The Nostalgia Main Card - Double Or Nothing 2019

 

Originally published on Tumblr in May 23rd

Que tal, Lucha Fans? Welcome once again to The Lucha Corner, where I bring you mucho wrestling! I'm Francis aka Francisthewitcher.

And today I'm here to introduce you The Nostalgia Main Card, where I talk about the old wrestling events I've watched in the past and what were my impressions. Not only that, since we're just one day away from Double or Nothing 2026, I thought this could be the perfect chance to talk about the first ever Double or Nothing, also known as AEW's first event right after it was founded.

This was also the first time for a long time I came back watching wrestling after I've been distancing myself away from it for a long time. It all started when the only brand I could watch was WWE, but little by little I was starting to feel tired of the product for many plenty of reasons I don't know where to begin. You can ask me some questions in the comments or in the DM, though

Anyway, there was also the time I really tried to check on other promotions like TNA, ROH and NJPW, but none of them could make me feel like I'm really enjoying it, and I still don't know why.

I was about to give up on pro wrestling completely, but then I heard about the event called All In

 

When I looked into that show, I felt something I've never felt in a long time. Excitement. When I looked at the wrestlers I used to watch from other promotions, Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho, Penta, Fenix, even Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, I had a feeling that they were making an important statement.

That they want to save pro wrestling.

At least that's the impression I got. And by the time I saw the news that AEW was officially founded, I started following them to catch up their updates until I saw their first ever wrestliing show's announcement.

And I tell you, I never felt so much excited to watch an upcoming wrestling show that I couldn't stop jumping around LO

So when the day finally came, I watched Double or Nothing... .and that day not I've became a pro wrestling fan once more, I started to love pro wrestling more than ever.

It's really nice to look back the day they brought my passion back, so let's get started!

First things first, there was the Casino Battle Royale at the Buy In, and while still I'm not a fan of battle royales, I found this match pretty fun. Not only that, that was the match where I started to learn more about the wrestlers who just became top stars. Wrestlers like MJF, Hangman Page, Jungle Boy, and Orange Cassidy.

It was also really cool to see some old faces like Tommy Dreamer, Shawn Spears, Glacier and Billy Gunn. But I knew the fun was just getting started.

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The opening match was a singles match between Sammy Guevara and Kip Sabian. I think it was the first time I ever heard about them, though I can't remember if I've seen Sammy Guevara once whether in AAA or Lucha Underground.

Also you can't imagine my surprise when I learned Sammy Guevara was once featured in a Brandon Roger's sketch LOL

Anyway, I found this match pretty good since I always enjoy watching matches with high-flyer talent and I found these two they have such good caliber. I also thought that was a good placement to set the mood for the crowd.

Next came the tag team match with SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky) facing GLEAT's Stronghearts (Cima, El Lindaman and T-Hawk)

 

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I found pretty interesting to watch some talent from another promotion facing another, and while I never heard about SCU, I could've sworn I've seen Frankie Kazarian once back when I used to watch WWE.

Anyway, that was another great match for me, and I think that moment I've seen something new in this tag team match compared to what I've seen in WWE. Like, it was more dynamic, it had more action, more hoops and all that I was so getting into that match. But it also reminded me to the other great tag matches I've seen back when I tried to look into other brands.

One of the fond memories I have watching TNA, was the feud between MCMG and Beer Run. I still remember the times I've watched those matches and I was so enjoying it for the presentation.

So in a way, this match reminded me that I can find some real good wrestling outside the #1 promotion.

So the next match was the triple threat, before it turned out it was a FATAL FOUR WAY, between Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Kylie Rae, and last but not least.... AWESOME KONG!

Yeah, I still remember back when I watched her as Karma in WWE, and I still wish she could've had some great moments not only in WWE, but also in AEW, so it was kind of a heartbreaking to hear her retirement announcement, but I hope she's doing well!

But I digress. I really I liked that match, maybe because I was so happy to see Awesome Kong again and I was so thrilled to see her wrestling again with other women. Sure, I barely knew the others back then, but I found Nyla Rose pretty good since she was kind of the same level as Kong, so it was also entertaining to see two titans clashing each other!

The next match was another tag team match, Best Friends vs Angelico and Jack Evans. You can imagine my surprise when I saw Trent Beretta on the card, and yeah, I knew him back when I watched his debut on WWE and by the time he wound up disappearing, I was like "Where is he?". I don't know if I learned that he was in NJPW, but still, it was great to see him again and wrestling with talented people like Angelico and Jack Evans.

And yeah, I know them both, mostly from AAA and Lucha Underground. And I just wanna say that it's really unfair they didn't get a push when AEW started. I really wish Angelico could at least get a push in ROH because he's so good, and even I find him doing well as a technical wrestler! But that's just me.

That was another a very fun tag match. And while I found Best Friends silly and funny, they definitely surprised me to show how good they are as a tag team.

