Mike Tyson presented Cody with the TNT Championship
Credit: AEW
AEW Double or Nothing offered a very long show with its own share of ups and downs as Cody captured his first AEW championship while The Elite prevailed in a very entertaining Stadium Stampede.
Jon Moxley retained the AEW World Championship in the marathon show, while Hikaru Shida defeated Nyla Rose less than 24 hours after the passing of fellow Japanese wrestler Hana Kimura.
Wednesday’s broadcast of AEW Dynamite garnered 701,000 viewers compared to 592,000 to WWE NXT.
AEW Dynamite Viewership, Last Five Weeks
- May 20, 2020—701,000
- May 13, 2020—654,000
- May 6, 2020—732,000
- April 29, 2020—693,000
- April 22, 2020—731,000
AEW Dynamite Key Competition
- Mainstream news coverage of the Coronavirus
AEW Dynamite YouTube Viewership
1,728,152 (Down from 2,647,797 views)
- Most-Viewed: JON MOXLEY SAID HE WOULD BREAK IT AND HE DID (604,264 views)
- Least-Viewed: DOES SHIDA HOLD THE ADVANTAGE OVER THE CHAMPION NYLA ROSE? (49,579 views)
- Median Viewership: 152,428
AEW Double or Nothing Results: Sunday, May 23, 2020
Best Friends def. Private Party (AEW Buy-In)
This match was filled with errors, and thankfully one of them wasn’t the recreating of the exact same spot where Nyla Rose was injured.
There will be better days, better matches and bigger stages for both of these teams.
Brian Cage Wins Casino Ladder Match
The pre-match vignettes made me realize that Orange Cassidy could talk, and he’s still just as hilarious.
This match featured the rare back-to-back entrances with identical theme music.
AEW’s red ladders will eventually become an iconic part of pro wrestling lore.
Darby Allin diving with a skateboard through a ladder was exceptionally creative.
Years ago on Twitter I pitched Orange Cassidy enter the Royal Rumble at No. 1 and doesn’t get to the ring until after the winner thinks he’s victorious 1 hour later. I’ll settle for him taking 2 minutes in the Casino Ladder Match.
After Wednesday’s mishap with Fenix, it was encouraging to see Scorpio catch Orange Cassidy.
AEW’s tiny red ladders could be be a (potentially dangerous) hit with children.
AEW has quickly mastered the art of wrestling managers and I love to see it.
MJF def. Jungle Boy
There was a surprising amount of crotch pointing to start this match.
The announcers were sure to repeatedly point out the fact that MJF has ever been pinned or submitted in AEW. Sounds like he’s being set up for a world title shot.
Jim Ross did an excellent job of calling this match like it was an athletic competition, boosting the credibility of both wrestlers.
This match was so great and these guys are so young it’s not even fair.
Cody def. Lance Archer—TNT Championship Final
Lance Archer’s entrance remains the best I wrestling, and Mike Tyson’s reaction confirms it.
WWE had to be furious seeing all these fans in the crowd in the era of social distancing.
The lowlight if this otherwise solid match came when AEW inexplicably cut to Mike Tyson yawning.
Cody won, which was fine if not also the wrong decision.
Kris Statlander def. Penelope Ford
This match was essentially designed to sell the effects of the Casino Ladder Match
Vickie Guerrero is also a Hall of Fame heckler.
Dustin Rhodes def. Shawn Spears
Pineapple Pete might be the only person who likes Shawn Spears’ music more than I do.
Shawn Spears is a better worker in garters and boxer briefs than half this business is in full gear.
Hikaru Shida def. Nyla Rose—AEW Women’s World Championship
Nyla Rose gets better every time I see her.
Like Kenny Omega doing the Trigger, I’ll never get tired of watching Hikaru Shida do the running knee strike.
Jon Moxley def. Brodie Lee-AEW World Championship
AEW knew Moxley-Lee wasn’t good enough to close this show, so they saved face by referring to it as part of a Double Main Event.
I wonder who Vince McMahon is cheering for among these two. Between Moxley’s post-WWE comments and Lee’s mockery, it must be a “lesser of two evils” scenario for The WWE Chairman.
Jon Moxley looks as unnatural in shoulder pads as Jay Leno does in a hammer lock.
AEW spent the evening patting itself on the back for its COVID-19 testing, then proceeded to okay a spot where Moxley bit a bloodied Lee.
The Elite Wins The Stadium Stampede
Santana and Ortiz selecting No. 50 and 51 was adorable.
The Inner Circle coming out in matching jerseys compared to The Elite having no jerseys helped further the central storyline of dissension within The Elite.
Jake Hager looks like more of an NFL player in his jersey than most of the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Sammy Guevara is quickly developing into the premiere crash-test dummy in AEW.
Fresh off a rib injury, Matt Jackson was the last person in this match who should have gone anywhere near a ladder or a goalpost.
The various Matt Hardy incarnations were hilarious, but not to be outdone, Ortiz insisting “he’s dead!” after they attempted to drown him was equally hilarious.
I’d love to see the outtakes for some of these high-degree-of-difficulty spots because there’s no way they nailed them all in one take.
This match made me realize pro wrestling needs to incorporate more NFL rules.
Source: Forbes Business
