How AEW Did The Impossible
All hail!
The inaugural AEW Double Or Nothing was excellent, acclaimed, special. It was the grand return of big-time professional wrestling in virtually all of its forms, and the debut of new styles aimed to electrify an old, lapsed audience: the charming viciousness of joshi; the claret-drenched emotional war; the return, with the longest match on the card, of main-event level tag team wrestling; and, with a stellar headliner highlighted by an industry-shaking "jump", a sense of exhilaration not felt in almost 20 years.
A vital, inimitable pro wrestling feeling had returned from its knees, powered by the fans in a protest that had echoed through decades, to land a stiff forearm in the cheekbone of sports entertainment. Double Or Nothing was the start of something.
Except that weird part where a mysterious band of geeks attacked Best Friends following their win over Jack Evans and Angélico.
After a fine midcard tag team showcase, the lights went out. A roar emerged through the darkness because at a pro wrestling show, when the lights go out, you are at the very least going to recognise the person revealed. In the best case scenario, at a time when his name was projected across all things pro wrestling, you were going to see the fabled return of CM Punk.
Instead, you saw the repackaged Super Smash Bros, years removed from their awesome but incredibly niche Pro Wrestling Guerrilla pomp, joined by a group of borderline problematic "creepers".
CONT'D...(1 of 6)