The landscape of professional wrestling will witness a change this Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas, as All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is set to make its highly-anticipated debut with the Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Fans have yearned for WWE to be dealt some serious competition, and that time may have finally arrived with AEW attempting to take the No. 2 spot among American pro wrestling organizations.
Started by Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan and a group of widely popular independent stars including Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, AEW has the potential to provide industry-leader WWE with its first piece of legitimate competition since it bought out chief rival WCW in 2001. Armed with a television deal on WCW's former cable home, TNT, AEW isn't expected to begin its weekly show until the fall, yet the pressure remains for "Double or Nothing" to be a rousing success.
The nine-match main card on Saturday, emanating from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, will be headlined by Omega and former WCW and WWE star Chris Jericho in a rematch of their 2018 classic with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Below is a look at the complete match card set for AEW's debut Double or Nothing event on Saturday evening, followed by predictions for a few of the marquee bouts from our CBS Sports experts.
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AEW Double or Nothing match card
- Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho (Winner earns future world title shot)
- AAA World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (c) vs. Lucha Bros.
- Cody vs. Dustin
- SoCal Uncensored vs. #StrongHearts
- Best Friends vs. Angelico & Jack Evans
- Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose
- Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami
- Sammy Guevara vs. Kip Sabian (The Buy In)
- Casino Battle Royale (The Buy In; Winner earns future world title shot)
AEW Double or Nothing predictions
Casino Battle Royale
Brian Campbell, Adam Silverstein: With the stakes being added that the winner of the Casino Battle Royale will earn a shot at AEW's first heavyweight title, it's incumbent upon the promotion to make a splash by booking someone strong to stand tall in the end. That name could (and probably should) be former WWE superstar Dean Ambrose, who hasn't publicly announced any connection with AEW yet posted a cryptic Twitter video in recent months announcing his return to the independent scene under his former name of Jon Moxley. Especially considering PAC (formerly Neville in WWE) pulled out of a much-hyped match against Adam "Hangman" Page, AEW will need legitimate star power to get the inaugural title over. Short of signing CM Punk, a rebranded Moxley would provide just that. Pick: Jon Moxley wins
Jack Crosby: First, Adam "Hangman" Page had a premier match with PAC ripped away at nearly the last minute. Then, on the latest "Road to Double or Nothing" episode, he announced that he would not be competing at all on Saturday night while selling a knee injury at the hands of PAC stemming from their recent match over in Nottingham, England. Here's the thing, though: I'm not completely buying that second part. Page has been presented as one of AEW's top stars, and when one door closes, another one opens. Even if we get some sort of stunning debut in this match, I think you roll with one of your own challenging for your first world championship down the line. Pick: "Hangman" Page wins
Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose
AS, BC: Cases could be made for all three of these women to win this triple threat match. Ultimately, though, Double or Nothing should be establishing the company's first set of signature stars. Baker is that for this division. Kylie should be playing the underdog role out of the gate, likely taking the fall, with Nyla remaining the first big feud for Baker. At least that's how I would book it. Pick: Britt Baker wins
JC: AEW has made it a clear priority to let everyone know it's going to value its women's division, and the signings of both Baker and Rae should have all wrestling fans taking that seriously. But in the first featured women's match in company history consisting of the top singles competitors, I think you go ahead here and establish Rose as the dominant heel, setting the stage for the babyface women to attempt to overcome the unstoppable force down the line. Pick: Nyla Rose wins
Cody vs. Dustin
AS, BC, JC: Because this has been setup as a new generation (Cody) vs. Attitude Era (Dustin) match, AEW has created a scenario where no other result would make a shred of sense. It would do itself a disservice to have Dustin win, though it is also entering a territory where it may be putting two of its executive vice presidents (see Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho) over in its first-ever event. Hey, as long as all four of them don't win, I guess that's a start. Cody needs the win for his character and the overarching storyline of what AEW is supposed to be compared to WWE. Pick: Cody wins
AAA World Tag Team Championship -- The Young Bucks (c) vs. Lucha Bros.
BC, AS, JC: With tag teams having been a rumored focus for AEW upon its launch, look for this match to get a featured placement and plenty of time for the talented duos to dazzle the crowd. Considering Matt and Nick Jackson have so much else going on when it comes to their roles as executives within AEW, it would only be smart to see the company push such unique attractions as Penta El Zero M and his real-life brother Rey Fenix in its debut show. The use of AAA's tag team titles has been a bit clunky in terms of how this feud was put together, but Penta and Fenix are such key additions to the roster that AEW would be wise to take care of from a booking standpoint. Pick: Lucha Bros. win the titles
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
AS, BC, JC: Who do you put over in the main event of your first-ever show for your new promotion: the best wrestler in the world today (at least in the ring) or a 48-year-old ex-WWE superstar? This one is simple. Jericho can easily recover from a loss due to his legendary status, and it sets up for a potential one-day win over Omega to be an even bigger deal for him. Omega, meanwhile, needs to be competing for AEW's first world championship. Considering the winner of this match gets that shot, there is really no other option at this time. The only reasoning for AEW to put Jericho over would be if they badly wanted to attract current WWE fans at their next event, but that is not who they should be going for off the bat. Pick: Kenny Omega wins