Welcome to another edition of AEW Heat Index, wherein we discuss the interest level for the various feuds heading into the pay-per-view events. This time around, we’re focusing on Double or Nothing 2020 coming this Sunday night.
The way this works is a gauge range of Scorching, Hot, Lukewarm, Temperate, Chilly, Cold and Freezing. The hotter, the better, as that indicates your level of excitement, anticipation and faith that it will be good.
Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section to let everyone know what your thermometer reads for each feud as I tell you what my thoughts are below!
Without further ado, let’s get started!
AEW World Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Brodie Lee = Hot
I have a feeling this match will be better in theory than it is in practice, or it will be far better than I could have imagined. It’s one or the other. I don’t think it’ll just be a regular match with nothing to talk about.
On the positive side of things, these guys always felt like they had more to offer than what WWE gave them room to work with. Now, it’s on them to prove that was the case and tear the house down. We might be in for some crazy stuff.
But this isn’t a No Disqualification match, which is Moxley’s bread and butter. Of course, he can still wrestle a standard match, but that makes me slightly less hyped for it (which is why this isn’t Scorching). If this feud was stronger, too, I might bump it up.
I’m leaning more on the side of this being good, rather than disappointing, though. I’m looking forward to it.
Prediction: Jon Moxley wins.
AEW Women’s World Championship No DQ Match: Nyla Rose (c) vs. Hikaru Shida = Temperate
By and large, I haven’t enjoyed much of the women’s division AEW has had to offer in the past year. I can’t honestly tell you a single match that I would want to go back and rewatch.
Nyla Rose has a long way to go until I’m putting her in the same level as someone like Charlotte Flair or Asuka. Hikaru Shida is on the better side, but still not a big draw for me in the grand scheme of things.
Thankfully, this is No DQ. That is likely to help this out quite a bit and bumped this up from Chilly to Temperate. I’m also curious if there will be a title change, as I can see Shida being the transition to Britt Baker for All Out.
Prediction: Hikaru Shida wins.
AEW TNT Championship Match: Cody vs. Lance Archer = Hot
Lance Archer has always been a curious performer for me. Going back years and years ago, I thought he had something that I couldn’t put my finger on, and wished he had had a better run in WWE.
I hope he and Cody steal the show. The better this is, the more valuable the TNT Championship will be going forward.
Part of the reason I’m Hot about this is that I’m just curious what the design of the belt will be, too. It may be awful, but it could be pretty damn cool. Hopefully, it’s better than the women’s title, for my personal tastes.
I want Cody to win this and I’ll probably like the match/segment more if that happens, but I wouldn’t be opposed to Archer taking the win, either. This is almost win-win.
Prediction: Cody wins.
Casino Ladder Match = Scorching
It’s not going to be Colt Cabana, Frankie Kazarian, Kip Sabian, Luchasaurus, Orange Cassidy or Rey Fenix. That leaves Darby Allin, Scorpio Sky and the mystery person.
Naturally, part of why I’m more excited about this match than most is because I’m curious who that mystery competitor will be. Is it going to be Drew Gulak, Zack Ryder, Heath Slater, or anyone else who recently left WWE? Will it be a legend? Is this a debuting indie person who I have never seen in my life?
But another reason I’m excited about this is just because it’s a ladder match. They’re typically some of the most fun matches on any card in any promotion.
Plus, I’m curious to see how AEW works their Money in the Bank copycat idea. Will they follow WWE’s rules of a cash-in happening at any time, or will it be something else? And how will the big poker chip thing work out? Stupid or cool? Curious.
Prediction: The mystery competitor or Scorpio Sky wins.
Stadium Stampede Match: The Elite vs. The Inner Circle = Scorching
This match may be the best overall in terms of pure entertainment. There will probably be some dangerous spots, some comedic moments and some quality storytelling with the characters.
Calling it a Stadium Stampede match is a little lame, but it also makes sense. Personally, I always thought the “stampede” term was hokey, but if you’ve got a bunch of people running around like bulls crashing into things, I totally get it. It works well for this.
As far as the winner goes, I’m giving it to The Elite. The Inner Circle won the last fight and if The Elite wins this, they can settle the score in the Blood & Guts match down the line.
Prediction: The Elite wins.
MJF vs. Jungle Boy = Lukewarm
I have a feeling I’m going to end up saying this was better than it had any right to be. Then again, maybe I’m giving them a bit more credit than I should. Instead, maybe I should go into this just thinking it’s a filler match to give MJF a win and nothing more.
Of course, that’s still true. It’s not Jungle Boy’s match to win. It’s MJF’s to lose, and he won’t be doing that.
But even if that’s the case, I think they’ll put on a show worth checking out.
Prediction: MJF wins.
Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander = Freezing
As mentioned above, the women’s division hasn’t been wowing me. If Shida, the #1 ranked in the division, facing the champion doesn’t do it for me, why would Baker against Statlander in a do-nothing non-feud move the needle any more?
Baker’s hit-or-miss. She can be great or really flimsy. Statlander is interesting, but I’m still pretty meh.
What really hurts this, as far as my anticipation level on this Heat Index, is that this was by no means any bit of a feud. They just basically put this together and added some animosity at the last second. That’s not much for me to sink my teeth into.
Prediction: Britt Baker wins.
[Buy In] No. 1 Contender’s Match: Private Party vs. Best Friends = Temperate
Will it be fun? Sure. But will I inevitably get annoyed at the girly shrieks that will happen far too often in the match from Private Party? Definitely.
Two thumbs up for Best Friends and one thumb up for Private Party, generally speaking. They can have some entertaining matches as far as pure in-ring AEW-style flippy superkick stuff goes. But maybe I want something with a little more depth to it than that, sometimes.
At least this is for a No. 1 contender’s spot. That gives it substantial weight and more value than just eating up time on the pre-show and bumps it up from being a Chilly rating.
Prediction: Best Friends win.
Those are my thoughts, but how do you feel about these particular feuds? What’s hot and what’s cold in your mind? Fill us in on your point of view in the comments below!
