In an bygone age before Toni Storm was Timeless, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about AEW Double or Nothing 2023!
Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Inc.'s retro reviews, where we take notable wrestling shows from the past and apply our universally celebrated loved/hated format! We have AEW WrestleDream coming up this weekend, which is a tricky one to pick a retro review for — mostly because we were already doing regular loved/hated reviews by the time of the inaugural show in 2023. That said, we hadn't been doing them very long at that time, which means there are earlier 2023 shows that have not yet gotten the loved/hated treatment, but which did feed into WrestleDream 2023. It's the last of these, Double or Nothing 2023, that is the focus of our loves and hates today!
This might be slightly unfair of us — last time we did an AEW retro review, it was for All Out 2020, which is a contender for the worst AEW PPV of all time. Double or Nothing 2023, as it turns out, is another, so we promise next time we'll do a good one! Still, there was plenty for us to get nostalgic for on this show, including a surprise Kris Statlander title win (no, not that one, the other one) and an anarchic main event in the proverbial arena. We also got to look back on Chris Jericho's feud with Adam Cole, the end of Jamie Hayter's women's world title reign, and The Acclaimed being the most over act in the company; 2023 was a trip, dude. Not featured: the so-called "Four Pillars world title match," which nobody on the WINC staff had any interest in revisiting.
Join us as we turn back to a clock to an age before Toni Storm was Timeless! Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about AEW Double or Nothing 2023!
Read more: Wrestlers Worse Off In AEW Than They Were In WWE
Hated: 21-Man Casino Battle Royal too WCW-coded
I'll start this off by saying the last bit of the 21-Man Casino Battle Royal opener to Double or Nothing was really, really good and there were a lot of bright spots throughout the match, but on a show that was also overall pretty darn good, this match concept stuck out to me as strange. I wasn't a fan of it overall, and I was also surprised that Dave Meltzer gave such a WCW-coded concept an over four-star rating. The match was also for Orange Cassidy's International Championship, which just made it all a little too much.
I say that because for this battle royal, all competitors needed to first battle IN to the ring for the opportunity to compete and throw others over the top rope, a la the "reverse battle royal" days of WCW talent fighting to be the first few men to get inside the ring. While I'm well aware that the over-the-top-rope concept isn't owned by WWE or anything, and there are battle royals in probably every single independent promotion there is on Earth, the last portion of the match did feel a little like AEW's version of the Royal Rumble. While I love the Rumble, I would much rather watch a different concept in AEW, which is likely why I love Anarchy in the Arena matches so much.
I also wasn't a huge fan of commentary on this one. While I love "Good Ol' JR" Jim Ross, his work in AEW hasn't been the best, in my humble opinion, especially when AEW pulls out unique match types like this one. Before the match even begins, he noted how he wasn't a fan of the concept, and he also had a strange line about Brian Cage, who absolutely killed it in the match. He said something about nobody being able to follow Cage closely enough or something, which I thought was a bit strange, but that could be just the fact we're now so far in the future.
This match was fine when everyone who needed to be in the ring was there and nobody was left hanging on the outside. The match was around 22 minutes, and it picked up for me in the last quarter, possibly the last half, I'd say. I thought the Lucha Brothers and Komander were highlights here, in addition to Cage, as well as Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland facing off as two of the last competitors in the match, especially with their history. Cassidy and Strickland as the last two duking it out were also great. However, in a show without much to hate, the entire concept of the 21-Man Battle Royal was a bit too goofy for me.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Hated: Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho, just in general
AEW Double or Nothing 2023 is routinely in the conversation (alongside All Out 2020 and Worlds End 2023) for AEW's worst PPV. While there are some bright spots in this show, it has a lot of faults, and Chris Jericho and Adam Cole's unsanctioned match is the biggest one of all.
At this point in time, Cole was fresh off a nine month lay off due to concussion related issues that would ultimately never truly leave him and force him to step away form wrestling in 2025. Fans wanted to see Cole back in the main event scene, especially after his road to recovery was documented on the "AEW All Access" show, but his return went hand-in-hand with the beginning of what fans have come to know as "The Jericho Vortex." Jericho's run as "The Ocho" ended at the end of 2022, and after a mixed feud with Ricky Starks at the beginning of the year, people saw Jericho latch on to Cole's momentum and thought "oh no, this isn't going to be good."
