All Elite Wrestling
Double or Nothing 2021
May 30, 2021
Daily’s Place
Jacksonville, Florida

Watch: PPV & FITE (Non-US) 

Meet our Previewers

Steve Case: AEW needs a pay-per-view without disappointment. These shows have been largely good, but have often been overshadowed with a match or a moment that takes all the spotlight and paints the show in a negative light. Looking at this largely gimmick-free show (save Stadium Stampede and battle royal), there’s an opportunity for this promotion to do what it does best, have terrific matches that cap off, continue, or further develop built up stories. As long as there isn’t any stupidity in the Stampede, which they promise there won’t be, this has the chance to be the kind of strong show to push them into and through the summer months. Follow Steve @Coachcase44 for graps, cats, and music. Or don’t, and just delete Twitter entirely. 

Suit Williams: There’s a good chance that by the time you’re reading this, Suit Williams will be in DUUUUUVAL for Double or Nothing weekend. He’s ready to see a show that has a few more matches than he was expecting when he took this preview. Follow his adventures in Jacksonville live on Twitter @SuitWilliams. You can also listen to him on his podcast Smark Sports.

Sean Sedor: Unfortunately, this will be the first AEW PPV that Sean won’t be watching live as it happens (there’s a big NASCAR race going on at the same time), but that won’t stop him from being a part of this preview! You can follow Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994, and you can also check out his YouTube channel (just search his name) as well as his Extreme Warfare Revenge thread on the Be The Booker forums.

Buy-In – NWA Women’s Championship
Serena Deeb vs. Riho

Steve: Well isn’t this a nice little surprise. Remember when people were dragging the AEW women’s division? Haven’t heard from them lately. Deeb has been a big part of that, along with Baker, Rosa, Shida, Velvet, Conti and more the last few months. Deeb has really shined in virtually every chance she gets on television, really cementing her place as one of the best women’s wrestlers in the US. Riho has been scarce, popping up randomly here and there and putting in solid performances. These two had a tremendous match on Dynamite in February, with Riho getting the win. This should be another great match, but I don’t see the NWA champion losing to another AEW wrestler who rarely wrestles in her own promotion. Deeb gets her win back. Prediction: Serena Deeb

Suit: The NWA stinks again, which is unfortunate, but we get a nice match here on the Buy-In. The NWA alliance has really benefited AEW, as it’s gotten them both Thunder Rosa and another title for the expanding women’s division to fight for. Champion Serena Deeb has been a revelation in AEW, staking her claim to being one of the best women in wrestling with a series of excellent TV matches. She had one of those matches with Riho, who got a win over her in the #1 contender’s tournament a few months back. Injury and travel have kept the return match from happening until now, and the show will benefit from it as it should be a really hot opener. Deeb retains. Prediction: Serena Deeb

Sean: This was a late, but welcome, addition to the card. Of course, back in February, Riho defeated Serena Deeb in a great match as part of the first round of the #1 Contender’s Tournament. At the time, there was some speculation as to whether that could set up a rematch with Deeb’s NWA Women’s Title on the line. It took them some time to get there (Riho went back to Japan shortly after Revolution while Deeb was on the shelf with a knee injury), but we’re finally getting that rematch. Again, their first encounter was pretty awesome, so I suspect this rematch will be more of the same. The only other wrinkle that might get added to this match is Deeb’s new mean streak, which was on display during her recent title defense against Red Velvet on Dynamite. She definitely came off as more heelish than she had ever been prior, and that’s something that could really mesh well with an opponent like Riho, who’s excellent in her role as a babyface. In terms of the result, Deeb retaining makes the most sense. With the NWA PPV taking place following weekend (where the winner here will likely be defending the title in a Triple Threat Match against Kamille and Thunder Rosa), I see a title change as unlikely. Plus, Riho did beat Deeb the first time, so it makes all the sense in the world that Deeb will get her win back here. Prediction: Serena Deeb

AEW World Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks © vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston

