AEW celebrates five years of existence live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. AEW returns to the arena where fittingly the promotion started. 2019 and the first Double or Nothing feels like a lifetime ago. A lot has changed and yet so much has remained the same.
Double or Nothing this year is committing heavily to the casino theme by advertising a “triple main event”. Alluding that their three big matches will hit you like pulling the lever of a one-armed bandit, scoring three cherries, and winning the big jackpot, sets the standards incredibly high.
After a Dynamite where someone besides Bryan Danielson brought the fire (and not metaphorically), I can’t help but wonder what levels of insanity are going to take place on Sunday. The likelihood is that across the card, some of these rivalries are only just beginning. Whoever said what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas obviously wasn’t a pro wrestler.
AEW Double or Nothing 2024 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada on Sunday, May 26, 2024. The Buy-In is set to begin at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT with the main card action set to get underway at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. The event will be available to watch on Bleacher Report, Triller (FITE TV), and DAZN.
Full Double or Nothing 2024 Card:
- AEW International Championship: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Will Ospreay
- AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. Serena Deeb
- Barbed Wire Steel Cage match for the AEW TNT Championship: Adam Copeland (c) vs. Malakai Black
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Eliminator: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takshita
- Grudge match: Trent Beretta vs. Orange Cassidy
- FTW-Rules three-way dance for the FTW Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Hook vs. Katsuyori Shibata
- Unified World Trios Championship: Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin, and Colten Gunn) vs. Death Triangle (Pac, Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo)
- AEW TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Mercedes Moné
- Anarchy in the Arena: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Jack Perry, Matthew, and Nicholas Jackson) vs. Team AEW (Bryan Danielson, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Darby Allin)
- AEW World Championship: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Christian Cage
The Gamble of the Night: TBS Championship match
Since All In last year, AEW fans have been waiting for the debut of Mercedes Moné. The former multi-time WWE Women’s Champion and inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion has been and remains a divisive figure on social media. On Sunday, the question is as much about if Moné can deliver. Can Moné live up to the hype?
Big Business came and we said hello to the new “CEO”. The event closed with a watershed moment for the AEW women’s division. Dovetailed by two big intersecting women’s storylines, something previously reserved for the men, signifies another women’s revolution is taking place (the history of previous attempts at a women’s revolution can be found here).
In the weeks since, Moné has made her presence felt, interrupting, and stealing Willow Nightingale’s spotlight whenever possible. Moné blames Nightingale for not only taking the NJPW Strong Championship but also nearly ending her career. Nightingale likewise has made it clear she feels more than guilt.
Nightingale knows her reign has an asterisk next to it. Her peers and fans question if she deserved that championship. Passive aggression turned to full-on aggression when Nightingale put Moné through a table at the contract signing.
This has the potential to be a show-stealer given the quality of both women’s skills. When evaluating Moné’s potential opponents, this match with Nightingale I predicted could be the start of a legacy feud. Yet there is the risk of the crowd being split given Moné’s return to the ring and Nightingale’s infectious babyface aura.
This match could be the gamble of the night. In-ring is Moné’s forte. Moné is another level of boss. But beneath the sparkles, will there be ring rust?
Anarchy in the Arena: Battle for the Heart and Soul of AEW
“Ladies and gentlemen, sh#ts about to hit the fan. It’s Anarchy in the Arena!” Justin Roberts, Double or Nothing 2022.
Darby Allin, who has quickly recovered from both a broken foot and being hit by a bus (surprisingly not intentionally), arrived at Dynamite this week with a flamethrower. It makes me question how far these eight men are willing to go in this latest battle for AEW’s heart and soul.
As a replacement for Eddie Kingston, Darby is an inspired choice to add to Team AEW. Consisting also of Bryan Danielson and FTR. Along with their opponents, the new and corporate-approved Elite, (whose reformation I’ve analyzed here), gives fans a match with eight of the best story-tellers in wrestling today.
Although there are no official stakes related to control of the company, the desire to win on Sunday is about asserting authority. The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada have been a formidable unit. Jack Perry’s second chance has seen him return as the finished article, with the missing pieces in place.
This being Perry’s first match back, the Scapegoat has a lot to prove. Perry in his return is no longer a boy. Jack is the man MJF told him to become in the build to last year’s four pillars match. No longer the nice guy, Perry is selfish and taking what he wants.
Of all the hardcore matches, the spiritual successor to Stadium Stampede has been one of AEW’s most innovative, creative, and satisfying spectacles. Given Darby’s fondness for chaos, it’s like locking an artist with a big canvas inside a paint warehouse. Was Darby’s flamethrower the equivalent of Chekhov’s Gun? Is someone going to burn?
AEW World Championship: Can Swerve Tear Down the Patriarchy?
Until this past week’s Dynamite, Christian Cage and The Patriarchy have had the upper hand on Swerve Strickland. Progressively taking from the champion: a lock of Swerve’s hair; The Mogul Embassy and blood, Swerve derailed their momentum this week taking out Nick Wayne and then inflicting a small sample of revenge on Christian Cage in the car park. On Sunday, Strickland has to deal with not only one of the smartest and most skilled in-ring generals.
Strickland will have to contend with The Patriarchy, who we can imagine will be at ringside. Will Christian also be prepared? Mother Wayne and Killswitch have shown their aptitudes for picking their moments. Does Christian Cage have any more surprises to try and put the balance in his favour?
Since winning the world championship, AEW has struggled somewhat with the balance of presenting Strickland as a fighting babyface champion rather than the vicious psychotic killer who had fans cheer for him against “Hangman” Adam Page. In building Swerve as someone the fans can get behind, they tried, but have not yet found a way to successfully overcome the mistakes of some past AEW world championship reigns (read more about this here). In an opponent like Christian Cage, there is potential for one of the best matches of the evening.
The build has tried to push this match as more than about the championship but as personal. Christian has his petty reasons for hating Swerve due to their loss at All In in London and Strickland bloodying his adopted son. Cage has given Strickland plenty of ammunition also.
It leaves the possibility open that the version of Strickland that we get Sunday night may be the vicious, cold-blooded killer of old-looking to make an example out of Cage.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
