AEW Double or Nothing 2020 predictions - Cody vs. Archer, Moxley vs. Lee, Stadium Stampede, more!

All Elite Wrestling is putting on their latest pay-per-view tomorrow (Sat., May 23, 2020) - Double or Nothing!

After a free streaming pre-show which starts a half-hour earlier, the event starts at 8PM Eastern, and can be purchased on B/R Live (and traditional PPV) here in the U.S. & Canada, and on Fite.tv everywhere else.

Double or Nothing marks the anniversary of AEW’s first ever PPV, but things haven’t gone exactly as planned thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, Tony Khan & company have adjusted on the fly, and there’s lots of story and plenty of bad blood heading into the matches that will take place in Jacksonville’s Daily Plaza (the show was originally planned for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas).

We’re assembling our motley crew to give thoughts & predictions on each bout on the card.

Let's get to it.

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING PREDICTIONS

Cody vs. Lance Archer for the TNT championship

Sean Rueter: When does “we don’t want to give an EVP a singles title” end? Probably not in a match where Jake, Iron Mike, and/or Double-A can cost one of them the belt. Pick: Lance Archer

Kyle Decker: Cody’s on-air role seems to be to stay towards the top of the card so when the time comes, he puts someone else over. He did it for MJF and he’ll do the same for Lance Archer, who needs the win way more than Cody right now. Pick: Lance Archer

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Boy howdy it’s tempting to pick Cody, what with the way Snake the Jake has snake’d all over Brandi. That righteous babyface fire, it almost violates the laws of wrestling for him to lose, especially since this seems like the main event. But the grandson of a plumber was born to lose, and I can’t see pushing Mr. Murderhawk back into the mix after his first big AEW match, so... Pick: Lance Archer

Cain A. Knight: I don’t think Mike Tyson is here to hand the shiny new belt over to a heel. Cody has lost both of his PPV matches since Dynamite debuted, and I don’t see that continuing. Furthermore, he can’t ever compete for the AEW world title again, but he’s the top pure babyface in AEW, which means this TNT championship was created for him to win. Pick: Cody

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Cody’s big matches are always full of shenanigans. What better shenanigan than Mike Tyson punching someone into bolivion. That someone will be Archer or Jake Roberts. Cody will make use of the distraction for victory. Pick: Cody

Stella Cheeks: Although Cody has done the admiral thing of putting new talent over time and again, I really feel like he has to be the one who wins the TNT Championship. There are only so many times that they can play the “Cody just can’t lose this one!” card before it becomes reminiscent of the boy who cried wolf. He needs a big win and this is it. Pick: Cody

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Jon Moxley (c) vs. Brodie Lee for the AEW World title

Sean Rueter: This should be a banger, but this is one time Mr. Brodie doesn’t eat first. Pick: Jon Moxley

Kyle Decker: They are running this match way too soon. It’s not like they have much of a choice though. They had to work with who they had available and Brodie made sense. But it sets up a match where neither man can lose. It’s way too soon for Mox to drop the gold so they’ll have to come up with a finish that protects Brodie. Pick: Jon Moxley

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: This is a big moment for AEW. I love Brodie Lee, always have since I first saw a gif of him snapping a Frankensteiner off on Hallowicked a decade ago, and the Exalted One gimmick is a fun left turn for him. He’s great, and absolutely worthy of a world title, even if he’s maybe not perennial main event material. But if he wins the title here, it’s a sign that, for all the promise AEW has shown, it’s eventually going to crumble into TNA 2, chasing whatever WWE castoffs are freshly available in the least organic fashion possible. I have faith that they’ll make the right call here. Pick: Jon Moxley

Cain A. Knight: You can’t have someone as hot as Moxley lose physical possession of the title for a few weeks and then also lose the big payoff match, especially not in his first PPV title defense. Maybe SCU gives him a hand to even the numbers a bit. Pick: Jon Moxley

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Mr. Brodie has shown me no reason to believe he will come out on top. Moxley already dispatched of the Dark Order’s most competent creeper in 10. Mr. Brodie will be put to sleep. Pick: Jon Moxley

Stella Cheeks: I hope Mr. Brodie Lee has an “even though I lost I am NOT a loser like you” speech prepared for his followers... Pick: Jon Moxley

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Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose (c) for the AEW Women’s championship

Sean Rueter: The No DQ stip doesn’t really give an advantage to either wrestler, so this really comes down to thinking Shida isn’t the one to end Rose’s reigns. Actually, I’m not sure that person is on the roster right now. Pick: Nyla Rose

