Tossing Salt Presents:
AEW Double Or Nothing
Thoughts & Predictions
May 27, 2022
DougMaynard.com

Coming up this weekend from Sin City, USA, aka Las Vegas, Nevada, is AEW Double or Nothing. It’s a stacked card with a lot of fun matches booked. There are also some matches booked that make you go, “Hmmmmm!”, but it’s AEW so that’s to be expected. It’s Prediction Time. Let’s do this. 

AEW World Championship — “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. CM Punk

Adam Page as the Champion has been less than exciting. Okay, it’s sucked. Can anyone pick out one memorable moment during this title run by Page. If history is any indication, a Punk run as the top guy will result in a Punk heel turn and probably a pipe bomb or two. That’s what he did in ROH and what he did in WWE and damn it all, I want to see Punk as the unforgiving, savage, asshole we all know and love to see. It’s time for a change in direction for AEW and that means it’s time to begin the Summer of Punk 2.0. Look for a new champion.

Winner and NEW AEW Champion: CM Punk 

MJF vs. Wardlow

The stipulation for this match is that if Wardlow doesn’t win, he will never be able to sign an AEW contract. That means Wardlow has to win, right? And I think he will. Will it be a clean win? No, of course not. MJF has not lost a match clean in three years and he shouldn’t. But he will eat a few powerbombs, take one hell of a beating, get a few cheap shots in, but at the end of the night, do the J.O.B. How about screwed-up interference from Shawn Sparks where he swings the chair at Wardlow, hits MJF by mistake, and Wardlow gets the pin. And the feud continues, but Wardlow is AEW forever.

Winner: Wardlow

Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe (Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals)

This one is a tough call because Cole has been pushed as the next big thing, baybay, but to be honest, I liked him much better in NXT and thus far, his entire AEW run has been “Eh!” at best. And Joe, he’s still a tough SOB, but he’s not what he was and already holds the ROH Television Championship so he doesn’t need another trophy added to his resume here. And by the way, whatever happened to Joe’s feud with Jay Lethal and that big-ass guy? It seems to have been forgotten, or maybe I just don’t care. Probably the latter. I’d expect to see Lethal and the big-ass guy show up and continue to be a pain in Joe’s Samoan Ass. And I think we’ll see the Master of the Dad-Bod walk, the wannabe HBK, walk out with the Owen Hart Trophy. Hell, what a rib, right?

Winner: Adam Cole

The Hardys vs. The Young Bucks

The Hardy Boys versus The Hardly Boys in a match that would have been a dream match at one time, but now the mere thought of it makes me cringe. Have you seen Matt and Jeff lately? To say that their bodies are a wreck is an understatement and even Ric Flair is walking by and calling them “old men”. I like the Hardys better, but I don’t think Father Time does. He looks ready to hit that delete button at any moment where Matt & Jeff are concerned. Matt and Jeff will do their best and make it a good match. They will hit their high spots and it will appear that the EVP’s of AEW is ready to be DELETED, but when the final smoke clears, it will be the Hardly Boys taking that trip to the pay window, if you will. Watch and see.

Winners: The Young Bucks

AEW Tag Team Championship — Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (c) vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland

Team Taz is Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks. And this match makes my head hurt. I like Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, but I think they’ve been the tag team champs for too long. It’d be fine with me if they were champs forever, but I keep seeing single matches and a possible feud with Christian in Jungle Boy’s future, and those tag team titles are not needed for that. Lee & Strickland are a strong possibility, but like Jungle Boy, I think their futures lay more in the singles division than in tag team action. And then we have Team Taz, which is the current FTW Champion Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs. I like this team and I think both men are capable of being breakout stars in the future. Let’s go with Team Taz, aka Starks and Hobbs for this one. I think we’re getting new champions.

Winners and NEW AEW World Tag TeamChampions: Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs).

