5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Double Or Nothing 2023

Ups…

5. Blackjack Battle Royal

Orange Cassidy
AEW

The idea of slacker Orange Cassidy assembling one of the best title runs in All Elite Wrestling history was already amazing before his biggest test to date arrived in the form of this charmingly contrived Battle Royal.

The premise - Cassidy is so sick of all these challengers being so awesome that he wants to knock them all out in one go - was so inspired, but the battle royal itself paid it off by making them all so appealing or devastating as potential champions.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland's face off drew a reaction that suggested a Dynamite payoff was forthcoming, Juice Robinson and Jay White were devilish in their efforts to eliminate Ricky Starks, and both of Best Friends being dumped to keep Cassidy in left a story beat behind should that be an avenue worth exploring.

'Freshly Squeezed' getting the win after a gripping and captivating last battle with Swerve was one of the more cathartic reactions of the night, but this euphoric "Up" wouldn't be complete without mention of the the glorious Big Bill and everything he did. Playing killer of the faves, he did the damage then laughed in the faces of fans that hated it. It was perfect battle royal booking, and here's to more of Bill after maximising the living sh*t out of these minutes.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 over 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 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana 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