13 Match Star Ratings For AEW Double Or Nothing 2022

4. Thunder Rosa Vs. Serena Deeb - AEW Women's Title Match

Thunder Rosa DoN
AEW

This was very good indeed - intricate, deeply-thought work that won over an exhausted crowd with its slow-burn storytelling.

If only more time was allocated to women's programmes in general; on this evidence, the best workers in the division are capable of folding wider story beats into their work. Thunder Rosa borrowed from and honoured her coach's teachings in vengeance with a beautiful Dustin Rhodes drop-down after an early, hard-fought technical struggle.

Deeb was on bravura form working the neck. This wasn't a mandatory heel story beat done just because that's how wrestling goes; her intensity was so believable and the traps she set were so wicked that Rosa's selling registered as a real and dangerous plight that deepened throughout the match.

It also drove the heft of Rosa's comeback, as the heat sequence should do; Rosa performed as the model, valiant fighting champion by targeting a limb in desperate retribution and displaying awesome babyface fire when striking Deeb while locked in a hold. This was a ripper of a technical fight let down only very slightly by a worn-out crowd and a hint of lethargy in the opening third.

Star Rating: ★★★½

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK 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 AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and 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!