Steve: You have to think Eddie was in line for an AEW World Title shot against Kenny Omega on television at least until the exploding ring debacle. As cool as that would have been (and still might be down the line), what we got was a tremendous pivot into a Moxley and Eddie tag team that has been a consistent highlight on Dynamite. The Bucks are a great contrast to Mox and Eddie in virtually every way. White-collar versus blue-collar, cocky and arrogant versus humble and driven, run and gun verses Grit-N-Grind. The various attacks and beatdowns between the two teams have made this match feel real hot going into the go-home show. With his new “Wild Thing” music, in front of a full crowd, Mox feels on the verge of becoming a breakthrough star. This match should be tremendous, as most Bucks tag matches are, and is a frontrunner for match of the night. This feels like a pick-em, and honestly, I’d be happy with either team winning. I’ll go with Mox and Eddie. It might not be for a long run, but seeing Eddie Kingston win a major title on pay-per-view in front of a full live crowd will be worth it. The Bucks will be back. Prediction: Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston

Suit: This match has the potential to be the best match of the night. The Young Bucks are the best tag team in the world, and despite the arguments of detractors who spew Cornette talking points and/or haven’t watched a Bucks match in a decade, these two can work an old school southern tag to perfection. Add in Eddie Kingston and his great selling, plus the biggest star in the world in Jon Moxley, and you have a recipe for success. The Bucks have had a great run, but I think the titles change here. Winning the titles here can naturally spin Mox and Kingston away from the Elite and give a ton of fresh matchups in the division. Prediction: Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston

Sean: The reunion of Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston didn’t exactly go according to plan (with the dud of an explosion at the end of Revolution), but they successfully managed to steer the ship back in the right direction. Moxley and Kingston are such a fun duo (especially when it comes to promos), and after securing a number of tag team victories, including over teams from The Elite, they’ve managed to get a title shot against The Young Bucks. While I’m sure this will likely be very different from your typical Young Bucks match, it should still be a very strong tag team bout. I’m very curious to see how these two teams mesh together in a big title match like this. The result could really go either way. Going with The Young Bucks to retain is a very safe pick. That being said, they’ve already had a pretty lengthy reign with the AEW World Tag Team Titles, and they’ve racked up a number of defenses recently on Dynamite. Even if it’s for a brief period, I could see Moxley and Kingston winning the titles here. I’d be curious to see who’d be next in line for The Young Bucks, should they retain, but I think I’ll go with the challengers in this one. Prediction: Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston

Sting & Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page

Steve: In a perfect world, we fast forward through this and just get to the Darby/Page feud this is clearly setting up. I have little to no use for the other two participants here. I get why Sting is on television, and it was cool for a bit when he returned. Outside of the morbid curiosity, I have to see if he can actually go in a non-cinematic match, I don’t need to see him every week. Scorpio Sky is a talented wrestler in a promotion full of them and does nothing to separate himself. He sounds like the same guy he was in Wrestling Society X carrying around high school plaques. All that said, this has been a well-built feud that deserves a big payoff. I don’t think the result is in doubt if you want to make Page and Sky into something formidable. The real intrigue to this match, as I stated before, is can Sting go and how much will he be in the ring. Darby will undoubtedly take most of the punishment because that’s what Darby does, how good Sting looks will probably determine how much he’s used in the ring moving forward. Prediction: Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page

Suit: I wish I could be more excited about this. They’ve built this up pretty well, with Scorpio turning heel on Darby the week after Revolution, teaming with another guy who hates Darby, and eventually being a factor in him losing the TNT Title. It makes sense, but Sky and Page feel ice cold to me. Scorpio Sky ran out of steam after a strong push early in the promotion, and Ethan Page has done nothing of note in his three months in the company. Depending on what the company wants to do, this could be a match that helps get these guys over. Or it could simply be a way to get Sting in a real match and have him and Darby get a nice win on PPV. I’ll say the heels win here and set up a Tag Title match with Mox and Kingston on a hyped episode of Dynamite. Prediction: Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page