Kyle Decker: I enjoy Shida a bunch, but Nyla really needs a long dominant reign so the person who eventually does beat gets a huge rub in doing so. Pick: Nyla Rose

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Shida got pinned by the champ on the go-home and the Native Beast ain’t a one-defense monster. Pick: Nyla Rose

Cain A. Knight: AEW’s women’s division is severely short-handed right now, so maybe they’ll pass the title back and forth in the short-term. Pick: Hikaru Shida

Manolo H. Pizzazz: As much as I’ll be rooting for Shida, Nyla is too much of a beast. The no DQ stipulation is to Nyla’s advantage for her sadistic nature. Pick: Nyla Rose

Stella Cheeks: I’m really torn on this one. On the one hand Nyla hasn’t really been given a chance to actually BE a champion. She wasn’t champ for long before the pandemic hit and she’s been off tv for an unreasonably long time. Any chance she gets to prove her worth as champion she kills it, but, well, they don’t seem to give her that many chances. Let’s be honest here - the AEW women’s division is a GD mess and the way they have positioned both their champions has proven that fact time and time again. The one constant in the division, however, seems to be Hikaru Shida. She is given more tv time than others in her division, has consistently been near the top of the rankings and has won over the crowd. If AEW can’t figure out how to properly book their champion, maybe it’s time they simply give the championship to the competitor they are already treating like one. Pick: Hikaru Shida

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Inner Circle vs. Matt Hardy & The Elite in Stadium Stampede

Sean Rueter: Hangman may be on the fence, but Vanguard-2 is gonna show up with some holograms. Let’s get weird. Pick: Matt Hardy & The Elite

Kyle Decker: It’s time that the Inner Circle get knocked down a peg. They’ve been up pretty much throughout this feud. Pick: Matt Hardy & The Elite

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: This is gonna be a hoot, and it’s also pretty likely to be a lot more than the ten men at hand so I’m not super confident in the outcome. A bucket of water from the Lake of Reincarnation alone increases the variables manifold! That said, in the end it comes down to this being the Inner Circle’s idea, and in pro wrestling, they who dealt it, lose it. Pick: Matt Hardy & the Elite

Cain A. Knight: I don’t really think the Young Bucks and Hangman Page can disappear for two months, only to return and lose a match on PPV. Jericho is the only member of the Inner Circle who is a bigger star than any of the five babyfaces, so it’s actually a glaring mismatch here. Pick: Matt Hardy & The Elite

Manolo H. Pizzazz: The Inner Circle is a cohesive unit. The Elite are not. The question mark of Hangman Page will hang over the Elite like a rain cloud. The Inner Circle will flim flam dance and drink bubbly all night long in celebration of deleting the Elite. Pick: Inner Circle

Stella Cheeks: The Elite have Matt Hardy and his multiple personalities. The Inner Circle has Jake Hager. Enough said. Pick: Matt Hardy & The Elite

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Casino Ladder Match for an AEW World title shot

Sean Rueter: It’s hard to pick against MYSTERY ENTRANT. It’s also tempting to go with Darby. But with several months and a lot of uncertainty between now and All Out, I’m thinking the winner gets his shot on television, and I think Mssr. Allin is being built for something bigger than that. Plus, this sets Mox up to feud with the whole Triángulo de la Muerte (or is it a Rectángulo de Muerte now that PAC has manifested a masked alter ego?) Pick: Rey Fenix

Kyle Decker: Not many people in this match really feel like a world title match in the next year is in the cards. (In the cards - get it? It’s a casino pun.) Really, it’s just Darby, Rey Fenix, and Scorpio Sky. And I’m going to go with Scorpio, who had some fire when he challenged for the title when Jericho was still champion. I think they wait most of the year before getting there, but they can do it. Pick: Scorpio Sky

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: I’m goin’ big, because you ain’t got a no-compete when your contract runs out. Pick: Drew Gulak

Cain A. Knight: AEW had to run those inspirational vignettes for Scorpio Sky throughout April for some reason, and I’m guessing this is the reason. Pick: Scorpio Sky

Manolo H. Pizzazz: I don’t see anyone here beating Jon Moxley, so I think the winner will be the route of fun surprise. Luchasaurus fills that role. He has the height and power advantage on his side. He’s also not so much of a daredevil to injure himself during the contest. Luchasaurus will be an intriguing matchup for Moxley in the future. And who isn’t interested to hear how Moxley trash-talks a dinosaur? Pick: Luchasaurus

Stella Cheeks: I’m picking based solely on who tried to destroy their body the most during the go home show. WHY DID NO ONE CATCH HIM? Pick: Rey Fenix

