AEW Double Or Nothing: Star Ratings For All 9 Matches
8. Kip Sabian Vs. Sammy Guevara
Sammy Guevara impressed here in his brash and vicious heel role - particularly when he aimed a double foot stomp squarely on the back of Kip Sabian's skull before intensifying that onslaught with a barrage of fists.
Intense and wince-inducing for a pre-show match, Guevara stoked the fire in the crowd with his fabulously irritating facial expressions before popping their t*ts off with a high-risk shooting star press to the outside - a spot which probably undermines his heel bit. His arrogance at least informed the finish; he attempted a 630 splash before Sabian caught him with the flash submission win. A decent offering, worked with individual flourishes, this succeeded in its basic aim of ungluing the crowd.
If wins and losses are to matter, in AEW's response to the 50/50 booking malaise, the company will need a 0 to make the top tier look 100. In Sabian, the company has hired a capable and sympathetic babyface to build heat on TV for the likes of MJF - one with a creative and legit enough submission game to not free-fall into geek territory.
Star Rating: ***