AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2022 preview

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607 TWS on Twitch. For this edition, we’re taking one final look at All Elite Wrestling’s big pay-per-view event “Double Or Nothing.” AEW’s big night is live from Las Vegas Sunday May 29th, 8PM EST on Bleacher Report & traditional cable ppv outlets (international - Fite Tv).

This week has been a solid build up for the card with last minute additions happening on AEW Rampage Friday night. Factor in what Tony Khan made mention of during the media scrum that we attended and this card has the eyes of the pro wrestling world on it. With a HUGE AEW Dynamite in Los Angeles looming per Khan’s comments in the media scrum, AEW’s DoN has a lot of pressure riding on it to deliver on a 13 match card. Let’s take one last look and see where the card stands and give some predictions, shall we?

CM PUNK

Photo Credit All Elite Wrestling

AEW World Championship: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page (c)

The main event has arguably the most polarizing reaction out of AEW fans. On one side, you have CM Punk and since his return to pro wrestling last August, Punk has been in a honeymoon phase since. Only when he had a memorable feud with MJF did we finally see the “CM Punk” of lore. Now with a title shot forthcoming, Punk will prove if he’s back and still the “Best In The World” or if the honeymoon is truly over.

On the other side is Hangman Adam Page. The “Homegrown” AEW hero has had a long and winding road to the world title with a memorable win once he finally got there. However, the post-win feuds have been lackluster and forgettable. When the first title defense was a time limit draw, there were signs to watch. Now with Punk on the horizon, is it time to change hands with the belt?

PICK: CM PUNK. While it should stay with Page, Punk has looked more comfortable in their promos and seems like the comments of Khan and company lean that they’re ready for him to be the guy. Page’s run needs a big win over someone like Punk to justify a lot but I feel that window is closed for now. Get ready for the summer of Punk on AEW programming

Thunder Rosa

Photo Credit All Elite Wrestling

AEW Women’s World Championship: Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa (c)

Mark my words, if these 2 are given time, they won’t be the co-main event. They WILL be the main event. Easily, my pick for Match Of The Night stays locked in. Deeb has been a worthy contender after a top level feud with Hikaru Shida. It’s been only a matter of time until Deeb was in title talk. On the other side is Rosa, who’s win over Baker to win the title was an epic moment in the history of AEW. However, much like Page, Rosa’s run with the belt has disappointing due to the fact there’s only been 1 title defense and even less tv interview time. Seriously, how do they que the outro music during that promo?

Pick: THUNDER ROSA. Much like Page, Rosa needs the win here and WILL get it. Deeb could get the win but I feel that Rosa needs that big ppv win before handing the belt off. She will get that here and then (hopefully) gets some more time in a noteworthy feud before dropping the belt.The only thing that could mess those plans up is IF the stipulation for winning the Owen Hart Tourney is a title shot. IF that is the case, Rosa’s time as champion might be short lived which is a flat-out crime!

Eddie Kingston

Photo Credit All Elite Wrestling

Anarchy in the Arena: Blackpool Combat Club with Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz vs. (sigh) Jericho Appreciation Society

A new faction of “sports entertainers” for Chris Jericho leads to fallout vs. former members of AEW’s first group, the Inner Circle. Mix in the history of Eddie Kingston, the heart and soul of AEW, with the team FKA LAX and there’s an instant story here. It’s a good chance for 2.0 and Daniel Garcia to get some time but I don’t see this going any other way than pick: BCC/KINGSTON/SANTANA/ORTIZ

MJF vs. Wardlow

AEW’s best storyline of Wardlow breaking free from his contact under MJF finally gets it’s closure. Rehashing the Cody Rhodes/MJF from 2020 plays out the same way as Wardlow will have a star making moment much like Batista when he broke away and defeated Triple H. Pick: WARDLOW

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Britt Baker DMD vs. Ruby Soho

Both tourneys have had surprise opponents and excellent matches honoring the late Owen Hart. It hasn’t been clarified what the winner wins but it’s a safe bet to think title shot. That said, picks: BAKER & COLE. If Punk is champ, who else but Adam Cole (Bay Bay) to start off against? Samoa Joe could get that win here but guessing the ROH storylines will play a factor in this one and in Cole’s favor.