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MJF vs. Jungle Boy

Sean Rueter: Whatever gets us closer to Luchasaurus/Wardlow. I need some big meaty men slappin’ meat. Pick: MJF

Kyle Decker: Jungle Boy will raise his stock, but he’ll take the L. MJF is their heel prodigy and he’s not losing just now. He’s probably not going to win clean though, protecting Jungle Jack in the process. Pick: MJF

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Two future world champs here for sure, but MJF’s first title win is a lot closer than Jack’s. Pick: Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Cain A. Knight: If there’s one big unexpected outcome on this card, this will be it right here. Jungle Boy could use a major win, and MJF is a good enough talker that he can thrive after defeat. Pick: Jungle Boy

Manolo H. Pizzazz: This feud is being set up for MJF and Jungle Boy to be rivals for years. Jungle Boy will get his first win over MJF when it matters most. Winning on this PPV won’t be a big moment, so I’m going with MJF to maintain his upward momentum. Pick: MJF

Stella Cheeks: Sometimes you just have to believe in tiny wild haired miracles. Pick: Jungle Boy

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Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker

Sean Rueter: If Nyla landed on my knee like that, I would take a pass. If it happens... Pick: Kris Statlander

Kyle Decker: As Sean mentioned, Britt seemed to get hurt during that match and the last part of it seemed like an audible. If this does happen, I’d give Britt the win. She’s the one with the character that’s interesting. I still don’t really know what Statlander is doing. She’s an alien or something? Pick: Britt Baker

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Even if Britt is totally good to go, this is Statlander’s match to lose, as a rising babyface who feels likely to be the woman who eventually ends Nyla Rose’s title reign. Pick: Kris Statlander

Cain A. Knight: The injury rumors surrounding Britt Baker don’t sound good at all. Pick: Kris Statlander

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Baker has a real mean streak when she feels disrespected, as shown in the four-way that set up this bout. Baker will come through on her promise of donating alien teeth to space science. Pick: Dr. Britt Baker DMD

Stella Cheeks: Pretending that Britt Baker isn’t injured :(((( I’d say she is the right choice to win this match. Statlander’s gimmick consistently falls flat and her in-ring work is just so-so. Since Britt turned heel, however, she has been killing it! Her character work is fantastic and her in ring work has improved greatly. Based on her performance over the past several months I am inclined to agree with her assessment - she is the face people think of when they think of the AEW women’s division. And that face deserves the win. Pick: Britt Baker

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Dustin Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears

Sean Rueter: Did Tully approve this? Or has he returned to his prison ministry? Saving souls has to be easier than getting Mr. Peyton Royce over. Pick: Dustin Rhodes

Kyle Decker: Dustin is at the the point in the career that he can even put someone like Spears over. I think Shawn actually gets a dub here. Pick: Shawn Spears

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: I simply ask you a question, friends— Why does Shawn Spears? Pick: Dustin Rhodes

Cain A. Knight: This is a close call, but I guess I’ll go with Spears. Dustin already beat Kip Sabian last month, so it’s possible that he’s reached his quota of wins for a while. Pick: Shawn Spears

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Dustin Rhodes has the motivation of family honor. That will be the edge for him to put loudmouth Spears in his place as jabroni. Pick: Dustin Rhodes

Stella Cheeks: They are still trying to make this whole Shawn Spears thing happen, huh? Pick: Shawn Spears

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Best Friends vs. Private Party

Sean Rueter: This pick is based solely on how confused I am by Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen’s storyline on BTE. Pick: Best Friends

Kyle Decker: The story for a bit has been how Best Friends are staying on top of the tag division. They should pick up a hard earned win here and eventually challenge for the tag titles. Pick: Best Friends

Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Oh holy hell, I didn’t see that this was a thing. Love Private Party, but the loss of their initial momentum after upsetting the Young Bucks in the tag title tournament still feels bad, and besides— when have they ever popped a dog or talked a hog? Pick: Best Friends

Cain A. Knight: This one seems like an obvious win for the Best Friends. Pick: Best Friends

Manolo H. Pizzazz: The Best Friends have worked too hard climbing to the top spot to let a title opportunity slip through their fingers. Now is their time to seize the moment and avoid being yet another AEW talent that always falls short when it matters most. Pick: Best Friends

Stella Cheeks: The Best Friends have had several solid showings as both a duo and as singles competitors recently. They are clearly next in line for the next tag team championship bout. This should be an easy win. Pick: Best Friends

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That's who we've got. Who are you taking, Cagesiders?