Sean: Putting Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky together as a tag team seemed like a very weird decision, and while they still don’t excite me as a pairing, they’re started to gel a little bit more as a duo. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s obvious that the main reason they were put together was to set up this match against Darby Allin and Sting. While this tag team encounter doesn’t exactly excite me on paper, it’s nice to see Sting back in the ring for a normal match. I know there have been some concerns about Sting’s limitations, given his previous injuries, but the formula for this match seems pretty straightforward. Darby and Sting get the early advantage, then the heel team of Page and Sky isolate Darby for a few minutes, and build up to the Sting hot tag, where the heels will bump for him as he runs wild. It’s one of those matches that you can just envision in your head before it even happens. I’m sure it’ll be perfectly fine for its spot on the card, and while I’m picking Darby Allin and Sting to win, I hope that we get at least one Darby Allin/Ethan Page match on Dynamite out of this. Prediction: Darby Allin & Sting

Stadium Stampede Match
The Pinnacle vs. The Inner Circle

Steve: The Blood and Guts match was about ⅔ of one of the better matches I have seen in a while in terms of heat, intensity, and big fight feel. Like many, I thought it lacked down the stretch, even if I still thought it was a great match. This is what they need to avoid here. They’ve promised this to be a no silliness, no-frills brawl. That is exactly what it needs to be all the way through with a decisive and definitive winner. They can’t overthink this and get too cute at the end again. I have faith in them to deliver, as they seem to be more in tune with fan consensus than any promotion in recent memory. It’ll be interesting to see how different this will be from last year’s camp-fest, which worked for the story that was built. How will they make this work on a much more serious level, if in fact, they follow through on that promise? As for the result, I think it’s time the Inner Circle breaks up. The Pinnacle should be pushed hard as the big baddie of AEW, and MJF is ready for that lead role. I would love to see the fallout of this match lead to a series of singles and tag matches between the members, building to a loser leaves AEW match so Jericho can go tour with Fozzy. This would allow Santana & Ortiz to ascend in the tag division, Sammy Guevara to continue to build on his upward momentum, and Hager can go train for another fight in Bellator I guess. Any way it shakes out in the aftermath, I think that MJF and his Pinnacle should stand tall once more. Prediction: The Pinnacle

Suit: Being the big gimmick match of this show, these guys have to come through in a big way. This feud has been pretty bad since the Blood and Guts match. The Inner Circle’s babyface run have been hampered by some of Jericho’s goofier tendencies, and the Pinnacle playing it all straight just hasn’t worked. As for the match itself, I have no doubt it will be heated. The Blood and Guts match was great until it ran out of steam, and the big bump off of the cage took all the attention off of what had been a really good brawl. Now that the restraints of television are out of the way, hopefully, these guys can put together a tighter, more compact version of that match. This is a tough match to predict, as I don’t think they would beat the Inner Circle in two straight major matches. But this does feel like a natural conclusion point for the Inner Circle, with the Pinnacle essentially taking their place as the top heel unit in the promotion. I’ll say they go all the way with the Pinnacle and have them kill off the Inner Circle for good here, but I can easily see this going the other way. Prediction: The Pinnacle

Sean: At last year’s Double Or Nothing, we witnessed the first-ever Stadium Stampede match between The Elite (with Matt Hardy) and The Inner Circle, which was seen by most as a huge success. What really made it work was that it was super entertaining and enjoyable during a time when most of us needed our spirits lifted up, with the COVID shutdowns still an ongoing thing. This version of Stadium Stampede is shaping up to be very different, however, as we’re going to see The Inner Circle take on The Pinnacle, with the stipulation that The Inner Circle must disband if they lose. Now on television, both sides have promised multiple times that there’s going to be no funny business this year, and I really hope they stick to that. This can’t be a comedy match. It just wouldn’t fit at all, given how serious this feud has been. When it comes to the result, I’ve a number of people pick The Pinnacle to win, and honestly….I just don’t see it happening that way. It’s EXTREMELY obvious to me how this is going to play out. The rest of The Pinnacle will, over the course of the match, get taken out one by one, leaving MJF alone with The Inner Circle to get his ass kicked. I’d also be willing to bet money that (given how Blood & Guts ended) the match will end with Jericho shoving MJF off a platform or a balcony to a very obvious crash pad. The Inner Circle is absolutely winning this, and anyone who picks otherwise is wrong (now watch me look like the fool come Sunday if The Pinnacle somehow manages to win). Prediction: The Inner Circle