Baker never leaves the title scene and is so OVER with the crowd, it feels as if AEW is getting antsy to get her back as champion. Granted, Baker and Rosa is a great feud, but we’ve seen this play out before. Soho would be a great challenger and I’m hoping I’m wrong here, but it senses like Baker’s got this one locked up and poised to make another run for the gold.

Swerve Strickland

Photo Credit All Elite Wrestling

AEW World Tag Team Championship: Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee vs. Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jurassic Express (c) w/ Christian Cage

Why FTR isn’t in on this match is beyond me BUT take nothing away from this match. 6 very talented people are gonna go hard to steal the show in this one. Jurassic Express has been champs for a while and it’s time to switch things up. Plus, Christian Cage has been teasing that heel turn for a while now. What better time than to cost the champs the belt? Pick: SWERVE AND LEE

TBS Championship: Anna Jay vs. Jade Cargill (c)

Cargill is becoming a star before our eyes. Her run with the TBS championship isn’t slowing down anytime soon. No real builds here other than to showcase Cargill and nothing wrong with that. Pick: CARGILL

House of Black (M. Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. Death Triangle (PAC, Fenix & Penta)

Expect some wild-ass action going down. Both factions are making a claim for the best trios team in AEW. With Fenix back to full strength, this is gonna be a fun one to watch. Can’t wait to see him match up with Matthews. End of the night, Never bet against the house. Pick: HOUSE OF BLACK

“Young Hardys”

Photo Credit All Elite Wrestling

Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. The Young Bucks

If this was 2018, this would have been main event. There has been a quick build for this based off the names involved. No real story here and going in with an extremely low bar. IMO, the Hardys haven’t looked like the Hardys of old since re-uniting in AEW. This will entertain but not much else. Picks: YOUNG BUCKS

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

So this match was made on Rampage for “reasons”? Never mad to see “Cool” Kyle on TV but fearing this is leading to a match with ReDRagon vs. Darby and STING. Plus Darby is prolly gonna take a foolish bump here when they should just have a great wrestling match. Pick: DARBY (only to build for the tag match)

Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, and Paige Van Zandt vs. Tay Conti, Sammy Guevara and Frankie Kazarian

Disappointed that the TNT title isn’t being defended but the most controversial couple in AEW now brings in Frankie into their story. PVZ is going to bring some eyes to the match being a former UFC name but expecting the “faces” going over on this one, Picks: SAMMY, TAY AND FRANKIE

Pre-Show Buy in: HOOKHausen vs. Tony Nese and “Smart” Mark Sterling

Its the era of HookHausen and we live in it. expect AEW’s “Rock And Sock Connection” to get a win to start their story and the night off right for AEW fans. Pick: HOOKHAUSEN

The action goes down Sunday May 29th with an extremely impoirtant AEW Dynamite live from LA this week. Hit me up on Twitter and give me your predicyions for the monster AEW card!

As always, Thanks for reading and supporting the ODPH & 607TWS!

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING WEEK/ GCW MANIAC/ GP MASSIVE AGGRESSION

Welcome to an all new edition of Blog Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast and #607TWS on Twitch (and in podcast form). This week, all the eyes that aren’t focused on the Sasha banks/Naomi/WWE drama are laser focused on the 3 year anniversary of All Elite Wrestling’s “Double Or Nothing” going down in Las Vegas May 29th!

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW’s biggest* (depends on opinion between DoN & All Out) Pay Per View event has forever been mentioned as the “Anniversary” date of the Tony Khan-led company. 3 years ago, this was the debut show following the New Years Eve announcement & following press conferences shortly there after introducing the wrestling world to the newest player on the pro wrestling landscape. Since that time, a LOT has changed & going into the show, there’s a few story lines to keep an eye on this week of AEW programming.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Are we heading into the “Reign Of Punk”? Will “Hangman” Adam Page retain? This is the question on the minds of AEW fans. There has been some promo segments between the two & one final “face-to-face” is announced for Dynamite this week between the DoN main event participants, but does it already feel like all signs are leaning to #ANDNEW on Sunday?

