Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. CIMA, El Lindaman & T-Hawk

[7.0] "Good opener, lots of moving parts here and some nice action and showcased both teams pretty well. Forgot how good SCU was at this point"

[3.0] "The match overstayed it's welcome and that drags it down, but it has solid in ring action and CD is the goat as usual. I thought CIMA's team was a real standout."

[7.0] "Really solid opening match for AEWs first PPV. Christopher Daniels still had so much to offer at this point so it's wild that by the end of 2019, Daniels will already be preparing to wrap it up."

[7.0] "I really enjoyed this opening match. STRONGHEARTS are a great team as are SCU. The teamwork on display was mostly unique and felt quick and athletic. This is obviously something AEW becomes known for. I appreciated the explanation of STRONGHEART's origins at the start and the fact that in AEW tag team wrestling partners can stay in the ring up to a ten count. Nothing felt wasted in this match and everyone together well."

[8.0] "I really loved this match. Both team had an insane synergy and delivered a match without any sloppy moment, not too long, not too short. This is what I call a great match."

[7.0] "Great opener. I usually struggle with 6-man tags like this but there was a lot of talent here and they really pulled this off with lots of great spots. OWE guys looked great which was the main point of this match I feel."

[7.0] "This match was a ton of fun to watch. This is all I've seen from Cima, T Hawk, and El Lindaman, but they seem to know how to put on a good match. SCU is an interesting group to me and I think it could have been a lot better than it was. A good opener to start the show and an enjoyable six man tag. ***.75"

[7.0] "Watching this back in 2026, as part of my new youtube series: This was a really good showing for the trio from OWE. The outcome was never really in doubt, but it was a great opening match on the PPV"

[7.0] "A truly entertaining match with just the right length. Both wrestlers put on a great performance; I especially loved the pace they maintained for most of the match, which kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time because I never knew what was going to happen next. A great match to kick off AEW's first PPV."

[7.0] "This isn't a classic, historically it's our first AEW match on PPV, but man it was a fun one! Everyone involved delivered a solid match that was highly anticipated in terms of what is going to make AEW stand out, the crowd was hyped and got to have fun and enjoy this."

[7.0] "Good match that was very fast-paced and there were some cool spots in there. I was impressed by Lindaman, who was the least experienced guy in there, but they gave him a lot of offense to make him stand out a bit. Sky was impressive. The finisher from Daniels and Kazarian looked great as well. I would have liked to see the less established OEW guys get the win just to give them a bit of a boost right out of the gate in their AEW careers."

"7.5, Scorpio Sky's athleticism was undeniably impressive, but the true standout of the match was Frankie Kazarian, who was absolutely cooking and delivered the most polished, dynamic offense of the night. The Strong Hearts also looked solid in the ring, showcasing crisp timing and complementing the match's pace with their smooth exchanges. Altogether, the bout had a strong rhythm and highlighted each team's strengths while still making Kazarian's performance feel a level above the rest."

[8.0] "Some great tag team technicality followed by adrenaline-packed action that continued until the very finish. Superb way to open up AEW's first PPV. OWE showcase that had a sick amount of chemistry between the 6 men involved. (****.25)"

[8.0] "Having never watched AEW before and this being the beginning of my watch through this was a fantastic opener. Showcased both technical wrestling early to open followed up with fast paced and hard hitting action. I am always a sucker for multi men matches and this is no different here. 8/10"

[8.0] "Dude this is insane. First AEW branded match ever and it shows everyone exactly what to expect from the company the rest of this show and as a whole. At the time I wasn't big on scu but the more I watch them the more I appreciate them. This match is worth watching it's great. (****)"

[7.0] "STRONGHEARTS were such an awesome part of early AEW, they have always worked so well together and this was no exception. SCU are really good too and this match ended up being a very good opener. 3.5 stars"

[5.0] "Very dynamic and fluid, but the lack of stakes and suspense somewhat detracts from the overall appreciation. Especially given its advantageous placement on the map. I'd rather have seen it as a preshow. In-ring quality: 2.5/4. Stakes: 0.5/2. Justification: 0.25/1. Place on the card: 0.5/1. Suspense: 0.25/1. Bonus/malus: none. Total: 5/10. Match seen on AEW Plus."

[8.0] "**** (08/10) And so, it was born. The birth of A-E-dub. Based on the card's lineup, it appeared that they saved the best for the last half of the inaugural ppv. But the All-Elite era began with these six, and Pro-Wrestling would never be the same again. Though the bigger names were placed in the latter half of Double or Nothing, you could tell just from the aggressive nature in the physicality exchanged between Strong-Hearts and SCU, there was something different about the wrestling we were seeing from the opening debut of AEW. AE-dub! AE-dub! AE-dub! AE-dub! But three cheers to the three warriors from OE-dub, and pulling off a fast-paced opener joined by a series deep with wicked spots that led to SCU finishing off Strong Heart with a Tombstone and Meltzer."

