In the main event of AEW Double or Nothing 2023, MJF is set to defend his AEW World Championship in a Four Pillars match against Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, and Sammy Guevara. Going by the recent updates, the chances are higher that the top heel of the AEW roster will eventually retain his championship belt.
Date: May 28, 2023
Arena: T-Mobile Arena – Location: Paradise, Nevada
Double or Nothing 2023;
Blackjack Battle Royal for the AEW International Championship:
(contestants were Orange Cassidy (c), Ricky Starks, The Butcher, The Blade, Bandido, Komander, Lee Moriarty, Big Bill, Ari Daivari, Tony Nese, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, Kip Sabian, Rey Fénix, Penta El Zero Miedo, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes)
A somewhat confusing fight, in which we saw Komander diving out of the ring without being eliminated, and in which it was possible for Brian Cage and Swerve Strickland not to set foot in the ring during the first few minutes. Also noteworthy is the Latin alliance between Rey Fénix, Penta El Zero Miedo, Komander and Bandido.
One of the highlights of the match was the elimination of Keith Lee at the hands of Brian Cage. Soon after, Ricky Starks eliminated Jay White in a surprising way.
At the end were Swerve Strickland, Penta El Zero Miedo, Big Bill and champion Orange Cassidy. Big Bill eliminated Penta, much to the crowd’s dismay, and was soon eliminated by Swerve Strickland.
The decision between Cassidy and Strickland was a thrilling one, with several near-eliminations. After several seconds at the edge of the ring, Cassidy got the upper hand and retained the title.
Winner : Orange Cassidy
Rating : 8/10
Double or Nothing 2023; Unsanctioned match: Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole
(Sabu as special guest enforcer)
Despite the match being one on one, Daniel Garcia wasted no time and attacked Adam Cole , giving Chris Jericho the advantage . Meanwhile, in the ring, Sabu and Jericho started throwing chairs at each other.
At one point, while Jericho applied a Walls of Jericho next to the ropes, Adam Cole used an extinguisher that was outside the ring and used it against his opponent’s face.
After both had given more use to the extinguisher and Jericho had applied the Codebreaker , Jericho introduced a kendo stick in the fight, but ended up being hit by Britt Baker with another kendo stick . Meanwhile, Saraya appeared in the vicinity of the ring, which led Britt Baker to focus on the British woman.
Shortly after, Adam Cole climbed to the top of one of the corners, but was hit by a chair thrown by Jericho and landed on a table that was set up outside the ring.
On his return to the ring Jericho took a chain with him, but ended up suffering a DDT on top of it and soon after a Panama Sunrise, but managed to kick out in the settlement that followed.
However, Adam Cole performed two Booms, the second of which was with the chain wrapped around a knee, and pummeled Jericho until the referee stopped the match and declared Adam Cole the winner.
Winner : Adam Cole
Grade : 9/10
AEW World Tag Team Championship:
FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal
(Mark Briscoe as special guest referee)
Match in which the referee Mark Briscoe was very attentive to the cheating of Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. So much so that he threw Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh out of the ringside area. As Dutt and Singh headed out of the ring, Jeff Jarrett went to get his guitar and tried to hit Dax Harwood, but ended up hitting Mark Briscoe. Soon after, FTR applied a Shatter Machine to Jay Lethal and advanced to the settlement, but there was no referee available to make the count. And when a female referee appeared, Sonjay Dutt stopped her and Karen Jarrett smashed another guitar over her head, to chants of “ Fuck you Karen! ”.
In the midst of the confusion, Jay Lethal performed a Double Lethal Injection on Harwood and Wheeler and Jarrett used a belt to hit Dax Harwood’s head and then performed a Stroke, but Harwood kicked out in the ensuing settlement, as told by a Mark Briscoe still stunned.
Jeff Jarrett protested with Mark Briscoe, but ended up taking a slap from the referee before suffering the Shatter Machine that guaranteed the victory to FTR.
Winners : FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)
Grade : 9/10
Ladder match for the AEW TNT Championship:
Wardlow (c) vs. Christian Cage
A match in which Wardlow’s brute strength was opposed by Christian Cage ‘s greater lightness and experience , who returned here to work with a rising star in AEW, after Jungle Boy. Just as Wardlow looked set to win, Luchasaurus stepped in to help Christian , who landed an Inverted DDT from the top of the ladder.
If AEW ladders already have a reputation for being no big deal, that was confirmed when Wardlow jumped on one and broke it, at a time when Christian Cage was on top of it.
Meanwhile, both Wardlow and Arn Anderson had to deal with Luchasaurus, with Wardlow delivering a Swanton Bomb from the top of a giant ladder onto Luchasaurus as he was lying on a table outside the ring.
