AEW Double or Nothing was a tale of two shows

AEW Double or Nothing was a tale of two shows. From the Buy-In through the crowing of CM Punk, the show ran for more than five hours. That’s quite a runtime for any type of showcase, especially in professional wrestling. There was a lot on this show that blew fans away, but just as much could be cut to give fans a more concise and memorable show. AEW does several things in professional wrestling well, but this PPV was an example of one way the company could improve.

Double or Noting from matches one through eight felt like a different show from matches nine through thirteen. The first portion of the show felt like what fans see every week on Dynamite and Rampage. In fact, much of that content would have fit better in those spaces. Outside of the MJF versus Wardlow match that was overshadowed by the debacle of the weekend, there wasn’t a lot that felt special about this event. Even the introductions of Athena and Stokely Hathaway felt rushed and a spot was thrown together at the last moment.

The Hardys versus The Young Bucks, House of Black versus Death Triangle, Jade Cargill versus Anna Jay, and American Top Team versus Frankie Kazarian, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti all could have served better on another show and not part of a $49.99 Pay-Per-View.

Things swung 180 degrees when Kyle O’Reilly and Darby Allin stepped into the ring. This match didn’t have much story behind it, at least not enough to be featured on a PPV, but these two men put on a ten-minute clinic. It was the turning point that led to an exceptional match between Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb, one of the best women’s matches in North American wrestling in recent memory. They were followed by an insane car crash of a match, an exceptional tag-team triple threat, and then the “Hangman” Page versus CM Punk main event. Each one of those matches is a Match of the Year candidate for 2022.

Imagine trimming this show from five hours to a little more than two hours. Based on the reaction to the final five matches, fans would still be pleased with the event, perhaps even more so.

This isn’t the first time that AEW has faced this criticism for the run time of its shows. Perhaps the reaction to how the show started and how the show ended creates the opportunity for change in the future because five-hour shows are tough, especially when the five hours of content feels the same as weekly television.