[7.0] "this was a good match i was really impressed by cima as i had never seen him before but a great way to kick off aews first ppv!"

[9.0] "Now, ths is an opener. An absolutely amazing match that's sets a high standard for future AEW matches. Every one of these six men was astonishing. They managed to make a match that was frantic, full of tags and yet made it look easy to follow. I can't imagine how many hours of training and rehearsal they put in to make it so amazing."

[7.0] "The first match in AEW history! A great match overall, I thought it did a good job of getting SCU over. Wish it could've done a little more for STRONGHEARTS."

[8.0] "Cima and CD start out, have a cute arm drag spot. Kaz and T-Hawk come in, Kaz has a nice sequence that's ended with a good hard lariat. T-hawk also has great chops and has a nice big shoulder tackle. Scorpio comes in and hits a great dropkick. SCU does some really good trios shit against el lindaman, Really fun sequence starts off with Cima hitting shins to CD's back off the top rope, then T-hawk hits a dropkick to a running Scorpio Sky, takes out his legs, He chops the shit out of Kaz on the top rope, Cima hits a dynamite double knee to CD, all looks really good. Another great moment where Scorpio gets triple teamed with everything, really fun stuff. Kaz and T-hawk kinda get a little messy on a roll up, but CD does a really nice double stomp into a tope suicida. Scorpio hits an awesome springboard cutter and an awesome tope to the outside, Kaz and CD end it with the BME. Honestly, that was a fantastic match for what it was. There really wasn't enough of a story or enough of stakes going into this to be a 10, and I think what holds it back from being a 9 is that its not fantastic booking, just seeing as so many of these guys are older and 3 of these guys aren't even in your company, but it does represent the quality of match that AEW has come to expect, and i suspect they put them in this spot on the card to have some veteran presence to start off with, to make sure nothing went awry and that they followed through, and that they certainly did. Kudos to all guys because this was super super fun."

[5.0] "Kinda mid opener, it was fine for what it was, but nothing to write home about. Nothing too bad or nothing too memorable, just an opener compared to the Casion Royal in the Buy In, that was an entertaining opener. And also who was supposed to be face and heel? Although I guess SCU was a bit more "heelish" in a way"

[8.0] "I thought this was a pretty good match. We see a lot of very similar trios matches in AEW these days, the crowds just reacted much better back then."

[7.0] "This match was actually a great opener to the start of AEW, it was very fast paced and the crowd was super hot for SCU which was crazy to see. All the guys in the match got plenty of time to shine in this match and set the pace very well for the first ever AEW PPV and kick off the run AEW is going on. Overall a really fun opener that gets looked over too much."

[7.0] "Good way to start off the first PPV of AEW. This was a good six man tag match. All six guys had a decent amount of time in the ring. The pacing was good. Good opener."

[8.0] "This was an incredible match between two very smooth teams. It's amazing how new SCU are to teaming at this point, although Daniels and Kazarian have quite a history. STRONGHEARTS are fantastic. Hopefully, they come back to North America again."

[8.0] "INSANELY fun opener! Lots of cool spots, false finishes, and a good showcase of what aew is while also giving a great spotlight to the wrestlers from gleat. Honestly iy was so dynamic that icouldnt take my eyes out of the screen"

[7.0] "7.2/10: this is my first ever aew match im watching, besides the mjf vs punk match i watched for entertainment some time ago. I could already feel the vibe of aew. If the wrestlers dont make it energetic, the crowd does. The moves were completely unique, and pretty darn good. The scus were the better men, but the stronghearts were really good too, great chemistry and superb in ring stuff, it will surely take me some time to get the hang of aew."

[7.0] "This was a good kickoff match for the show, fun to watch with the fast paced action, the match could have gone either way."

[6.0] "Fun trios match! Nothing to write home about, especially given the kind of output AEW will have in the future. Everyone in this is a pretty good wrestler, and the match showcases that."

[8.0] "This was a great opener for AEW's first show. The action was fast-paced and very fluid with both teams having plenty of offense. There were multiple great exchanges and the chemistry shown by StrongHearts really impressed me. The crowd was involved and actively supported both teams. It probably could have been even better considering the skill of some of the names involved but it served its purpose as an opener perfectly, which was to warm up the crowd and set a good tone/vibe for the rest of the night. ****"

[7.0] "Really solid opening tag team match, not usually a fan of these spotfest tag team matches but the guys involved sold nicely and made everything look fluid and dynamic. Not much in the way of story or psychology, but all the moves made sense and there was nothing too silly."

