This past Sunday night the years-long war between AEW and WWE NXT wrote its latest chapter as Double or Nothing went head-to-head with Battleground. Both shows were largely met with praise from fans and notably featured the top young talent from each promotion in the main event picture.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman was once again successful in defending his AEW World Heavyweight Championship, this time fending off Jack Perry, Sammy Guevara, and Darby Allin. During the match, there was a top rope spot that seemed to go awry, and some were concerned that MJF may have injured his forearm. PWInsider.com is reporting that Friedman is fine, nothing is broken and he is not expected to miss any ring time.
The same cannot be said for former AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter who Fightful is reporting is legitimately injured, and there were concerns that she would not be able to work the PPV. For that reason, the match between Hayter and Toni Storm was kept short, with Storm regaining the championship in a match that lasted a little more than three minutes.
Kris Statlander made her own news at AEW Double or Nothing, defeating Jade Cargill in a surprise match in less than a minute. Unlike the other stars in this report, Statlander was returning from injury and looks to have the rocket strapped to her back. Fightful is reporting that the title change has been planned for several weeks, with Statlander already on the road with AEW and practicing in the ring before Dynamite. Jade Cargill is now expected to take some time off, possibly imminently, and will likely return with a change in personality.
It was also noted that many talents enjoyed playing the new AEW: Fight Forever video game backstage, and morale was good with a largely laid-back vibe. New AEW PR executive Adam Hopkins led a talent meeting the afternoon before the PPV and went over best practices for dealing with the press. Things like ensuring who you are talking to know what “off the record” means was an example of something discussed.