| Double or Nothing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_Poster.jpeg) Promotional poster featuring"Hangman" Adam Page andCM Punk | |||
| Promotion | All Elite Wrestling | ||
| Date | May 29, 2022 | ||
| City | Paradise, Nevada | ||
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena | ||
| Attendance | 14,459[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 155,000[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Double or Nothing chronology | |||
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The 2022Double or Nothing was the fourth annualDouble or Nothingprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byAll Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place duringMemorial Day weekend on May 29, 2022, at theT-Mobile Arena in theLas Vegas suburb ofParadise, Nevada. The event returned Double or Nothing to its home of Las Vegas, after the previous two years had to be held atDaily's Place and the adjacentTIAA Bank Field stadium inJacksonville, Florida due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Thirteen matches were contested at the event, including one onThe Buy In pre-show. In the main event,CM Punk defeated"Hangman" Adam Page to win theAEW World Championship, which was Punk's first world championship win since2011. In other prominent matches,Adam Cole andDr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. were the inaugural winners of the men's and women'sOwen Hart Cup,The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho,Daniel Garcia,Jake Hager,Angelo Parker, andMatt Menard) defeatedThe Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson andJon Moxley),Eddie Kingston,Santana, and Ortiz bytechnical submission in anAnarchy in the Arena match, and in the opening bout,Wardlow defeatedMJF, which freed Wardlow from his "contract" with MJF and officially "signed" with AEW.
The event saw the AEW debuts ofStokely Hathaway (who aligned himself withJade Cargill),Athena (previously known as Ember Moon inWWE), andRush (who aligned himself withAndrade El Ídolo and became a member of the Andrade Family Office). It additionally featured a special appearance fromOwen Hart's widowDr. Martha Hart, the in-ring debut ofmixed martial artistPaige VanZant, and the first-ever Anarchy in the Arena match, which replaced Stadium Stampede featured at the prior two events.
Double or Nothing is consideredAll Elite Wrestling's (AEW) marqueeevent, having first been held in2019, which was the promotion's firstprofessional wrestling event and firstpay-per-view (PPV) produced. It is held annually in May duringMemorial Day weekend and is one of AEW's "Big Four" PPVs, which includesAll Out,Full Gear, andRevolution, their four biggest domestic shows produced quarterly.[3] The event's name is a reference to itsLas Vegas theme, which was where the inaugural event was held. After the previous two years' events had to be held atDaily's Place and the adjacentTIAA Bank Field stadium inJacksonville, Florida due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 event returned Double or Nothing to Las Vegas.[4]
On February 23, 2022, it was confirmed that the fourth Double or Nothing event would take place on May 29, but unlike the inaugural event, which was held at theMGM Grand Garden Arena, the 2022 event was held at theT-Mobile Arena on theLas Vegas Strip inParadise, Nevada. Additionally as part of Double or Nothing week, both of AEW's weekly television programs,Wednesday Night Dynamite andFriday Night Rampage, airedlive on May 25 and May 27, respectively, at the nearbyMichelob Ultra Arena at theMandalay Bay.[5] There was also a fan fest on Saturday, May 28, held at theMandalay Bay Convention Center.[6]
Tickets for Double or Nothing went on sale on March 4, 2022, in which first day sales drew over $1 million at thegate, marking the first time AEW crossed $1 million at the gate.[7] In addition to PPV, AEW partnered with Joe Hand Promotions to air Double or Nothing in select movie theaters across the United States.[8]
Double or Nothing featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds andstorylines.[9] Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television programs,Dynamite andRampage, the supplementary online streaming shows,Dark andElevation, andThe Young Bucks'YouTube seriesBeing The Elite.
