Double or Nothing was a win, aside from the cardiac arrest in the ring
Look, professional wrestling is a beautiful disaster waiting to happen 365 days a year. We all had our hearts in our throats during the recent scare involving QT Marshall at Double or Nothing this past weekend. Watching someone take a bump that looks like a glitch in the matrix is never fun.
Reports indicate that QT Marshall is expected to avoid missing any significant ring time. While the fall looked like it could have sent him into early retirement, he seems to have escaped the worst-case scenario. It is a relief, mostly because seeing a guy like QT go down to a freak accident isn't how anyone wants to see a card end.
The booking fallout is where the real heat sits
Now that the dust has settled on a show that was reportedly a massive commercial success on pay-per-view, we need to focus on what actually matters—the storytelling. The Double or Nothing fallout is already feeling miles deep. We have Knight turning on his allies, Fletcher making choices that definitely won't end well, and Takeshita finally getting that big push everyone said he needed.
Takeshita winning feels like the culmination of a year-long project. If they mess up his trajectory between now and July, someone in the booking room needs to be sat down for a very long talk. And let's be honest, the Owen Hart Cup tournament announcement has people buzzing, which is exactly what we need to distract us from the fact that Montreal is going to be a absolute sweatbox at Redemption on July 26.
MJF and the line of people trying to kill his momentum
The MJF situation is the most compelling thing in wrestling right now. The guy is essentially running a gauntlet of challengers, and frankly, the booking is brilliant. He's at the center of a vortex where every mid-carder with a grudge is suddenly a main event player.
However, let's stop for a second and address the reality of the situation. Some of these challengers feel like filler to keep the belt warm until a bigger grudge match happens. If they overbook the title hunt and leave MJF fighting guys who have no real chance of taking the strap, the viewers are going to check out faster than a heel who realizes he's trapped in a steel cage.
The road to Redemption
Montreal is going to be the test. The company is leaning hard into the Canadian crowd, assuming they'll carry the energy for the new show, but rely on the crowd too much and the show falls flat. Redemption needs a cohesive narrative, not just a bunch of guys running out to save each other from beatdowns.
We are currently sitting at 58 days until that bell rings in Quebec. That is plenty of time for the writers to either create a masterpiece or turn the entire roster into a chaotic jumble of "who is fighting who and why." I'm leaning toward the latter, but hey, that's why we watch this mess.
QT Marshall appears to have avoided a serious injury scare coming out of AEW Double or Nothing.
Bottom line? The product is hot, the injuries are (thankfully) not permanent, and the roster is deeper than it has any right to be. But if the booking doesn't firm up soon, we're going to see a lot of talent just spinning their wheels. Keep your eyes on those tournament brackets, because that's usually where the subtle mistakes start hiding in plain sight.
