The 2022 Double or Nothing was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was the fourth annual Double or Nothing and took place during Memorial Day weekend on May 29, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. The event returned Double or Nothing to its home of Las Vegas, after the previous two years had to be held at Daily's Place and the adjacent TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thirteen matches were contested at the event, including one on The Buy In pre-show. In the main event, CM Punk defeated "Hangman" Adam Page to win the AEW World Championship, which was Punk's first world championship win since 2011. In other prominent matches, Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. were the inaugural winners of the men's and women's Owen Hart Cup, The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard) defeated The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley), Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz by technical submission in an Anarchy in the Arena match, and in the opening bout, Wardlow defeated MJF, which freed Wardlow from his "contract" with MJF and officially "signed" with AEW.
The event saw the AEW debuts of Stokely Hathaway (who aligned himself with Jade Cargill), Athena (previously known as Ember Moon in WWE), and Rush (who aligned himself with Andrade El Ídolo and became a member of the Andrade Family Office). It additionally featured a special appearance from Owen Hart's widow Dr. Martha Hart, the in-ring debut of mixed martial artist Paige VanZant, and the first-ever Anarchy in the Arena match, which replaced Stadium Stampede featured at the prior two events.
Production Background
Double or Nothing is considered All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) marquee event, having first been held in 2019, which was the promotion's first professional wrestling event and first pay-per-view (PPV) produced. It is held annually in May during Memorial Day weekend and is one of AEW's "Big Four" PPVs, which includes All Out, Full Gear, and Revolution, their four biggest domestic shows produced quarterly. The event's name is a reference to its Las Vegas theme, which was where the inaugural event was held. After the previous two years' events had to be held at Daily's Place and the adjacent TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 event returned Double or Nothing to Las Vegas.
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 the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the 2022 event was held at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Additionally as part of Double or Nothing week, both of AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage, aired live on May 25 and May 27, respectively, at the nearby Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay. There was also a fan fest on Saturday, May 28, held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Tickets for Double or Nothing went on sale on March 4, 2022, in which first day sales drew over $1 million at the gate, marking the first time AEW crossed $1 million at the gate. In addition to PPV, AEW partnered with Joe Hand Promotions to air Double or Nothing in select movie theaters across the United States.
Storylines Double or Nothing featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds and storylines. Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television programs, Dynamite and Rampage, the supplementary online streaming shows, Dark and Elevation, and The Young Bucks' YouTube series Being The Elite.
In September 2021, AEW announced the establishment of the Owen Hart Cup, an annual tournament to honor the legacy of Owen Hart, a prominent wrestler for WWE (at the time was known as the World Wrestling Federation) during the 1990s, who died at that company's 1999 Over the Edge PPV. The tournament was established in collaboration with The Owen Hart Foundation. On December 17, AEW revealed that there would be both a men's and women's tournament of the Owen Hart Cup, and the winners would receive a trophy called "The Owen". It was also confirmed that the tournaments would begin in May with the finals to be held at Double or Nothing. AEW President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan revealed that he had originally considered concluding the Owen Hart Cup at the Revolution, but decided on Double or Nothing so that Dr. 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 the Wimbledon tennis tournament, which also has both men's and women's tournaments.
In the wake of CM Punk's victory at Revolution, he set his sights on the AEW World Championship. Over the following weeks, Punk would defeat the likes of Dax Harwood, Max Caster, and Penta Oscuro. After conquering Dustin Rhodes on the April 20 episode of Dynamite, 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. The following week, the match was subsequently scheduled for Double or Nothing.
During MJF's match at Revolution, Wardlow, who began developing tension with MJF in December 2021, turned on the latter, thus turning face. On the following episode of Dynamite, Wardlow cemented his turn in a promo, declaring that he was no longer MJF's bodyguard and no longer a member of the Pinnacle. On the May 18 episode of Dynamite, 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 by Shawn Spears. The succeeding week, Wardlow completed the final stipulation which guaranteed him a match with MJF at Double or Nothing by defeating Spears in a steel 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.
Following the match between Eddie Kingston and Chris 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. On the following episode of Dynamite, Jericho turned heel by attacking Kingston and Santana & Ortiz with the help of 2.0, Daniel Garcia, and Jake Hager, ending The Inner Circle, and forming a new stable named "The Jericho Appreciation Society". 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". On the May 11 episode of Dynamite, Kingston along with Santana and Ortiz, united with the Blackpool Combat Club to fight off the Jericho Appreciation Society. The following week, Kingston agreed to team with Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson, along with Santana and Ortiz, to wrestle the Jericho Appreciation Society in an Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing.
After remaining undefeated for a year, Scorpio Sky defeated Sammy Guevara to win the AEW TNT Championship on the March 9 episode of Dynamite. 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. Although Sky lost the title back to Guevara at Battle of the Belts II, he regained it two weeks later on the April 27 episode of Dynamite after defeating Guevara in a ladder match. On the May 13 episode of Rampage, Sky successfully defended the title against his former tag team partner Frankie Kazarian, following interference from Ethan Page and Dan Lambert. On the May 27 episode of Rampage, it was announced that Guevara, Conti, and Kazarian would face American 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.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRoleNameCommentatorsJim Ross Excalibur Tony Schiavone Taz Caprice Coleman Spanish commentatorsDasha GonzalezJon CruzFrench commentatorsAlain MistrangéloNorbert FeuillanGerman commentatorsGünter ZapfMike RitterRing announcerJustin RobertsRefereesAubrey EdwardsBryce RemsburgMike ChiodaPaul TurnerRick KnoxStephon SmithInterviewerLexy Nair
The Buy-In During the Double or Nothing Buy-In pre-show, Hookhausen (Hook and Danhausen) faced Tony Nese and Mark Sterling. In the end, Hook suplexed Sterling and tagged in Danhausen, who pinned Sterling to win the match.
Preliminary matches 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 consecutive powerbombs 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.
Next, The Hardys (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) faced The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), who were accompanied by Brandon Cutler. During the match, Nick performed a springboard into a facebuster on Jeff. Later, Matt Jackson gave Jeff a Twist of Fate. Outside the ring, Jeff landed a Swanton Bomb on Matt Jackson through the steel steps. Back in the ring, Matt Hardy performed a Twist of Fate on Nick for a nearfall. 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.
After that, Jade Cargill defended the AEW TBS Championship against Anna 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 a brainbuster 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.
Following the match, Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet held up Jay for Cargill. Kris Statlander ran out and stared down the trio. They were interrupted by Athena in her unannounced AEW debut, who allied with Jay and Statlander. Hathaway led The Baddies out of the ring without any physicality.
The next match was between Death Triangle (Pac, Penta Oscuro, and Rey Fénix), who were accompanied by Alex Abrahantes, against The House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, and Brody King) in a six-man tag team match. Penta landed a Canadian Destroyer on Matthews on the apron. Pac performed a 450 splash on Black from the top rope. Abrahantes distracted the referee while Pac took advantage and hit Black with a low blow. Pac went up top for a Black 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 a Black 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 leaving Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison in shock.
Next, the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals took place as Adam Cole faced Samoa Joe. As the match was continuing, Bobby Fish distracted Joe long enough for Cole to take advantage and perform the Boom on Joe for the victory and to win the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.