In September 2021, AEW announced the establishment of theOwen Hart Cup, an annual tournament to honor the legacy ofOwen Hart, a prominent wrestler forWWE (at the time was known as the World Wrestling Federation) during the 1990s, who died at that company's1999 Over the Edge PPV. The tournament was established in collaboration withThe Owen Hart Foundation.[10] On December 17, AEW revealed that there would be both a men's and women's tournament of the Owen Hart Cup,[11] and the winners would receive a trophy called "The Owen".[10] It was also confirmed that the tournaments would begin in May with the finals to be held at Double or Nothing.[12] AEW President andChief Executive OfficerTony Khan revealed that he had originally considered concluding the Owen Hart Cup at theRevolution, but decided on Double or Nothing so thatDr. Martha Hart could be involved due to her schedule. In deciding why there would be both a men's and women's tournament, Khan likened it to theWimbledon tennis tournament, which also has both men's and women's tournaments.[4]
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In the wake ofCM Punk's victory atRevolution, he set his sights on theAEW World Championship.[13] Over the following weeks, Punk would defeat the likes ofDax Harwood,Max Caster, andPenta Oscuro.[14][15][16] After conqueringDustin Rhodes on the April 20 episode ofDynamite, reigning champion"Hangman" Adam Page confronted Punk as the latter had ascended the top of the rankings to become the number one contender for Page's championship.[17] The following week, the match was subsequently scheduled for Double or Nothing.[18]
DuringMJF's match at Revolution,Wardlow, who began developing tension with MJF in December 2021, turned on the latter, thus turningface.[13] On the following episode ofDynamite, Wardlow cemented his turn in a promo, declaring that he was no longer MJF's bodyguard and no longer a member ofthe Pinnacle.[19] On the May 18 episode ofDynamite, Wardlow, as part of a set of contract stipulations which would make him able to wrestle MJF, was lashed 10 times by MJF, only to be also ambushed byShawn Spears.[20] The succeeding week, Wardlow completed the final stipulation which guaranteed him a match with MJF at Double or Nothing by defeating Spears in asteel cage match, with MJF serving unsuccessfully as the special guest referee; should Wardlow win, he would be officially released from his contract with MJF, but would be banned from obtaining a new AEW contract and be required to remain under MJF's employment if he loses.[21]
Following the match betweenEddie Kingston andChris Jericho at Revolution, where Kingston emerged victorious, Kingston attempted to shake the hand of Jericho, who stated before the match he would do so if Kingston defeated him, but Jericho instead refused and left the ring.[13] On the following episode ofDynamite, Jericho turnedheel by attacking Kingston andSantana &Ortiz with the help of2.0,Daniel Garcia, andJake Hager, endingThe Inner Circle, and forming a new stable named "The Jericho Appreciation Society".[19] The following week, Jericho stated that the fans and the Inner Circle did not appreciate him, and that Kingston embarrassed him by making him tap out. He then dubbed the stable as "sport-entertainers" who beats up "pro-wrestlers".[22] On the May 11 episode ofDynamite, Kingston along with Santana and Ortiz, united with theBlackpool Combat Club to fight off the Jericho Appreciation Society.[23] The following week, Kingston agreed to team withJon Moxley andBryan Danielson, along with Santana and Ortiz, to wrestle the Jericho Appreciation Society in anAnarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing.[20]
After remaining undefeated for a year,Scorpio Sky defeatedSammy Guevara to win theAEW TNT Championship on the March 9 episode ofDynamite. After the match,Paige VanZant, who helped Sky win the title, signed her AEW contract on top of Guevara's real-life girlfriend,Tay Conti.[19] Although Sky lost the title back to Guevara atBattle of the Belts II,[24] he regained it two weeks later on the April 27 episode ofDynamite after defeating Guevara in aladder match.[18] On the May 13 episode ofRampage, Sky successfully defended the title against his former tag team partnerFrankie Kazarian, following interference fromEthan Page and Dan Lambert.[25] On the May 27 episode ofRampage, it was announced that Guevara, Conti, and Kazarian would faceAmerican Top Team (Sky, Page, and VanZant) at Double or Nothing where if Guevara's team loses, neither Guevara or Kazarian can challenge for the TNT Championship as long as Sky is champion.[26]
