It’s finally here. What is potentially All Elite Wrestling‘s biggest show of the year has arrived. Much like WrestleMania XXXVI, Double or Nothing 2020 will be without a crowd. However, this does not mean the quality of the wrestling on display will be diminished. Weeks of storyline building leading to this very evening have seemingly paid off. Tony Khan and all the AEW crew should be proud. They have put together a very solid card which offers a glimpse into a solid evening of pro-wrestling. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself.
Buy In: Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) vs Private Party (Marq Quen & Isaiah Kassidy)
Private Party (Marq Quen and Isaiah Kassidy) come into this match after a two-match win streak. Having mostly featured on AEW Dark in recent months, they have mostly kept away from the AEW Dynamite spotlight. However, this is a real opportunity for these two men to establish themselves and cement a claim to the AEW Tag Team Championships in the process. In contrast, Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent) have featured most weeks on AEW Dynamite. The last time Best Friends went two versus two against Private Party in an AEW ring, it was a victory for the Best Friends (11/13/2019). Can Chuck Taylor and Trent pull off a victory once again? They have had impressive wins lately, most notably over Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa. Maybe it is time for Best Friends to defeat Omega and Adam Page, too. This should be a fun tag team match.
Casino Ladder Match: Orange Cassidy vs Scorpio Sky vs Frankie Kazarian vs Kip Sabian vs Joey Janela vs Darby Allin vs Colt Cabana vs Luchasaurus vs Mystery Entrant
Credit must be given to AEW for their willingness to create new and exciting matches. The Casino Ladder Match certainly fits the bill of both new and exciting. Two competitors start the match; a poker chip hangs above the ring and every 90 seconds, a new competitor joins the match. Of course, the winner is the first person to grab the chip. To make things extra exciting, there is a mystery opponent. Who could it be: A new face? Or an AEW regular who has been kept away during the COVID-19 crisis? We don’t know. However, this ninth person will have a mountain (or ladder) to climb. The “Freshly Squeezed”, Orange Cassidy; the veteran, Frankie Kazarian; the ever-talented, Scorpio Sky; “Superbad”, Kip Sabian; “Bad Boy”, Joey Janela; the future, Darby Allin; “Boom Boom”, Colt Cabana and the “Dinormous”, Luchasaurus. There is some serious talent in this match and therefore the mystery opponent might just want to enter the match early. Potential match of the night here.
Penelope Ford vs Kris Statlander
Dr. Britt Baker DMD was scheduled to face Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing 2020. However, a serious injury to her right knee means AEW’s resident dentist is out of action for 6-9 months. It is especially frustrating for Britt as she has been one of the most improved performers in the company over the past year. We wish her well. Stepping up to replace her is Penelope Ford; who has mostly been managing Kip Sabian from ringside. This is a real opportunity for Ford to establish herself as a prominent in-ring threat against Statlander. It should be interesting to see who wins here. Though they have squared off in multi-women matches on two occasions (with Hikaru Shida winning on both occasions), they have never wrestled one-versus-one. Who wins? Find out at Double or Nothing 2020.
Shawn Spears vs Dustin Rhodes
Last year, at the inaugural Double or Nothing event, Dustin Rhodes and Cody tore the house down. It was, in our opinion, the match of the night. Only three weeks removed from an absolute beat down at the hands of the “Murder Hawk”, Lance Archer, we don’t know what state Dustin is in going into this match. However, we do know that a furious “Chairman” in Shawn Spears demanded a match at Double or Nothing 2020. Ask and you shall receive, as his challenge to Dustin was accepted and we now have this match. Will Dustin’s injuries sustained a few weeks ago slow him down? Or will “The Chairman” be terminated? Tune in to find out.
MJF vs Jungle Boy
Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his eagerly-anticipated return to the ring a couple of weeks ago. He has reversed the effects of a potentially career-ending injury. A hangnail is no laughing matter, people. It has been an inspiring road to recovery. Standing in the way of the perfect redemption story is Jungle Boy, who was recently announced as MJF’s Double or Nothing opponent. These two are two of the finest young talents in pro-wrestling today. Jungle Boy is the pure white-meat babyface. MJF is, as his nickname suggests, the “Salt of the Earth” pro-wrestling heel. Together, these two can create many a memorable moment. Why not start at Double or Nothing?
Womens Championship- No Countouts, No DQ: Nyla Rose (C) vs Hikaru Shida
Nyla Rose‘s title reign (and the women’s division as a whole) has been an unfortunate casualty of the COVID-19 crisis. Since beating Riho for the title back in February, she has been limited to just four matches. Most recently, on the go-home edition of Dynamite, she teamed with Dr. Britt Baker DMD to defeat Kris Statlander and her Double or Nothing opponent, Hikaru Shida. Shida has been impressive in AEW, boasting a win/loss record of 14/6. With the dominance and sheer size advantage of Nyla Rose, Shida might be the only one left who can stand up to her. There has been much criticism of the AEW women’s division’s booking over the past year. Therefore, this could be a real opportunity for these two ladies to start the turning-round process. This has the potnential to be a good match, so hopefully they are given the time to put on a show.
AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (C) vs Mr. Brodie Lee
Jon Moxley and Brodie Lee have brawled with each other all over the world. In more recent years, they did so in the WWE, as Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper. Before that, they did so with their current names, in the likes of CZW – where they tore each other apart in death matches. In recent weeks, Lee has stolen Moxley’s AEW Championship. With his ever-growing number of followers, he has unloaded beat downs on Mox. In a Vegas themed event, it’s not out of place to say the odds are firmly stacked against Jon Moxley. However, Mox is no ordinary man. A true glutton for punishment; a man who loves a brawl and won’t back down from a fight. He’s a masochist – he enjoys pain. The Exalted One may have bitten off more than he can chew in picking a fight with the AEW Champion. Can he walk out with his gold? Find out this Saturday at Double or Nothing 2020.
Stadium Stampede: The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana & Ortiz) vs The Elite (Matt Hardy, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Hangman Page & Kenny Omega)
The Elite (Matt Hardy, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page) meet the Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz) in a Stadium Stampede match. It’s a match which literally takes place inside a football stadium. We perhaps had a glimpse of what this would look like recently, when Omega and Hardy brawled with Jericho and Guevara into the backstage area (Guevara was ran over by a golf cart). This is a feud which has been ongoing almost as long as AEW has been around. At Double or Nothing 2020, one must think it finally comes to a close. Will the Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and Adam Page show up? They’ve missed the last couple months of this story, through the COVID-19 crisis. It’s almost certain they will. This is going to be a possible match of the night contender, so tune in to see The Elite brawl with the Inner Circle.
TNT Championship: Cody vs Lance Archer W/Jake Roberts
Lastly, we have the match which will possibly unseat the AEW Championship match from the main event. Cody meets Lance Archer in the final of the TNT Championship tournament. To make things extra interesting, Mike Tyson will be on-hand to award the championship to the winner. Coming out of Arn Anderson and Jake “The Snake” Roberts‘ epic confrontation on the most recent episode of Dynamite, it appears Archer wants to knock out “Iron” Mike. Lance Archer is a mean man who just wants to hurt all those who oppose him. He has demonstrated that since his debut and most prominently in his match against Dustin Rhodes – who Archer left a bleeding, broken, lifeless vessel of pain. He will no doubt try to do the same to Cody, too. Cody, however, will be looking to avenge his brother. This has become about so much more than the TNT Championship, but it is still the purpose of this match. It’s the likely main event of AEW Double or Nothing 2020 and it’s live, Saturday 23 on pay-per-view.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and weekly on YouTube.
