AEW Double or Nothing Predictions!

AEW Double or Nothing is tonight! There are THIRTEEN announced matches!

That sounds like a lot, but my buddy reminded me that there were twelve at Revolution earlier this year. I didn’t realize because my wife and I were there scream-crying for most of the show…

So, that’s a lot of matches! I think I’ll do a lil blurb on each and give predictions for all thirteen. I think I only missed one guess on my Backlash prediction so let’s try for a perfect card tonight!

(It will not be perfect, I have no idea where half these feuds are going)

HOOKhausen vs Tony Nese and Smart Mark Sterling

This is the only preshow match scheduled, which is a fine way to start things off. HOOKhausen is over as hell. I know some folks don’t love that HOOK has been a softie towards the goofy Danhausen, but I love the story of the bully standing up for the little weirdo. They look great together, Danhausen using the chips as a lure for HOOK, and the pop they got when they finally shook hands tells me HOOKhausen will go over here, and hopefully we get to see a little offense from Danhausen this time out.

My guess: HOOKhausen wins

Kyle O’Reilly vs Darby Allin

Darby challenged O’Reilly on Rampage because Kyle injured Darby’s dad, Sting. That’s as good a reason as any for a match. I imagine Bobby Fish will get involved since he’s the only guy in the Undisputed Elite who isn’t on tonight’s card. I also imagine Darby will have somebody on standby to have his back. I’ll go with the young daredevil in this one. Sorry, Kylo.

My guess: Darby Allin jumps off something and claims victory

House of Black vs Death Triangle

It seems like we’ve been building to this match for months. That’s because we have! The injury to Rey Fenix derailed the feud a few months back, so while various members of these two factions have had good contests, this is the first big match between both trios in their final forms. House of Black has a lot on their plate, as they are still vaguely connected to Eyepatch Julia and the Varsity Blonds due to the…eyepatching... of Julia. 

Rumor is, AEW actually has Trios Championship belts already made, and are just waiting for the right time to introduce them. I hope for a tournament because I love brackets! That being said, I don’t think we have to worry about either of these teams going away anytime soon. But for tonight, I think House of Black comes out on top, even with Blond-terference. Maybe they claim Julia as a manager!

My guess: House of Black, possibly with shenanigans and mist

Paige Van Zant, Scorpio Sky, and Ethan Page vs Tay Conti, Sammy Guevara, and Frankie Kazarian - if they lose, Guevara and Kazarian can’t challenge for TNT championship

All I can hope for in my heart of hearts is that Paige and the Men of the Year win here, and we never speak of this whole thing again. I know most of the people in this match are capable of putting on an entertaining show, but good Lord the booking of this feud makes me want to go full Julia and ram a pencil in my eye. 

My guess: Please for the love of God Men of the Year and Van Zant and we move on

The Hardys vs The Young Bucks

This one was slapped together pretty recently, but you don’t need a build for two generational teams claiming to be the best of all time. I hope this doesn’t go too long, as the Hardys are getting a little long in the tooth, but I think there’s a good match to be had here. The Bucks will likely do most of the heavy lifting and keep things moving. The Hardys will bust out their greatest hits…maybe Gangrel will even escort them out, since he’s around! WHO’S TO SAY?

At the end of the day, it seems like the Hardys may be given the chance to have a well deserved farewell tour with the AEW Tag Team Championships, and a win here will give them a shot down the line. The Bucks are perpetually over, and can eat a loss against arguably the best tag team of all time.

My guess: Matt and Jeff > Matt and Nick, one night only

Jericho Appreciation Society vs Blackpool Combat Club w/Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz - Anarchy in the Arena match

I don’t know what this match is even supposed to be! I think it’s gonna be like the Stadium Stampede matches, but, you know, inside a full arena. Gimmicks! Setpieces! Weapons! Violence! Goofy stuff!

It’s gonna be fun and funny, and I’m looking forward to it being a good time. I’m hoping it wraps with the BCC and friends will get a hold of the JAS and, I don’t know, locking submissions on all four of them in the ring at once?

My guess: Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie, Santana, and Ortiz by submission(s)

MJF vs Wardlow - If Wardlow loses, he can never sign an AEW contract, but if Wardlow wins he is released from contract with MJF

So, I imagine you’ve heard about this by now. MJF and Tony Khan, owner of AEW, have had some disputes lately regarding MJF’s contract. Yesterday, MJF was to appear at a fan event and no-showed. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com then reported that MJF had a flight booked for late Saturday night. Later he tweeted out that MJF did not get on said flight. So, yeah, I don’t know what to make of any of it. Is the whole thing a cunning ruse? Is MJF messing with Khan to get his contract restructured? Did Khan book the flight to call MJF’s bluff? WHO’S TO SAY?

Real life (maybe) drama aside, this is a story that’s been cooking since the early days of the promotion. Wardlow has gotten himself over in a big way, thanks in no small part to MJF as his heel boss and nemesis. The entrance he’s using with the handcuffs is a fantastic Goldberg-esque callback, and really sells the story that Wardlow is an animal, ready to be unleashed. If this is anything more than a short squash, I’ll be surprised.

My guess: If the match happens at all, Wardlow wins by violence. So much violence.

Dr. Britt Baker, DMD vs Ruby Soho - Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final

I don’t love this! I really want to. I wanted the Owen to mean something big, and then I had an idea the other day that I really hope doesn’t come to fruition - that being that Britt and Cole both win and they do a power couple story off the back of this.

But I don’t want that story, I want at least one good guy to win the tournament and hopefully get a boost in popularity! The problem is, Friday night didn’t do Ruby any favors. Neither did Wednesday for Baker, really. Toni Storm and Kris Statlander could have had a great power versus technique match, told a good face vs face story, and maybe had a cool moment after the match. Instead we get Ruby - don’t get me wrong, I really like Ruby - winning by surprise rollup and getting booed to close the go-home show against the most popular heel woman in the company.