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Jim Ross(PPV) |
| Excalibur(Pre-show and PPV) | |
| Tony Schiavone(Pre-show and PPV) | |
| Taz(Pre-show and Tag Title match) | |
| Caprice Coleman(Young Bucks vs. Hardys) | |
| Spanish commentators | Dasha Gonzalez |
| Jon Cruz | |
| French commentators | Alain Mistrangélo |
| Norbert Feuillan | |
| German commentators | Günter Zapf |
| Mike Ritter | |
| Ring announcer | Justin Roberts |
| Referees | Aubrey Edwards |
| Bryce Remsburg | |
| Mike Chioda | |
| Paul Turner | |
| Rick Knox | |
| Stephon Smith | |
| Interviewer | Lexy Nair |
During the Double or Nothing Buy-In pre-show, Hookhausen (Hook andDanhausen) facedTony Nese and Mark Sterling. In the end, Hook suplexed Sterling and tagged in Danhausen, who pinned Sterling to win the match.[27]
The actual pay-per-view opened with MJF facing Wardlow. At the start of the match, MJF ducked to ringside and told the referee to make Wardlow back up. A short time later, MJF donned the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but the referee saw it and took it away. MJF tried to shake hands with Wardlow, who obliged and then held onto his hand. Wardlow would then perform ten consecutivepowerbombs on MJF to win the match; since Wardlow won, he was granted his release from his contract with MJF and free to officially join AEW.[27]
Next, The Hardys (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) faced The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), who were accompanied byBrandon Cutler. During the match, Nick performed a springboard into afacebuster on Jeff. Later, Matt Jackson gave Jeff aTwist of Fate. Outside the ring, Jeff landed aSwanton Bomb on Matt Jackson through the steel steps. Back in the ring, Matt Hardy performed a Twist of Fate on Nick for anearfall. In the end, Matt Hardy performed a second Twist of Fate on Nick and tagged in Jeff, who followed with a Swanton Bomb on Nick to win the match.[27]
After that,Jade Cargill defended theAEW TBS Championship againstAnna Jay. Mark Sterling made his way to ringside with a crutch in hand and argued with the referee. Jay performed a leg sweep on Cargill with the crutch for a nearfall.John Silver ran out and performed abrainbuster on Sterling.Stokely Hathaway walked out and stood at ringside, making his unannounced AEW debut. Cargill performed a Jaded on Jay from the top rope to retain the title.[27]
Following the match,Kiera Hogan andRed Velvet held up Jay for Cargill.Kris Statlander ran out and stared down the trio. They were interrupted byAthena in her unannounced AEW debut, who allied with Jay and Statlander. Hathaway led The Baddies out of the ring without any physicality.[27]
The next match was betweenDeath Triangle (Pac,Penta Oscuro, andRey Fénix), who were accompanied byAlex Abrahantes, againstThe House of Black (Malakai Black,Buddy Matthews, andBrody King) in asix-man tag team match. Penta landed aCanadian Destroyer on Matthews on the apron. Pac performed a450 splash on Black from the top rope. Abrahantes distracted the referee while Pac took advantage and hit Black with alow blow. Pac went up top for aBlack Arrow, but the lights went off. When the lights turned on,Julia Hart was standing in the ring and blew a mist in the face of Pac. Black hit aBlack Mass on Pac to win the match. After the match, Hart celebrated the victory with The House of Black, becoming the stable's newest member, finally leaving The Varsity Blonds, and leavingBrian Pillman Jr. andGriff Garrison in shock.[27]
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Next, the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals took place asAdam Cole facedSamoa Joe. As the match was continuing,Bobby Fish distracted Joe long enough for Cole to take advantage and performthe Boom on Joe for the victory and to win the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.[27]
The sixth match was the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals asDr. Britt Baker, D.M.D facedRuby Soho. Soho applied asharpshooter on Baker, who grabbed the rope to void the submission. In the end, Soho went to the ropes and put herself on the shoulders of Baker before performing a victory roll for a nearfall. Baker reversed it and got the victory and to win the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.[27]
After the match, Dr. Martha Hart was introduced by commentatorTony Schiavone, who thanked the fans for the warm welcome while Cole and Baker stood on opposite sides of the stage. She thanked various people from AEW and her children. Martha presented the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament belt that she handed to Cole first, and handed the second Owen Hart Foundation Tournament belt to Baker.[27]
