5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Double Or Nothing 2023

2. MJF (c) vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin vs. "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry

Four Pillars
AEW

The prospective quality of this match existed four years ago. That's the point, really; upon formation, All Elite Wrestling as a company carefully assessed what young talents might be fit to go in headline spots within a few years of launch. This was the manifestation of it, the big idea made real, and it's perhaps why a muddled built felt at times like it was doing individual disservices just about everybody other than a Champion too sensational to be denied.

The intricacies and sequencing were a sight to behold as the quartet attempted to tell the story of their first four years in the form of rapid-fire physical abuse. Less about what had been on television in the last few weeks, this was all Four Pillars first using everything they had to kick ass before borrowing from their mentors to do it all again.

This wasn't one story - not Jungle Boy failing once again to fully embrace the dark side, not MJF and Darby Allin's magnificently petty headlock takeover war, not Sammy Guevara's repackaging as a babyface that might just work this time, not countless others woven into the bout - but all of them illustrated through a breathless offering that thankfully did more for the three Challengers than anything we'd seen on screen in the build.

It was far far more than "alright on the night".

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett