The Best of Double Or Nothing 2022
After a two-year hiatus, Double or Nothing returned to Las Vegas, its rightful home, for the first time since 2019. The PPV was chock-full of great matches, memorable moments, and one title change that cemented the legacy for one man, and continued the story for a cowboy. In this article, we will review what were some of the best moments of Double or Nothing 2022.
10. Rancid at Double or Nothing
The Venn diagram between wrestling and punk rock fans is full in the middle, if not just an entire circle. So to see Rancid, one of the most influential punk bands of all time, at play live at DoN was awesome. Rancid play out Ruby Soho to Ruby Soho made the event seem so much bigger. Giving Ruby a gravitas that a regular entrance doesn’t. They played with that Punk rock vigor that Rancid is famous for made us excited for a Soho win.
Ruby did not win the Owen Hart tournament, the Rancid performance did legitimize her as a big deal in AEW. She is the only one that got a live band performance, not counting Britt Baker’s guitar solo. Hopefully, this will get more big-name bands to perform for AEW. Hopefully we have have Soho get a major push post-Owen Hart Tournament.
9. Rush and Andrade: Are Los Ingobernables All Elite?
While Andrade is back in Mexico getting married Charlotte Flair–congrats to the newlyweds– he did leave a promo to get us excited for his return. It looks as though Andrade is dumping the Andrade Family Office as they are “a bunch of losers” and is teaming up with old stablemate Rush. Does this mean that Los Ingobernables are coming to AEW? Los Ingobernables have made an imprint in CMLL in Mexico and NJPW in Japan, so with Forbidden Door around the corner, is this new iteration coming to the U.S.?
This also finally puts Andrade in a situation where he can thrive in AEW. So far, his time in AEW has been a disappointment, with some highlights in a few matches he had. Bringing in Rush and having a recreation of Los Ingobernables will put Andrade, and Rush, in a position to be able to thrive in AEW.
8. Hardy’s Proving They Still Have It
Immediately following the MJF vs Wardlow fallout, the Young Bucks and The Hardys had the tough job of following that. Thankfully for them and the fans, the Bucks and Hardys proved they have incredible chemistry together and put on a great match. But more than that matches, this is the reason that the Hardys were brought, specifically Jeff, to AEW. They were brought in to have great tag team matches in a company that still loves to showcase tag team wrestling.
Both teams had faced each other previously in Ring of Honor, but this is the first time that they were able to face off in front of a packed arena. Many in attendance would consider the two teams to be two of the greatest tag teams of all times. Hopefully, the Hardys and Young Bucks can have some more matchups in the future, perhaps for some tag team gold.
7. Athena’s and Stockley Hathaway’s Debut
The Jade Cargill versus Anna Jay match for the TBS Championship was a decent enough match, but not many expected Jay to beat the now 32-0 defending champion. The ending, however, was vintage AEW as new and exciting wrestlers, and mouthpieces are now part of the company. This time in the form of Athena and Stockley Hathaway, the formerly known Ember Moon and Malcolm Bivens. Stockley Hathaway is going to fit right away and will be an upgrade from Smart Mark Sterling. Not because Sterling is bad. On the contrary, Sterling is an incredible valet and does an awesome job as wrestling’s premier lawyer.
Athena will also add an extra great piece to a women’s division that needs the talent to help push it into the next phase. Could Athena be the person who finally beats Cargill and dethrone her?
6. Dark Triangle vs House of Black
This match was a masterclass in what a 6-man tag team match should be. Every individual participant was highlighted while still making us excited for what a Trio tag team division could be in AEW. Because this match has been postponed since Revolution— due to the injury to Fenix– there hasn’t been much of a build to the match. Fans, however, are hoping that this is a starting point and not the ending point to what could be a great rivalry with fantastic athletes.
The match had high expectations but lived up to it as all 6 men made sure to put on a show. Did you see Brodie King fly in there like a cruiserweight? Just absolutely nuts! Hopefully, this isn’t the only taste we get of this rivalry. Individual matchups between these 6 talented men can steal the show at any time, and here is hoping we can get them.
5. Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb Put on a Clinic
This reminded the entire world how great both Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeba are. While also showing a preview of the future of the women’s division. During the middle of the match, the crowd was cheering, “This is wrestling!” which shows how much those at the T-Mobile Center appreciated what both women were putting on.