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Later, American Top Team (Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, Paige VanZant) were accompanied by Dan Lambert to face Frankie Kazarian, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti in a six-personmixed tag team match. During the match, VanZant performed aMichinoku Driver on Conti for a nearfall. In the end, Guevara attempted asuperkick on Kazarian, who ducked, causing him to hit Conti instead. Kazarian tossed Guevara to ringside, allowing Page to perform aroundhouse kick on Kazarian, with Sky following up with a TKO on the latter for the victory; since American Top Team won, neither Kazarian nor Guevara are allowed to challenge for the TNT Championship again as long as Sky is champion. This marked Paige VanZant's first win in AEW.[27]
Next,Darby Allin took onKyle O'Reilly. When Allin went for anothersuicide dive, O'Reilly countered and applied aguillotine choke on Allin. Back in the ring, Allin performed the Last Suppercradle pin attempt on O'Reilly for a nearfall. In the final moments, O'Reilly performed three PK kicks on Allin, and landed aknee drop from the top rope for the victory.[27]
Subsequently,Thunder Rosa defended theAEW Women's World Championship againstSerena Deeb. Rosa performed aDeath Valley Driver on Deeb for a nearfall. Deeb then applied afigure-four leglock on Rosa, where they ended up rolling out of the ring to the floor, which broke the hold. Back in the ring, Deeb applied the Serenity Lock, which she released and put Rosa down with a powerbomb. Moments later, Deeb avoided a charging Rosa, who crashed in the corner. Deeb went to the ropes and was cut off by Rosa, who executed a top ropesuperplex. Rosa followed with aFire Thunder Driver on Deeb to retain the title.[27]
Following this was an Anarchy in the Arena match between The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard) against The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley), Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. When the latter were entering from various places in the arena, the brawl started while Moxley’s "Wild Thing" theme song continued to play. Later, Jericho smashed the soundboard to stop the music from playing. Garcia performed apiledriver on Ortiz through the steel steps. Jericho put Moxley in theWalls of Jericho on a table, but it collapsed a second after he applied the move. As Danielson and Moxley were applying theLeBell Lock andbulldog choke on Jericho and Hager respectively, Kingston walked down the ramp with a can of gasoline and poured it on Jericho while Danielson had him in a hold. Danielson took exception and fought with Kingston, with Moxley trying to break them up. Danielson drove a steel chair into Jericho's face and performed a running knee at the same time for a nearfall. Hager hit Danielson from behind with Jericho’s bat. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho on Danielson while Hager choked the latter with a cable. Danielson passed out, thus the Jericho Appreciation Society won the match bytechnical submission.[27]
In the penultimate match,Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy andLuchasaurus) (accompanied byChristian Cage) defended theAEW World Tag Team Championship against Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee andSwerve Strickland) andTeam Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs andRicky Starks). Boy attempted another suicide dive on Strickland, but Lee caught him and powerbombed him onto the back of Luchasaurus. As Luchasaurus went for a doublechokeslam, Lee and Hobbs both grabbed him and slammed him instead. Hobbs leapt from the ropes and performed a double blockbuster on Lee and Luchasaurus. Moments later, Starks had Boy pinned and used the ropes for leverage until Cage shoved his feet off the ropes. Lee held up Boy while Strickland performed a Swerve Stomp. In the end, Boy and Luchasaurus performed the Thoracic Express on Strickland to retain the titles.[27]
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In the main event, "Hangman" Adam Page defended the AEW World Championship against CM Punk. Page went for a Buckshot Lariat, but Punk countered and applied the sharpshooter on Page, who managed to touch the ropes to void the submission. Punk landed a roundhouse kick on Page, who performed theGo To Sleep on Punk for a nearfall. As Page went to the apron and attempted another Buckshot Lariat on Punk, the latter caught him and when he hoisted up Page for the GTS, Page’s boots incapacitated the referee. Page picked up the AEW World Championship belt and wanted to strike Punk with the belt, however, Page looked conflicted and tossed the belt back in a corner of the ring. In the culmination of the match, Page's knee buckled during the execution of a Buckshot Lariat, allowing Punk to perform the GTS and win the title. This marked Punk's first world championship win since 2011.[27]