AEW TNT Championship
Miro © vs. Lance Archer

Steve: BEEF. SLAPPER. Miro’s ascension into the ass-kicker we all knew he can be has been magnificent. He’s been tremendous on the mic and even better in the ring ever since his split with Kip. It all came together beautifully in his win over Darby, in probably the best singles match of his career. Insert another huge ass-kicker in Archer. It’s pretty simple here. Archer wants the TNT Championship and to show he’s the biggest badass on the block. This should be two dudes throwing bombs with high intensity and impact for about 8-10 minutes until someone collapses. Miro is on the run of his career and they need to continue to ride that wave. As much as it stinks to see Archer lose another high-profile match, I just don’t see any reason to beat Miro so quickly. Prediction: Miro

Suit: To quote Big E, this will in fact be two big meaty men slapping meat. Miro has been red hot since Arcade Anarchy, peaking with the excellent TNT Title win over Darby Allin a few weeks ago. Lance Archer has been loosely aligned with Darby and Sting, so he immediately came out to challenge Miro. Some things don’t need a long winding build. Just let the two big violent men be big and violent against each other. My hope is that they just let these guys loose for 10 minutes and have them tear each other apart. I predict a strong first defense for Miro. Prediction: Miro

Sean: A few weeks back, Miro had one of the best matches of his career when he defeated Darby Allin to capture the TNT Title. Ever since Miro dropped the dead weight known as Kip Sabian (following the end of their storyline with the Best Friends), it feels like Miro has been firing on all cylinders. From the aforementioned match with Darby Allin, to his awesome promos (which have featured some incredible one-liners), we’re finally getting to see the Miro that we all knew was there. His reign as TNT Champion has a very early test at this PPV, however, as he has to face off with Lance Archer. This has the potential to be one of the best matches on the entire card. The term “hoss fight” has gotten thrown around a lot the last few years, but this is a match that truly fits that term. This is going to be (to borrow a Big E quote) two big meaty men slappin’ meat, and it’s going to rule. The tricky part about this one is trying to figure out who’s going to win. I don’t think Lance Archer is a guy you should be beating very often, but Miro just won this title a few weeks ago. I’m really torn on this one, but ultimately, I don’t see a reason to take a title off a guy only two or three weeks after he won it. Prediction: Miro

Hangman Adam Page vs. Brian Cage

Steve: I feel like this was either the Christian versus Ricky Starks spot, or a tag match featuring the four before Starks’s neck injury. This is a sensible alternative that still plays into the story of Hangman versus Team Taz. Cage already beat Hangman clean on Dynamite, taking him out of the number one singles wrestler rankings. It’s good to have multiple storylines between wrestlers so when an injury happens there’s an easy pivot. The match these two had on Dynamite was terrific and I expect this to be just as good, if not not better being on pay per view with more time and in front of a likely raucous crowd. This could easily be the opener, since the crowd will likely be 100% behind Hangman. That reaction could be a great influence on the speed of Hangman’s ascent to the top of the card, where he’s destined to be. I think Hangman gets the win back here, and the crowd goes wild. Prediction: Hangman Adam Page

Suit: Like the Big Money match at Revolution, this is a pretty simple match to get the Hangman another win on PPV. He was the #1 contender for the title until Cage got a slightly cheap win over him on TV. They are clearly keeping Page on the back burner, keeping him warmed up until he eventually challenges Omega for the title. The first match these two had was very good, even with Cage taking 90% of it. This has a strong feel of a Sting/Vader type match, and I think these two can pull that match style off in a really compelling way. Page wins here to sow more seeds of dissent in Team Taz. Also, Hook will probably be there too. Let’s get some more HOOK. Prediction: Hangman Page

