AEW Double or Nothing 2023

AEW Double or Nothing was AEW’s 2nd PPV event of the year 2023. It took place on May 28, 2023, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

MJF defended AEW World Championship in a fatal 4-way match against Jungle Boy, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara. The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club clashed in Anarchy in the Arena match in the main event.

EVENT INFO

• This was the fifth event in AEW Double or Nothing series, which had taken place every year since 2019.
• This was the second event on the Double or Nothing series to take place at T-Mobile Arena and the third event to take place in Las Vegas overall.
• The event was announced on March 5, 2023, during AEW Revolution 2023 PPV broadcast.
• The event went head-to-head with NXT Battleground 2023 event from WWE.
• The tickets for Double or Nothing 2023 went on sale on March 17, 2023. 10,229 out of 11,461 tickets were sold as per Wrestle Tix.
• The opening ceremony of Owen Hart Foundation Tournament took place during the Buy-In pre-show of this event.

MATCH CARD

Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy & Hook vs Ethan Page, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn

Matt Hardy and Private Party’s AEW contract were owned by The Firm’s Ethan Page. Matt’s relations with Page improved over time. However, Matt quietly slipped in a clause in Page’s contract for match against Hook where Hardy and Private Party would be free from Page’s contract if he lost. Matt interfered in the match, leading to Hook defeating Page. Jeff Hardy returned to save Matt and Kassidy from The Firm on Dynamite April 12 episode.

The Hardys and Mark Quen defeated The Firm in The Firm Deletion match at The Hardy Compound to disban the stable. Page then distracted The Hardys and Kassidy on Rampage May 19 episode to allow The Gunns to attack them from behind. Page then challenged them for a trios match at Double or Nothing. To entice into accepting this match, The Gunns had to put Ethan Page’s contract on the line. Matt Hardy would get control over Page’s contract if The Hardys win. On Rampage May 26 episode taping, The Hardys announced an injury to Kassidy and revealed that Hook would instead partner them in the match.

Winners – The Hardys & Hook

Orange Cassidy(c) vs 20 Other Wrestlers- Blackjack Battle Royal for AEW International Championship

Cassidy defended International Championship 21 times successfully until May 2023. He was informed that 20 men had gone to Tony Khan to ask for a title shot. He decided to defend the title against all of them in a Black Jack Battle Royal. The complete list of participants is as below:

1. Orange Cassidy(AEW International Championship)
2. Ari Daivari
3. Bandido
4. Big Bill
5. Brian Cage
6. Chuck Taylor
7. Dustin Rhodes
8. Jay White
9. Juice Robinson
10. Komander
11. Kip Sabian
12. Keith Lee
13. Lee Moriarty
14. Penta El Zero Meido
15. Rey Fenix Jr.
16. Ricky Starks
17. Swerve Strickland
18. The Butcher
19. The Blade
20. Tony Nese
21. Trent Baretta

Winner – Orange Cassidy

Adam Cole vs Chris Jericho – Unsanctioned Match

Adam Cole defeated Daniel Garcia in his first match in his in-ring return after being sidelined due to a concussion for almost an year. Jericho came out to check on Garcia after the match and was not happy with all the celebration from Cole. Jericho defeated Keith Lee the following week and Cole came out to check on Lee and talked to him. Jericho was not happy with this and said Cole was trying to meddle in his matter. Cole and Jericho met face-to-face in the ring when Jericho Appreciation Society attacked Cole. Britt Baker, Cole’s partner, came out but The Outcasts attacked her also and beat her up brutally while Cole was handcuffed to the ropes.

Cole called out Jericho the following week but JAS came out instead. Roderick Strong made his AEW to join Cole, Orange Cassidy and Bandido against JAS. They defeated JAS the following week in a tag team match. Cole kept chasing Jericho and attacked him during his Falls Count Anywhere match against Strong. Jericho then agreed to face Cole but the match was announced as an unsanctioned match. They met in a contract signing segment for the match on Dynamite May 24 episode, where ECW Legend Sabu made his AEW debut to reveal that he would be in Cole’s corner during the match. Sabu was later announced as the special enforcer.

Winner – Adam Cole

FTR(Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)(c) vs Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett – AEW World Tag Team Championship(w/ Special Guest Referee Mark Briscoe)

Lethal called upon old ties with Mark Briscoe and tricked him into joining his stable with Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh. When Briscoe was attacked by The Varsity athletes and Slim J, FTR joined Lethal and Jerrett in saving him. 4 of them defeated The Varsity Athletes & Slim J in a tag team match but Dax Harwood and Jeff Jarrett came at odds due to some misunderstanding during the match. Jarrett defeated Dax in a singles match. Mark Briscoe was the ringside enforcer when Lethal defeated Cash in another singles match. However, despite his presence, Jarrett and others were able to help Lethal for the win.