This entire match is a sloppy mess from start to finish. Why Sabu got involved I will never know. "But Sam, Jericho was in ECW at the same time as Sabu and they wrestled each other one time at an event in 1996!" That doesn't warrant Sabu being involved as a special enforcer as one of Jericho's greatest rivals now does it? Plus, the splash that Sabu does perform in this match is hilariously bad as he just falls off the turnbuckles through Matt Menard and Angelo Parker.
Once the Jericho Appreciation Society get taken out of the match, Jericho and Cole have one of the most uninspired matches in AEW history. Given the unsanctioned matches that we have seen before and since this match, it is really bad, but it was given this stipulation because the JAS attacked Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. in the build up, meaning that there needed to be some sort of stipulation. The booking cornered this match into a position where it had no chance to succeed, especially when you have a ladder match, a no disqualification four way, and ANARCHY IN THE ARENA AS THE MAIN EVENT I MEAN COME ON!
I have never been a fan of unsanctioned matches ending with a referee stoppage, but I'm so glad that Aubrey Edwards decided to end this when she did. Is it the worst match of all time? No, but is it a moment in AEW history where Jericho's good will died on the spot and Adam Cole's status as a legitimate main event star was questioned? Absolutely.
Written by Sam Palmer
Hated: Jamie Hayter should not have been here
While the end of 2022 was a turbulent time for All Elite Wrestling, one of the spots that shined brightest was Jamie Hayter as the AEW Women's World Champion. She dethroned Toni Storm for the Interim AEW Women's World Championship at Full Gear, which was then changed to the official title due to Thunder Rosa being unable to return due to injury, meaning that the eventual rematch between Storm and Hayter would have been a money match that could have sat amongst the best women's matches in AEW history.
This is not that match.
To put it simply, this match shouldn't have happened, and the fact that they even gave Hayter three minutes is questionable to say the least. Hayter was dealing with a nasty shoulder injury that was evident from the amount of athletic tape on her right shoulder, but that wasn't even the injury that was the problem. Hayter would reveal in 2024 that she had two herniated discs in her back that were so painful that she not only missed 15 months of action, but she almost retired from wrestling completely. Wheeling her out on what is essentially the anniversary show for AEW just seemed like a really stupid move.
The Outcasts throw Hayter out on to the ramp while her music is playing, allowing Storm, Saraya, and Ruby Soho to get their licks in on the wounded champion. Hayter does try and mount a comeback before the bell officially rings, but once everything is under way, Storm is relentless in her attack of the champion, and it never really goes anywhere for the immediate future. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D and Hikaru Shida do try and help out as they were the "AEW Originals" fighting against The Outcasts at the time, but it was no use, and Storm hit the Storm Zero to become the first-ever two-time AEW Women's World Champion.
It's easy to see why wrestlers put their bodies on the line even when they're not supposed to. The roar of the crowd, doing business the right way, making sure that their opponent goes over strong so that they can have a long run on top before coming back and having a rematch with all the anticipation in the world. That said, we live in an age where we'd rather have our favorite wrestlers be safe and healthy and able to work another match rather than doing what they think is "the right thing." AEW should have thought of another way to get the title off of Jamie Hayter because what they did here wasn't it.
Written by Sam Palmer
Loved: Acclaimed nostalgia
As has already been mentioned, Double or Nothing 2023 isn't a great show, part of the reason being that it doesn't have a great crowd. The first part of that equation makes it difficult to find something to love; however, the second part is remarkable considering the way Las Vegas absolutely exploded when The Acclaimed came out.
The trios title match with House of Black was fine, but man. MAN. Remember how stupidly over Max Caster and Anthony Bowens were in 2023? It honestly just kind of warmed my heart to see it again and remember, because things have gone ... downhill, one might say. The story of The Acclaimed is basically written entirely in vibes. It was vibes that took them from being tag team jobbers to the hottest team in AEW after their match at All Out 2022, and tag team champions a few weeks later at "Grand Slam." AEW ultimately couldn't sustain those vibes, but they were able to inject a fresh dose by making Caster and Bowens trios champs alongside Billy Gunn in 2023. By the end of 2024, however, the vibes were mostly gone, and they broke up this past January. Bowens was clearly supposed to be the breakout singles star, but AEW couldn't sustain that either; it turned out that while Bowens had sided with Gunn in the break-up, the remaining vibes had sided with Caster, who was getting way bigger reactions with his delusional heel "open challenge" routine. Now it's October and Tony Khan's best idea has been to try and put them back together — a tacit acknowledgement that he knew neither how to push Bowens nor what to do with Caster's heat.
