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Welcome to my live, ongoing AEW Double or Nothing 2024 blog, sponsored by our great friends at RingsideCollectibles.com, who have a ton of AEW and WWE action figures on sale right now as part of their Memorial Day Sale!
We are told that there is only one merchandise stand in the venue in Las Vegas and the line is MASSIVE and taking forever. You may want to just use ProWrestlingtees.com and order if you are standing in line!
Jeff Jarrett joined Renee Paquette and RJ City for the Zero Hour. It was good banter.
The expectation among those we've spoken with is Anarchy in the Arena will close the show.
For those of you hoping to stay up until 4 AM, we have confirmed there is a media scrum after the show.
The first match on the Zero Hour is Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa. Purrazzo looked good early on with her mat work and submissions. Rosa had her shoulder taped up. Rosa came back with a surfboard and a dropkick into the ropes. Rosa went to the top but got whacked. Deonna hung her upside down and his her husband's finisher, The Crosshairs, in the corner, which the anncouncers missed. Deonna went for the cradle piledrivr but Thunder escaped and drilled her with a discus forearm. Deonna snatched her in a Fujiwara armbar. Rosa slipped out and went for a backcracker and a Cobra Clutch. Deonna used the ropes to reverse the pin and held it to steal the victory. The camera angle made it look like Purrazzo's shoulder may have been down as well. Well wrestled bout but the finish was anti-climactic.
Tony Khan and Martha Hart announced the 2024 Owen Tournament. The winners will challenge the defending titleholders at All In: London.
The mascot for the Las Vegas Knights was at ringside. I can assure you that it is not Dave Scherer under the mask. Can't speak for where Pete Rose is, however!
Next up was The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs. Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony. The Knights' mascot was loving Max Caster's rap. The crowd was all over Cage's alleged small member after Caster knocked it during his rap. Gunn and Cage started out. The crowd loved Gunn getting the better of him early. Cage tried to do a Cactus clothesline but they got caught on the ropes before Cage finally muscled them over. Everyone started brawling on the floor. They took out Bowens and Gunn at the same time by throwing Gunn into the ring steps where Bowens was trapped. Caster was worked over for a long time. Gunn returned to the ring and got the hot tag. Bowens returned with his leg taped up to make the save. Cage went to grab a chair but the Vegas Saints' mascot stole it. Cage went after him but Caster nailed a Famouser on the floor. Gunn used an inside cradle for the pin. The stuff at the end made the live crowd really happy. Acclaimed remain one of the best acts AEW has ever created and I hope they are used in a higher level position again.
The official PPV opening bout is Roderick Strong vs. Will Ospreay for the AEW International Title. We can expect a lot of wrestling moves for sure. Ospreay tried to attack Strong before the bell, looking for revenge from being attacked by Undisputed Kingdom. Ospreay took out Taven and Bennett on the floor. V egas was singing for Ospreay. They tried to hit a Doomsday Device on the floor on Ospreay but Taven got caught on the ropes and Ospreay came down BADLY in an awkward angle on the back of his head. It was bad enough that honestly, I thought that was the end of the match, legitimately. Somehow he was OK to continue. Strong took him down and locked him in a chinlock, possibly to give Ospreay a breather. Strong kept taking Ospreay down to the mat, tying him up. Ospreay nailed a handspring into a kick. Ospreay is OVER like mad with the live crowd. Wardlow returned to try and attack Ospreay but the referee caught it. Somehow, that WASN'T a DQ? Ospreay nailed a big sky twister press to the floor on the Kingdom. The ref tossed them. The fact Ospreay is working at this levl after that bump is insane to me. I am worried about how he's going to feel later when the adrenaline wears off.
Ospreay showed signs that his knee was bothering him after an aerial move that didn't hit. Strong, always great in the ring, went right after it with a Texas Cloverleaf. All of Strong's offensive moves looked great and legit. He nailed a superplex and a great backbreaker over his knees. Ospreay caught him going for a leg lariat and pulled him into a sit-out powerbomb, which looked good. If you were looking for MOVES, you came to the right place. They went into a series of back and forth reversals and it was like watching a 21st century incarnation of Dean Malenko and Eddy Guerrero.
The referee checked on Strong after the exchange and Ospreay backed off. Don Callis demanded he use the Tiger Driver, the move he "hurt" Bryan Danielson with. He was conflicted but finally decided to hit a Stormbreaker instead. He had a great facial expression here but Strong still escaped and drilled a running boot for a two count. Ospreay escaped a backbreaker and nailed a lariat and a Stormbreaker for the pin. New champ.
This was a hell of a match. The fact Ospreay wasn't severely injured and was able to continue was absolutely insane. Everyone was extremely lucky here that this didn't end up with an early match stoppage and a hospital visit. If he's OK, Ospreay could raise the level of prestige for the title.
After Ospreay went to the back, Adam Cole appeared and came to the ring. He immediately knocked Las Vegas. He should be home rehabbing his ankle. He said he's been through hell the last few years. He said we have a little devil in all of us. The lights went out and there was a video from MJF's mansion. MJF then appeared, looking to be in great shape. Vegas went nuts. MJF embraced Cole and then kicked him low and laid him out. Taz declared MJF was back.
MJF cut a promo saying he gave Cole the one thing he never gave anyone else - trust, and he's never doing that ever again. He declared that Cole woke him in and reminded him that he's the best wrestler in the world. He said he made himself and didn't need a New Japan or a Vince McMahon like everyone else in the back. The crowd popped and chanted his name. He said no bullshit or friendship or kangaroo kicks for him. He said he's back to being driven by what drives him best - hate. He declared no one was safe. He picked up his old devil mask. He said that the mask and everything it symoblizes can go straight to hell. He slammed it down and dropped an elbow in it after doing a Flair strut, then kicked it into the crowd. He announced he had signed a new AEW deal by showing a tattoo on his leg that read bet on yourself with an AEW casino chip. He said you can call him the "Wolf of Wrestling because I'm not f***ing leaving." Great promo and the live crowd loved it.
Honestly, this felt like a declaration that the rest of AEW should follow - the hell with what happened last year. Get back to what AEW's original roots were and grab as much notoriety and attention as possible in the process. You could feel the crowd really loving what MJF was saying. That said, Max shouldn't be cosplaying HHH's return from the quad injury or doing the Flair strut. He's good enough to be his own guy and let others in the next generation copy what he did later.
Justin Roberts looks like the Sinister Minster in that red suit!
More on Page 2!
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