The following week, Jay Lethal challenged FTR to give him and Jeff Jarrett a shot at AEW Tag Team Championship at Double or Nothing. Lethal and his stablemates went to the Briscoes farm to help out in farm work, but later asked about the secret of how The Briscoes defeated FTR twice. Briscoe did not talk about it. FTR came out to address the fans on Dynamite May 10 episode. Lethal and team interrupted them and challenged them once again for the tag team titles. Mark Briscoe then announced that Tony Khan has made the match official with Briscoe as the ringside enforcer due to hostilities between the two teams. He asked everyone to toast on it. Sonjay Dutt spit alcohol into Dax’s eyes before starting a brawl. With Dax unable to see anything properly, he hit Briscoe with a piledriver.

Winners – FTR

Wardlow(c) vs Christian Cage – Ladder Match for AEW TNT Championship

Christian Cage asked for a title shot against Wardlow when he came out with Luchasaurus. Cage went on to cut a promo against Wardlow on May 10 Dynamite episode when Wardlow was not on the show. Wardlow called out Cage the following week, leading to Luchasaurus and Cage using a ladder to attack Wardlow. Wardlow then announced he would defend the title against Cage in a ladder match.

Winner – Wardlow

Jamie Hayter(c) vs Toni Storm – AEW Women’s Championship

Jamie Hayter won the AEW Women’s Championship from Toni Storm at AEW Full Gear 2022. Storm later joined Saraya and Ruby Soho to form The Outcasts stable in a rivalry against Hayter and Britt Baker. After Toni and Ruby defeated Baker and Hikaru Shida in a tag team match on May 17 Dynamite episode, Storm challenged Hayter for a rematch. The match was later made official. The Outcasts attacked Jamie Hayter backstage on Rampage May 26 episode and left her injured.

Winner – Toni Storm

House of Black(Malakai Black, Buddy Mathews & Brody King)(c) vs The Acclaimed(Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn – Open House Rules match for AEW Trios Championship

The Acclaimed started to teaming up with “Daddy A##” Billy Gunn for trios match and collected some monumental wins in the division. On Rampage May 26 tapings, The Acclaimed announced that they would challenge House of Black for trios titles at Double or Nothing. House of Black also put out an Open House Rules match challenge at the PPV. At Double or Nothing, The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn answered to the open challenge.

Winners – House of Black

Jade Cargill(c) vs Taya Valkyrie – AEW TBS Women’s Championship

Jade Cargill and Taya Valkyrie were at odds due to Taya using Road to Valhalla as her finisher, which was same as Cargill’s Jaded finisher. After weeks of back and forth, Cargill defeated Valkyrie on Dynamite April 26 episode in a match where Valkyrie was banned from using Road to Valhalla. Cargill defeated Danni Bee to defend her title at Rampage May 19 episode, Valkyrie attacked her and challenged her for a rematch at Double or Nothing.

Winner – Jade Cargill

Jade Cargill(c) vs Kris Statlander – AEW TBS Women’s Championship

Mark Sterling took the mic after Jade defeated Taya Valkyrie at Double or Nothing. Due to her dominance, Sterling called for an open challenge for anyone anytime to challenge Jade. Kris Statlander made her return from injury to take up the challenge. After a short back and forth, Statlander hit a piledriver to get the win.

Winner – Kris Statlander

MJF(c) vs Sammy Guevara vs Darby Allin vs Jungle Boy Jack Perry – Fatal 4-Way Match for AEW World Championship

AEW announced the #1 contenders pillars tournament between Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy Jack Perry to identify MJF’s challenger at Double or Nothing for AEW World Championship. Darby Allin was given a bye in the first round after MJF pulled his name out of the three competitors from a hat. Sammy Guevara defeated Jungle Boy in the first round match via count-out after MJF ran over Jungle Boy on the floor with his Dynamite Diamond Ring. MJF interfered once again in Darby vs Sammy final, where he handed Darby his skateboard, leading to the referee calling for a DQ and giving the win to Sammy.

Tony Khan then announced that Sammy Guevera would be in the World title match at Double or Nothing, but Darby and Perry would get a tag team match against MJF and Sammy and if they win, they both would be added to the match. Darby and Perry defeated MJF and Sammy to turn the match into a fatal 4-way match.

Winner – MJF

The Elite vs Blackpool Combat Club – Anarchy in the Arena Match

Blackpool Combat Club kicked off the rivalry once again by attacking The Young Bucks on April 5 Dynamite episode. They also attacked Kenny Omega later before Adam Page made the save. BCC’s attacks continued later. They put Page out of action with a screwdriver shot on his head. Don Callis was also cut in a backstage altercation. Konosuke Takeshita helped out The Young Bucks and Omega but he was also taken out the following week.

Omega called for a steel cage match against any member of BCC. The match went down on Dynamite May 10 episode where Don Callis turned on Omega and hit him with a screwdriver, leading to Moxley getting a win. Omega tried to get his hands on Callis the following week but BCC attacked him once again. Hangman Page returned to help The Young Bucks and Omega against BCC. Hangman then announced the Anarchy in the Arena match for Double or Nothing.

Winner – Blackpool Combat Club