 

Next was a six-women tag match; Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki and Emi Sakura vs Hikaru Shida, Riho and Ryo Mizunami.

I'm going to be honest, that was my very first time I ever watched a Joshi wrestling and I never heard about these women before. And yet, I still watched the match because I was having fun with this new experience, learning more about the wrestlers I never heard outside of WWE or other promotions, how talented they are, and how much potential they have in AEW.

That's how I became a fan of Yuka, Riho, Emi, Hikaru and Ryo. I wish I could've watch Aja Kong's long career to understand why she's a legend.

So, there's also another thing I want to talk about this match. And yes, I'm talking about the infamous bell ringing at the 2-count. I'm not gonna lie, that moment was a huge screw up by the person who was in charge and I felt like all the mood was suddenly brought down by that mistake. And yeah, the "YOU F($#@! UP!" chant was so hilarious.

Still, I pretended that I didn't hear that and continued to watch to the end. It was still fun despite that messed up mistake.

Now here comes what was the best part of the show.

Cody Rhodes vs Dustin. Brother vs Brother. While my opinion about Cody Rhodes has changed to this day, I can't deny that it was the best goddamn match I ever seen in my life!

Yeah, I also knew Cody and Dustin Rhodes back in WWE and I remember that time I was happy when they've become new WWE tag team champions after defeating The Shield. So after they left, I never knew where they were, I didn't even realized that Cody was in NJPW.

But this match, this match is what made me love pro wrestling again! The drama, the gore, and the heartwarming moment that happened after the match! I was also very surprised that despite the age Dustin Rhodes could still wrestle and I could see that he wrestler like never before, as if his time with WWE was really holding him back!

That was definitely the best match of all time I've ever seen, and the end was so epic that I imagined their father was watching them smiling.

Okay, let's move on shall we? Cause we're still not done yet.

The semi last match was the AAA tag team titles match with The Young Bucks against the Lucha Bros.

And what do I have to say? That was another great tag team match. Clearly the best one in the show.

And like I said, I've watched them both back in AAA, but I remember fondly watching Fenix and Penta back in Lucha Underground, and I was so hyped to see them wrestling at AEW.

I was also surprised that there was an apparent partnership between AEW and AAA, and honestly I had high expectations of how this could turn out. But yeah, that was way back when I didn't know exactly what was happening behind the scenes and what was the AAA's real purpose. It was still good while it lasted to see luchadores like Aereo Star and Laredo Kid in AEW.

Also still love The Young Bucks. And I truly hope Penta and Fenix are doing well.

And last, but not least, the main event.

Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho for the Inagural AEW World's Championship. It was so surreal for me to see Chris Jericho also known as Y2J back in WWE joining AEW, and yeah, I was a big fan of him as I really loved his old theme song. Not only that, to see him facing Kenny Omega after he had a run back in NJPW with Tetsuya Naito, was still unbelievable for me.

The main event not only made their goal clearly of what they wanted to present in their product, they also brought all of the wrestling fans to their feet to watch something they probably forgot to see why we love pro wrestling to begin with.

It was a solid main event to see two top stars going at each other. But let's not forget about how they ended the show with a high note... With the debut of Jon Moxley!

I still remember the moment I jumped around and screamed when I saw Jon Moxley, formely known as Dean Ambrose back in WWE walking through the crowd to attack both Jericho and Kenny Omega. I was also surprised how different he looked compared to his last run in WWE, but I knew it was something that he always wanted to be, an unhinged wrestler LOL

So that was Double Or Nothing 2019! It was still the best thing I ever watched. I still remember how exhilarated I was to watch something fresh and how it helped me a lot after the burnout I had from following wrestling.

CONCLUSION

Like I said in the beginning, this show not only excedeed my expectations, that's how I became a big fan for AEW because without them I wouldn't have started watching wrestling ever again, and to this day, I'm still grateful for what they're doing.

Everyone can't have the same high opinion, I admit it, but that's not gonna change my mind that it was the first time in a long time that I loved pro wrestling once more, and to look at them what they're standing now in just 7 years after they founded, it's still insane how fast and how much they're growing, and I'm hoping they keep at it to show the whole world why they're the best alternative.

Of course, I'm not gonna deny that there are still some aspects they need to fix and address, but I can tell some important changes is gonna happen this Sunday. Maybe it's just me, but I'm so excited for tomorrow and hopefully we'll see some surprises!

I want to thank you all for sparing some time to read this. And for those who had been following me since my first ever post, I thank you for that too.

If you like to share an opinion, you can leave a comment bellow this page. Also it would mean a lot if you follow my blog page, my Twitter and/or my IG

Without anything further ado, this is Francis aka francisthewitcher, wishing you a wonderful day! Hasta la proxima! Y que viva la Lucha Libre y el Pro Wrestling!