Before I go on about the main event, a BIG shoutout to Athena for winning the women’s Casino Gauntlet match, she gets my honorary fourth loved of the night (it was a near 8 hour show including Zero Hour, I’m allowed). Now, the Texas Death Match, good grief what a match.

A lot was riding on this match sticking the landing after the run of good form AEW had been on leading up to this show. Closing out pay-per-views with downer endings was something AEW looked to have mastered with All Out being harrowing, and WrestleDream being downright gruesome, but a lack of follow-up on the Death Riders storyline, combined with uninspired opponents and lack of knowing what the audience truly wanted caused Full Gear and Worlds End to fall flat, Revolution to be tarnished, and Dynasty to be downright hated by some corners of the wrestling fandom. However, Double or Nothing was a home run, and how fitting was it that they hit arguably the biggest home run in company history in a baseball stadium filled with more than 25,000 people?

Because so much was riding on this, the match is probably worth a second viewing just to see if it holds up, because it truly felt like a final showdown between an unstoppable force and immovable object. No matter how much blood he spilled, or how many grizzly instruments of torture he landed on, Jon Moxley bullied his way through this match in spectacular fashion. A true no-nonsense heel who dished out punishment as if every strike and slam was personal. He commanded attention and demanded Hangman Page to bow down to him for how vicious he has become. With that said, nothing was stopping Hangman on this night. Every move he executed caused a ripple effect through the stadium that made people believe, and once it set in that it was actually possible, it seemed like Moxley, a man who has dominated AEW for the better part of nine months, had finally been outmanoeuvred.

Some feared that it would turn into a Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns-style encounter from WrestleMania 40, filled with run-ins and booking that wouldn’t look out of place in an Avengers movie, and to an extent that did happen. The Death Riders were confronted by Will Ospreay, Bryan Danielson, Darby Allin, and most importantly Swerve Strickland, who knew that Page didn’t want his help, but understood that he needed it. The run-ins weren’t too over the top (even though Darby literally got lowered from the ceiling), and if anything, added to the experience.

This match won’t be for everyone. It’s violent, bloody, borderline disgusting at times. After all, Moxley’s head ended up looking like a colander after Hangman was done with that fork. But it’s what AEW has prided itself on, being the alternative that isn’t afraid to make you watch a match through your hands, only to throw them in the air when you have someone like Hangman Page as the AEW World Champion.

Written by Sam Palmer