On the surface, it seems like a very "three steps backward" idea ... but listen to that damn Vegas crowd, man. Those people didn't care about anything on this PPV, but the minute that music hit and Caster started rapping (one of his better efforts, particularly when he accidentally predicts the blackface controversy in the main event before dropping the line about Buddy Matthews "getting cucked by a kid named Dominik") they went absolutely insane. For those of us whose AEW fandom peaked in 2023 (yes, we exist) it made my heart happy to hear that reaction and listen to Bowens say "Scissor me, Daddy Ass" back when they were still printing that catchphrase on t-shirts — but beyond that, it made me think that maybe putting Caster and Bowens back together really is the best idea. The vibes haven't always been there, but when they are, they're immaculate. Maybe the reformed Acclaimed can capture them again.
Written by Miles Schneiderman
Loved: An at-the-time surprising title change
At this current stage in time, Kris Statlander is preparing to defend her AEW Women's World Championship against "Timeless" Toni Storm at WrestleDream. It sure took a while for her to get the title, dethroning Storm in a four-way at All Out in Toronto and ending an almost six-year hunt. Not to say she went title-less during that period, as during this very event she emerged to defeat Jade Cargill in what would become her penultimate match with the company for the TBS Championship.
At that time, Cargill had literally just beaten Taya Valkyrie in their billed title match on the show, extending her undefeated record to 60-0 and her reign to 508 days, though obviously that would be where the good times came to an end. Cargill celebrated with the one "Baddie" she had left in her stable, Leila Grey, and her lawyer-meets-manager Mark Sterling; Sterling, being the mouth that wrote checks he didn't have to try and cash, proceed to call out any of the roster for a title match at any given time, which would have been a precarious proposition to begin with, had he not added the jinx of, "But there's no one left."
Because lo and behold, yes there was. And thus, Statlander made her entrance and got their impromptu title match underway, ending things within a minute and cementing herself after what had been a little bit of a "Gold-Watch" period for one of AEW's original women's stars. In retrospect, Cargill might have been on her way out of the company in any case, so it made sense for the title change to come at some stage, for Statlander to be the one to take the title, and do so in an unannounced surprise for those watching.
Written by Max Everett
Loved: Anarchy in the Arena closes DoN in exciting fashion
If there's one thing I love, it's a hardcore stipulation match (not a crazy one, like the opening match here, however), and AEW's Anarchy in the Arena matches are some of my favorites in recent memory. I love the chaos around the arena, a slightly more contained chaos than say, a Stadium Stampede match, and AEW is usually pretty good at following the action with various cameras. If a spot is missed, they replay it picture-in-picture. I'm not always the biggest fan of AEW production, but they usually make up for their blunders of the year in the AITA match, for me, at least.
The Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite were the perfect teams to pit against each other in this match type. I'll admit, Double or Nothing 2023 was slightly before I started to really get in to AEW, so I wasn't entirely sure who was meant to be the heel team here after watching so much recent AEW. The crowd response when both teams entered the arena helped me none, so did have to look it up, and was surprised that a BCC with Bryan Danielson on the team were the bad guys. The Elite met the BCC on the stairs in the crowd to kick off the match and we were off to the races.
While this match felt just slightly too long at 27 minutes and fell off even more slightly at the end, there were plenty of notable big spots throughout that were a lot of fun. The match was so hard hitting to start out immediately, the referee was one of the first people bleeding. There was an interesting barbed wire poker chip set piece spot where Kenny Omega went back-first onto the wire with a suplex by Jon Moxley. Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Jackson started fighting in the concession area of the arena, then got to the back of a pickup truck outside. Omega started wielding a trash can lid like Captain America's shield, and who could ever forget the exploding superkick from one of the Young Bucks to Moxley.
The finish was a big moment that I don't think many saw coming with Konosuke Takeshita turning heel and aligning himself with Don Callis, something I guess we're all so used to these days. It was Wheeler Yuta to get the pin on Omega, which was pretty big deal and cool for him. This AITA was a good blend of in-ring action, with crazy spots, of course, but also packed with a lot of actual wrestling and plenty of storytelling. It was an excellent match to conclude the PPV and personally, I think it has a lot of rewatch value.
Written by Daisy Ruth
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Category: General Sports