Rosa was the favorite to defend her title, but Deeb did make it feel like she might pull the upset. It’s only a matter of time before Deeb does win a title. She is too good and important to the women’s division, backstage and in the ring, for her not to be recognized with a title. This match was a highlight for the night. The match should be considered for “Match of the Night” and is one of the better, if not the best, AEW Women’s title matches in AEW’s short history.
4. Eddie Kingston and Anarchy in the Arena
Eddie Kingston is just the absolute best. In a standout match, Eddie Kingston stood out as a memorable moment of the night. From the very beginning of this match, both the Jericho Appreciation Society and BCC, Santana, Ortiz, and Kingston went at each other at full steam, not allowing the crowd to catch its breath. “Wild Thing,” continued playing while they were fighting, giving the match an added sense of schizophrenia that made it feel like a fever dream.
While all 10 men played their part in making this a memorable hardcore match, Eddie Kingston stole the show. Whether it was his fighting in the lobby by the merch table against Matt Menard, being dragged BY HIS NECK by Danny Garcia with his belt, or fighting in a freight elevator, Kingston made sure to stand out in a group full of standouts. The moment that specifically stole the show was Eddie bringing in a gas can and trying to set Jericho on fire. Bryan Danielson be damned. This match will live in infamy in AEW history, and Eddie Kingston will be the bookmark of that chapter.
3. Dr. Martha Hart Presents the Winning Championships to Adam Cole and Britt Baker
After two fantastic championship matches in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament final , Dr. Martha Hart took the podium to remember her late great husband and crown the first-ever winners of the tournament. It was such a great moment to celebrate one of the most influential wrestlers of all time, in a wrestling ring once again. The crowd has given all of their emotion to Dr. Hart as she appreciated what AEW and Tony Khan have been able to do for the memory of her husband.
It was also a feel-good moment to have the first-ever winners be real-life couples, Adam Cole and Britt Baker. Two beautiful commemorative belts and a trophy, which will have their names engraved, were presented to the two tournament winners. They can now share this great achievement and always look back fondly at their time in AEW. They were able to accomplish something monumental as a couple. The first Owen Hart tournament was a success and glad that it will be an annual event to help Owen Hart’s legacy carry on through the years.
2. Wardlow Is All Elite/ The End of MJF?
What dominated the conversation leading up to Sunday was whether or not MJF was going to show up. News broke on Saturday that MJF had booked a plane out of Las Vegas and had skipped out on a meet-and-greet. This put his appearance in jeopardy. Whatever the reason might have been for MJF’s near walkout, whether it was a work or shoot, it thankfully did not take much attention from Wardlow’s dominant performance and meteoric rise.
The crowd was sweltering for this match, and it was genius to have this open-up Double or Nothing. Perhaps it was serendipitous that it turned out that way to get MJF on his way out of the T-Mobile Arena, as soon as possible. One of the night’s best moments was one of its first. It was also smart to have Wardlow demolish MJF and make the powerbomb symphony the exclamation point in their 2-year long story. Wardlow is surely set to make a legitimate run for either the TNT or World title. If this is it for MJF in AEW, let’s just hope he is happy, healthy, and getting paid. If it is a work, or MJF needed some time off, let’s see how Tony Khan can implement him back into AEW.
1. CM Punk Wins the AEW World Title
If Tony Khan was ever going to put the AEW Championship on CM Punk, this was the time. AEW has teased a Punk title run for a while. AEW will now have time to try to make a push toward mainstream success with a recognizable name in Punk. Punk will now lead AEW into its new phase as Warner Brothers/Discovery has put faith into the product. Punk as champions is the next logical step for the upstart promotion.
The match itself was a slugfest between two of the very best in AEW. Punk and Page played on the toss-up factor of the match. Going into the main event, no one TRULY had an idea of who was going to win. One could make the argument that either man could win the match. So the story both told in the ring was exactly that.
What’s next for Hangman Page? The seeds for the next chapter for his character seem to have been planted. Does he turn heel and rejoin the Elite? Or does he go through a forgiveness tour that starts with a returning Kenny Omega? Storytelling with the Hangman comes easy, so the next chapter for him will be an exciting one for sure.
This also means that this leaves the (Forbidden) door open for a CM Punk and Kazuchika Okada matchup in June. Will this be a title for a title match? We will have to wait to see what the Forbidden Door PPV has in store for us. Double or Nothing had some great moments. We will see if the next two PPVs of 2220 can beat it.