Sean: I really like the fact that this match has had a pretty straightforward build. Adam Page beat Ricky Starks to solidify his spot in the rankings (the same match where Starks got hurt, so there’s issues between the two sides right there), but then Brian Cage knocked him out of the #1 spot in the rankings after Team Taz jumped him before their match. It’s an undercard bout that doesn’t feel thrown together at all, and that’s pretty cool. I’m expecting this to be a very solid match that will see Hangman get his revenge on FTW Champion. A loss for Cage could also continue the Team Taz dissension storyline that’s simmering since the last PPV. Nothing wrong with a good undercard match that has a story behind it. Prediction: Hangman Adam Page

Casino Battle Royal

Steve: AEW battle royals have been mostly pretty good fun in the past. There is typically a lot of action, several stories developing and starting, and some memorable spots. I’m sure this will be no different. The smart money here is for Christian Cage to win the match and continue towards a big television championship match with Omega. That said, there is one surprise spot in this match. Normally, AEW has announced these kinds of surprises ahead of time to pull in more ppv buys. There are a few HUGE names out there that could potentially be available. This preview posts before Friday’s go-home show. I’m leaning Christian, but if there is any big announcement between now and Friday night, I reserve the right to change my mind. Prediction: Christian Cage

Suit: By putting on two notably good battle royals in the past, AEW has established themselves as one of the best battle royal companies ever. This one is shaping up well, as a lot of midcard feuds are meeting in this one. Picking a winner comes down to process of elimination. You can take out all the Dark Order and Hardy Family Office guys. The Factory and the Nightmare Family guys will take care of themselves. Neither guys in The Acclaimed or the Varsity Blondes are getting a singles title match anytime soon, if ever. That leaves six guys: Christian, Matt Sydal, Hobbs, Penta, The Jungle Boy, and the dreaded mystery man. Of those six, Christian would be the winner with the most build behind him. But I’ll say they hold off on the eventual Christian/Omega match, and instead give the win to Penta. He’s a heel but everyone likes anyway, and I think a hyped Penta/Omega match can do big numbers wherever it’s done. As for the mystery man, I’ll say Satoshi Kojima makes a pit stop in Daily’s Place on his US excursion. Or maybe it’ll be HOOK. Prediction: Penta El Zero M

Sean: As Steve stated above, AEW has done a pretty good job putting together entertaining battle royals. While the Casino Battle Royal in particular was rough around the edges when they first introduced the concept, they’ve made the necessary tweaks since then (primarily giving everyone in their respective group of five their own entrances instead of just sending all five out there at once like a bunch of geeks). In this particular Casino Battle Royal, there a few names who stand out as potential contenders, but the one who stands out as the odds on favorite has to be Christian Cage. It seemed like he would be going for the title straight away, but they cooled off on that a bit, and instead, he’s picked up a couple of wins on Dynamite. The other potential favorite has to be the mystery man. My original guess would’ve been Speedball Mike Bailey, but if the recent rumors of him being WWE bound are true, then he’s out. We know that Satoshi Kojima is in the states, so he would be a nice surprise. Regardless, I still feel that Christian Cage is the safe pick to win here, unless that 21st entrant is a super massive name making their debut. Prediction: Christian Cage

Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo

Steve: I may be on the island here, but I don’t see what a lot of others do in Ogogo when it comes to being a top guy. Great athletic background, good look, solid talker, he’s definitely all that. They are getting over his body punch tremendously. Can he have a good pro wrestling match? I need to see that. He doesn’t need to be great in the ring, but I’m very curious to see how this goes with Cody. Will it be another squash? Will Cody get some offense in or have a competitive match? I tend to believe it will be a short squash sending Cody out on paternity leave. They still have a while before that gets old and people want more, but he’s going to have to show more eventually to reach that upper echelon. I hope he does, because that only gives the card more depth of importance. I remain skeptical. Prediction: Anthony Ogogo

