In today’s episode of Being the Elite, two new matches were announced for All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing event, which will air live from Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24th. Given the aforementioned video’s title, “Tag Team Action,” the announced matches are fitting. AEW Executive Vice President Kenny Omega announced a six-woman tag team that will feature the promotion’s joshi puroresu talent at Double or Nothing.
In this match, Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, and Emi Sakura will team up to take on Hikaru Shida, Riho Abe, and Ryo Mizunami. It’s worth noting that, at the time of this publication, only Kong, Sakazaki, and Shida are officially under contract with AEW. Abe will work with AEW under a five-show commitment.
https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1127989473562759175
Later in the episode, The Young Bucks spoke with Trent Beretta regarding an extortion plot manufactured by Berretta and his tag team partner, Chuck Taylor, collectively known as Best Friends. Originally slated to be part of the pre-show Casino Battle Royale, where the winner would receive an eventual AEW World Championship match, Best Friends were moved into a tag team match against recent AEW signees Los Gueros del Cielo, Angelico and Jack Evans.
Here is the current for Double or Nothing:
Pre-Show: Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara
Pre-Show: 21-Man Casino Battle Royale (Winner receives an AEW World Championship match)
Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho, and Ryo Mizunami
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) vs. Los Gueros del Cielo (Angelico and Jack Evans)
SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky) vs. Strong Hearts (Cima, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman)
Dr. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. PAC
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) vs. The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix) (AAA World Tag Team Championship)
Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
https://twitter.com/shidahikaru/status/1128002811168296960
Sutter’s Synopsis: With these new announcements, excitement for AEW Double or Nothing grows. While the idea of a six-person tag team match may not be exciting on paper, especially for those that watch WWE programming on a regular basis, this can be a thrilling showcase in practice. One of the reasons for this is that it provides the six joshi competitors with a platform to shine. It may also indicate, to viewers, AEW’s top women’s wrestlers moving forward.
As far as the announcement of Best Friends vs. Angelico and Evans is concerned, I am in strong support of this change. AEW’s tag team division, in my opinion, is one of the promotion’s bright spots, so it would make sense to showcase its collective talent as much as possible. It will be interesting to see the comedic antics of Berretta and Taylor gel with the high-flying lucha-based style of Angelico and Evans. This has the makings of the show’s sleeper hit.
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