When we last left All Elite Wrestling, we were treated to numerous surprises. This included the announcement of All Elite Wrestling’s next event, Double or Nothing. There were many questions that were still left unanswered, and at the ticket announcement party we got some answers.
New Additions to the AEW Roster
We had a hand full of exciting announcements revealed. The night started off with the introduction of Sonny Kiss. Fans of Lucha Underground will be familiar with Kiss, who went by the name of XO Lishus. He was singled out by Brandi Rhodes, who also signed him.
The Young Bucks were out to say they wanted to make the AEW tag team division the best division in professional wrestling, and they then introduced Best Friends. Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta have been tagging regularly since 2013. They most recently had been mainstays in New Japan Pro Wrestling, but just recently became free agents. Best Friends have a combined thirty-two years experience between them, and they will be an excellent addition to this growing tag team division.
If that wasn’t enough, The Young Bucks took the stage once again. Only to be interrupted by the Lucha Bros. Things went south from there, as Pentagon Jr. and Fenix attacked the executive vice presidents. They then accepted The Young Bucks challenge for Double or Nothing.
The Foundation of The Women’s Division
Brandi Rhodes was up next, and she announced that at Double Or Nothing, Yuka Sakazaki and the legendary Aja Kong will compete. While it is disappointing that they’re only being advertised as having a match at the upcoming event, their involvement in AEW could be promising. Brandi wasn’t done making announcements, as she introduced Kylie Rae. Rae trained at Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling, and has been tearing it up in the independent scene. Brandi’s next singing came in the form of Washington, D.C. native Nyla Rose. I personally don’t know much about Rose, but with a nickname like “The American Kaiju” you can tell she means business.
While the AEW Women’s Division doesn’t have the “big splash”, the foundation they’re building is solid and has the potential to make new stars.
The biggest announcement of the night came in the form of Kenny Omega taking the stage. Obviously this has been a rumor for a long while, and it was finally confirmed that Omega is AEW through and through. He stated that he is excited to show the fans exactly what “change the world” means through All Elite Wrestling. He also confirmed that he did not sign his contract with AEW until early on Thursday morning. Chris Jericho, not wanting to share the spotlight, interrupted Omega and the two had a pull apart. For sure setting up Jericho/Omega II for Double Or Nothing.
Partnership With AAA
“The truth is we are very excited, I know that you are going to change the world of wrestling. While we could not attend [today] we are very happy to make this announcement with you that AAA Lucha Libra Worldwide and All Elite Wrestling come together in a new alliance that will present new surprises to the fans, exchange of talent, surprise people, and well, all the surprises that we have this year.”
– AAA’s Dorian Roldan
AEW had announced via their twitter earlier about a hour before the press conference that they had entered a partnership with AAA. This is a huge deal for AEW, as they now have access to wrestlers from Mexico’s biggest promotion. With a talent exchange being brought up, we could see a series of dream matches that might not have been possible before. With AEW’s partnership with OWE already in place, they’re looking to branch out across the world sooner than later. AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Sammy Guevara was introduced during the press conference, to confirm his involvement at Double Or Nothing.
What Was Missing?
Personally, I’m still waiting for the announcement of their television deal. They have the building blocks for success already in place, and the money to back them up. For AEW to be competitive with WWE, they’ll need that television deal in place. I’m sure they’re working on it, and we will have to be patient.
The only other thing is that “big splash” in the women’s division. As I said before the foundation of the division is there, but it doesn’t have that big Kenny Omega-like signing.
Besides these two things, AEW is the hottest thing going today. The pre-sale for tickets will begin Monday, February 11 at noon ET. The pre-sale access codes have already hit over 12,000. Two events in, and AEW is the hottest wrestling promotion on the planet.