Britt doesn’t need the win here. She really didn’t need to be in the tournament. She’s popular and beloved and gets the boos out of respect despite being those things. Ruby needs the win badly, as she’s one of the biggest names they brought in to bolster the women’s division and AEW hasn’t done much with her. I think they stick to the plan, and I think the plan is Ruby wins and hopefully gets a nice reaction from the crowd when it happens. 

My guess: Ruby Soho, definitively, not by rollup

Adam Cole vs Samoa Joe - Owen Hart Foundation Tournament FInal

Since I already discussed my worst case scenario about, I’ll say I’m looking forward to this match! Cole is fantastic, and I love Samoa Joe almost as much as I love coffee. I think it will be a short-ish contest, and I think Cole wins here. Joe already has the Ring of Honor TV title, and I’m sure Jay Lethal and his buddies will be lurking nearby, despite being banned from ringside for this match. Nobody banned Bobby Fish from ringside, either…

My guess: Adam Cole BAYBAY!

That’s it for the non-title matches. One could say that’s a damn fine pay per premium live event card right there! Then we move on to the championship bouts…

Anna Jay vs Jade Cargill © for the TBS Championship

This match was instigated by a run in to defend a run in less than a week ago. Jade was reminded that Anna Jay exists, and that one time they had a match. They’re going to have another match, and Jade will just demolish the young Dark Order representative. 

While we’re talking about Jade, I’d like to nominate Sonny Kiss to the Baddies section. We haven’t seen them on AEW television in a minute, and I think they’d be a fine addition to the crew!

My guess: Jade Cargill wins, quickly and without mercy

Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee vs Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks vs Jurassic Express © for the AEW Tag Team Championships

This is my guess for match of the night. I know it’s a stacked card, but if they are given time, these six guys can tear the house down. I also really don’t have a solid prediction for the outcome! Typically, if it’s a multi-team affair the champions will retain, especially if they’re good guys. But! We haven’t seen a whole lot from Jurassic Express until recently, and when we do it’s a lot of singles action under the direction of Christian. I wonder if a Christian turn and Jungle Boy singles run is in their future?

If that’s the case, I think this is a good time to get the tag titles off JB and Luchasaurus. I like both the other teams a lot, but Lee and Swerve have been hugely popular and vaguely rudderless since their debuts. I would very much enjoy a tag team title run for those two. 

I also will put into the universe that I hope none of these teams have a rough breakup. It would be nice to see a segment where Jungle Boy tells Luchasaurus he needs to try to become a Jungle Man on his own, and they hug and still team up as necessary. Beats the standard heel turn thing, I think.

My guess: Swerve Scott and Keith Lee become our NEW AEW Tag Team Champions

Serena Deeb vs Thunder Rosa © for the AEW Women’s World Championship

Man, Thunder Rosa hasn’t had much to do since she won the women’s championship from Britt Baker, has she? She’s had some interviews the last couple weeks, but that’s about all! Serena Deeb had that great, if a little overlong, feud with Hikaru Shida, and that was enough to propel her into championship contention. The build between them hasn’t been spectacular, but at least they’re on TV!

The build doesn’t matter once they’re in the ring, though. Both Thunder Rosa and Deeb are great wrestlers, and I think their match tonight will be a good one. I don’t think Thunder Rosa loses the title this quickly after winning it, but this will be a good technical match with a clear winner.

My guess: Thunder Rosa retains, maybe moves on

C.M. Punk vs Hangman Adam Page for the AEW World Championship

The build to this match has been a hell of a ride, and I really don’t know what direction we’re going! It’s a lot of fun though, as Punk has kind of remained the cynical, manipulative character he’s known for, while still nominally being a face. Page has started to lean into a heelish character, if only because he’s an emotional guy and he knows Punk is his biggest challenge since Omega. I don’t know if there’s a turn coming - I could see either guy doing something shady to win, but not necessarily going full evil right away. What I do hope is that this isn’t a one off, and the feud between these two is only just beginning. 

My guess: C.M. Punk does something underhanded, wins the championship

I also have a Bonkers Prediction of the Day from my buddy and fellow wrestling watcher, Adam. I have compiled his bonkers texts below, edited a bit for clarity:

“Punk wins and turns heel, saying Hangman was right to say that he needed to protect AEW from him, talks about manipulating Khan into buying RoH and that winning the AEW belt is the first step in eradicating AEW and putting Ring of Honor in its rightful spot that it’s waited twenty plus years to have. I think it would be a select group of Ring of Honor folks [with him], not necessarily everyone. SCRO could debut, [and the] Briscoes if they get network approval. Christopher Daniels was the first big heel in RoH, he could be involved. Danielson or Joe could stay faces and tell Punk that’s not what RoH was about. I just think the Hangman promo [about defending AEW from Punk] was intentionally vague to be used as a callback. A line that good, I hope there’s more to it.”

Bonkers, right? But damn cool if it came to pass!

That’s it, thirteen predictions for one hell of a card tonight. I’m gonna watch and soak it in, and watch a second time tomorrow with the notebook for a writeup. Do you agree with my guesses? Have any of your own? Or do you have an equally insane ending for Double or Nothing in your headcanon? Let me know in the comments below!

I appreciate you stopping by, dear reader. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno, where I try to remember to post whenever I update the blog. I recap Raw, Dynamite, and Rampage weekly, and also plan to write about any other wrestling that I happen to watch. There’s also a weekly wrap up on Fridays, and I’ll do predictions before any big AEW or WWE pay per premium live events. I hope to see you tomorrow for the Double or Nothing recap! Have a great Sunday, and enjoy the show tonight!

Have a good one!