Page’s run as champ has felt very lackluster in comparison to other previous champions. On the flip side, Punk has come off better in each segment with this feud and in more position to FINALLY go “Best In The World 2.0” by the time the match is over. IMO, Page needs to have a very strong moment on Wednesday night to sway where things appear to be going. It’s possible, but I’m still saying we’ve got a new champ at DoN until further notice.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The next one to keep an eye on this week is the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) members Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson teaming with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. “The Wizard” and his Appreciation Society. There isn’t a tremendous amount of build up for this as far as the BCC is concerned but it still works. The JAS (ugh) storyline with Team Kingston has been solid. The billing for this match is “Anarchy In The Arena” and it should be.

A few quick notes concerning this match:
1. Wheeler Yuta is not involved in this as he’s currently competing in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best Of The Super J’s

2. Bryan Danielson appeared to have been slightly banged up after AEW Rampage tapings after a weird freak issue with his leg getting stuck in the rampway. As of this blog, he’s slated to still be a go

Fans shouldn’t expect a lot of technical moves and be ready for a great street fight as this is how it’s looking to play out. Anytime we get Moxley teaming up with Kingston is a win.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The last one to watch this week is the “Undisputed Elite” stories. It was announced the Young Bucks will be facing the Hardys at DoN. Two great teams facing off for the first time in an AEW ring? Solid addition for the card. This is resulting from the aftermath of Adam Cole defeating Jeff Hardy in the Owen Hart Foundation Tourney. It also seems as we’re gearing for a possible Cole/Samoa Joe Mens final for the Tourney as well.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Joe punched his ticket for a match with Kyle O’Reilly with a win over the AEW debuting Johnny ELITE (fka John Morrison, Johnny Impact, etc.). With a win there, the finals are set unless fan get a major swerve and its O’Reilly vs. Cole (Bay Bay) one more time. Somehow I don’t think AEW is gonna go that route for the finals but we will have to tune in on Wednesday to find out!

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Switching gears, Game Changer Wrestling kicked off a big west coast pair of shows with GCW Manic taking place on May 21st and “GCW Downward Spiral” happening next Saturday. Get the bundle on Fite & don’t miss these incredible shows

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Glory Pro Wrestling has a cant-miss card airing on their YouTube page Sunday May 22nd! GP “Massive Agression” is headlined by Eddie Kingston vs. Davey Richards & many other great matches on this card! Follow now and don’t miss it!

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Last but not least, Major League Wrestling has announced Lince Dorado is the latest name entered for Battle Riot 4 on June 23rd! For more information, check out MLW.com

That’s al the pro wrestling talk for this edition. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re watching this week. For more pro wrestling content, Follow the ODPH podcast and 607 TWS.

As always, thanks for reading!

DARBY vs HARDY/ALL EYES ON MJF/GCW MANIAC

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (and in podcast form). It’s been a few weeks since the last blog & apparently someone heard the call out about NOT sending over files on the latest podcasts becuse the deck is now reloaded to talk some pro wrestling with everyone. It’s been an interesting week to say the least so lets catch up on some of the latest news, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Kicking off the news cycle is All Elite Wrestling. On AEW Dynamite, The Owen Hart Foundation Tourney is fully underway and fans were gifted one of the wildest matches in recent memory for the first round: Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy. They made this match a “No Rules” one and fully went over the top with the spots. Take a look at this literally INSANE ladder jump from Darby onto a table of chairs with Jeff in the middle of the path! Not to be outdone, Jeff did a spot landing badly on the steel steps in attempts to hit Darby with a move. After the smoke cleared, Jeff Hardy advances onto the next round of the tourney to face Adam Cole (Bay Bay).

While this match gave some memorable moments, it was one that also brought some concern as well. Both these guys wanted to steal the show (and did) but the two spots that stood out were extremely risky even for the style of wrestling they’re known for. Allin and Hardy are considered “daredevils” in the minds of fans. They lived up to the moniker but post match, were those two dangerous spots worth it to tell their story? In comparison, you had Cole vs. Dax in a very solid opening bout with no wild spots. When did the tourney rules change on the fly for “No Rules”?

