All Elite Wrestling’s next big pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, is live this Sunday. Held in front of a sold-out, live crowd for the first time since the pandemic, this mid-year event looks to build momentum for the company that may be having its best year yet.
All Elite Wrestling is a company created around three years ago and is owned by Tony Khan, who also happens to own the Jacksonville Jaguars. Khan, along with such wrestlers as Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Cody Rhodes, created the company to help bring a different style of professional wrestling to the United States, competing with the more traditional World Wrestling Entertainment.
This stacked event will see each championship belt defended in marquis matches. It will also be the culmination of rivalries between The Pinnacle and The Inner Circle, as well as Cody Rhodes and Anthony Ogogo.
Double or Nothing will also feature the Casino Battle Royale, in which the winner will have the opportunity for an AEW World Heavyweight title shot. There are lots of storylines and feuds expected to play out in what should be an exciting battle royal.
The first of the title matches will feature Lance Archer taking on newly crowned TNT Champion, Miro. These two behemoths are expected to tear each other apart in what should be a barn burner. Miro won the championship against Darby Allin a couple of weeks ago and Archer quickly stepped up to be the next contender in line. Expect an intense bout dominated by strength and power.
The Young Bucks will also be putting their Tag Team Championships on the line against the team of Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. This rivalry has gone on for the better part of six months, as the Young Bucks have trickled into villainy along with the rest of The Elite. The Young Bucks, one of the greatest tag teams of this generation, have avoided Moxley and Kingston so far but this Sunday, there will be nowhere to run. This rivalry came about as Moxley was feuding with Kenny Omega, who defeated Moxley for the world title at the end of last year. This match should be a lot of fun.
Reigning AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will be defending her title against Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. Baker is the number one contender for Shida’s title and after her classic unsanctioned match against Thunder Rosa, Baker has all the momentum in the world. Shida has been the champion for over a year, but Baker looks to end Shida’s reign by beating her at Double or Nothing.
Cody Rhodes will don his father’s moniker, “The American Dream”, for one night as he takes on the British brawler Anthony Ogogo. The former Olympic bronze medalist is a new signee to AEW and looks to make an immediate impact against one of the faces of the company. Backed by QT Marshall and the rest of The Factory, Ogogo will showcase his boxing skills as he looks to defeat Rhodes, who will be backed by his Nightmare Family.
Professional wrestling legend Sting will also be in action as he teams with Darby Allin against the newly formed team of Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky, in Sting’s first live wrestling match in over five years. Page and Sky have been thorns in the sides of Sting and Allin for the past several weeks, even throwing Allin down a flight of stairs on one occasion. This ultimately cost Allin the TNT Championship, and Allin and Sting look for retribution.
In the co-main event, we will see AEW Champion Kenny Omega put his title on the line in a three-way match against Pac and Orange Cassidy. After a match between Pac and Cassidy ended in a double count-out, they were both added to the main event title match. Omega has not had the best of luck against Pac in times past, losing to Pac at AEW All Out 2019. He has never faced Orange Cassidy, nor has he defended his title in a three-way match. Omega does not even have to be pinned to lose the title.
Omega has been on a streak like no other the past year or so, collecting title belts from all over the country, most recently from the Impact Wrestling promotion when he defeated Rich Swann at Impact’s last pay-per-view event. He looks to add to his streak this Sunday by defeating both Cassidy and Pac.
The night will culminate with the Stadium Stampede, a one-of-a-kind match that seems to only exist in the minds of the craziest wrestling writers. This match has been done once before, at last year’s Double or Nothing, inside an empty Jaguars stadium. Technically referred to as an “empty arena” match, these matches go above and beyond with their creativity and death-defying spots.
Last year saw The Inner Circle fall to The Elite (with Matt Hardy) in a match that utilized every bit of the stadium, from the bleachers to the refreshment stands, to the field itself. This year, The Inner Circle, led by Chris Jericho, looks to beat The Pinnacle once and for all, and if they do not, then the Inner Circle has to disband.
The Pinnacle, led by Maxwell Jacob Friedman, defeated the Inner Circle a few weeks ago in a Blood and Guts deathmatch after Friedman threw Jericho off the top of the cell. With the sold-out crowd in attendance this time, there is no telling how this match will play out. No matter who loses though, the fans win.
Double or Nothing airs this Sunday, May 30, at 8 p.m. EST. It can be seen on Bleacher Report Live, Fite TV (in the United Kingdom), and on traditional pay-per-view.
Kris Johnson
Intern