[7.0] "A very fun opening match for this show and very fitting for the first AEW PPV to open with a trios match. SCU were a great act for early AEW; I wish that it didn't drop off like it does. I really like Stronghearts; that's another act I wish lasted longer in AEW; I assume the pandemic had something to do with that one though. I hope OWE is still a thing, because wrestling expanding into China is a cool thing. SCU get the first win of the actual PPV here in a fun match."

[8.0] "The very first PPV match in AEW history was a banger. Lots of double and triple team moves and nonstop action. This was meant as a showcase for the OWE guys and it definitely got me interested. Great stuff all around. ****"

[10.0] "What a match to inaugurate the first AEW event ever. We got all the ingredients (except psychology) that make a perfect six men tag team match. A gradual intensity, a fast paced second half, various high-flying maneuvers and technical holds well executed, and the most important thing : a great chemistry. Really, I think that this match is a little underestimated."

[8.0] "Great way to kickoff the show: very fun and fast-paced six man tag team match, everyone looked great. The action never slowed down and all the combinated manouvers were great. I was impressed by StrongHearts since it was my first time seeing them but also Scu delivered a great perfomance. 8/10 - 4*/5*"

[7.0] "This was all action and a lot of fun. The crowd was hot for everything and they were able to have a PPV-worthy match and a good one at that. The lack of psychology meant there were some awkward spots and people in the wrong position. The crowd stayed hot, even when the continuous flow of big spots got a bit monotonous. The match finished strongly and it was an impressive showcase for the OWE guys."

[9.0] "A great action-packed opener that opens one of the most historic PPVs of all time, hands down. I don't know exactly why but it entertains so damn well, maybe because of the crowd. As I said great opener"

[8.0] "After another rewatch it doesn't live up to what I had originally rated it in 2020 but still fantastic."

[7.0] "Matches like this make me really miss SCU. They bring such a great energy and flow so well together. Really fun way to open the show, great fast-paced action. ***3/4"

[9.0] "Incredible action-packed opener that had no reason to be this good and that I enjoyed much more than I had imagined, I was obviously expecting something cool given the workers in it and all the positive feedback I've read about this match over the last two years but in the end it was on an another level from what I expected to see. These are six excellent wrestlers who always perform at a good level so it doesn't surprise me anyway, All Elite Wrestling used to love putting SCU in the opener of their shows back in the day because they knew they would heat up the crowd perfectly and it was always a success. The way the wrestlers clicked with each other here was phenomenal, the crowd was completely invested from start to finish and they did so much in those thirteen minutes that I can only recommend it."

[8.0] "This was a great opener, it had consistent hard-hitting action from all men in the match. This was the first PPV AEW match and it is great."

[7.0] "I know he's been in TNA in good shows too, but it's incredible to see Christopher Daniels at almost 50 years old in an event of this caliber. CIMA, likewise, is a legend in Japan for all he did in Dragon Gate. The match was good, I enjoy the exposure of the guys who were in Dragon Gate, I would have loved for them to win"

[8.0] "Awesome fast paced opening. Perfectly placed; doesn't blow the show's load too soon, but gets off with an awesome opener. Never heard of the Stronghearts before but their and SCU's performance had me on my seat; they really wanted to make tag team wrestling great again, and they did. Warm 8."

[7.0] "AEW Double or Nothing's opening match was an enjoyable ride for the most part but ultimately forgettable. Nevertheless it did was it set out to do as a crowd pleaser with no story going in. Scorpio Sky and T-Hawk were the stars here, but all six men have good enough chemistry to keep the match going and the crowd hot. Wish Jim Ross gave a damn about the promotion while on commentary ***1/2"

[7.0] "A good opening match for Double or Nothing, and one where each of the 6 wrestlers got time to show off how good talented they were. The match was basically a series of very well-executed fast-paced spots, so it was rather basic in that sense, but still quite fun. SCU generally showed off some very good tag-team spots which highlighted their high level of chemistry, and Strong Hearts would end up doing the same, but at a far faster pace and by making far greater use of each member? s skills, which thus meant that their work came off as much more interesting, though SCU themselves were still really good. ***1/4"

[8.0] "Great opener with loads of action. I had never seen the Strong Hearts group work, so for me it was a great intodruction to them. Great way to warm up the crowd. ****"

[8.0] "A fantastic opener, great non stop action between two great trios, it helped showing the Strong Hearts group to a larger audience and kicked off the show amazingly, this is what every 6 man tag should be."

[6.0] "Decent opener but nothing more. There's just no time to get invested with this many wrestlers at that high a pace. Served its purpose. Spot-heavy without any truly memorable spots and little to no drama."