Tony Khan and AEW hit their one-year mark and their anniversary pay-per-view (in Jacksonville) may have been the best so far.
In the wake of COVID-19, Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling has essentially set up shop at TIAA Bank Field for their most recent shows. That included the wrestling league’s top pay-per-view event, “Double or Nothing,” which was originally supposed to be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Despite the roadblocks, Khan delivered a very entertaining pay-per-view in Jacksonville and a lot of fans feel it provided some of the top wrestling moments of the year — if not for quite some time. Among the best parts of the night was the exposure to the Jaguars’ facility and Khan’s ability to sprinkle some entertaining football elements into the event.
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A majority of the event was held at Daily’s Place where the card featured some solid matches. The first notable match was a “Casino Ladder Match” that featured top names in the industry like Brian “The Machine” Cage, Darby Allin, Joey Janela, Orange Cassidy, Scorpio Sky, and Frankie Kazarian (both of SCU), plus many more. We won’t spoil it (see results here), but just know that when there are ladders involved, high-flying action and brutality are pretty much guaranteed.
Some notable matches that followed included a battle between rising wrestling stars MJF and Jungle Boy and a battle to be the first-ever TNT Champion between Cody Rhodes and Lance Archer (featuring Mike Tyson ringside). The AEW men’s and women’s titles were also up for grabs in two brutal matches that featured Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee and Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose.
Where the connection with Jaguars fans came into play was during the main event, which was a first-ever “Stadium Stampede” matchup between The Elite, their friend Matt Hardy and the Inner Circle. The match involved each respective wrestler brawling around the stadium and throwing down in all of the spots that Jags fans would be familiar with, including the field itself.
The match had it all from Adam Page chasing Sammy Guevara on a horse, to Page and Kenny Omega fighting Jake Hager in the east club bar. As we previously reported, Jaxson De Ville also made a cameo and was laid out by wrestling legend Chris Jericho in the process.
In a time where many are at home practicing social distancing, Khan delivered the world with some quality entertainment — and the presence of the Jags franchise during AEW’s highly anticipated event at the home of the team (and one of Duval’s most iconic landmarks) was definitely an added bonus.
