Csonka’s AEW Double or Nothing Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the AEW Double or Nothing event, which is the follow up from last year’s All In event and the first official AEW show. It’s an interesting time as we see another new company debut and look to make an impact with a major financial backer. Can this company find success and be what many fans are looking for in a company to follow & support? We’ll find out soon enough. So today, I will break down and preview the show; thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

Sammy Guevara vs. Kip Sabian: This is a fun match on paper and a nice pre-show match to get the live crowd into things and also set the stage for the rest of the show. Sammy Guevara is signed to AEW, has been highlighted on Being the Elite, and is a tremendously fun young highflier. Kip Sabian is a guy who I have seen sporadically, but did really well on the ROH UK shows last year. I think that he’ll make for a fun opponent against Sammy, and this should be a really fun sprint to kick things off. WINNER: Sammy Guevara

Casino Battle Royal: Shawn Spears vs. Sonny Kiss vs. Brandon Cutler vs. Ace Romero vs. Glacier vs. Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Sunny Daze vs. MJF vs. Joey Janela vs. Dustin Thomas vs. Billy Gunn vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Michael Nakazawa vs. Jungle Boy vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. Marq Quen vs. Luchasaurus. The Casino Battle Royal is the new name and replacement for the over budget battle royal. Much like Aztec Warfare or a Gauntlet for the Gold match, it’s the latest new version of a Royal Rumble style match, which I am cool with as I like the Rumble & the variations I have mentioned. I’m not completely sold on how this will work; I really have to see it in action but am more than willing to give it a shot and I really hope it’s a success. The winner here will be getting an eventual title shot, which should lock us into some of the bigger names like Havoc, MJF, Janela, & maybe Darby Allin if he’s in the match. Either that or a surprise or Page gets in the match to win the title shot since he lost his match with PAC on the show. WINNER: Joey Janela

Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose vs. Dr. Britt Baker: The ladies of AEW will also be featured on the show, and it’s a division that have a lot of high hopes for and a lot of talent earmarked for the division. Kenny Omega is the one reportedly in charge of the division, and his goal is to make it must see/revolutionary like the WCW cruiserweights were, which is a goal I can appreciate. I think that this is a good PPV match to kick off with, Kylie Rae has picked up a ton of buzz over the last year, while AEW is really high on Dr. Britt Baker, and were sure to lock her up before WWE, ROH, or Impact could. I think that Rae or Baker take this one, and am going with the good doctor here. WINNER: Dr. Britt Baker

SCU vs. CIMA, Lindaman, & THawk: CIMA is a Dragon Gate legend that left the company and started OWE, where he’s training a new generation of Chinese flippy boys. AWE and OWE have agreed to work together, which gives OWE guys another place to work and a chance for exposure, and gives AEW access to talents others won’t have access to. Lindaman & THawk are great and it’s really cool to see them in along with CIMA. SCU are the ageless veteran team that always deliver, and will be the right guys to work with international talents to get them integrated into the US culture and style they’ll be working. I think that this one has a ton of potential and I am really looking forward to it. WINNER: CIMA, Lindaman, & THawk

Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho Abe and Ryo Mizunami: As I mentioned earlier, Kenny Omega is the one reportedly in charge of the division, and his goal is to make it must see/revolutionary like the WCW cruiserweights were and he’s digging deep and bringing in a full troop of Japanese women to showcase here. This will likely feel like one of those high-level WCW Cruiserweight tags with the big stars involved. Riho has signed a 5-show deal to work with All Elite Wrestling and wants to see how she likes working in the States before committing to a longer deal with the company. I think that with them looking to lock her down, that her team picks up the win. WINNER: Hikaru Shida, Riho Abe and Ryo Mizunami

Best Friends vs. Jack Evans & Angelico: with the signings of Jack Evans & Angelico, the Best Friends have been pulled from the Casino Battle Royal and have been given some extremely interesting and top notch competition. With the Bucks, Lucha Bros, Best Friends, and now Jack Evans & Angelico AEW is laying the groundwork for a great tag team division and as a fan of tag team wrestling I love it. This has the potential to be a great match, as the Best Friends are a great traditional tag team, while Evans & Angelico can and most likely will bring the crazy. It’s hard to pick a winner here, as you can’t go wrong with either r team, but with the Best Friends having to fight just to get onto the main card (in storyline) a loss here and potential heel turn to continue the program could work nicely. WINNER: Jack Evans & Angelico

Adam Page vs. PAC: I HATE that we lost this match. Jeremy Lambert & I did big discussion about this on the podcast (AEW talk starts at 44:00).

Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes: And here we come to the battle of the brothers, a match that they have really wanted for a long time as they weren’t happy with the rushed and lackluster match they had in WWE. Cody has obviously found success outside of WWE, and Dustin looks to do the same late in his career and looks to do so without the Goldust gimmick. That has always been an issue for him, as his biggest success has come as Goldust. But Dustin is a smart worker, and can cut a hell of a promo, so I have hope for this. He’s 50 and coming off of double knee surgery, but is in good shape and I’d expect he and Cody to work a very old school style match that plays to both of their strengths with Cody bringing some occasional flash. Along with the brothers looking to prove a point, the brothers have the advantage of working in front of a crowd that wants to see this and will likely be heavily invested, making for a great atmosphere. Some will say that the match needed a longer build and for it to happen later on, but with Dustin being 50 and coming off of double knee surgery, I think now is the time. They can also use this as a jumping off point for a longer feud and even potential partnership down the line. I think that they may be building to a Cody vs. Jericho match at the next Chicago show, and with that being the case, I think that Cody takes the win here. WINNER: Cody

AAA Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix: These four are extremely talented and are two of the best tag teams in all of wrestling, so I have no hesitation in putting the certified banger alert on this one. Without the benefit of TV, they have done a good job of building to this match on Being the Elite with video from various indie events and AAA. The Bucks have had time off to rest and heal up, and will be looking to impress on AEW’s first major show. The Lucha Bros always deliver, and this will be one of the biggest shows they work. With reports that they will soon be AEW exclusive in the US, I think that this is the first in a potential series of matches, and that the Bucks retain here to later drop them in AAA. WINNER: The Young Bucks

Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega: The winner of this will face the Casino Royal winner for the inaugural AEW Championship. These two previously faced off at WrestleKingdom and had an excellent match, and now have the advantage of that match to play off of, so I have no hesitation in putting the certified banger alert on this match as well. If they can recreate some of the magic from that first match, then we’re in for a treat. Omega is great and will be well rested, and Jericho has smartly reinvented himself, knowing that he can’t work a traditional style Omega match, and will also be well rested coming into this match. With Omega wining their first meeting and Jericho facing Okada at Dominion, I see Jericho tying up the series at 1-1, setting the stage for a rubber match down the line. WINNER: Chris Jericho

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

JOIN 411 TONIGHT AT 7PM ET FOR OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE SHOW

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 22. On the show, the good brother Steve Cook joins Larry Csonka as the guys discuss the rise of WCW Monday Nitro, the decline, the Russo effect, and then look back on and review the show that was supposed to save the company, the Russo/Bischoff WCW Monday Nitro reboot from April 10th, 2000, discuss the Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee documentary & match, and then finally close out our discussion on the Dark Side of The Ring series. The show is approximately 84–minutes long.

* Intro
* The Rise of WCW Nitro: 3.00
* The Russo Effect: 6.50
* Reviewing The Russo/Bischoff WCW Monday Nitro Reboot 4.10.2000: 9:20
* Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee Documentary Thoughts: 51:55
* Dark Side of The Ring on Gino Hernandez & Moolah: 64:55

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