AEW Double or Nothing 2024 (5) Review

This past weekend gave us two big shows from WWE and AEW, so I started the Right Hook Rating system with AEW Dynasty and did not apply it to WWE Backlash and King/Queen of the Ring as well as D.O.N. V, so I scraped that idea and going to do what I liked, hated, and was possibly disgusted by on the big events to be a little more honest with praise, criticism and hope I have. So here is what I liked and hated about AEW’s Double or Nothing V and yes there will be one for King and Queen of the Ring this weekend as well.

What I Liked

Will Ospreay being a Champion- Putting one of the many titles on Will Ospreay was probably one of the bright spots from last night, granted it is the international title but having Ospreay as the champion will certainly elevate it while being one of few bright spots AEW can build off of potentially.

Ladies Night- Last night was one of the better outings for AEW’s female division, even the kick off show match between Thunder Rosa and Deonna Purrazzo was decent.  The Toni Storm vs. Serena Deeb match was good, nice to remember Toni Storm is actually awesome the ring, and Willow vs. Mercedes for TBS Championship was better than I thought. Yes, the post-match stuff and result were a given, but Mercedes Mone had a solid match considering everything we have seen since she left WWE, but it is still an uphill battle when it comes to her presentation and placement in AEW.

Welcome Back MJF- The return of MJF was probably the high point of the entire show which speaks to his star power especially in AEW, a part of me hoped he went to WWE and avoid all the drama but him returning will be a big boost but like everything else how things are executed is the big concern.
But as the segment/promo was good love the Triple H tribute from him and reminded us how amazing MJF is on the microphone when he has something to sink his into and is kept far away from Adam Cole and his group completely.


What I Hated/Disliked

Swerve Strickland’s Run as Champion- Swerve Strickland had a good match against Christian Cage which shouldn’t have been a surprise but the way he has presented especially since becoming the world champion is horrible. One of the many creative issues that need improvement for AEW to succeed going forward and one starting point is presenting Strickland as the world champion better and more prominent to make him and the title feel important.

The TNT Title Match- The barbed wire steel cage match between Adam Copeland and Malakai Black was awful. A Cage Match that was not always in the cage, Copeland is clearly trying to do stuff he wanted in his last WWE stint and has made him unwatchable for me.


Every match does not have to be long!
I understand what AEW tries to do with their PPVs making sure everyone and everything gets time and is on the event as well as caters to their dedicated base, but it often hurts the show and wrestlers overall.
Last night’s Double or Nothing could have been at least six or seven matches including the better of the pre-show matches in Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo and the MJF/Adam Cole confrontation. The rest of the card did not need to be on PPV but like I said earlier could have taken place of Dynamite, Collision or even Rampage, hopefully that will change as they added a couple more PPVs to their schedule.


What Disgusted Me

Jon Moxley– 5 years ago one the big surprises of the first Double or Nothing was the debut of Jon Moxley which certainly meant something to the up-and-coming promotion, fast forward to last night and he is easily one of things that makes the show absolutely unwatchable. His presentation in and out of the ring is laughable, he does nothing to make his opponent let alone himself come out looking better and the matches simply suck.

While I am still a sucker for the entrance because of the song, Moxley, like another AEW cornerstone has a rotten stench of everything he interacts with and needs to go away for a bit for the sake of AEW and his career if it is not too late.

Chris Jericho– One of the other big names when this all started was Chris Jericho who did a lot of good back in 2019 but it has been a complete nosedive since especially these last 2 years have been total garbage that hurts AEW.  Jericho has had bad ideas after bad ideas and means nothing in the presentation unless you count on the fans/ viewers he runs off and lack of interest that grows every time we see him.

Horrible match for an unsanctioned title (much as I loved the FTW Title growing up its meaningless now) where Jericho is creating ANOTHER group of followers, supporters, whatever he is going to ruin by being affiliated with him. Maybe “Please retire” is bit harsh but “PLEASE GO HOME” or “GO AWAY” is beyond reasonable when it comes to Chris Jericho, and he needs to do next.

Anarchy in the Arena- As much as this match is a complete mess that reinforces the worst things about wrestling and sections of wrestling fans, Anarchy in the Arena is clearly going to be the staple of Double or Nothing.  No logical, sensible, or honest pro wrestling fan can truly critique or speak on this match because it is nothing but chaos and nonsense that while being separate from the rest of the show usually hurts the show its on because of that.

A spray-painted bus, spike Reeboks, exploding chairs, and setting someone on fire this type of match is just bad, silly, and does nothing good for those in it especially health wise which I am sure somebody got hurt in some capacity during it.  That having this main event the show instead of your world championship match is the cherry on top of disgusting Sundae they apparently like.


The Elite- I genuinely do not care if this by design or legitimate, but the Elite’s presence on the show is embarrassing, not believable, grabs no interest or attention to making people want to see more of it.
Now I am sure there are or will be plenty of podcasts, reviews, results, and grades that will mark this match and event highly (A’s, B’s, 5,6,7, 8 stars, excellent show, fun show, best show they had so far) all the usual just infuriating, delusional, and detrimental feedback that makes AEW bad and in the position it’s in currently.

Jack Perry being set on fire coming back to not only win the match but pin one of greatest ever in Bryan Danielson is going to mean absolutely nothing and not make Perry the star he will never, ever be. But if we know anything about AEW, Tony Khan is going to do it even if everything statistically and otherwise shows him it sucks which starts with this underwhelming situation with this new Elite.

Overall Rating & Summary of Show

The show was long considering what was presented, this could have been a shorter show where half the matches and segments could have been main event stuff for Dynamite or Collision plain and simple. The Trios title, Moxley/Takeshita, FTW Title, and Cassidy/Trent matches DID NOT need to be on the show and brought it down quite a bit with some other things. This felt like a show that had four real PPV quality matches, exciting return and promo from a returning superstar, and absolutely absurd chaos garbage like match that did not do any favors in the grand scheme.

Overall Right Hook Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Like I said five years ago when all this started,  I hope it is a real success but I have strong doubts because who was funding this was the absolute worst representation and type of wrestling fan imaginable who has the resources to run a promotion but do all the bad stuff they spewed on paid message boards, e-feds, sub section of fans who get their knowledge for this from a dirt sheet that usually is biased and off base on what counts as sustainable success in pro wrestling.