13 Match Star Ratings For AEW Double Or Nothing 2022
Eddie Kingston creates cinema on a night that felt more like a very long TV season elsewhere...
Was Double Or Nothing 2022 the most poorly built AEW PPV thus far?
All Out 2020 is probably the closest dishonourable mention. Jon Moxley Vs. Smart Mark Sterling was an atrocious go-home angle, even if the comedy wrong-footed everybody into a strong heat angle. Chris Jericho Vs. Orange Cassidy was a fun diversionary TV programme that lacked the weight to get it to the semi-main spot on PPV. The Young Bucks Vs. FTR Vs. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega was the rarest of rare birds: an organic three-way feud. So why didn't AEW book a three-way match?
The vibe was as knackered as the narrative. Double Or Nothing '20 was the sort of escapist fantasy that could only happen once, where All Out acted as a grim reminder that fans weren't allowed in the building and that life as you knew it was pretty much f*cked.
It still is, but fans are back. Those fans however are watching a sprawling, unfocused, and diluted product that has lost the elusive, premium feeling. Some programmes feel drawn-out. Others feel under-baked or contrived. In some cases (Jade Cargill Vs. Anna Jay, the Young Bucks Vs. The Hardys), Tony Khan is flirting dangerously with NXT-style match graphic first, story later matchmaking.
Was the show itself great, at least...?
13. BUY-In: Hookhausen Vs. Tony Nese & Smart Mark Sterling
This was perfect pre-show fodder: fun, compact, feel-good.
It captured the purpose of what this sort of thing should be. A long grudge match, even a great one, like the Revolution trios bout, almost feels like a relegation. This didn't. This was a match expressly (and brilliantly) designed to get the crowd in a good mood.
HOOK is so awesome. He moves like an actual cobra, and he flattened Tony Nese to a huge pop immediately. Nese was on exceptional form and was an inspired choice as Danhausen's first opponent. His sheer rage at being paired against the meme wrestler was worked brilliantly because his conniption fit manifested with propulsive athletic force, allowing Danhausen's slippery, witty escapes to extract the maximum volume.
Smart Mark Sterling pretending to do the hard work was a great bit too, and he committed fully to it by taking a bump directly onto the head when HOOK, who I see knows his judo well, ran wild.
This brevity sadly wasn't a recurring theme...
Star Rating: ★★★