Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Greg Coleman and Ethan Neufeld review AEW Double or Nothing 2021.
AEW Double or Nothing 2021 promised be a strong show on paper, but in the main, it actually delivered on it's promise. Most matches were hard hitting and meaningful, whilst nearly everyone on the card looked like a real star.
Question 1: Did Hikaru Shida work her best match yet in AEW against Britt Baker? Will Baker be a more successful AEW Women’s Champion?
ALLSOPP: I loved this match, but it was clear from the get go that Britt Baker was finally being crowned as AEW Women's Champion. This not a bad thing, however, as it is a move that has been anticipated for quite a while. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be successful, and I hope she is able to bring a different level of competition to the belt.
COLEMAN: I absolutely loved the match between Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker. I definitely think it was one of Shida’s best matches, but her match with Penelope Ford was a hair better to me. I believe Baker will be a successful AEW Women's Champion if they can create meaningful feuds for her, and hopefully let her have an extended title run.
NEUFELD: This was a good, borderline great match that was only hurt by a slightly sloppy middle portion. It’s hard to say whether this was her best match as her prior matches not being in front of live crowds make them feel quite different, it’s top three for sure though. Their match really was bolstered by having a live crowd in attendance. Seeing Hikaru Shida’s response to the crowd was awesome, as was the response to Britt Baker. The outcome was written in stone, and that can often hurt a match badly if the actual contest doesn’t deliver. Thankfully, they put on a solid spectacle and Shida put Baker over big, with Baker kicking out of her finishers and forcing the Lockjaw multiple times to finally take her down. Baker will be “more successful” by having live crowds back in attendance and because she is able to cut her now excellent promos in English. If handled well, Baker’s reign may finally be the time when the AEW’s women’s division feels fleshed out.
Question 2: Was Stadium Stampede II a better match overall than the original contest? Should The Pinnacle have won, or was Inner Circle winning the correct call?
COLEMAN: It’s hard to top an original, but I preferred Stadium Stampede II over it’s predecessor. The first match felt as if it was a replacement for not getting the original Blood and Guts, and not knowing what to expect, it was great and highly entertaining. Stadium Stampede II was a continuation of a feud that has been brewing for a long time, and it managed to be even more entertaining than the first one. From Sammy Guevara coming full circle from quitting the Inner Circle to being the reason the Inner Circle stays together, to cameos by Urban Meyer and Konnan, give me Stadium Stampede II.
When I did predictions, I picked The Pinnacle based on the stipulation, and the fact that Inner Circle has been together for almost two years, so breaking them up seemed like a real possibility. However, watching Double or Nothing conclude and having the first full house in over a year sing Judas as the Inner Circle celebrated, there was no other way to close the show than with the Inner Circle being victorious. The right team won!
NEUFELD: I think the first Stadium Stampede was the better of the two matches. The silly nature of this match lended itself much better to the teams involved in the first go, and Inner Circle versus The Elite was a very entertaining romp that was exactly the kind of match we needed at the time. I think The Pinnacle is a more serious stable (or at least they should be presented as such) and so this match having a number of goofy elements didn’t really fit as well. I would have preferred they try to do a more serious version of Stadium Stampede if they were going to go with The Pinnacle in order to maintain a serious aura around them, and to just try something different. I’ve not been a fan of the booking of this feud, and so it’s hard to say whether the outcome was the right decision. Sure? I guess it was the correct call? The sillier group wins the sillier match? If they were going to do these matches, I would have preferred they reverse the order of this and Blood and Guts, having the feud end with Chris Jericho being written off for a while.
ALLSOPP: This was a fun match, and I honestly preferred the storyline of Stadium Stampede II, as opposed to the less dynamic storyline of the original. The match was fun and brutal, so I cannot ask for more. I do feel that The Pinnacle should have won to really drive home how much of a threat they are, but this result does at least allow us to have a rubber match. Hopefully, one with a better match stipulation.
Question 3: How would you rate the AEW World Championship match? Should AEW pull the trigger and have the Casino Battle Royale winner Jungle Boy defeat Kenny Omega for the title?
NEUFELD: This match was much better than I anticipated. Kenny Omega retaining was horribly predictable. When you have a predictable outcome, it really says something when the match is done well enough to where you actually second guess yourself throughout the match. There was a point or two where I thought, “Oh crud, is Orange Cassidy going to do it?” I would love to see PAC hold the championship at some point as he is so very talented in the ring, and can be just a savage heel. He was fairly well protected here I thought, and I’m sure we’ll see him in this spot again. Jungle Boy winning the title shot was a solid decision, but he’s not going to take the belt from Omega, and nor should he. They’ll have a great match, I presume booked where Omega underestimates Jungle Boy and gets a lot more of a challenge than he expects but ultimately takes him down.
ALLSOPP: I am a sucker for Triple Threat matches, therefore I loved this. Orange Cassidy looked like a real star, as did PAC, whilst Kenny Omega once again came across as an utter arsehole. Which I love! All three characters were utilised well, whilst the match acvtion was off the hook. In terms of Jungle Boy, I only see him as the flavour of the month. But please do not think this is a bad thing, as it shows that AEW brass are more than happy to trust him with such a position. He won't win, and shouldn't win, but he will at least put on a strong performance which should solidify him as a true upper midcarder.
COLEMAN: I would give the match an A. It was a great match, and I don’t feel either of the two challengers came out looking worse as a result of not becoming AEW World Champion. Kenny Omega retaining was the right call, and the way he won with heavy involvement from Don Callis increases his heat as a heel champion.
Jungle Boy winning the Casino Battle Royale was an excellent call. Jungle Boy winning the AEW World Championship on Dynamite would be one of the best moments in pro wrestling history. No one would see it coming, especially on a Dynamite against a red hot Omega. That being said, I would have Jungle Boy push Omega to the brink, only to have Don Callis or The Young Bucks cost him.
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
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