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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TOMORROW: THE AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING TIP SHEET

Tomorrow, AEW will return to NYC for Double or Nothing.  Here is our take on what should happen!

Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross) AEW Women's Tag Team Champions vs. Zayda Steel and Viva Van 

Cory: I sure hope they are going somewhere with these squash matches, but it isn’t going to happen here. Divine Dominion squashes.

Richard: I expect these challenges to continue until Las Conquistadores show up and beat Megan and Lena in an Eliminator Match. I am surprised this is on the PPV instead of an actual title match.

Mike: I like Viva Van quite a bit.  Bummer we won't see her for more than 2 seconds!

Boom & Doom ("Big Boom!" A.J. and Q. T. Marshall) and The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, and Roderick Strong) (with Big Justice) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Anthony Ogogo, Capt. Shawn Dean, Carlie Bravo, and Lee Moriarty) 

Cory: I firmly believe that Big Boom AJ’s fifteen minutes were up a year ago, and sadly, Shane Taylor and his team have to take the pin for him. Just a waste of everyone involved. 

Richard: If the kid doesn't touch his chin, what is the purpose of this match? We couldn't get a Trios title match on this show? Is AJ the AEW equivalent of Mansoor in WWE that he has to be on every show in the area and win the match?

Mike: Big Boom's team obviously going to win to make everyone happy.

Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, and Wheeler Yuta) vs. The Opps (Anthony Bowens, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata) 

Cory: The Opps need to get the win on this now that they added Bowens to the team, and Samoa Joe is making big talk about the title picture. It’s a shame they haven’t had Claudio in a decent feud in a while, and The Opps faded into the background while Joe was out, but this could give them a bit of a push if done right. The Opps win by pinning Yuta, which is his job.  

Richard: The MFTs of AEW are in action against the Judgment Day of AEW. I am excited to see the hallways of Louis Armstrong Stadium and we will get to see them with this match. Flip a coin because what will this match do for future booking with either group? Damn, the coin landed on its edge so time limit draw.

Mike: My gut is Bowens gets the win here to help establish him with the crew.

Kazuchika Okada (AEW International Champion) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Cory: This has been building for a good long time, and it’s going to be a great match as long as Okada puts in 100%. Takeshita is a star, and AEW has been building him for a long time, and Okada is not coming across in the US as he does in Japan. I don’t know if it is him being a heel, the language barrier or not adapting to shorter matches, but his charisma just isn't coming through. He’s held the title for a long time, and it’s time for him to help strap the rocket onto Takeshita.

Richard: This match has the potential to be the best thing on the PPV. The only thing holding that back might be the mastermind of this entire feud. The less Callis the better for this match. Takeshita is one of the men who will lead this company in the next few years, but it feels like they don't want to give him the chance. A win over Okada does that. I think a win over Okada is the right thing to do. For some reason, I think Okada will retain the title. Takeshita winning would be next step to get him on the road to the World Title.

Mike: This has every chance to be the best thing on the show.  Okada should be losing here.

FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) (AEW Tag Team Champions) (with Stokely) vs. Cage and Cope (Adam Copeland and Christian Cage) - I Quit Match, if Cage and Cope lose, they must retire as a tag team

Cory: I was sure they were going to win at the last pay per view, but for this one, I am not as sure.  Partly because I was wrong, and party because I think it would be best to get Cage back to a singles run. Cope doesn’t need a title, although there is a part of me that would like to see him have one more title run with Cage. He’s an attraction on a goodbye tour like Sting was, and they dynamic between him and Cage is different due to Cage’s new character. Flipping a coin, I say they lose so that FTR can lose the title to a younger team, and Cope and Cage go their separate ways. 

Richard: This is a match that could steal the show, but it could also fall apart. I think they will have a good match. The stipulation presents an interesting situation. If you want to keep C&C Wrestling Factory together, you are killing any momentum that FTR has as champions. FTR should retain with them going to the edge of something extremely evil to force the utterance of those two words.

Mike: I expect FTR to lose but quickly regain the belts down the line.

Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin), and The Elite (Kenny Omega, "Jungle" Jack Perry, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), The Don Callis Family (Mark Davis and Andrade El Ídolo), and The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay) - Stadium Stampede

Cory: I am going to be blunt here. The versions of this match where it is played for comedy and craziness work. The ones where it’s just an all over the arena no holds barred match don’t work. The way this has been built, it will be a serious match without the fun moments like Hangman Adam Page riding around on a horse, Matt Jackson giving Northern Lights Suplexes for the entire football fields, etc… We’ll get brawling all over, lots of high spots and Jericho’s team getting the win.

Richard: If you like chaos, this is the match for you. I think there are too many people in the match and that might keep some 'cool' spots from being seen on camera unless they do split screen or clutter multiple brawls in the same area. I hope Mark Davis can have a standout performance in the match since he is on a huge roll.

Mike: We have confirmed this will be live and not a pre-taped deal.    I expect a lot of shenigans here and I expect Team Jericho to win.

Thekla (AEW Women’s Champion) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander

Cory: First, I am NOT happy that Thekla has been in a lot of tag team and trios matches instead of defending the title. She has stepped up in the absence of Toni Storm and can cut a fantastic promo. Her ring work is excellent and she’s one of the best new hires AEW has brought in over the last year. I also think this match is for the Hikaru Shida storyline, and I can see her turning on Statlander to get the win. That would make it so Thekla and Statlander are chasing her, while Hayter is ensconced in the tag team division. Walking out with the title? Shida.