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Double or Nothing received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics; however, much criticism was drawn towards the overall runtime of the event. ForCBS Sports, Brent Brookhouse wrote that the event was an "uncharacteristically uneven" pay-per-view event for AEW. Cargill-Jay was "rough", the trios match between Death Triangle and House of Black was a "thrilling" action from start to finish, Baker–Soho was "a solid match that had a questionable winner", Deeb–Rosa was "a very nice showing for the AEW women's division" as both showed some solid technical skills and grit to put on a "fine match", the Anarchy in the Arena match was "a wild bloodbath", the tag team championship three-way between Jurassic Express, Swerve in Our Glory and Team Taz was "fun", and the main event was "a bit clunky at times" and "fine" when they just went at each other.[28]
Justin Barrasso ofSports Illustrated opined that although Double or Nothing "ran too long", it still had its "share of standout moments". Barasso thought there was no more significant moment at Double or Nothing than Punk regaining his place atop the wrestling world, the tag team championship three-way match was "outstanding", the Anarchy in the Arena match was an "unforgettable gore", Rosa–Deeb was a "technical brilliance", O'Reilly–Allin was "very good", and Baker–Soho was "one of the best on the card".[29]
Writing forPro Wrestling Dot Net, Jason Powell stated that the event was "enjoyable". The Hardys–Bucks tag match exceeded his expectations, the six-man tag team was a "very goodspotfest", Rosa–Deeb was "well-worked", the Anarchy in the Arena was "crazy enough that it could spark more interest in the feud", the tag team championship three-way was "entertaining", and the AEW World Championship was "a good main event."[27]
Combat sports journalistDave Meltzer for theWrestling Observer Newsletter assigned star ratings to the event, with the highest rated match being the Anarchy in the Arena, which was rated 5 stars. Elsewhere on the card, the main event, the three-way tag, and the six-man tag team all received 41⁄2 stars out of 5. Rosa–Deeb was assigned 41⁄4 stars, and the Hardys-Bucks tag match received 4 stars. The lowest rated match on the show was Cargill–Jay, which was given 13⁄4 stars.[30]
During the Double or Nothing weekend, MJFno-showed a fan fest. When management tried calling him, he did not answer his phone. This came after months of rumors about the backstage tension between MJF and AEW ownerTony Khan about MJF's contract and payment he felt he should have,[31] as well as doing an interview withAriel Helwani without telling management.[32] On the following episode ofDynamite, MJF stated that he was not being respected by the fans and Khan. He eventually mentioned all the "ex-WWE" guys that he believes Khan treats better than him. The segment ended with MJF demanding to be fired by Khan, calling Khan a "fuckingmark", his microphone being cut off, and the screen going black.[33] The next day, MJF's profile was removed from AEW's website and his merchandise was pulled on AEW’s merchandise site.[34]
On the June 3 episode ofRampage, CM Punk announced that he was injured and required surgery. He initially wanted to relinquish the title; however, Tony Khan decided that aninterim champion would be crowned until Punk's return. Punk would then face the interim champion to determine the undisputed champion. To determine the interim champion, AEW set up matches called the AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Series that will culminate in a match atForbidden Door on June 26, a co-promoted event between AEW andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[35][36] The first two matches took place on the June 8 episode ofDynamite. ACasino Battle Royale opened the show, which Kyle O'Reilly won. Then O'Reilly faced the number one ranked singles competitor Jon Moxley in the main event of the episode, which Moxley won.[37] The third match took place on June 12 atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall betweenHiroshi Tanahashi andHirooki Goto, which Tanahashi won. Moxley and Tanahashi competed in a match for the interim championship at Forbidden Door, in which Moxley won.[38][39]