Adam Cole becomes the first ever Owen Hart Foundation men's champion at AEW Double or Nothing
Adam Cole bested ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe to become the inaugural winner of the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament at Double or Nothing 2022.
Cole advanced to the final round by beating Tomohiro Ishii in the qualifiers, Dax Harwood in the quarterfinals, and Jeff Hardy in the semifinals. Joe, meanwhile, defeated Max Caster in the qualifiers, Johnny Elite in the quarterfinals, and Kyle O'Reilly in the semifinals to punch his ticket to the finals.
The Samoan Submission Machine came out firing with a flurry of chops and right hands to The Panama City Playboy. However, Cole gained an advantage when he made Joe's injured arm his focal point of attack, starting with an enziguiri kick.
.@adamcolepro looking to neutralize the size disadvantage in this matchup! Order #AEWDoN NOW on @BleacherReport & Internationally on @FiteTV / PPV.com https://t.co/9UGv0Z4CJz
During the match, Joe tried to hit a powerbomb on Cole but collapsed due to the severity of his injury. The Undisputed Elite leader tried to lower The Boom but the powerhouse Samoa Joe countered with a powerslam.
In the waning moments of the match, Bobby Fish stormed to the ring to distract Joe by attacking his injured arm. Despite the interference, Joe locked his sleeper hold onto Adam Cole, but Fish interjected himself once again.
.@adamcolepro just dropped The Boom on @SamoaJoe! Order #AEWDoN NOW on @BleacherReport & Internationally on @FiteTV / PPV.com https://t.co/BYD2h5LAQQ
In the end, The Panama City Playboy finally capitalized on all the distractions by hitting a flurry of superkicks. He would finish the match by nailing The Boom to the back of the head of the Samoan Submission Machine to seal the deal.
After all that's transpired, it will be interesting to see what's next for Adam Cole. Meanwhile, Samoa Joe's injured arm has been battered. Although they refrained from attacking him tonight, it remains to be seen if Joe will continue his rivalry with Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh.