AEW Double Or Nothing: Star Ratings For All 9 Matches
1. Kenny Omega Vs. Chris Jericho
Less a subpar Kenny Omega match than a very, very different one, this did not erupt in the trademark cloudburst of counter insanity in the final act.
Instead, this was a gruesome squelcher of lip-pursing physicality perhaps more effective as the opening act of a shared universe extravaganza than a spectacle unto itself. Jericho and Omega wrestled, statically, in a certain gear that ground and ground, portraying incredibly well Omega as a bloody-nosed babyface unable to build his offensive game, and Jericho, in contrast, as a nasty, expert ring general.
That was the intention; AEW went all in on the Alpha as the focal point of the main event scene going forward in a very astute move. Omega excelled in 2018 as the redemptive babyface, a role he is set to emulate - whereas there isn't, if the timing issues that plagued the finishing sequence, a great deal of mileage within this latest, wonderfully acerbic reinvention of the Jericho character.
Ugly by accident more than design by the sudden and anticlimactic finish, it is impossible not to admire the brutality of the storytelling and its awesome, authentic depiction of pure hatred.
The post-match angle, in which Jon Moxley made his debut, was stunning - the way in which Omega avoided the Dirty Deeds by tumbling himself and this disruptor from the ring, instigating a wild brawl, was proper big fight stuff - and crucial. The party is over, and it's just as well: the celebrations were developing a slight air of nausea.
AEW Double Or Nothing was a tremendous, tremendous wrestling show. They are capable of better, too.
Star Rating: ****