Imo, they could have told the same story with some big move spots but not over the top as this match felt. Either way, I’m glad (thus far) no major injuries were reported post match. Considering how abusive those spots were for two guys that have put their bodies on the line numerous times and dodged the bullet of something career ending, no news is definitely good news post match. Onto the next round…

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

There has also been a LOT of rumbling about the one and only MJF. Rumors have been swirling about possibly looking elsewhere when his contract runs out and being unhappy with the direction of his character. On AEW Dynamite, they have set up him vs. Wardlow at AEW Double Or Nothing but not without rehashing some familiar storylines…..

For Wardlow to get his match, he has to take 10 lashes from MJF THEN defeat Shawn Spears in a cage match with MJF as referee. It’s god to see this storyline get more time as Wardlow is now on his “Batista”push but haven’t see seen this exact storyline play out in AEW before? Remember when Cody Rhodes endured lashes and a cage match to get to MJF? I do - February 2020. Why are we going back to that well for ideas? If the frustration reports are true, I can fully understand why.

MJF is a STAR in the business. Why not give him something fresh to work with than hit the reset on the Cody feud of the past? For someone as talented as he is, there should be another way to get to the match with Wardlow. After that match, where do we go from here? Imo, there’s only one way to go (and I won’t mind the reset here): Set him on the path to face CM Punk, who WILL be world champion at Double or Nothing, at All OUT on Labor Day weekend. Otherwise, if he’s not involved in a title program, the rumors will become even louder heading into the summer.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Other quick AEW notes: Seeds are getting planted for a possible Blood and Guts match with the Blackpool Combat Club (minus Wheeler Yuta, who will be involved in the BOSJ’s tourney in New Japan) teaming with Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz vs. the Jericho Appreciation Society. Fully all-in for this match. Makes sense for all parties involved. This is also a HUGE moment for Daniel Garcia and 2.0 to showcase their talents. This could be a late addition to Double Or Nothing, but no matter when this goes down, it’s gonna be a fun match to watch. Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

HOOKHausen is REAL! The match has been made (after a complete squash of Danhuasen by Tony Nese). Hook made the save post match and the handshake heard round the world happened! HOOKHausen will face Smart Mark Sterling and Tony Nese on the buy-in for Double or Nothing. AEW’s version of the Rock n’ Sock connection starts now! Curious to see how far they go, but I’m all in for this pairing.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Quick Notes: Major League Wrestling had their big “Kings Of Colosseum” card this past Friday night. Huge buzz about the Taya Valkyre v. Holidead match as well as the impact from the new Samoan Swat team. Fallout from this great card will only get fans more excited as MLW heads to NYC for Battle Riot 4 on June 23rd. Follow MLW on Twitter for more information.

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

GCW heads into next week with one of the best cards you will find anywhere with GCW Maniac. The home for the BEST scramble matches in pro wrestling has one that you can’t miss! AJ Gray puts the GCW Extreme Championship on the line against John Wayne Murdoch, Jack Cartwheel, Jimmy Lloyd, Cole Radrick and NINJA MACK! Make plans to order this card on Fite.tv as soon as possible!

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Coming off the HUGE show at the Pageant, which was an absolute classic card, Glory Pro Wresting has another must watch card with “Massive Aggression” taking place on May 22nd 3 pm CST. Davey Richards vs. Eddie Kingston….NUFF said. Even better? the card is FREE on Glory Pro You Tube so drop that subscribe now and don’t miss the show!

Photo Credit: Xcite Wrestling

Last but not least, Xcite Wrestling had to reschedule Xcite vs. The Worlda week later due to a situation out of their control. Fear not, as the show is slated for Saturday May 14th with a marquee match-up with Sean Carr returning to Xcite after some time off to face a rising star in the ranks of the xcite roster whose return can only be called “SuperB” thus the nickname. Carr vs. Super B is the match to catch this weekend. Hit Xcite on Facebook for all the latest happenings there.

Its good to be back talking some pro wrestling. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out! As always, thanks for reading and supporting 607 podcasts!