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AEW Double or Nothing preview: Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega

By Matt Black

Photo via @AEWrestling on Twitter
Photo via @AEWrestling on Twitter /
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AEW Double or Nothing is this Saturday, May 25. Here, we preview Kenny Omega going one-on-one with Chris Jericho for the first time in the United States.

November 5, 2017: A date that arguably changed the world of professional wrestling as we know it. The night that Chris Jericho returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling via a VideoTron at Power Struggle to challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12.

This was a dream match that wrestling fans all over the planet thought would never ever happen. Jericho had long-stated that he would never wrestle for another promotion that wasn’t the WWE. But this announcement changed everything and the course of events that followed helped lead Jericho to the company known as All Elite Wrestling, today.

Omega successfully retained his title in a match against Jericho on January 4, 2018 in what some would argue was both of their best matches to date. Everyone who thought Jericho no longer had it were quickly silenced and the wrestling world was left buzzing about what they had seen.

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Afterward, the two wrestlers went their separate ways. Jericho went back to WWE for a brief run while Omega became the face of New Japan, eventually defeating Kazuchika Okada to become the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time, at Dominion.

Many assumed the feud between Jericho and Omega was a one-and-done, a match we would never see again in this lifetime. But once again, a rematch was heavily hinted at last September’s All In, as Jericho jumped Omega after his match disguised in the costume of the opponent Omega had just defeated, Pentagon Jr.

While it was done initially to set up a six-man tag on the Jericho Cruise, the wrestling world was hopeful that it would also lead to a one-on-one rematch between the two later on down the line. Fast Forward to January 2019, when Jericho shocked the world by walking out at the end of the AEW Pep Rally in Jacksonville announcing that he is All Elite and that he’s here to change the universe.

Immediately, the prospect of a rematch between Omega and Jericho was now very much a reality, with the only issue at that moment being that Omega was still signed with New Japan and had yet to join the upstart company. That all changed however in February when the Best Bout Machine showed up at the end of the AEW Double or Nothing Ticket Rally in Las Vegas, much like Jericho did the month prior, to announce he was part of All Elite Wrestling.

Clearly, this didn’t sit well with Jericho and felt that Omega upstaged him, and he confronted Omega much to the delight of everyone in attendance. Things quickly got physical between the two and before we knew it, the rematch was on. And this time, it would take place in the United States at Double or Nothing, AEW’s first show as an established promotion.

The war of words has been active between the two and, earlier in May, things got physical once again as Jericho and Omega both made surprise appearances at Southern Honor Wrestling in Georgia. The absolutely ecstatic crowd got a preview of this iconic rematch and we will get it in just a few days’ time when these two headline at Double or Nothing.

Jericho believes that AEW is only legit because he’s with the company and insists that Omega thank him for it once he defeats him inside the ring at the MGM Grand. Clearly, Omega will have something to say about that, and looks to pick up another win against his Winnipeg counterpart. While we don’t know at the moment how the AEW Worlds Championship will be decided, one would have to believe the winner of this match will go a long way in determining if either man will compete later on this year to be crowned the (first?) champion.

Next. Double or Nothing preview: The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros. dark

Will you be watching Double or Nothing? What match are you most looking forward to? What do you expect to steal the show? Sound off in the comments section below.

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