; live in the MGM Grand on Wednesday, they were the two most over acts in the building.

Was the crowd on Sunday split in their affections?

Was the spooky lighting too distracting?

Or was the match just not particularly good?

The crowd did have fun mocking Buddy Matthews after Max Caster in his rap said that Dominik had cucked him, but they weren't properly engaged in a match that didn't have a great deal to it. The House's heat spot was laboured, the match wasn't anywhere near as exhilarating as AEW fans have come to expect from the Trios division (and its quality ceiling on pay-per-view), and the entire thing led to a deadpan note of black comedy.

The match was built and built and built towards Daddy Ass getting the hot tag, and his salvo lasted less than a minute before Malakai Black kicked him in the face to win. If it was meant to scan as a cruel and unexpected shock, it didn't really work. The House didn't get any real heat as a result.

It wasn't outright bad - Brody King's monster spots were as popular and gruesomely entertaining as ever - but it added to the malaise that was the bloated middle portion of the card.

Star Rating: ★★¾

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!