AEW Double or Nothing: 5 big mistakes made by All Elite Wrestling
After four months of meticulous preparation and reinforced hoopla, All Elite Wrestling finally rolled out their first big show and the pro wrestling fraternity just can't stop raving about the newest player in town.
AEW, for all intents and purposes, performed beyond expectations with Double or Nothing. It had everything we were promised by Cody Rhodes. Typical indie-inspired wrestling sequences blended with excellent production value may have made it look like a glorified indie spot-fest, however, AEW backed it up with some refreshing booking and highlighted talents who will spearhead the so-called revolution.
The surprise appearances of Bret Hart, DDP and Awesome Kong allowed AEW to trend worldwide, which was the need of the hour for the upstart promotion. Jon Moxley's unhinged invasion was just the cherry on top of the cake.
All the scepticism has evaporated and it has been replaced with a sense of optimism. Could AEW actually give Vince McMahon a run for his money?
They surely can, but despite all the right decisions made at Double or Nothing, there were a few missteps that could have been avoided.
Nothing can be executed perfectly and Double or Nothing had its flaws too. Let's take a look at the mistakes made by AEW at Double or Nothing:
#1. Costly PPV
For someone who is accustomed to spending $9.99 for WWE PPVs every month, shelling out $50 for Double or Nothing was always going to be a big ask. The steep pricing has been criticized in the build-up to the PPV as it could have hampered the overall buy-rate. And it probably did as well.
Being their first major event, AEW would have wanted its product to reach a larger audience but the high-priced PPV was a deterring factor. Patchy free live streams around the world may have forced many fans to buy the PPV during the show, but there were many fans who just waited until they could obtain the event for free after it ended.
Even the $20 set for international viewers was deemed to be costly.
WWE can afford to have their own streaming service as they have an extensive library to warrant a subscription. AEW is still in its infancy and has a long way to go before they can provide a cheaper streaming option.