Richard: I wish Tony would bring back what ECW did so well with multi-person title matches, elimination style, not first pinfall. You could make an argument for all three challengers to become the new champion. If it is going to be a longer run for a new champion, Hayter could be a good choice to take the title into the London PPV. I would keep the title on Thekla.

Mike: No way Thekla is dropping the belt.

Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay 

Cory: I never thought I would say that a story with Jon Moxley has become one of my favorites in AEW, but here we are. Ospreay has to change his style after his neck surgery, and having him learn a different way to wrestle from Moxley has worked for me. It’s given Moxley a way to explain his often inscrutable “Death Rider Philosophy”, is creating both internal and external conflicts for Ospreay, and is giving his character depth it has not had before. He was going to have to change his style anyway, so having him do it as a story is one of AEW’s better ideas. I love me some Samoa Joe, but Ospreay is going to be going for the title in the Stadium in England at the end of the summer, so he wins this match. 

Richard: This is another match that could steal the show. Will the Mox Boot Camp be successful for Ospreay or will it be an anchor around his neck? Joe will take advantage of Will's injuries and try to wear him down and keep Will from doing his more athletic moves during the match. Will will fight through the pain or will Will succumb to the experience of Samoa Joe? I am going to say that Ospreay wins so Moxley can look like the perfect new age guru to help people. Trust the Moxley Method.

Mike: My heart says Samoa Joe, always.  My head says Ospreay wins, takes the tournament and challenges either MJF or Kenny Omega in Wembley.

Bandido vs. Swerve Strickland 

Cory: Bandido is getting a big push right now, but Swerve is being positioned as the number one heel in the company going into the second half of the year. This could be a fantastic match, but I see Swerve winning to move on.

Richard: Bandido is the king of ROH, but that won't mean anything for this match. Swerve will win this match, but it won't lead to a Swerve/Bandido match for the ROH title.

Mike: I suspect Swerve wins here.

Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa 

Cory: Mina just seems to be floating around with Toni Storm gone, and she’s lost a lot of the momentum she had when she came in. She needs a good, solid singles run in this tournament or she’ll just be on hold for the next few months. Athena is a workhorse, and her story is with Billie Starkz, so she doesn’t need a win here. Mina takes the win.  

Mike: Athena has been in the zone.  I don't see her losing.

Richard: Now that Willow is out of the tournament, I think this could shake things up, but that would be on the other side of the bracket. The winner of this match faces Sareee in the second round. Could this be the time that Billie Starkz shows that she is sick of Athena's crap and costs her the match to set up another Starz/Athena match for the title? Mina wins, but I don't see this as a springboard to the next level.

Jon Moxley (AEW Continental Champion) vs. Kyle O'Reilly 

Cory: Since Mox dropped the world title, he has really done a great job of giving back to the roster, and is taking his job as the guy who makes other talent seriously. I even think his story with Will Ospreay is good verging on great (as I wrote elsewhere). Kyle is someone who works a different style than most AEW wrestlers, and he’s been excellent since his return from injury. Mox doesn’t need the title, and Kyle could use the spotlight, so I think they will have Kyle beat Mox again so that he is the guy that Mox Just Can’t Beat. 

Richard: Moxley can't beat Kyle is the story of this match. Kyle earned this match by going to a draw in an Eliminator match. When the title is on the line, will Moxley finally figure out how to beat Kyle? It is probably time to take the title off Moxley, but just like I predicted Roman to lose numerous times, he continued to win. Mox retains.

Mike: This will be where Moxley finally gets the win.

Darby Allin (AEW World Champion) vs. MJF - If MJF loses, his head gets shaved

Cory: Putting aside that I have no idea how hair plugs react to having a head shaved and MJF does get movie parts from time to time (there was even a rumor he lost to film a movie role which doesn’t seem to have happened), Darby was given a title run in the same way that other people who have gone above and beyond for companies are given title runs. They set it up as MJF not being ready and still recovering from a brutal match to allow Darby to win.  Darby has gone all out since winning, and his match with Tommaso Ciampa was a classic. He still looks small even though he is as tall as MJF and MJF has been masterful in his recent interviews to promote AEW. Darby DOES appeal to a younger audience, and his run has made a lot of the hard core folks happy. In the end, however, they are setting it up for him to lose with his defending the title on every show, the announcers putting over that he is running himself ragged, and everyone asking how long he can keep up the pace.   Unlike some people, I think it was a a good idea to have Darby as champion. He can be a huge star for the under 30 crowd, he has been a loyal worker who goes everyone to promote AEW, and having him as a former world champion will elevate him to a higher status where he won’t need a title. It also showed if he can carry the company. Sometimes you have to give something new a try. MJF has not left the title picture, and has been excellent as the aggrieved heel who really thinks what happened wasn’t fair, so when he does get the title back, he will be even more ruthless, which heightens the stakes for All In in London.   MJF gets the win, and Darby has been elevated to the top tier of the company. 

Richard: Darby Allin has been a fighting champion and has defended the title with honor, but at a physical price, at least for most humans with a tolerance for pain. This will be at least 30 minutes and will see Max have Darby dead (metaphorically) numerous times, but Darby will survive. Darby will get a few near falls and hit many coffin drops. With Stadium Stampede on the same show, I can see them cut back on the stuff outside the ring (who am I kidding). Max has his hair on the line and I can't see Max without hair so he wins the match.

Mike: While it would be hilarious to see MJF get shaved in the middle of NYC, I suspect he regains the title.

 

 

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