Suit: Cody has been the subject of a lot of ridicule over his American Dream promo a few weeks back. I’m not gonna sit here and try to defend it, since I didn’t think it was that good either, but that promo fits Cody to a T. It’s very extra, and you’re either gonna love it or hate it. I’m personally excited to see the Cody PPV shenanigans make their return with a full crowd, especially as he’s going against Anthony Ogogo, who has yet to have a match of real substance since making the turn with QT Marshall’s unit. Ogogo has real potential to be a star, but no one outside of the company knows if he can work yet. This is going to be one of two things. Either Cody leads Ogogo through his first real match and gets him over in defeat. Or we get Drago/Creed from Rocky IV and have Ogogo kill Cody off for a while. I think the company sees a ton of potential with Ogogo, and Cody is always willing to go all the way to get someone over, so I’ll say Ogogo takes the win here. Prediction: Anthony Ogogo

Sean: While I figured that Anthony Ogogo was probably going to show up on Dynamite at some point, it happened much sooner than I expected, as he joined up with Aaron Solow and Nick Comoroto as part of QT Marshall’s revolt against The Nightmare Family. Everything seemed centered around Marshall at first, but it became apparent pretty quickly that The Factory was more about building up guys like Ogogo and Comoroto, which is cool to see. I had no issues with going in the Cody Rhodes/Anthony Ogogo direction for this PPV. However, the way they’ve built the match has been….rather interesting, to say the least. This quickly turned into a “USA babyface vs. foreign heel” storyline, with Cody cutting a very polarizing promo on Dynamite a few weeks ago. Honestly, I’m way more intrigued by how this match is going to go over this story that they’re telling (to keep it short, the story has just been very awkward and weird). All of Ogogo’s matches thus far have been kept very short, and have built up his punch to the gut as this killer blow. If this bout gets a fair amount of time, then we’re really going to see if Ogogo can go or not. Cody will definitely hold up his end of things, but Ogogo’s performance is what I’ll be paying the most attention to. As for the result, it could really go either way, depending on what’s next. Ogogo could certainly win if the idea is that Cody’s taking some time off. At the same time, it’d be dangerous to count out Cody. I think I’ll go with Cody, just for the sake of being different from Steve. Prediction: Cody Rhodes

AEW Women’s Championship
Hikaru Shida © vs. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.

Steve: Remember a time long ago when Britt Baker was cringe-worthy on television? She seemingly had no confidence and looked to be dead in the water. Then she turned heel. Then COVID happened. Then she had one of the best matches of the COVID warehouse era with Shida where she got the bloody mouth. Then she got hurt, but stayed on television delivering promos and vignettes which helped her find the arrogant brat character she would become. The matches would get better and better. Then she had the best women’s match in company history with Thunder Rosa. The brutality of it and the visuals of Britt’s face covered in blood cemented her as not only one of the top stars of the women’s division, but one of the top stars in the promotion period. Shida has been a great champion, bridging the COVID gap with grace and having strong matches with nearly everyone along the way. It’s good that she will finally be able to defend the championship in front of a full live crowd. That said, it’s Britt’s time. She can be the top female heel in this promotion for years, and if they want to turn her back face, the fans will adore her even more. Prediction: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.

Suit: Hikaru Shida has done an admirable job as Women’s Champion during the pandemic era. She steadied the ship as the women’s side of the roster bared out due to injury and travel issues. She was the best choice for it, as she was the most consistent hand they had over that period. But there’s no need to complicate this. Britt Baker has peaked at just the right time, and with AEW going back on the road in a month, there’s no better time to belt her up. Her in-ring work is matching her overness, and she has a ready-made defense against Thunder Rosa set up from the star-making performance they both had in the Lights Out match. There’s no need to overthink this. Prediction: The Dentist

