Double or Nothing 2021 Official Thread

Last night was the most fun I've had watching a wrestling show in a very, very long time. I also went into it... not HYPED. I feel this card didn't appear as strong on paper but everything except Cody-Ogogo delivered in it's own special way.

Love the crap people are throwing Cody's way just like they did Triple H & Jeff Jarrett back in the day.Problem is it doesn't fit as Cody has clearly put over young talent and helped to build stars.People act like in the two years AEW has been around that he's never put anyone over and has been the World Champion.Dude put Darby,MJF and Brodie Lee all over clean as crap.Turning a career mid card to low card talent in Lee over and putting him over stronger then damn near anyone has ever been put over.In the 2nd ever AEW show let Darby and total unknown to most fans go the distance with him and then a year and half later again put him over clean as crap on PPV for the TNT Title.

People act like Cody or again guys like Triple H,Jarrett,Cena and others are suppose to job out left and right when their in their primes building a company and should never sniff the main event or title scene.If you do this you hurt the entire company and make them losing and rub meaning nothing.Just look at what happened to Flair,Foley,Big Show,Henry...ect all these legends that started jobbing left and right.

seriously, anyone who has a slight issue with Cody must have had a HUGE issue with triple h's general booking, and must all but write off the majority of Cena's pandered career.

Mr. "HATCHING IT UP" present, the same bloke who craps on John Boy for being an ineffective locker room leader and continues to bury Da Big Dawg for being slid into Cena's spot just on looks and potential. Too young to confront Hunter's Reign of Terror as a full smark but I got tired of his rump too.

Great show. Takeaways -

I'm surprised the Inner Circle won. Where does the Pinnacle go from here? They aren't just going to continue feuding with the IC, are they? I feel like they needed the win even though I didn't want to see the Inner Circle broken up.

Cue Cody comment here: Cody is basically Cena, Triple H, Miz, and Hogan all rolled into one. He's the overexposed flashy USA guy fighting the foreign menace like Hogan (although this doesn't work like it did in the 80s), he's well-spoken and a good media representative like Cena, he's in the reality show glamor couple like Miz, and he's an executive who is always going to win far more than he loses, often when it's wrong...like Triple H. He's the face of the company, the media guy, the USA rah-rah-rah guy. Ogogo should've won, but I feel like he'll get it back in the tag match on Dynamite. He should beat Cody instead of Lee Johnson though. Shawty is a nobody, and a win over him means nothing.

We knew Hangman was going to win, and we knew how it was going to happen, but it was still fun. Cage looked good in defeat, and Hangman is still a huge star on the rise. Great opener.

The Battle Royal was fun. I had a feeling that it would go to Jungle Boy since I don't see Christian losing a singles match or winning the title anytime soon. Based on the build I thought that Hobbs would be in there longer. By in there I mean actually in the mix, not on the ground hiding for ten minutes and coming back in only to get tossed. I also kind of thought Hobbs would have tossed Christian. I was expecting more of a coming out party for Hobbs, and this just wasn't it. Maybe he's not quite ready for that, but I see big things for Hobbs. I'm impressed with him, they present him very well (usually), and he still looked very much like a beast.I would've liked to see a little more. They're obviously also doing something with Comoroto, which is good. He's got a fantastic throwback look like Hercules Hernandez, Bruiser Brody, and a little Dr. Death. The tassles are comedically long though. I'm looking forward to more from him. I'm not surprised he didn't last since he's presented as a student, but clearly he and Ogogo will be the breakouts of QT's group. Dollar Tree Alex Reynolds and the other goof aren't going anywhere (as you can tell by Sallow being tossed with Lee Johnson). So far, Christian is being used exactly the way that I'd like to see veterans used to get new guys over without just being jobbed out. This style will work better in the long run...compared to Jeff Hardy's current role.

The tag match was impressive. I would've liked fewer brink of death kickouts, but it was a good showcase of the Bucks being the more experienced team. Good on Mox for taking the fall. I was fully expecting Eddie to do the Buddy Roberts. Nick looks better with the beard. He's still the goofy, balding dad type, but the beard makes it a little less egregious.

Britt Baker is the face of the women's division. I hope they don't turn her face based on her reaction. That was one helluva match even if they gassed out, and a win fit for her story. Shida did great tonight playing up the aggression and firing up. When she came out she looked sad. I wasn't sure if it was because fans were present or because she was losing. Bret himself said that it always hurt to lose a title, even though it isn't real. I hope to see Shida continue to be showcased, and not just disappear into a diminished role.

Miro looked great out there. I'm glad he's finally being showcased properly. The snake bit was cool even though it very obviously wasn't a snake in that bag. Should've done the ground beef pantyhose trick again. That said, even implied animal abuse takes me right out of the moment and makes me feel sick. Miro's crazed smile made it better. Not positive where Archer goes from here.

I loved seeing Sting get one more real match. He's really impressive considering that a few short years ago he was thought to be basically crippled. This is a fantastic farewell tour, kind of like Hogan's in 2002 (although Hogan ruined by returning to his old selfish ways...and everything else stupid that he does in his personal life. If only he'd just disappeared forever after that he'd be far better regarded today). That said, they must really not have much planned for the new team of Sky and Page, because they looked like goofs. Sky was a huge Sting fan, and may have been honored to take the death drop, but damn these guys aren't being booked to look anything but foolish. Also, I don't know what the deal is with Ethan Page, but what is with those facial expressions?

The triple threat was really good. I knew Kenny would win, but I'm dying for a PAC title reign. I hope it happens at some point down the line, because he is that good. Very exciting match, and good for OC getting showcased. Between this match and the Jericho feud OC is looking really strong.

This was a very enjoyable show. Maybe now people can forget about the exploding ring debacle from the previous PPV.

I can’t understand people comparing Cody to H & JJ.

It’s an uninformed and idiotic take. Go watch those guys then watch Cody. I’m not a huge Cody guy, so I hate being in this spot to defend the guy. lol

I won’t compare Cody to anyone but Cody. My issue with Cody isn’t his win/loss record. It’s just how he presents himself. As I mentioned, I’m a fan of his overall. I just don’t like what I’ve seen of him in AEW. Also not big on how he presents himself outside the ring. He comes off as very defensive if you aren’t a fan of what he’s doing, and not in a gimmick sort of way.

On the other hand, when he wasn’t in the Shield, I thought Dean Ambrose was one of the most boring people in wrestling. His gimmick of “I’m crazy, isn’t that weird?” did nothing for me and most his solo matches were ok at best to me. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of him a lot in AEW though. Especially his pairing with Eddie. He’s someone that better off outside WWE.

Who got deleted?

It will take about 15 minutes of your time, but the post scrum with Britt was really good. Nice mix of kayfabed and shoot answers. Well worth the watch.

I’m not into the stable stuff. FTR and PNP are the two best tag teams in the company in my opinion and should be having classics for the tag belts.