House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, Brody King) vs. Death Triangle (PAC, Pento Oscuro & Ray Fenix)

Where is Fuego Del Sol? He’s the one that got this feud started and now he’s just vanished like Marko Stunt from the VLOG Crew. If Fuego doesn’t make an appearance, I riot! Okay, maybe I’ll just huff loudly, but you get the point. As for this, the AEW version of Judgement Day versus PAC and two interchangeable masked guys from Mexico. I’m kidding (not really). Pento and Fenix are damn good, but why should we care about them or this feud for that matter. The build has been next to nothing and there is nothing here to make me interested in this match except for maybe a run-in by Fuego. Buddy Matthews and PAC both deserve better. Maybe we’ll finally see Julia Hart succumb to the dark side? I don’t know what to expect, nor do I really care. They are six great wrestlers, but my interest in this is next to nothing. Let’s go for Death Triangle to win. just because. And remember what I said about Fuego. Don’t make me come down there.

Winners: Death Triangle (PAC, Pento Oscuro & Ray Fenix)

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz (Anarchy in the Arena)

No rules, lots of craziness, lots of backstage stuff, and the craziness that makes us alternate between cheers and groans with every single move or piece of the action. Maybe we’ll see William Regal paintbrush a few people and then douse them with a cup of tea. I like Jericho and he’s constantly reinventing himself and that’s a good thing. The rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society will learn and grow better from their association with The Wizard. But as good as he and they are, on the other side are Moxley, Danielson, Ortiz, Santana, and Kingston. No way in hell that the JAS wins here. 

Winners: The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley), Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz

AEW Women’s World Championship — Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Serena Deeb

This will be a good match and Deeb will make a great AEW Women’s Champion… someday. It won’t be today though. Rosa has been built too strong and her reign is still fresh and fun. There is no good reason to switch the title right now.

Winner and STILL AEW Women’s Champion: Thunder Rosa

AEW TBS Championship — Jade Cargill (c) vs. Anna Jay

Read what I said about Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb and just switch the names around and it’s the same thing here. There’s no good reason to switch the title right now.

Winner and STILL AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill

Hookhausen vs. Tony Nese & Mark Sterling

Look for Danhausen to take a beating from Tony Nese. Look for the arrogant Mark Sterling to tag in to continue the SlaughterHausen. Look for a hot tag as they Send Hook. Hook decimates Sterling and gets an easy pin. Nese is flustered and frustrated, Hook is bored, and Sterling gets cursed. And there you go.

Winners: Hookhausen

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Ruby Soho (Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals)

And finally, we have a Women’s match with two women who can actually wrestle. I’m not saying that the other women on the show can’t wrestle. Serena Deeb most certainly can. But for the AEW Women’s Roster, in terms of in-ring ability and lack of gaffes, you have Britt, Ruby, Serena, and Rosa, and then you have the rest of the girls. There is a lot of potentials there, but for a sharp, crisp, high-quality match, the ladies that can pull it off in AEW are few and far between. These ladies can definitely do it though. And this match could easily go either way. It’s a tough call, but I’ll go with the gut on this one. It’s Ruby’s time to shine. A loss won’t hurt Britt, but Ruby has waited long enough. She’s taking that trophy home.

Winner: Ruby Soho

Darby Allin vs. Kyle O’Reilly.

It’ll be interesting to see what Darby does without his dad, Sting, at ringside for this match. How does this man even walk anymore? And now, the face-painted, skateboard guy is taking on Kyle O’Reilly. This will probably be a good fight and I have no doubt we’ll see several “holy shit” moments that will be making my back and neck hurt. As for who wins, let’s go with the obvious.

Winner: Darby Allin

AEW TNT Champion Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page & Paige Van Zant vs. Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti & Kazarian.

And a six-man tag to make sure the fans are happy and all the talents, besides Fuego or the Dark Order, get a spot on the show. This one is easy to call. Sammy & Tay are in the process of going full heel. This is Van Zant’s first AEW PPV match so she shouldn’t lose, especially when teamed with the current TNT Champion. So here’s the call. Sammy & Tay are more interested in each other than the match and walk out on their partner, Kazarian. He fights valiantly, but the numbers are too much and Sky, Page, and Van Zant score the win. Simple booking 101.

Winners: AEW TNT Champion Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page, and Paige Van Zant. 

And there you go. So what do you think? Am I right with my predictions or have I been sipping on the adult beverages too much? Let me know what you think, along with any other thoughts, comments, or questions, in the comments box or at my e-mail of Doug28352@yahoo.com. And with that, I’m out of here, my friends. Enjoy the show this weekend and thanks for reading this. Until the next time, take care and be good. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!