Sean: Britt Baker has really come a long way since the early days of the promotion when she was a bland babyface with the “I’m a dentist” routine that quickly became annoying. Turning her heel was the best possible decision for all parties involved, as it’s done wonders for her career in AEW. Now she’s getting a title shot against Hikaru Shida, and it feels like one of the biggest women’s matches in the history of AEW, for several reasons. You have the fact that Shida has been champion for over a year now, and has defeated pretty much everyone that’s been put in front of her. Then there’s the fact that this is their first one-on-one encounter since the infamous match from the Norcross, Georgia Dynamite tapings where Shida destroyed Baker’s face. To add onto all of that, they’ve really done a great job of keeping these two separated for such a long period of time (they did have a few multi-person matches right before Baker got that knee injury, but most people barely remember those matches). All of those factors have led us to an AEW Women’s Title bout that’s one of the most highly anticipated matches on this PPV card. I’m sure the match will be very good, and as for the result, it’s hard to argue any result that isn’t Britt Baker winning the title. It’s one of those situations where the timing just feels right to do the title switch. I’m a Hikaru Shida fan, but she’s done everything she could possibly do during this title reign. It’s time for the next step. Prediction: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.

AEW World Championship
Kenny Omega © vs. Orange Cassidy vs. PAC

Steve: The way this match all came together was clunky at best. The rambling Kenny promo before Blood and Guts seemingly telegraphed an Orange Cassidy win, leading to the match with PAC on Dynamite that ended in a double count-out due to Orange getting his bell rung hasn’t been exactly the best build. Kenny has a history with PAC, so that really doesn’t need much more, but shoehorning Orange into this match screams of chasing that full crowd reaction. It’s not a terrible idea, as the crowd will be 100% behind Orange throughout the match. These three are incredible workers, regardless of how or why we are here, this match should be tremendous. It’ll be interesting to see how AEW structures a three-way match, and what tropes rear their ugly heads. In the end, this is really just a placeholder defense for Kenny, as neither PAC nor Orange Cassidy are poised for a title run. Though the end isn’t in doubt, the journey should be an exciting watch. Prediction: Kenny Omega

Suit: The build for this match really suffered when the PAC/Cassidy top contender match couldn’t go the full time. Cassidy got his bell rung, which led to the finish we all saw on TV coming together on the fly. Despite the messy way it came together, this match should rule. Omega and PAC had one of the best matches in this promotion’s history in the Iron Man match last February, and Cassidy has shown that he can hang with top talent in-ring as well. The crowd is going to be well up for this one. The winner isn’t in doubt here. Omega will get a nice little defense in here, as he’s got another few defenses ready for him over the summer. Also, this may be a bit off-topic, but I just want it on the record. Bryan Danielson might show up. I don’t want to get people’s hopes up, but I also don’t want to miss a chance at a giant victory lap on Sunday night. Prediction: Kenny Omega

Sean: One aspect of the build to this Kenny Omega title defense that I’ve actually enjoyed (and I have no idea if this was intentional or not) is the fact that we’ve gotten multiple red herrings, in terms of potential challenge. They teased Adam Page getting a shot by having him reach the top spot in the rankings (before his loss to Brian Cage), while Eddie Kingston was also a name floated out there as a potential challenger (which makes sense, given that he and Moxley are feuding with The Elite). Ultimately, we ended up with this Triple Threat Match….or Three-Way Dance….or what you want to call it (doesn’t matter to me). I know a fair amount of people get really annoyed with Three-Ways. However, my stance on them has been the same for many years. If the competitors involved are all really good wrestlers, then it doesn’t bother me as much, because we all know that those three guys are (more likely than not) going to have a kickass match with a lot of action. While the build to this was, to say the least, bumpy (though that’s not really on AEW or the two guys who were involved in that match a few weeks back), you know these three are all going to want to deliver, especially in front of a full, live crowd in Daily’s Place. The outcome is a foregone conclusion, but I have no doubt that this three-way will be an exciting one. Omega and PAC are two of the best wrestlers in the world, and Orange Cassidy has proven plenty of times that he can turn it up when the time calls for it. Prediction: Kenny Omega