AEW Double or Nothing: What we know so far

All Elite Wrestling’s first show, Double or Nothing, comes to us on May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here’s everything we know so far going into this historic event.

We are rapidly approaching Double or Nothing, the first-ever show put on by All Elite Wrestling taking place on May 25. Emanating from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the venue sold out in mere minutes of tickets being on sale. AEW is most certainly looking for history to be made on that night.

But with a television deal that is still to be announced, there are a lot of questions going into this event, especially from those who don’t follow AEW’s weekly YouTube shows like Being the Elite and the Road to Double or Nothing. Here, we are going to go over what we currently know about the show and the things we still need to find out, such as how the world is going to be able to watch it as it happens.

Here is the current match card for AEW Double or Nothing, it certainly seems that more matches will be announced over the next few weeks. But for the time being, this is what we know.

1. The Over the Budget Battle Royale

Currently confirmed as the “pre-show” match as it was described on the latest episode of Being the Elite, The Over the Budget Battle Royale also took place on the pre-show of All In that aired on WGN America last September. It was one of the most fun battles royale in recent memory and got the show started on the right foot.

At All In, the winner of the battle royale received a shot at the Ring of Honor Championship later on in the event. While they have promised the winner of this battle royale will also receive something very special, it has not yet been announced what it will be.

While we are certain more names will be added as we inch closer to May 25, these are the currently confirmed names for the match.

– Trent Beretta
– Chuck Taylor
– Joey Janela
– MJF
– Sonny Kiss
– Brian Pillman Jr.
– Ace Romero
– Brandon Cutler
– Kip Sabian
– Glacier
– Sunny Daze
– Dustin Thomas

If we were to venture a guess, we would imagine there will be around 20 participants in this battle royale when it’s all said and done. Who do you hope to see added to this match?

Update: On the most recent episode of Being the Elite, it has been confirmed that the name of the battle royal has been changed to the Casino Battle Royal, and will feature a “lucky” 21 competitors.

2. So Cal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky) versus Strong Hearts (Cima, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman)

The partnership with Oriental Wrestling Entertainment was announced for Double or Nothing back at the first AEW Rally in Jacksonville back in January. At the ticket release rally a month later in Las Vegas, SCU laid out the challenge to Cima and two OWE partners of his choosing for Double or Nothing.

For the fans that have never seen the stars of OWE before, we highly suggest you hit YouTube after reading this article to check these guys out. The things these wrestlers are doing in China are things that are very seldom, if ever, seen in the United States.

With AEW working with companies like this, they can set the stage to revolutionize the wrestling business all over again much as ECW and WCW did in the mid-90s by bringing international cruiserweights to work in their companies, as it was the first time many of us saw those talents work.

This match will be extremely entertaining. We’ll certainly be seeing moves that we have probably never seen before inside the squared circle. People will be talking about this match after Double or Nothing is over and should set the table for even more interesting matchups with AEW’s new sister promotion.

3. Dr. Britt Baker versus Kylie Rae versus Nyla Rose in a triple threat match

While the women’s division in All Elite Wrestling hasn’t been built up as quickly as the men’s, there is no doubt about it that these three women are going prove that they belong when they step into the ring on May 25.

Britt Baker was one of their first announced signings for their division at the Jacksonville rally and Kylie Rae and Nyla Rose were announced back-to-back at the Double or Nothing ticket rally in Vegas.

With other women like Penelope Ford and Allie waiting in the wings, not to mention the Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes looking to get into the ring as well, the winner of this match will not be able to savor the victory for long. Whoever wins this match will no doubt have a target on their back by the rest of the division.

We know that the women will be getting their own championship as well, but when that will be introduced is anyone’s guess. It would be nice to at least see some championship belt reveals at Double or Nothing even if a champion won’t be crowned that night.

4. “The American Nightmare” Cody versus “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes

While Cody’s match for the event has been teased for weeks on The Road to Double or Nothing, we officially got the confirmation two weeks ago that he would be facing his older brother Dustin Rhodes in a match that is being dubbed as “Generation versus Generation.”

The brothers have faced off once before at WWE Fastlane 2015 when Stardust went one-on-one with Goldust, but this is years later and times have certainly changed both men. Both brothers think they know more than the other and are looking to prove it inside the squared circle at the MGM Grand.

Cody has made it clear that he’s not out to end his brother but to end what he represents, the Attitude Era, an era of professional wrestling that fans and talents alike still use to compare to the talent of today. Cody wants to end that once and for all and in his mind, he will do that by defeating Dustin.

