AEW Double Or Nothing: Star Ratings For All 9 Matches

All Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Cody and Brandi Rhodes delighted in ramping up already gigantic expectations ahead of Double or Nothing.

"I feel like if you’re not satisfied at the end of Double Or Nothing, you’re not a wrestling fan," said Brandi during the press rounds, in quite the flex.

"On Saturday, there is the chance that you might see the greatest World Championship Title that has ever been created," Cody told Chris Van Vliet of WSVN-TV, in a pointed statement. He booked himself to win the Ten Pounds of Gold at ALL IN. His love of JCP and the NWA borders on the obsessive, and he all but promised a better-looking title than even his precious.

Radiating a level of giddy confidence that exceeded even the promotion's all-out assault of a mission statement - AEW is going to be the best and most meaningful wrestling promotion out there, ran the press release - looking up at cloud nine, some dissenting fans felt looked down at. Cody said, losing himself in his Evening With host duties, that Bayley only pretends to be nice. That "no thought" went into the WWE 24/7 Championship poor Mick Foley had to introduce on Monday's RAW. "What the f*ck was he holding?"

The contrarian mutants of Wrestling Twitter were ready to pounce at the slightest misstep on the night.

If you're going to talk sh*t, you gotta back it up.

A very divisive match, subjectively, this was as entertaining as hell, though ill-advised as an eye-catching mission statement. The undiluted, carefree postmodern approach didn't reflect AEW's apparent real-sports M.O.

Objectively, this probably failed in its dual objectives.

It did not appeal to a curious casual fanbase hovering over the 'Order' button. To a lapsed WWE fan, it seemed to delight in living down to the Independent scene's reputation. Orange Cassidy's casual, limp kicks, the sheer, tiny size of Marko Stunt, and Joey Janela's deranged bumping were consummately Indyrrific. A celebration for the boys but an alienating in-joke to prospective new fans, the onslaught of comedy undermined the stakes. A match in which Tommy Dreamer's face was repeatedly forced into a c*ck and balls will directly inform the lineage of the company's top title. It was tonally at odds with all the hype.

Beyond that, the Kevin Dunn-esque production nightmares, and the confusing and anticlimactic order of entrances, this was MJF's total riot of a debutante ball. The first thing he did was target the guy with no legs and reprimand him for having no feet. Of course he did.

Ultimately, AEW maximised the appeal of a potential superstar in a dazzling coming out party, just babyfaced Hangman Page sufficiently, and created scope for a tantalising midcard programme ahead of AEW's TV debut.

Star Rating: ***1/4