The One Massive Thing AEW Have NEVER Done...UNTIL NOW
AEW Double Or Nothing 2022 will mark three years for the company, but this first is a BIG one.
With less than two weeks until a Double Or Nothing main event AEW World Heavyweight Title match between Champion Hangman Page and Challenger CM Punk, the All Elite Wrestling original found himself getting booed, in Texas, against the Chicagoan 'Straight Edge Superstar' that hasn't yet celebrated a year with the organisation.
This was an intriguing scene to process, not least because of the 15 minutes that preceded it. Page wrestled in and won what was only his ninth match of 2022 against special guest Konosuke Takeshita and knocked the whole thing out of the park in the process. Looking every bit the impeccable babyface talisman, Hangman fought through the unexpected threat of the DDT star, put him over huge despite the result, and stayed loyal to the story of one-upmanship with Punk that's been the only point of friction established between the pair at this point.
Leaving the commentary booth to go face-to-face with his upcoming foe, Punk showed no fear and the fans felt it. Chants of CM Punk filled the room, and after circling his challenger, Page left as defiantly as he'd arrived. It defined a build that has been less about details and more to do with the super-competitive element at its core. Page and Punk are prize-fighters fighting over a prize, and its easy to forget in pro wrestling that sometimes that story is the story.
This isn't to excuse its imperfections, but in keeping the top programme lean, AEW have nurtured a set of circumstances they've never had in a main event before...
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