The Natural, on the other hand, is coming off last year’s double knee surgery and this will be his first match back in the ring in quite some time. Being granted his WWE release earlier this year to actually allow this match to happen, Dustin is clearly out to prove he still has it and looks to try and humble his little brother in the process.

5. PAC (f/k/a Neville) versus “Hangman” Adam Page

This was the first match announced and made official for Double or Nothing back in January at the company’s first rally in Jacksonville. Adam Page took the stage to talk about being a part of the company and was interrupted by PAC, who was one of the surprise appearances at the rally, and who showed up in full gear with his Dragon Gate Championship to make the challenge to Page.

Since then, the other members of The Elite have poked fun at Hangman for not being “full gear” ready for Double or Nothing, which has forced Page to get serious about his diet and workout routine going into the event with his Full Gear Challenge.

It seems, however, that PAC is watching Page as he has placed cameras in his home and spying on him. Both men will without a doubt be ready when it comes to getting into the ring on May 25. At first, this match was thought to possibly be for the AEW World Championship but that no longer looks to be the case as the title itself has yet to be revealed and this isn’t the main event at Double or Nothing.

It’s clear that these two will do absolutely everything in their power to steal the show in the MGM Grand. If one thing is for certain, we feel bad for whatever match is going to have to follow it.

6. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) defend the AAA Tag Team titles against the Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr and Rey Fenix)

Matt and Nick Jackson have been telling everyone that will listen this year about how important tag team wrestling will be in All Elite Wrestling. They have signed great tag teams like the Best Friends, Private Party and most likely the Super Smash Bros. But they aren’t facing any of them at Double or Nothing.

The Young Bucks will face arguably one of the best tag teams in the world, the Lucha Bros, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Pentagon and Fenix made their presence felt at the AEW Ticket Rally in February, going as far as to hit a package piledriver on Matt on the stage in front of all the fans in attendance. They made it personal.

The Bucks didn’t take this lying down, however, as they started following the Lucha Bros all over the world. They even went as far as to show up in AAA and defeat the Lucha Bros to take the AAA Tag Team Championship away from them, titles that they had just won minutes earlier.

As of now, this is the only match on the show with belts on the line. This match is going to be a showcase of how amazing tag team wrestling can be and we can think of no two better pairs to show the world that tag team wrestling is alive and well in 2019.

7. Chris Jericho goes one-on-one with Kenny Omega

In the main event of the evening, Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega will look to top their epic encounter at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom as they meet one-on-one for the first time in the United States. Although Omega won their first battle, Jericho has made it very clear that their feud was far from over, with Jericho going as far as to dress up like Pentagon Jr to attack Omega after his match at All In in September.

The two had a confrontation in Las Vegas at the Double or Nothing ticket release rally after Omega was officially announced as AEW’s newest signing. Jericho thinks everyone should thank him for the launch of AEW but the “Best Bout Machine” hopes to beat some respect into the veteran at the MGM Grand.

On May 3, the two continued their feud to the surprise of everyone as Jericho and Omega both made surprise appearances at Southern Honor Wrestling in Georgia. Jericho showed up and attacked Sunny Daze, placing a chair on his ankle and looking to take him out of the Over the Budget Battle Royale but Omega showed up and saved the day.

Jericho will obviously be looking for revenge at Double or Nothing and the winner of this match should go a long way in determining a top contender for the yet-to-be-announced AEW World Championship.

How can we watch?

Beyond the matches itself, the most important thing people want to know is how they are actually going to be able to watch AEW Double or Nothing from the comfort of their home. After all, the show is sold out already so you can’t just travel to Las Vegas on May 25 and hope to get in to see it live and in-person.

If we look back to All In, the event was offered on pay-per-view, FITE.TV, and Honor Club. We can obviously take Honor Club off the list this time around, there is no way this show airs on there again given AEW is now a direct competitor with Ring of Honor. So, for now, the best bet would be that this show will be featured on pay-per-view and FITE.

https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1123717381057056770

However there is another theory going around: Some have speculated that AEW will announce their television deal this month prior to Double or Nothing and that channel (rumors include TNT and TBS among others) would actually carry this show for free to viewers in the United States.

We aren’t too certain that’s going to happen. But we are pretty sure it’s safe to say that this show will be able to be ordered via pay-per-view and FITE in the very near future.

What are you most excited for about Double or Nothing? Are you excited about a new alternative to WWE programming? Let us know down in the comments section below and stay tuned FanSided for all things Double or Nothing and All Elite Wrestling.