AEW Double or Nothing 2019
Highlights:
- Awesome Kong made her return to wrestling, with Brandi Rhodes introducing her participation in the first women’s match.
- Celebrities like Mike Tyson and Shaq O’Neil were backstage. UK comedian Jack Whitehall was on the show to introduce a legend.
- Bret “The Hitman” Hart made his AEW debut, introducing the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
- Cody’s entrance garnered much discussion, as he appeared to demolish a throne fit for Triple H with his weapon of choice; the Sledgehammer.
- Chris Jericho and Hangman Page earned the right to be the first to challenge for the AEW World Championship.
- Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) made his AEW debut after the main event, attacking Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega.
- The Hangman Page vs. Pac match was scrapped due to “creative differences”.
- Several WWE superstars tweeted their enjoyment of Double or Nothing during and after the show.
Event Card
SINGLES MATCH TO DETERMINE WHO WILL CHALLENGE FOR THE AEW TITLE:
Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega
SINGLES MATCH:
Cody defeated Dustin Rhodes
TEAM ALL ELITE WRESTLING VS. TEAM ORIENTAL ENTERTAINMENT WRESTLING
SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) defeated Cima, El Lindaman and T-Hawk
FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH:
Dr. Britt Baker defeated Awesome Kong, Kylie Rae & Nyla Rose
AAA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
The Young Bucks (c) defeated The Lucha Bros. (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix)
CASINO BATTLE ROYALE:
Hangman Page defeated 20 other men to earn the right to challenge for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship at “All Out”
SINGLES MATCH:
Kip Sabian defeated Sammy Guevara
SIX-WOMAN TAG TEAM MATCH:
Hikaru Shida, Riho and Ryo Mizunami defeated Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki and Emi Sakura
TAG TEAM MATCH:
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) defeated Los Güeros del Cielo (Angélico and Jack Evans)
After the success of the September 2018 “All In” event, a group known as The Elite (Cody, The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega), the driving forces behind the event, used the positive response to pursue further events with backing of businessmen Shahid Khan and Tony Khan.
On November 5, 2018, several trademarks were filed in Jacksonville, Florida, among them were “All Elite Wrestling (AEW)” and “Double or Nothing”, leading to speculation of a formation of a promotion and the name of the promotion’s first event. On January 1, 2019, All Elite Wrestling was officially announced, along with the announcement of their inaugural event, Double or Nothing.
On February 8, at AEW’s Las Vegas rally, Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes announced the signings of Japanese women wrestlers Aja Kong and Yuka Sakazaki, who will make their first appearances for AEW at Double or Nothing. On February 10, it was announced that pre-sale tickets sold out almost immediately after going on sale. Later in February, AEW announced that all tickets for the event sold out within 4 minutes of going on sale
The card comprised nine matches, including two on the Buy In pre-show. In the main event, Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega, earning a future AEW World Championship match against “Hangman” Adam Page, the winner of the pre-show’s Casino Battle Royale. Other prominent matches saw The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) defeat The Lucha Bros (Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix) to retain the AAA World Tag Team Championship, and Cody defeated his brother Dustin Rhodes. The event was also notable for the surprise appearances of Awesome Kong, Bret Hart, who would unveil the AEW World Championship, as well as Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose in WWE) with Moxley and Kong both being confirmed to have signed with AEW.
The event earned positive reviews from most critics, including Canoe.com, CBS Sports, ESPN, Pro Wrestling Torch, Pro Wrestling Dot Net and WrestleView, with the last three matches earning the most praise.
