AEW goes up in smoke with Double or Nothing

Toni Storm (c) vs. Serena Deeb – AEW Women’s World Championship Match

Should have been way better than it was but the combos, transitions seem awkward like they didn’t rehearse this enough or Storm just cannot match Deeb’s flow and speed.

The fans cheer for Toni which makes her the face in this match?!?!? Deeb puts Storm in a Paradise Lock and sits smiling on a prone Storm. She is booed. Deeb drop kicks Storm out of the hold. She spends most of the match trying to keep up with Deeb’s technical skill. She seems legit frazzled throughout the bout. Deeb is hip attacked to the floor. Deeb catches Storm coming back into the ring with a Dragon Screw Leg Whip and a spinning neckbreaker on the floor. The crowd cheers for Storm. Deeb shrugs her shoulders to the crowd. Storm catches Deeb powerbombing Deep off the ropes.

Deeb works over Storm’s knee putting her in a half crab. Mariah May and Luther argue throwing in the towel for Storm. Storm reaches the ropes so all is good. Storm grabs the towel out of Luther’s hands, throws it into the crowd calling him a bastard. Luther doesn’t understand why Storm is mad at him not May. Storm piledrives Deeb from the top rope and the middle of the ring to retain.

Winner: … and still AEW Women’s World Champion, Toni Storm.

Match Rating: 6 / 10

Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta

Someone has a sign which reads: “Thank You Chuck Taylor”.

You would think this would just be a nasty, ugly brawl and nothing else since it is all about a friendship gone bad and Beretta possibly taking out Taylor but here we are. They are actually trying to wrestle each other. Cassidy should be on a brutal warpath to really injure or hurt Beretta but it doesn’t seem that way. Just regular holds and regular moves, he even plays to the audience. Everything he does is rather tame all things considered. That approach doesn’t fit with a grudge match.

Cassidy drags Trent back and forth across the apron smashing his head again and again into the turnbuckles. Cassidy dives into Trent knocking him into the barricade. Cassidy sits him on a chair labeling him with punches. Taylor pulls Cassidy’s neck into the bottom turnbuckle cables.

Excalibur bonehead commentary: There is an unwritten rule amongst wrestlers that you don’t go for the throat.

Huh?

One: They always attack the throat with chops or clotheslines, etc. It isn’t off limits.

Two: This is a freaking GRUDGE match, moron!

Trent pulls Cassidy off the top rope suplexing him on his neck. Trent piledrives Cassidy on the ring apron. Trent moves some steps around. The official physically hassles him. What is that all about? Laying hands on wrestlers? Trent is about to be punished on the stairs. Cassidy quickly recovers from a PILEDRIVER ON THE APRON to knock Trent off the stairs and spike him with a Beach Break on the floor. Whaaat?!?!?!

Trent stops an Orange Punch with a Triangle Choke. Cassidy wins by pushing off the ropes with his legs and rolling up Trent. That’s the ending of a grudge match where one friend supposedly put another out of wrestling for good? Come on.

Rocky Romero and Renee Paquette catch up with Trent as he leaves the ringside area. She askes Trent what’s next for him. Trent says: “I am not doing this! I am done!”. He shoves Romero away and leaves through the crowd.

Yeah, I would head for the EXIT sign if I was in AEW too, dude. Just keep going and going heading to a brighter future elsewhere because this good ship Titanic is about to hit an iceberg.

Winner: Orange Cassidy

Rating: 3 / 10

Chris Jericho (c) (with Big Bill) vs. Hook vs. Katsuyori Shibata – FTW Championship Match

Jericho is all tied-up. Courtesy: AEW and Triller TV.

I cannot believe that the amazing Shibata is participating in this clown show match. Does anyone else cringe when they call Jericho “The Learning Tree”? Wasn’t that the gimmick of Brian Myers in Impact Wrestling?

Jericho and Shibata exchange chops. Hook suplexes them both. Hook pulls out a table from under the ring as the other two lay like they have been shot in the ring. Shibata kicks them both off the apron. Jericho suplexes Hook on the floor. Jericho empties a bag of dice in the middle of the ring. Hook and Shibata suplex Jericho on the dice.

All three men start…throwing dice at each other?!?!?!? What?

Shibata and Hook take turns suplexing each other on the dice. All three men square off with kendo sticks in the ring. Jericho hits both Hook and Shibata. They no sell his shots. They both whack him instead. They whip Jericho off the ropes and whack him some more. Shibata slides a table into the ring and sets it up. In another lapse in logic, Shibata is about to powerbomb Hook through the table. Why? We have no idea.

Hook rewards him with Northern Lights Suplex on the dice. Shibata executes a Death Valley Driver on Hook. Hook and Shibata bounce of Jericho and off the table. It doesn’t break. Shibata throws Jericho through a table setup in a corner and sliding drop kicks him for good measure. Hook kicks out a Codebreaker. Hook dodges The Judas Effect to put Jericho in Red Rum.

Big Bill hits the ring. He drops an elbow on Hook to break the hold. He beats the snot out of Hook. Hook suplexes Bill off the apron and through a table. Shibata puts Jericho in a figure four. Hook puts Jericho in Red Rum.

A hooded figure carrying a trash can hits both Shibata and Hook. He puts the trash can on Shibata and hits a senton. Bryan Keith unmasks himself. Hook fights him off with a kendo stick. Jericho pins Hook with a Judas Effect. Jericho flees the scene of the crime. Hook suplexes any security that get in his way. He chases Jericho down the wrong entrance tunnel.

Winner: …and still FTW Champion, Chris Jericho.

Rating: 3 / 10