Wrestling had a massive doubleheader over the weekend.
On Saturday, WWE held Saturday Night’s Main Event, featuring among other things, three title matches. After that, AEW held Double or Nothing on Sunday, its WrestleMania equivalent with multiple title matches and the beginning of the Owen Hart Tournament.
Here are four lessons to be learned from both events…
The Street Profits hit a snag in their return on Saturday, failing to wrest the World Tag Team Championships from The Vision’s Austin Theory and Logan Paul. With that, the former three-time champions may have just been consigned to being jobbers to the stars.
Separating the two is also another possible creative path, but it may prove more disastrous. Montez Ford may be safe, given that he is married to Bianca Belair, but Angelo Dawkins does not have the privilege. They need only look at the example of Heavy Machinery: After turning heel on Otis, Tucker floundered, was released, and is now retired.
Thekla’s iron grip on the AEW Women’s World Championship continues.
On Sunday, Austria’s “Toxic Spider” overcame former titleholders Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, and Hikaru Shida for her sixth defense. This leaves AEW in a bind: with most of the elite either hurt, coming off a loss, or preoccupied elsewhere, who can conceivably challenger her?
Fortunately, Tony Khan need not look further than Mercedes Mone. The former TBS Champion has not been seen in nearly five months, but with Willow Nightingale out of the Owen with a shoulder injury, the call is in. “The CEO” is revealed to be the wildcard and has her redemption tour.
In hindsight, Jade Cargill should have retained the WWE Women’s Champion at WrestleMania 42. It would have allowed for more and fresher matchups against the multitude of faces that populate SmackDown’s women’s division.
One of said faces who could have put over Cargill during this reign is Charlotte Flair. Alas, Rhea Ripley is champion again, and it is clear that she will retain in Rome.
After that, WWE needs to pull the trigger. Have Flair attack the champion out of jealousy. Alexa Bliss is now caught in the crossfire of a feud between two women she tagged with on Saturday. Does she continue siding with Flair, or does she absolve herself of this mess and become her own woman once again?
Darby Allin’s momentous AEW World Championship reign that saw him defend the belt weekly is over. In Sunday’s main event, MJF defeated him to both regain the title and keep his hair.
The match itself was a high-drama spectacle, but the fallout is just as important. After the match, Kevin Knight came to chase away MJF… only to betray Allin with a twisting frog splash while the former king was on a stretcher.
Thus begins a very personal chapter in Allin’s career. An erstwhile friend and ally has now turned against him, and that is not to mention the Owen’s winner leapfrogging him in the championship hierarchy. If he wants to regain the title, he will have to earn it the hard way…
Wrestling’s May ends with Clash in Italy, and it is very stacked.
Four titles are on the line, including Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu in Tribal Combat. The one match that has surprised fans the most, however, is Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar Two. Many had believed that Lesnar had retired after losing to Femi at WrestleMania 42, but here he is again, wreaking havoc.
As for AEW, its next big event is Forbidden Door – the annual crossover that will also feature NJPW, CMLL, and Stardom. Get the fantasy bookings ready for that one…
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