13 Match Star Ratings For AEW Double Or Nothing 2022
11. The Hardys Vs. The Young Bucks
They just - just - got there in the end.
But the "there" here wasn't exactly ideal. In the end, they achieved a good-to-very good match well below the usual Young Bucks standard. Even that description is probably generous. It's more accurate to state that this was a bad match with five excellent minutes tacked on to the end. Nothing was built here but rather rescued.
Jeff Hardy looked thrashed at best in the first three quarters of the match, the story across which was not remotely helped by the poor execution. The Bucks relentlessly taunted the Hardys by mocking their signature crowd appeals and move-set, and the Hardys were meant to prove, slowly, that they weren't a past-it nostalgia act. The problem, and it was rather a big one, is that the Hardys, struggling badly to get into position for several spots, worked like a past-it nostalgia act.
This is only half-true - Matt deserves immense credit for holding his part together - and Jeff woke up by the end. Ironically, he did this by drilling Nick with an awesome swanton on the steel steps. This followed a stirring sequence in which the Hardys ate multiple superkicks and elicited mass sympathy from a hot audience that didn't seem to care about the stark wavelength problem.
This wasn't great, and worryingly, the finish suggests that it's just the start of a title chase. It won't get any better than this, and it wasn't up to par.
Star Rating: ★★★