Even though Darby Allin is a fighting champion, it is reasonable to assume that he will still be holding the AEW World Championship for Double or Nothing on May 24 from Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City. The big question is who will be Allin’s challenger at the PPV.
Odds favor MJF getting his world title rematch after Allin pulled the shocking upset, but I don’t think that is a foregone conclusion just yet. At least not based on story directions for television. Allin wants MJF to put some extra
skin in the game.
On top of that, MJF is engaging in a side feud with Kevin Knight over the TNT Championship this week on Dynamite. If MJF wins the TV gold, then would AEW want him to defend the belt at Double or Nothing? If MJF loses to Knight, he could drop further down the rankings away from world title contention.
The positives for MJF getting his rematch against Allin at Double or Nothing are that it is a matchup worthy of the main event, it has an enticing story to hook the interest of fans, MJF is back home in New York City albeit not on Long Island, and he can regain the glory of being world champion.
The negative for MJF is if AEW wants Allin to have a longer reign than six weeks. Do they risk burning through MJF’s shot this quickly? Forbidden Door is the next PPV on June 28, and then comes All In on August 30. So, perhaps now is the window to get MJF’s opportunity out of the way.
If not MJF at Double of Nothing, then who? Samoa Joe is a quick fix with credibility to challenge Allin. He’s pretty much the only man on the list right now. Brody King is officially next in line with a title bout on Dynamite, so maybe that spins into a larger rematch on PPV. Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega haven’t been on TV in recent weeks, and they have work to do to climb back to the top for a shot. Andrade recently lost to Allin in singles competition. Will Ospreay is preoccupied finding his soul with Jon Moxley. Ricochet is busy beating Chris Jericho every week. Okada and Takeshita are set to collide in their own battle. I suspect that Rush is being pushed right now to get a world title shot on TV.
The official card for Double or Nothing has two matches so far:
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. Adam Copeland & Christian Cage in an I Quit New York Street Fight (If C&C lose, then the team will retire)
- AEW International Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita
No other champions have obvious challengers lining up. Thekla could get more than she bargained for in a triple-threat against the Brawling Birds. CMLL women’s champion could be another candidate to wrestle the Toxic Spider. The rest of the championship bouts are anyone’s guess.
Share your thoughts on the card for Double or Nothing. How would you fill out the lineup? Who do you think will challenge Darby Allin for the AEW World Championship at the PPV? If not MJF, then which challenger excites you the most?