In the midst of all this, Christian Cage took advantage of the fact that his opponent was still recovering to climb to the top of a ladder, but was intercepted by Arn Anderson and Wardlow, with the latter applying a Powerbomb to him before securing the victory.
Winner : Wardlow
Rating : 7.5/10
AEW Women’s World Championship:
Jamie Hayter (c) vs. Toni Storm
Saraya and Ruby Soho attacked Jamie Hayter even before the match started, weakening the champion. And already after the combat started Britt Baker appeared on the scene to attack Saraya. Meanwhile, Shida also attacked Ruby Soho. Interestingly, it was in a phase where the combat was going on without interference that Toni Storm reached the triumph, after a Storm Zero .
Winner : Toni Storm (new champion)
Rating : 4/10
Open House match for the AEW World Trios Championship:
House of Black ( Malakai Black , Brody King and Buddy Matthews) (c) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) and Billy Gunn
Anthony Bowens was not intimidated by Malakai Black and stood up to him. However, all the fighters participated in the fight and it was even at a time when Billy Gunn seemed to be doing the job that the House of Black came to victory, through a Black Mass by Malakai Black on Gunn.
Winners : House of Black ( Malakai Black , Brody King and Buddy Matthews)
Rating : 6.5/10
Double or Nothing 2023; AEW TBS Championship:
Jade Cargill (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
Combat between two powerful fighters: Taya Valkyrie more powerful, Jade Cargill still undefeated. Taya Valkyrie came close to triumph after a Stomp and after a Road to Valhalla but was defeated by Jade Cargill after suffering a Jaded .
Winner : Jade Cargill
Rating : 6.5/10
Double or Nothing 2023; AEW TBS Championship:
Jade Cargill (c) vs. Kris Statlander
Kris Statlander returned to AEW to challenge Jade Cargill and she had to accept. However, Jade Cargill ended up suffering the first defeat since she has been with the company, after suffering a Big Bang Theory .
Winner : Kris Statlander (new champion)
Double or Nothing 2023; AEW World Championship:
MJF (c) vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
MJF started by running away from the ring, but his opponents went after him and gave him a beating. Then yes, he started a fight of all against all.
Sammy Guevara was perhaps the one who shone the most, with spectacular flights, a Cutter in mid-air on Darby Allin and a Spanish Flag and a Frog Splash on MJF in the first ten minutes of combat.
MJF also landed several impactful strikes, including a surprising Cross Rhodes on Jungle Boy, and then asked Sammy Guevara to let him win. Guevara initially said he would accept, but it was just a distraction maneuver to try to surprise the champion with an Inside Cradle .
Shortly after, both Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy applied Canadian Destroyers , but neither achieved victory after that blow.
However, Sammy Guevara returned to shine, with a Spanish Flag on Darby Allin on top of MJF and Jungle Boy, who were outside the ring. At one point it looked like Darby Allin was going to take the win, after a Coffin Drop and a Side Headlock Takeover on MJF, but Jungle Boy prevented the ensuing settlement from coming to an end.
Darby Allin returned to charge with a Coffin Drop on Jungle Boy, but MJF placed the belt over Jungle Boy’s body, making Allin’s strike painful for him, and then applied the Side Headlock Takeover to secure the triumph.
Winner : MJF
Grade : 8.5/10
Double or Nothing 2023; Anarchy in the Arena match:
The Elite (Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) ) vs. Blackpool Combat Club ( Bryan Danielson , Jon Moxley , Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta)
For me it’s a waste for a group of fighters with so much quality to be involved in a fight like this. This is a match to put a Matt Hardy, a Jack Hager, a Luchasaurus and all those guys that don’t have the capacity to manage a good half hour of wrestling in individual or tag team matches. And I already thought it was a waste to see Kenny Omega involved in the fight for the AEW World Trios Championship, let alone in matches of this kind. I don’t understand Tony Khan’s crush on these types of pitched battles.
At one point, Matt Jackson starred in one of the highlights of the match when he applied a Superkick with an explosive to the foot on Jon Moxley . Shortly after, Moxley retaliated by doing Matt Jackson’s bare foot on top of pushpins. Then it was Nick Jackson’s turn to face the pins after suffering a Cutter from Claudio Castagnoli .
Bryan Danielson was close to being the victim of the final settlement after suffering a Dead Eye from Adam Page and a One Winged Angel from Kenny Omega, but Wheeler Yuta stopped the count.
The same Wheeler Yuta gave his team victory after interference from Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita, who attacked Omega, and after applying a screwdriver to The Cleaner .
Winners : Blackpool Combat Club ( Bryan Danielson , Jon Moxley , Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta)
Grade : 8.5/10